What To Expect At September's Job Fair?

The Job Journal hosted another job fair on September 22, 2015 from Noon to  4 pm at the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel  in Stockton. Admission is always free for job seekers (Click Here for Details).

Community Business College provides job placement staff to offer free professional resume critiques to attendees. This is normally a component of a resume development package but the college provides the service free of charge as part of its community outreach.

Stockton Job Fair - September 22, 2015

What jobs were being recruit for at this fair? Here's the official list (each listing has an active link to a job description, CBC does not endorse these jobs and advises its job seekers to check before purchasing any job leads):

Account Executive (Digital and print advertising sales) Adult/Youth Sports Officials (Seasonal/PT) After School Recreation Leader Banking Analyst Chief Plant Operator - Water CNC Operator Coach Counselor Crane / Rigging Instructor Deduction Coordinator Deputy Director of Human Resources Deputy Municipal Utilities Director/ Wastewater Director of Food and Beverage Electrician/Mechanic Environmental Manager Financial Services/Sales Professional Financial Services/Sales Professional Financial Services/Sales Professional (Bilingual) Health and Safety Manager Heavy Equipment Crane Instructor Hospitality Supervisor Human Resources Manager Industrial Maintenance Technician Industrial Maintenance Technician Inventory & Order Fulfillment Specialist IT Applications Manager Layout Fitter / Welder Machinist Maintenance Mechanic Maintenance Supervisor Manager, SOX Compliance and Controls Mold Maintenance Technician Office of Violence Prevention Manager Order Selector Packaging Mechanic Packaging Mechanic Police Officer - Academy Graduate Police Officer - Lateral Police Officer - Recruit Police Officers – Lateral, Direct Entry Police Recruit Press Brake Operator Production Supervisor Production Workers Production/General Labor Public Safety Radio Dispatcher Trainee Ready Mix Instructor Recreation Leader Safety Manager Scheduling Coordinator Senior Code Enforcement Officer Shear Operator Shipping & Receiving Clerk Welder/ Fitter

To find current job opportunities in the Central Valley, the school has set up a page with the most popular places to post resumes and search new job opportunity listings: http://www.cbcwebcollege.com/jobsearch.htm 

Please feel free to check back to this blog for results of future job fairs.

Work-Related Education Expenses As Tax Deductions

Adult students who attend Community Business College may be eligible for tax deductions for the expenses they incur while attending school. Questions come up as to how the expenses that come getting training can be used at tax time. The most common questions are: Who is eligible for work-related tax deductions? Which expenses can be taken as deductions? What do I need to take a deduction if I’m eligible?

So here’s what the folks at the Internal Revenue Service say about educational expenses.  (By the way, this information is specifically for work-related education expenses. For full-time academic students at eligible institutions, see this webpage: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch06.html).

You may be able to deduct work-related educational expenses paid during the fiscal year as itemized deductions on IRS Form 1040, Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.

Which Expenses Are Eligible?

In order to be deductible, your expenses must be for education that either:
         (1) maintains or improves your job skills or

         (2) that your employer or a law requires to keep your salary, status or job.

However, even if the education meets either of these two tests, the education cannot be part of a program that will qualify you for a new trade or business or training that you need to meet the minimal educational requirements of your trade or business.

Are There Exceptions?

Although the education must relate to your present line of work, educational expenses incurred during temporary absence from your job may be deductible. After your temporary absence, you must return to the same kind of work. Usually, absence from work for one year or less is considered temporary.

Expenses that you can deduct under this category include:

• Tuition, books, supplies, lab fees, and similar items that support your education
• Certain transportation and travel costs, and
• Other educational expenses, such as the cost of research and typing

If you are an employee when you incur these expenses, you generally must complete Form 2106 , Employee Business Expenses, or Form 2106-EZ , Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses. Deduct these educational expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A ; they are subject to the 2% of adjusted gross income limit. For information on the 2% limit, refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, and/or Form 1040, Schedule A Instructions .

