Where’s The Paperless Office We Were Promised?

During one of our business class discussions, the concept of the paperless office  was brought up in regards to making and maintaining computer backup files in a QuickBooks class.  The question is, “what ever happened to the paperless offices we were predicted to have by now?”

Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, there was a big push towards making all business documents exclusively electronic documents. The idea was nobody would ever have to print a piece of paper because the document can be moved effortlessly from one computing device to the next. Since it is so much easier to edit a document on a screen then on a sheet of paper, this would save time, money, effort, the environment, etc., etc.

There was even conjecture that bulk paper manufacturers would become a thing of the past, sort of like the makers of horse and buggy whips for the everyday traveler and hitching posts.

So what happened? Obviously, paper hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it’s more prevalent than ever. What happened to the concept of the paperless office?

Here are few points from our classroom discussion:

Nothing Feels Like Paper.

Paper hasn’t disappeared because it’s so useful. Got to hand it to old Gutenberg, paper is still an extremely efficient carrier for messages. And nothing yet feels as solid and tangible as paper. Seeing a document on the screen is one thing, but getting it handed to you on sheets of paper makes it seem more “real.” Another fascinating fact is once you download an Adobe pdf file, you can look at the page count to see how long the document is. On the other hand, if you are handed a stack of papers stapled together, you immediately have a sense of how long the report is before you even look at it.

Can’t Trust Those Computer Contraptions

Despite vast improvements in the reliability of computer hardware and backups, there’s still the comfort of having your information on paper as a last resort. If you have just finished an exhaustive project upon which your career and livelihood depend, isn’t there something in the back of your mind that says print out a copy and keep it in a file folder…just in case? It’s that nagging little suspicion that is replicated dozens of times a day that means paper isn’t going anywhere soon.

Besides, putting an urgent piece of paper on an absent co-worker’s keyboard is going to get noticed before any e-mail or transferred file.  So paper is still a tried and true method of getting your message noticed.

The Best (Worst) of Both Worlds

There has been great progress to eliminating the mounds of paper that used to be produced. Document management systems help keep things organized and archived. Just look at how people file their income taxes every year – more and more can electronically file saving, literally, tons of paper.

The other advantage of paper is it doesn’t matter what operating system or what device is your our your company’s personal preference, it will work. You don’t have to worry about device compatible operating systems to read a post-it note and you don’t have to be concerned that your recipient will need the latest software upgrade in order to read your document.

That doesn’t mean that things won’t be changing any time soon. There are electronic paper substitutes being developed which when adopted again might not completely replace paper but will probably find its own specific uses.

So it pays to keep up with trends, including storing documents in The Cloud. There’s much to learn to truly understand the cloud, including how to make the cloud work for you. Click HERE for details on a short class.

Just remember, that when the real paperless office arrives, be sure you get the memo.

PC & Pixel

We Are Offering Free Microsoft 2016 Certification Exams As Part of Microsoft's Beta Test

Community Business College will be making Microsoft Office 2016 certification available and is looking for participants to help beta test online exams.

  

Community Business College has been selected as a beta testing participant for the new Microsoft Office 2016 certification exams. These exams are the official acknowledgement from Microsoft that the holders possess levels of competence for the level designated on the certificate. 

The college has begun phasing in the beta testing of the Microsoft Office 2016 programs in a staged implementation schedule with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel to start, to be followed by other programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Officials at the school report they have started the testing with current students and graduates and are opening the testing to members of the public who would like a no-cost attempt at earning technical computing certifications.

The purpose of the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification is to allow people who have the skills needed to get the most out of them by earning a certificate in a specific Office program. Microsoft states that one of the advantages of earning an MOS certification is that holding a MOS certification can earn an entry-level business employee as much as $16,000 more in annual salary than uncertified peers.

For candidates who are pursuing the higher level Microsoft Office Specialist Expert and Microsoft Office Specialist Master certifications, becoming a certified Microsoft Office Specialist is a great entry point. The 2016 versions of these expert-level exams will be released later this year.

Community Business College was selected because of its expertise in the technologies required for implementing the exams and its extensive experience in beta testing technical certification exams.

To implement the beta testing program, Community Business College is providing free MOS Certification vouchers to volunteers who would like to assist in the beta testing of these fully online exams. In exchange for their evaluations of the exam system, participants who pass the exams will receive official certifications at no charge to them. The school is absorbing all costs for this high-technology project and will provide these services all at no cost to the participants. The vouchers will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis up until the project is complete.

