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January 6, 2007 23:08 - Employee Action Plans for Construction

By Vic Sunshine

Each of your supervisors must know what to do during an emergency and must be certain that his or her workers understand their roles. A responsible person must be designated for each workplace or jobsite. Generally, your supervisor is the person in charge of a workplace or jobsite. This designated person has specific responsibility for the preparation, updating, and implementation of the emergency plan.

Each plan should contain the following information and procedures as appropriate for each workplace. Naturally, some jobsites would not require much of the following features depending on its size and complexity.

Emergency Escape Procedures

Floor plans showing evacuation routes, the location of shutoff switches and valves for the utility systems (water, gas, electricity), and the locations of emergency equipment and supplies (including medical) shall be determined prior to the start of work at each at each jobsite or workplace.

Emergency Operator Personnel

A list of people with specific duties during an emergency and a description of their duties shall be provided. For example, specific people should be assigned to supervise evacuation and to carry out a rapid search of the area (if this can be done safely).

Accounting For All Employees

Designation of a primary assembly point for evacuees that is well away from the building - such as the jobsite trailer, or the employees’ vehicles. An alternate site should also be designated in case the first choice cannot be used.

Rescue Medical Duties

Proceed with first aid or attempt to control the incident only if your workers can do so safely and if they have been trained in the first aid or the emergency response necessary to control the incident.

Reporting Fires And Other Emergencies

Naturally have your supervisors report the emergency immediately. Have them state what happened, the specific location, whether anyone was injured, and their name and phone number in addition to any other applicable information.

Jobsite Alarm Systems

An employee alarm system shall be in accordance with CFR Part 1926.159. Your designated person may determine the particular alarm system to be utilized for each jobsite to alert all workers in the area of an emergency. In most cases this may be simply honking a vehicle’s horn say, in three long blasts. Other, more complex jobsites, for instance in large industrial locations, an alarm would be accomplished by setting off a building’s alarm system’s horns.

Types Of Evacuation

Your designated person shall review each particular jobsite or workplace to determine the type of evacuation to be utilized in emergency circumstances.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees, other than emergency-response groups, involved in any emergency greater than a minor incident (such as an injury to a worker that doesn’t affect the jobsite as a whole- as opposed to a major incident such as a fire onsite) are expected to act as follows:

Your workers must comply with all guidelines and procedures as outlined by your designated person regarding the Emergency Action Plan. In an emergency situation your workers may, if there is threat of further injury or further exposure to the hazard, remove all injured persons if possible and leave the immediate vicinity. If there is no threat of further injury or exposure, your workers should leave seriously injured personnel where they are.

Training Requirements

Your designated person needs to review the Employee Emergency Action Plan with each affected employee initially when the plan is developed, when the workers’ responsibilities or designated duties change, and, whenever your plan is changed.

Keep your employees up to date on your construction safety plans with safety articles from Omni Safety Services.

December 5, 2006 01:17 - Writing a Cover Letter for Teachers

By Jimmy Sweeney

If there is one thing that worries an individual who want to pursue a teaching career is that their cover letter must sound very good and their writing skills must be perfect. Of course you need to write well but it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Sometimes when we try to write perfectly we tend to put our writing sound odd by using words unknown by most people or we use a style of writing that was used by ancient people.

Do not worry too much about having to write a cover letter just because you are applying for a teaching position because if you can write any cover letter then you can write this one. This is just a cover letter it is no different than any other cover letter with any other job application.

Remember that your focus here is to get that teaching job. Make that your goal and inspiration in writing the cover letter.

Start by knowing whom you are going to address the letter to. Make sure you have their full name, status (Mr./Mrs./Ms/PhD), address and position in the company you are applying to. This is a sign of respect this is a plus point for you.

Be specific. Show them that you are eager to work for that specific school and that their acceptance is the most important thing in the world for you. Write their school name so it sounds more personalized.

If you will be applying in several schools at the same time and want to use a generic cover letter just change the school name in you letter. It is still best if you mention the school.

Do not write like you are trying to show them your lesson plan or that you sound like a professional teacher. Cover letters with a heart gets more YES than those that write like a teacher. If you know of anything interesting in that school include it in your letter. Let them know that you like to work from them. Show them gusto.