Remember, any expenses paid by an employer on your behalf are not tax deductible on your tax forms.

What If You’re Self-Employed?

Self-employed individuals include educational expenses on Form 1040, Schedule C , Profit or Loss From Business, Form 1040, Schedule C-EZ, Net Profit From Business, or Form 1040, Schedule F, Profit or Loss From Farming.

Keep in mind that if you are not self-employed, your employer may report the educational assistance payments on your Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, in the appropriate box under "other." In this case, taxable reimbursements will be reported by your employer as income to you in the appropriate box of Form W-2. Consult a tax professional for more advice on how to manage your deductions.

What’s the Key For Deductions?

The three most important things to remember if you’re taking deductions are: 1) document everything; 2) document everything; and 3) document everything. Documentation is very important to the IRS and can help you in justifying any deductions you take. If you are eligible for mileage deductions, print a Google maps page that shows the miles you travel. Keep all your receipts for your expenses together and don’t be afraid to take pictures. Take a snapshot that shows other class members with the same books and materials you purchased.  If you are going to claim clothing, take a photo of your clothes before you started training and the ones you got for attending school. The two photos should show that you needed to meet dress code requirements.

Need More Information?

For more information on educational expenses, education tax credits or information for specific types of employees, such as performing artists, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

Updated information on this process is available at: Topic 513 - Educational Expenses at the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc513.html.

Get the full details of which expenses are deductible here at this IRS page (this also includes the most current mileage rates for the purposes of deductions) - http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch12.html.

Learn how to track expenses in  an accounting class or QuickBooks class at one of the Community Business College online courses at  or take a class at the Modesto college campus.

Most Excellent Microsoft Excel Users

As you may have read on the Community Business College Twitter page, we had another examinee pass the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Expert exam. The goal of the certification is to provide people a chance to show others (e.g. current bosses, prospective employers, patronizing computer-savvy high school children) that they know their stuff. It’s been a way for employees to differentiate

themselves in competitive job markets and broaden employment opportunities by displaying advanced skills.

 

Why Excel Certification?

The Microsoft Excel certification is part of the set of Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications that is offered by Microsoft. Community Business College instructors have certifications but they’re not just designed for the academic community.

Microsoft Office Specialist certification can also lead to increased job satisfaction. Research (conducted by Microsoft, of course) indicates that certified individuals have increased competence, productivity, and credibility.

 

For employers who are looking for specialized computer skills, Microsoft Office Specialist certification provides skill-verification tools that help assess a person's skills in using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program. It’s also nice to have an official-looking certificate with the Microsoft logo to hang on your wall. The boss might tell you that you don’t know what you’re doing, but you can point to it and say that Bill Gates’ Microsoft says you know what you’re doing.

 

Excel has come a long way…

The days of VisiCalc are gone, of course. For the uninitiated in personal computing lore, VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program for home computers. It was also the first “Killer App” - a good reason to pay a thousand bucks (or more) for a box that nobody else in the house seemed to think had much potential.  There was really no practical need for a home computer – word processors could do your word processing and typewriters were getting pretty sophisticated. Games could be done cheaper on game consoles and sometime the graphics were a LOT better. The Internet was still just a twinkling in DARPA’s electronic eye.

 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t word processing but spreadsheet software that made the whole home computer revolution possible. There was nothing else that could do spreadsheets like a personal computer. And so the worksheet became the face that launched a thousand-thousand PCs.

 

Since those days filled with simplistic dreams of what spreadsheets were for, though, they have come a long way. From PacMan games programmed in Excel to “extreme couponer” organizers to “million-dollar idea” business plan templates, Excel has shown its versatility. The program has become so specialized that it’s official certification exams have been broken into two tiers.

 

“Core” Excel Versus “Expert” Excel

The Microsoft Office Specialist exams come in two versions – Core and Expert. Core covers the basics of spreadsheet layouts and is designed for regular users to get certification. The expert exam gets more advanced, obviously.

