Jobs Tips
When it comes to Jobs, we've been there, done that, now serving 103 tips in 15 categories ranging from Benefits of Contract Work to Working With a Staffing Agency.
Working in Major League Baseball
It isn't just players who dream of being Major Leaguers. Working for the front office of a Major League team is a goal of many, but the path to that career can be daunting.
There are, however, several ways to go about getting a job with a Major League Baseball club. These teams employ all types of workers, not just those interested in the sport. From human resources and accountants to sales people and entertainment managers, expertise is needed in almost all areas of business.
Getting a job with a club may be as simple as sending in a resume at just the right time. However, with only 30 of these employers throughout the U.S., the demand for these jobs far outweighs the number of positions available. Knowing the best way to get noticed is essential.
Internships are a great way to start in the business. Colleges within a team's market may have a relationship with the human resources department for internship opportunities. Most of these positions begin in January. Send a resume to both the HR department and the head of the department you are interested in working with -- marketing, sales, media relations, etc. -- in November.
Working for a Minor League team is another way to make contacts with Major League club employees. Check the teams' websites for any positions that open up throughout the year. Most teams use Teamwork Online for posting jobs and submitting resumes. Volunteer for special events, including charitable projects put on by the team's community relations department. Consider part-time work that could lead to a full time opportunity.
Minor League Baseball Careers
Working in Minor League Baseball offers numerous opportunities in various capacities. From the avid fan who dreams of calling play-by-play to the human resources professional looking for a unique and challenging setting, Minor League Baseball employs people with diverse backgrounds and goals.
The 30 Major League Baseball teams each have an average of six Minor League affiliates to whom they provide players. However, all of the other positions tend to be employed by a separate entity. Some Minor League teams are owned by their big league club, but operate independently of the Major League team.
Small market and lower level teams -- including short season and many single-A clubs -- feature bare-bones full-time staffs. As few as three employees may handle every aspect of a club, from sponsorship and ticket sales to community outreach and game broadcasts. Part time employees make up the bulk of these teams' workers, from game day ushers and concession workers to bat boys and stadium maintenance.
Larger market and teams in double- and triple-A tend to have larger staffs who concentrate on specific aspects of the business. Ticket operations employees focus on season and group ticket sales, while those in community and media relations may have no sales responsibilities at all.
Many positions in Minor League Baseball -- most often the broadcast and sales positions -- serve as stepping stones to positions with a Major League club. However, many people spend their entire careers working for one or more Minor League team.
The biggest opportunity for getting a foot in the Minor League Baseball door is at the annual Baseball Winter Meetings, held in early December in a different location each year. Professional Baseball Employment Opportunities, or PBEO®, is Minor League Baseball's official employment service and can be contacted at pbeo.com.
Benefits of Being a Mystery Shopper in Today's Economic Times
Mystery Shopping for many people conjures up images of scams and fraud. . .however, this thriving, legitimate business has been around for decades and is a vital component of branding and marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes.
Mystery shopping, sometimes known as secret shopping, has been around for decades. The industry has grown astronomically since internet reporting and online recruiting and job assignment are now possible.
As self-employed contractors, shoppers can set their own hours and choose which type of jobs they want to accept. The only equipment needed for some jobs are an internet connection and a telephone. Making phone calls from the comfort of your own home and then reporting your experience in a fact-based manner means that overhead is low-or even non-existent.
Specialty calls (to financial institutions or medical providers) can pay as much as $25 each and some offer an option of adding an in-person visit that doubles that pay. Typical phone calls take no more than five minutes plus ten to fifteen minutes to complete a report and pay from $2 to $12 dollars.
On-site evaluations at restaurants, auto dealers, mall outlets, fast-food venues, grocery stores and other businesses are conducted for a variety of reasons. Mystery shoppers may evaluate customer service, look for branding issues or test products while remaining incognito to get a real customer experience.
There are even highly lucrative offers that result in free cruises, free airline travel, free hotel stays and other expenses benefits. There are for skilled and experienced shoppers, not the novice and require a lot of detailed work, so don't expect to snatch one of these assignments your first week out of the gate.
Keep in mind that you should never pay to work-if a company asks you to pay to register with their company, cash checks and withhold a fee or make any monetary investment up front, walk away. Legitimate mystery shopping companies offer training and support without charging for these services.
You may choose to become a certified shopper and if so there could be fees to take the classes; however, certification is only required by a handful of companies that need highly-trained shoppers.
To gain valuable information about the industry and reputable companies visit the Mystery Shopping Providers Associate website at shttp://www.mysteryshop.org/.
Co-Employment Concerns
We live in a litigious society. As unfortunate a reality as that is, it's a reality nonetheless, and in order for businesses to move ahead it's a fact of life that should be accepted. Mitigating risk is essential to every company's survival, and it's with this survival instinct that many tend to view working with employment staffing services as risky ventures, in particular with respect to the issue of co-employment.
Co-employment is a hot-button issue that needlessly elevates the concern of many who feel that simply acquiring temporary employees will open them up to lawsuits. But it's only in situations where an employee's rights have been violated that a lawsuit has the ability to affect a company. Working with a noteworthy and respectable staffing agency eliminates this risk.
Additionally, up until the permanent hiring or dismissal of an employee, staffing agencies retain the sole employer status of their workforce, both legally and in a supervisory capacity.
Performance Reviews
Employee performance reviews are conducted at varying intervals, dependent on the type of work and the frequency with which it's performed. In order to ensure quality in an employee's productive output, an employee is graded for their performance and the basis for their continued employment is judged by certain criteria.
Professional staffing firms, working hand in hand with on site management and quality teams, conduct performance reviews on behalf of their clients and reduce the expenditures associated with these time consuming practices.
The amount of time and energy a company saves by not having to directly carry out these routine functions is yet another benefit of utilizing a professional staffing agency. Since the staffing agency retains employer status over their pool of assigned workers, they have the power to offer wage increases to individuals who demonstrate proficiencies in certain areas, as well as removing others who don't perform to required standards.
Eliminate Lost Productivity and HR Costs
Partnering with a professional staffing firm offers a broad range of benefits to companies, not the least of which is having access to a large pool of pre-qualified applicants to fill positions as they become available.
The ability to have a worker arrive on-site and ready to assume their work responsibilities within days of determining their need can potentially save a company thousands of dollars in revenue due to lost productivity.
The need to employ a human resources department whose sole responsibility is to recruit and interview potential job candidates is also saved with the use of a professional staffing agency. This greatly impacts an employer's payroll, because they're no longer required to employ a full-time staff to handle this responsibility. In addition, a company stands to save thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent placing ads for job openings and the equal number of man-hours required to conduct interviews.