After all that emotion of course you need to check the technical part too. Look at your grammar, punctuations and sentence patterns.

Be different. Be creative. Use a different font, use a good paper (don’t be too acquainted with scented paper it doesn’t really show much professionalism) and try a different writing style. Creativity is one major trait that is needed for someone to be a good teacher.

Originality still tops the list in cover letter writing. Available cover letter in the internet is not really much help because it is too generalized and shows no heart. And by any chance the reader of the letter just might have seen it before by someone who used the same template as you did.

The most important thing in all this is that you write everything that is in your heart. Show the school your yearning to work for them and to share knowledge with the kids. Tell them your love and dedication for children and what you hope for them.

By opening up to them and showing them that their school is different from other school, you are opening the doors to that school. Showing them intelligence and heart together will definitely catch their attention.

Sincerity is the key of them all. Be honest and write your heart out.

Jimmy Sweeney is the President of CareerJimmy and author of "Amazing Cover Letter Creator." Visit him at: http://www.amazing-cover-letters.com for your "instant" cover letters today.

November 3, 2006 20:01 - Is This On Your Resume? It Should Be!

By Judi Perkins

One of the most overlooked ways in using a resume to sell yourself is failing to identify the companies for which you have worked.

"Identify the companies?" You say. "But I do! How could I write my resume and not name the companies?"

Right. But unless you worked for UPS or Macy`s or FedEx, the company name indicates nothing.
The majority of job seekers neglect to describe their employers. Even professional résumé writers often fail to provide company descriptions in rewrites for their clients. And the only thing this accomplishes is to leave the interviewer with a big question mark about the context of your skills.

If you are working in a highly specialized, niche industry, perhaps each company knows the others. If you’re searching locally, a prospective employer may be aware of the company you are leaving. But don’t assume so. Your objective is to give an idea of the size of the company, what it does, and who itsmarket is so that the hiring company can place your experience in relation to what they are looking for.

Failure to do this isn’t likely to get you screened out, as some other resume sins will. But part of the science of finding your perfect job is to stand out from the crowd. In the multitudes of job seekers who don’t provide a clue about their employers, a prospective employer will appreciate – and remember - that you did.

And if he chooses to bring you in, he won’t have to clarify the context of your previous experience - possibly finishing the interview on a courtesy basis only. A company description should read something like any of these examples:

• Publicly held company with 400+ branch offices nationwide selling retail home furnishings
  
• Twelve-person consulting company serving primarily the high-end restaurant market within a 100-mile radius
  
• Leading manufacturer/distributor of educational toys for children with annual revenues of $1.5m
  

Unfortunately, inertia is often a big factor in resume screening. Contrary to popular opinion, every word of every resume is not read. First the resume gets a glance. Then it gets a skim. Then it gets a more detailed read. But every step is contingent upon the reader finding a reason to go the next one.
Here’s the truth: most hiring authorities screen out rather than screen in. Especially if they’re overwhelmed with resume responses.

This means:

• if your resume looks like it needs to be deciphered – you’re out
  
• if they don’t see what they are looking for in a glance - you’re out
  
• if they don’t have all the information they need to know –you’re iffy
  

If you’re seeking something different, for instance a change from small to large or public to private, place the corresponding adjective in your objective, and briefly explain your reason in your cover letter. Eliminate the objection and pessimism before it arises by explaining the difference between where you’ve been and what you’re looking for – and putting it in a positive light, one that’s advantageous to the company, if you can.

Describing your previous employers is only one of easily a dozen ways to ensure your resume is read. Your resume is a screening tool, not only for the company, but for you. It’s the point man on your job search. It needs to screen you in for the opportunities you are targeting, and it needs to do that by being read, not ignored. If you want to get in the door, your resume is the only way to open it.

_________________

Judi Perkins has been a search consultant for 25 years in both the contingency and retained market, with a short stint in the temporary and local permanent placement markets. She has owned her own firm and successfully assisted numerous repeat clients in hiring all levels of management. She is a Career Expert and Forum Moderator with http://www.CareerCube.net. To sign up for her newsletter and learn thousands of powerful concepts to find your perfect job go to http://www.findtheperfectjob.com.