Van Zandt News (Canton, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 48, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 6, 2014 Page: 2 of 55
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2A
VAN ZAN DT NEWS
Sunday, April 6,2014
Opinion & Commentary
No studies, no exams,
no classes? No way
The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to
be wary of online diploma mills and cites the following
red flags to help identify them:
• No Studies, No Exams — Get a Degree for Your
Experience. Diploma mills grant degrees for “work or
life experience” alone. Accredited colleges may give a
few credits for specific experience pertinent to a degree
program, but not an entire degree.
• No Attendance. Legitimate colleges or universities,
including online schools, require substantial course
work.
• Flat Fee. Many diploma mills charge on a per-de-
gree basis. Legitimate colleges charge by the credit,
course, or semester, not a flat fee for an entire degree.
• No Waiting. Operations that guarantee a degree in
a few days, weeks, or even months aren’t legitimate. If
an ad promises that you can earn a degree very quickly,
it’s probably a diploma mill.
• Advertising through spam or pop-ups. If the school
caught your attention through an unsolicited email or
pop-up ad, it may be a diploma mill. Legitimate institu-
tions, including distance learning programs, won’t ad-
vertise through spam or pop-ups.
Always check the organization out online at bbb.
org and make sure the college or university you are
enrolling in is accredited from one of the regional ac-
creditation boards. The U.S. Department of Education
has a searchable database of accredited post-secondary
schools at: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.
To report fraud or unscrupulous business activity,
call the BBB Hotline at 903-581-8373.
ALL in FMOR
of kicking
RUSSIA OUT OF
TWECLUfc...
Looking for a job? Use hard work, determination
After 25 years as
a human resource
manager, the owner of
two businesses, and
countless numbers of
employee counseling and
training sessions there is
something I need to say to
those wanting to find a job
and succeed in life.
If you will read
this commentary and
apply some of my
recommendations then
you will give yourself the
best chance of job hunting
success.
Recent high school or
college graduates, or those
in the workforce who
have fallen victim to a job
layoff or cutback, have
been thrust into the job
market and, among other
things, they are finding out
that it is not easy to find a
job in these hard economic
times. And we all know
that the cost of everything
has risen astronomically
over the last several years
and it has been hard to
make ends meet, even in
good times.
Under current
economic circumstances
it is increasingly
important that job
hunters utilize every
possible resource they
can in order to seek out
and find a good job and
eventually carve out
a comfortable life for
themselves.
If you review history
you will see that these
times are not all that much
different in many ways
than they have been over
the years as other job
hunters have struggled to
survive the times.
When I was a young
person and it was hard
Buster
i '
Leavell
y f
Guest
VI
columnist
to find a job I remember
my parents and other
knowledgeable people
giving me employment
advice and I also
remember thinking to
myself how they are just
old people and what they
are saying will be different
for me because they lived
in different times and their
circumstances were so
much different, therefore
what they say won’t work
for me.
Times for others have
been different and society
has changed and some of
the bits of wisdom people
have handed out wouldn’t
work for mine or your
generation. But one thing
you hear over and over
again about success that
seems to cross the realm
of time and has been
applicable in every society
is the statement that “hard
work and determination
will make the difference
between those who
become successful and
those who don’t.”
It is true - a time tested
fact that still applies
- those who work the
hardest and have the most
determination are most
likely to be the ones to
succeed.
To that end I have a
few recommendations
for those of you who
are willing to put in that
hard work and who are
determined to find a
good job and become
successful.
The first principle is
that, jobs don’t find you
- you find them.
If at this point if all you
are doing is watching the
want ads and checking
on-line for openings then
what you are doing is
competing with thousands
of others who are doing
exactly the same thing.
Take it from one
who has been in the
employment business -
many times by the time a
job gets listed in the paper
or on a web site the job
has either already been
filled or has a gazillion
applicants.
Sure, there is always
some luck involved by
your timing of reading the
paper or searching on line,
and you don’t want to stop
doing those things, but
instead of thinking you are
going to luck out and get a
call back - go into action
and go find the job.
Here are a few good
ways to do that:
Locate businesses
that employ people in
the types of jobs you
may want and go to that
business and check things
out looking at their job
postings or talking to their
personnel manager if you
can get to see them.
Talk to other employees
you may see at the
location and ask them
what it takes to get
hired on there. And
once you have visited
that place then go back
often, because in a busy
employment environment
applications get recycled
frequently (some into a
dead file) and new job
postings come out all the
time.
Locate someone either
already in the type of
job you want or call
businesses that employ
people in those jobs and
ask to speak to one of
them.