 

For most people who come to Community Business College, the core exam is what they’re looking for. Learning Microsoft Excel is not difficult but as someone once said, “it takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master.” When first learning Excel, it’s also a good time to put your hours of game time to good use, especially if you’ve played Battleship. Battleship, by the way, is an excellent way to understand the coordinate reference system Excel uses. At Community Business College, we’ve seen Excel students who have played Battleship and those who haven’t (yes, it’s true, some people have never played Battleship). Those with the “Battleship background” pick up on how Excel functions a lot faster than those who don’t.

 

The core exam is the exam that covers the fundamental and most common uses of Excel, such as:

• Formatting Cells and Worksheets
• Creating Cell Data
• Cell Functions
• Changing Worksheets in a Workbook

(By the way, Community Business College offers some free materials if you’re interested in taking the exam, just ask us for a copy of the Microsoft Excel study guide).

 

If, however, people want to prove they are true Excel aficionados, test takers will tackle the expert level. Expert exam certifications demonstrate proficiency in the more advanced Excel features and uses.

 

The other advantage of buying a Microsoft Excel expert voucher (they cost the same as the core voucher), is once you pass the expert level exam, you are on your way to becoming a Microsoft Office Specialist Master. The master certification is an extra certification received after passing all of the following Microsoft Office exams: Excel and the Microsoft Word expert exam and the MOS: PowerPoint exam and MOS: Outlook exam (either the Access, OneNote, or SharePoint exams can be substituted for the Outlook exam).

 

We’re glad we had another candidate pass the Microsoft Excel expert exam and is on his way to becoming a Microsoft Office Specialist Master. By the way, the way he passed it was he purchased the MOS exam voucher with retake. We strongly encourage test takers to do this because, although the voucher with retake is initially a bit more expensive than just the single voucher, it can save money in the long run because it gives you two shots at passing the exam without having to pay full price for each exam. This can save you money in the end, especially for examinees who have never taken one of these interactive exams before.

 

Once again, congratulations to our newly minted Microsoft Excel expert and good luck to all those in the future who plan to take the exam!

No Act of Kindness Is Wasted - A Final Thought

Here's the Community Business College final thought for the week ending July 17, 2015.

As we ended the week of classes at Community Business College, we had a campus-wide student meeting where we could all just get together, share announcements and reviews of the week’s classwork and end with a “Final Thought For The Week.”
The college’s final thoughts can be profound, humorous, poignant, or, in the best cases, a combination of all three.

This week’s final thought was a simple and straight forward one – “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

It comes from an ancient Aesop fable and the moral is a good one – to do kindness whether you are reward or not.

What was particularly interesting about this one was to see how many people were familiar with the tale, but not necessarily familiar with Aesop’s fable itself.

Some have heard the story of the lion and the mouse in the fable, but it has been told and re-told that some remember it differently than others.

Here is one common version of the fable as told through Wikipedia’s Wikicommons:

 

The Lion and the Mouse

Once, a long time ago, a large lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily with a start, the lion caught the mouse and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go.

It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came to his aid, gnawed the rope with his teeth, and set him free, telling the lion “You laughed at the idea of my ever being able to help you, to repay your favor; but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to provide an act of kindness to a Lion.”

The moral of the story is “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Now, some have heard that it was thorn in the lion’s foot, possibly mixing the classic tale of Androcoles and the Lion. Others have heard that the mouse did the favor first, with the lion then providing help to the mouse after.

However they initially heard it, the interesting thing about it all is almost all were familiar with the tale about the mouse and the lion in general.

Now, after we told the tale at the student meeting, one student laughed and said he thought there was going to be a cynical punch line to follow. Something like “no act of kindness ever goes unpunished.”

Or maybe something from a Banksy graffiti artwork. Maybe it demonstrates the snarky world we live in - it’s hard for people to express genuine positive attitudes without being sniffed at.