Dan Guerra Community Business College’s director, said, “Our goal in participating in this high technology project is to test the functionality of the updated exams and their new delivery engine environment. Modesto, with its new initiatives to kick start its technology sector, is a great place for this to happen. It’s also an excellent opportunity for people in the Central Valley to earn an official technology certification at no cost to them.”

Testing will begin in March, 2016 and proceed until the system has received enough exams nationwide to demonstrate that the MOS 2016 exams have demonstrated that they are ready to be released into the general testing system.

For this round of testing, a particular emphasis is being placed on high school students. Students who score high on the certification exams may be invited to The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship. This event is a global competition that tests students' skills on Microsoft Office applications. Participating in this competition provides eligible students with an excellent opportunity to showcase Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills, have some fun, impress student colleagues and gain recognition.

Exams are primarily performance-based and conducted in a "live," or simulated, environment. Exam candidates taking these certification exams are asked to perform a series of tasks to clearly demonstrate their skills. For example, a Word exam might ask a user to balance newspaper column lengths or to keep text together in columns. MOS 2016 presents the candidate with a project to build, with tasks and steps that build on each other.

Each beta exam takes approximately 2 hours to complete (although some students may finish quicker.

Community Business College is also offering a study guide and informational outline on its website for those interested in learning more about the exam. Once the beta testing is complete, the live version of the exam will be continuously available at the institution.

People who would like to participate in the beta test can contact the school’s main office either by phone or e-mail through the webpage www.cbcwebcollege.com.

What Else Do We Do?

Community Business College has been training people in workforce development skills for over 18 years.  The school’s other enrichment programs include advanced technology training, software specific classes like QuickBooks, Business Spanish, IC3, Photoshop and other technology certifications.

More details can be found at the school’s website www.cbcwebcollege.com.

What Did YOU Learn Today?

One of the things we do at Community Business College is ask all of our students, “what did you learn today?”

It’s a good reinforcement tool and sometimes the answers to that question tell us a great deal about where a student is in the learning process and it caps off an end to the class with a quick learning review.

After completing a QuickBooks class module with the learning-challenged students from Modesto’s Mentor Network yesterday, we reviewed their Profit and Loss Statements. This is something new for the college and we did this class as a pilot project. As you'll see, it was a huge success!

In this QuickBooks class, the students got to choose their own stores, come up with the names and stock it with virtual products. They learned how to order stock, pay for it, sell it and make deposits.

For those not in the know, a Profit and Loss (also known as P&L) Statement is a tool for businesses to use to determine whether or not your business is profitable, how much of a profit has been made or if the business has incurred a loss.

Our Sample P&L Statement

Profit and Loss Statements are also commonly referred to as an income statement, statement of financial performance, revenue statement, earnings statement, or statement of operations. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “A report by any other name will still smell the same.” Whatever you decide to call it, the purpose of the report is to present the revenues recognized for a specific period, and the cost and expenses charged against these revenues, including write-offs (e.g., depreciation and amortization of various assets) and taxes.

So yesterday, they got to run their Profit and Loss Statements for the first time. Then they got to make them blue, modify the report and save the report. We did some more sales, went back and checked the Profit and Loss and saw the growth.

The class learned about the literal “bottom line” on the report tells them how well their company is doing and the real meaning behind the term “Black Friday” (the day when traditionally, companies that are “in the red” see their profits move back “in the black.”)

Then we got to run the sales graph which is QuickBooks’ very colorful illustration of the results of the sales of a company.

That got a lot of oohs and aahs.

At the end of the class, we asked, “so, what did you learn today,” and almost unanimously came the replies about making profit. Of all the QuickBooks activities they did that day, seeing the graphic results of the work in their stores is what they remembered most.

And they had fun learning, too.

All of the students and the aides worked really hard to get to this point. QuickBooks makes things easier but it still takes patience to make work correctly. And these students did it. It warms our hearts to see them enjoy learning so much and it reminds all of us how lucky we are to have the gifts we have.

So here’s the question of the day: “What did you learn today?”

Can you help us keep this program going? We set up a GoFundMe campaign to try to offer this program to those who have special needs. Check out the details here at https://www.GoFundMe.com/101lqw

Learn to master QuickBooks in one of the campus-based or online classes Community Business  College offers. Then when you’re done, pass the Intuit Certification Exam and receive an official QuickBooks certificate

Break Times = Good Times

Community Business College has always incorporated 50-minute clock hours for classes. That means each hour a student is here on campus in class, there is a 10-minute break every hour.

