A Column By Richard Reynolds

Sphere: Related Content Autographs Written by Richard Reynolds Commentary from Richard Reynolds At birth every person has a clean slate with the ability to do something great. Some people would say that there are social and economic factors that prevent a person from achieving great things. I believe just the opposite that one can add value to their name through the life that they live. Last summer, my son and I participated in the Southeastern Conference Football Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. "Participating" may be stretching things because it was more like asking for autographs and allowing my son the opportunity to meet some famous and not so famous sports leaders. At that time the season was just starting with great promise for every team, every coach and every institution. Every autograph, one could say, had equal value and what made the difference in the value would be the coming performance of each individual. Isn't that like life? We each start out on equal footing given a name at birth. The value of that name is determined not by what our parents or grandparents did but will be determined by the legacy of the life that we live. What is your name worth? Here the term "worth" has no relationship to money but has the connotation of the value of one's life because of the good that one has contributed to this world. What have you contributed , what are you contributing to this world and what will you contribute in the future? Above is a column written by Richard Reynolds the writer of this blog. It is posted at www.claynews.net The small paper uses this as an avenue to compete with the larger papers with news in between its editions.

Quote to Ponder

Sphere: Related Content "Life is a play. It's not its length, but its performance that counts." - Seneca

Helping a student make the transition from school to the work world...

Sphere: Related ContentTips for Completing an Employment Application Gone are the days that you clean yourself up, make a trip to the downtown corporate office and complete the employment application with paper and pen, hoping to make a great impression on the receptionist so she will tell the recruiter how sharp you looked and how wonderful you sounded. Things have definitely changed. No more paper applications or resumes printed on white paper, or early visits to the company’s recruiting office. Now, we have to impress companies on-line with our computer skills. So if you have just found yourself in the job market again or maybe it is the first time you have ever completed an application, you will want to start to think about some of the things listed below: 1. It is time to gather facts. Write information down so that you will have it available each time you complete an application. Some things you will want to write down will be:Employment history including company names, addresses, telephone numbers, managers’ names and dates of employment.Volunteer work history with professional or community organizations including the organization’s name, address, telephone numbers, dates of service and the names and contact information of some of the organization officers with whom you worked.Personal and professional references including names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.Personal information such as education. 2. Decide which companies you want to work for, do some internet research and get to know what those companies have to offer, and then decide what you can offer those companies. Many people say there are lots of jobs “out there,” but there is still a great deal of competition for the really good jobs. Your job is to explain clearly why you are the best candidate for their jobs. 3. Check the names on all your email accounts to be sure they sound professional. When you were in school it may have been fun to have a cute email account name. But employers will not be very impressed by some of the names that were cute to you in school. Remember, you are trying to convince the company that you are the best professional employee they can find. 4. What does your blog or other networking sites say about you? Like it or not, more and more companies are researching your blogs to learn more about you. Some comments and pictures will not be the sort of things you want a future employer to see. 5. Read the instructions on the application carefully and follow them exactly. Not only do the hiring managers use the employment application as a means to find out employment information, they are also seeing how you work. If you have many words misspelled, use poor English, or don’t complete the application thoroughly, then they may think that is how you will do the work if you come to work for them. 6. Be neat and thorough with your answers, and be honest. 7. What you put on this application will be the first time the recruiter has a look at what you have to offer and will decide if you are a good match for the position you are applying for. 8. If you are allowed to attach a resume to the application do that also, because sometimes the resume will give more information than you put on the employment application. 9. Complete the application in detail. The hiring manager may not look at your resume or call you if they are not impressed with your application. Avoid saying “see resume” because the recruiter may just skip to the next application. Make the recruiter’s job easier if you want to get the job of your dreams!

What is in your vocabulary?

Sphere: Related Content We use words and phrases without realizing what we saying many times...how many cliches do you use? Or how many "buzz" words do you use which have long ago lost their effectiveness and meaning? Today's post is short with the point of allowing the words to penetrate the grey matter between our ears. Notice that it is not the length of the words but the quality of the words used that matters! For the quality to be there the brain must be activated...is yours activated or is it on "cruise control?" Read these and see the impact that a few well chosen words can have... The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense." --Thomas Edison,inventor and businessman One of the hardest tasks of leadership is understanding that you are not what you are, but what you're perceived to be by others." --Edward L. Flom,CEO of Florida Steel Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. " --Eleanor Roosevelt,former first lady and American political leader If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?" --Steven Wright, comedian, actor