Quasi-experts that
already work in the field
you are interested in are
almost always anxious to
share their knowledge and
experience and may have
some very beneficial tips
to help you in your search.
They may even know of
an opening some place
and can refer you.
Don’t be bashful - talk
to the people in the know.
Ask for some of their
valuable time.
Share your interests
with them and ask them
what they think. Ask them
what is good and bad
about the job. Ask them
how they got into the
position.
Let them know you
a little bit so they can
recommend other things
to you.
If you can - cultivate
a relationship with them.
You may be surprised how
many people out there
are willing to help and
sometimes even to a great
extent.
If you are desperate
and just need a job,
make it a point to hunt
everywhere you go.
Stand in line at the store
- ask the checker if there
are jobs available.
Go to rent movies, ask
them if they need anyone.
Sometimes when you
ask people about jobs
where you are they may
not have anything there
but they might tell you
about something some
where they do know
about.
Another desperate
activity is simply to go
from door to door in a
shopping center, office
complex, construction
area, and ask them if there
any job openings. Fast
food may not be to your
liking, but if you need
a job, any job should
be to your liking. And
unfortunately for fast food
places the turnover is very
steady.
A fast food job as a
worker if that hard work
and determination is
applied can turn into
a better-paying lead,
supervisor or manager’s
job.
Let’s just suppose that
you find that one job
that helps pay the bills
but it is not that career
you wanted.
I’m sure you’ve heard
this before, but it is true -
the best time to find a job
is when you already have
one.
That is to say that if you
are desperate to establish
a cash flow then you may
need to take whatever job
you can find, even though
it’s not your ideal job, then
while surviving you can
continue to search for your
more ideal job.
Of course, it is hard
to do this when you are
working but if you try
hard enough you can find
ways to get to interviews
or turn in applications
and continue to look for
something better.
Finally, the same
dynamic as mentioned
with the fast food jobs
applies when you take
what you first think is an
undesirable job.
If you demonstrate hard
work and determination
while doing that job and
it is your absolute best,
then you may get noticed
by management and may
be put on the short list for
promotion and that may
then become your first step
to success.
A case in point is
someone I know who took
a temporary delivery truck
job as they were looking
for something better. This
person was an extremely
hard and dedicated worker
who would put in whatever
hours were necessary and
was always doing his best
at everything he did.
He had no intention of
staying with this company
but was noticed by
management and before
long was promoted to a
lead person.
As a lead he applied
the same hard work and
devotion to work that he
had previously and before
long was made supervisor,
and then manager, then
with a little more formal
education became regional
manager and finally was
moved to a corporate
comptroller position
where he celebrated his
dedicated efforts and went
on to retire happy and
financially successful.
I have seen similar
stories repeated many
times, which just proves
the fact that in both
looking for and keeping a
job there is no substitute
for hard work and
determination.
Buster Leaved is Van
Zandt County resident. He
can be reached via email
at vzcpwa@texascellnet.
com.
LETTER POLICY
Length: 500 words
Include: Name, telephone number, address
Send to: RO. Box 577, Canton, TX 75103; Email edi-
tor@vanzandtnews.com; or deliver to the Van Zandt
News office, 103 E. Tyler St. Canton.
Deadline: 4 p.m. Wednesday
So you’ll know: Letters will be edited for grammar,
space and legal concerns.
VAN ZANDT News published by Van Zandt Newspapers, L.L.C.
Publisher
Brad Blakemore
Editorial Staff
David Kapitan
Britne Reeves
Advertising Staff
Kelli Baxter
David Barber
Glenn McNiell Jr.
Barbara Robertson
Misty Stanberry
Managing Editor
Donnita Fisher
Layout
Lori Davis
Amanda Greene
Office Staff
Accounting Typesetting
Shannon Kennedy Rachel DeLira
Linda Nielsen Charlotte Jeane
Graphic Artist
Lela De Leon
Classifieds
Robin Campbell
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 577
Canton, TX 75103
Office: 103 E. Tyler St.
Canton, TX 75103
© Copyright 2014
No reproduction without permission
Member
Texas Press Association
North &East Texas
Press Association
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Van Zandt Newspapers, L.L.C.,
Box 577, 103 E. Tyler St. Can-
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Fisher, Donnita. Van Zandt News (Canton, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 48, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 6, 2014, newspaper, April 6, 2014; Canton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth900281/m1/2/?q=%22Places%2b-%2bUnited%2bStates%2b-%2bTexas%2b-%2bVan%2bZandt%2bCounty%22: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.