But the purpose of our final thought at the end of each week is to leave all of our students with something positive and uplifting. It’s a good way to wrap a good week of hard work and study and to kick off the weekend. The final thoughts have become so popular that one of the Community Business College instructors compiled them into a booklet called “Frana’s Collected Sayings” and hands them out at our graduation ceremonies.

That, in itself, is an act of kindness – spread good thoughts and hope they catch on like the next pop culture meme.

If you want to practice an act of kindness, you can contribute to the Community Business College crowdfunding project. More details can be found at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-adults-finally-get-their-high-school-diplomasA good point to remember - No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Mastering Microsoft Office

Today, Community Business College had a record-setting day. One person was able to complete her Microsoft Office Masters certification by completing all four required tests in three days.

Test Strategy

Here’s what she did to strategize:

First pick the Microsoft Master certification you want.  Recently, Microsoft changed the system to include two different tracks that include two expert exams for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Here are the Microsoft Office master certifications from which to choose:

Word 2013 Track

       Exams required:

              Word 2013 Expert Part 1

              Word 2013 Expert Part 2

              Excel 2013

       Elective exams (choose one):

              PowerPoint 2013 or Access 2013, Outlook 2013, or SharePoint 2013, or

              OneNote 2013

Excel 2013 Track

       Exams required:

              Excel 2013 Expert Part 1

              Excel 2013 Expert Part 2

              Word 2013

       Elective exams (choose one):

              PowerPoint 2013, or Access 2013, or Outlook 2013, SharePoint 2013, or

              OneNote 2013

Traditional Office 2013 Track

       Exams required:

              Word 2013 Expert Part 1

              Word 2013 Expert Part 2

              Excel 2013 Expert Part 1

              Excel 2013 Expert Part 2

Office 2010 Master

       Exams required:

              Word 2010 Expert

              Excel 2010 Expert

              PowerPoint 2010

       Elective exams (choose one):

              Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, or  Microsoft Office Access 2010, or

              Microsoft SharePoint 2010

In her case, she wanted the Microsoft Word 2013 Track because she uses Microsoft Word heavily at her work site. So that’s the one she picked.

The next strategy is to figure out where you strengths are. When taking the Microsoft Office exams, it helps to start off with a program you are very familiar with. That way you get quick passing grade and build momentum.

Here’s the way she did it: She did these two exams on one day:

       77-422: MOS: Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2013

       77-420: MOS: Microsoft Office Excel 2013

Then this exam the following day:

       77-425: MOS: Microsoft Office Word 2013 Expert Part 1

And then finally this exam today:

       77-426: MOS: Microsoft Office Word 2013 Expert Part 2

PowerPoint can be a difficult test because a lot of people take it for granted. If you use a lot of its features though, or study up on the ones you’re not that familiar, it’s not too hard.

The recent change in the Microsoft Expert certification means that the Microsoft Word Expert exam is now split up into two 50-minute exams. It means you have to be familiar with a wider range of Microsoft Word functions in order to pass it.

Why Go To All That Trouble?

The Microsoft Office Master Certification demonstrates the highest level of proficiently when using Office programs. Many employers will use it as continuing education units or to meet certain job requirements. It certainly helps when you’re going in for an annual employee evaluation meeting.

Certification is Important

The need for Microsoft Office skills is increasing dramatically as more and more businesses are embracing newer technologies. Microsoft Office Specialist certification enables Office users to demonstrate their abilities to complete tasks and projects with greater ease and efficiency with proven Office skills. Based on globally recognized standards, MOS certification validates your skills, builds self-confidence and enhances professional standing among peers and managers.

Lifelong Learning

Getting certified through Microsoft also provides a good deal of personal satisfaction. Adults always need to practice lifelong learning and this is one way to do it. The new Microsoft Office Specialist certification validates the skills needed to use the powerful features and functionality of the Microsoft Office programs by passing a results-oriented computerized exam. Those who successfully complete a Microsoft Office Specialist exam have demonstrated the skills necessary to work faster and smarter while improving performance.

Bottom line – you get out of Microsoft Office only what you put into it. The more you know, the more you can do.

As you study and prepare for the Microsoft Office Master certification, you’ll find you learn a lot more about these programs than you’ve been using. Hopefully, you’ll be able to put what you’ve learned to good use in more efficient and time-saving work.

One of the nifty changes the testing system has made is they now offer certification verification. It’s sure easy for unscrupulous people who want to forge their own certifications to run off their own on a good color printer.  Microsoft Office certifications now offers this website : www.verifycertiport.com  where anyone can enter a code that appears on all official certifications

Need to brush up on your Microsoft Office classes before you look at the exams? Join us at the Community Business College campus in Modesto, California or use distance learning to take an online class. More information can be found at this catalog of Microsoft classes: https://cbc.ed4online.com/search?search_api_views_fulltext=microsoft+office+certification

Need Your Driving Records For A Job? Here’s How To Do It.

A Community Business College graduate from 5 years ago came into the school yesterday and wanted to apply for a job that requires a clean DMV report. He needed to find out if he needed the official transcript or if he could use the one now available off the DMV’s website. He went back to the human resources department to ask.

“Do I need an official transcript,” he asked, “or can I use the online printout?”

“The online printout will be fine,” was the reply.

And so began his quest to quickly get his driving record from the DMV before his interview the next day.

He came back here to his alma mater for help and the staff here at Community Business College walked him through it.

 

DMV Quest

Turns out obtaining a driving record through the California DMV online system, it’s surprisingly pretty easy.

How do you do it?

First you need to set up a free DMV user account which can be done at this link:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/SelfHelp/Registration

They’ll ask for your driver’s license information, current address, e-mail address, a new password for this account, and other pertinent information. It’s pretty standard stuff and, if you want to avoid the hassle of dealing with the DMV when it comes time to renew your driver’s license, you’ll be able to use this same account for that, too. So don’t lose the password.

Once you’ve got that done, just hop on over to the report request page. Here’s the link: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/dr

You’ll log in with the username and password. Then click the “Start” button to actually make the request.

The California DMV charges a $2 fee which can be paid with a credit card.

Enter your credit card information (after always double-checking to see that there connection is secure) and the system will generate a report for you and open it in a new window.

And that’s all there is to it.

Click the print button and get through the magic of modern printers, it will appear on a piece of paper, ready to turn in to a happy employer. If you’ve been through the Community Business College Office Specialist program, you’ll also know how to print it to pdf format. That way you can save it and send the document electronically.

The DMV report is a handy tool for jobs that require it.

What else do you need to get a job and build it into a career? Check out the college’s  Profressional and Career Development course. This distance education program includes an online mentor that helps you through the different sections of the program.

Legal Residency Rule Change for Real Estate Licenses

Community Business College has been informed today by the California Bureau of Real Estate of a change in license application procedures:

All individuals who submit an application for a real estate license received on or after January 1, 2016 will no longer need to submit proof of legal presence in the United States.

On September 28, 2014, the Governor signed Senate Bill 1159 (Lara, Chapter 752, Statutes of 2014), which adds Section 135.5 to the Business & Professions Code (BPC), changing the legal presence requirements to obtain a real estate license.

Up until SB1159, the law required an individual to provide proof of legal presence in the United States (either via proof of U.S. citizenship or legal alien status), in order to obtain a real estate license. The new law which becomes effective on January 1, 2016, will remove the legal presence requirement from the entire application process.

This notification is the California Bureau of Real Estate’s implementation of the new laws’ requirements.

The law change follows an earlier state Supreme Court case in which justices ruled that lawyer Sergio Garcia should be admitted to the California bar despite lacking legal status.

Since California Real Estate activity is regulated under the Business & Professions Code, the change affects all applications that are submitted after January 1, 2016.

An important note:  California Real Estate applicants will still be required to provide a social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number for licensure.

For more updates, refer to the Community Business College real estate web pages.