Ten minutes provides time to move between classes, but it also provides time to reset your mind. Many a student has told us how they were wracking their brains to get solution to the problem they’re working on, and it wasn’t until they got up, walked around and thought of something else that the answer came to them.

There was even an article out this week about the need to get up and move after you’ve been sitting at a computer for a long time, and get enough sleep each night. According to the study, taking quick walking breaks can extend your life.

And yet…

We have noticed more students hear the words “it’s break time” and instead whip out their smart phones. This happens even when the computer they are sitting at is fully Internet enabled. It’s the smart phone where all the personalized settings are, of course.

When Community Business College provides advanced classes to professionals, the smart phone phenomenon  seems to be more pervasive than people who are take our classes for the unemployed.

What’s Lost

Although checking in with your phone gains you a few updates of what’s happening in the world, or on Facebook, it takes away the physical benefit of just moving around.

Sometimes, a student will find the smart phone so distracting, he or she will forget to use the restroom during break time.

But not only do we lose out on a little exercise when we stay seated at our desks for a long period of time, but we also miss the social interaction that comes with, in this case, taking a class and learning together.

Maybe the answer is setting our smartphones to remind us to take a break every now and then.

Learn other stress management techniques in the Stress Management class Community Business  College offers.

Happy Thanksgiving

On the occasion of this day, a Thanksgiving Day Poem:

     A day of giving thanks arrives on a cool November day,

     It reminds us to speak aloud what we so often forgot to say.

 

     For it’s easy to take for granted the blessings we receive all the days of the year,

     Strange, since words of gratitude are pleasing to both speak and to hear.

     From today’s first waking moment until the dreams of night start their song,

     It is a joy to be able to give thanks all day long.

Click the turkey to watch the video

A Fall Job Fair That Left Us Lonely

The Job Journal hosted a job fair yesterday and Community Business College staff helped out by providing free resume critiques. Here's what happened...

Each time we attend a job fair, the experience is a little different.  This job fair in Modesto was notable because we ran out of resumes to critique. That almost never happens.  Why did it happen this time? Here are some theories:

     People are gearing up for the holidays so job search is on hold.
              The word didn’t get out about this particular fair.

                  More people have jobs than need jobs.

Of the possibilities, the first two seem to make more sense than the third theory.

But, needless to say, offering unemployed job seekers free critiques on their resumes we learn about what’s trending. It’s a good service that a lot of people appreciate.

All told, we helped 34 people with their resumes, from the job fair. It always provides us with a good feeling to help those in need.

In fact, one service group brought a class of youth with intellectual developmental disabilities over and we were able to help them spruce up their resumes and practice interacting with strangers.

We also had a job seeker travel all the way from Ione, California for this job fair and we had a priest who is no longer a priest and needed help on his resume to get a secular job.

By the way, another resume evaluator reminded job seekers that their job search efforts might be tax deductable.

And, finally, one other interesting factiod from this job fair – this may be the first job fair we attended that had two nut companies recruiting for employees at the same time: Diamond Nuts and Fisher Nuts.

So here are the trends we saw amongst the resumes:

Here are some of the tips that came up at this fair:

Rules? We don’t Need No Rules

In addition to the regular rules of job fairs, we did find one worth adding.

First, the regular rules still apply:

          Come dressed as you would for an interview;

          Bring copies of job-ready resumes to hand to employers;

          Be prepared to answer interview questions;

          Take lots of notes to follow up later.

 But here’s a new rule: Don’t come to the job fair if you’ve finished drinking a few beers and spilled some on your shirt.

Yes, it happened. Somebody walked up for a free resume evaluation smelling like a homebrew factory. And, needless to say, he was not as sharp as would have been if he had come in sober. Now, granted, looking for a new job can be really stressful, but it’s not bad enough to hit the brews BEFORE you go in.

It sends the wrong message. It’s like the one person who went from employer to employer, wearing a t-shirt that says, “I’m not laughing with you, I’m laughing at you.

Another thing we came across is someone with Lotus 1-2-3 and old Word Star listed as software skills. Our advice? Stick to listing contemporary programs on your resume unless you find a job opening that specifically asks for one of these classics.

Loyalty To The Extreme

One job seeker was quite concerned that she wouldn’t want her next employer to see that she was still working.

Why?

She thought it would make her look disloyal to her current employer. She is working at a part-time job position but is looking for a full-time job her current employer couldn’t provide.

Her leaving for a better position is just the way of things and almost every employer understands that. The bottom line is if employers really want to keep employees, all they have to do is offer better wages, better perks, more hours, etc. That’s part of being an “At Will” employer. If employees can get a better deal somewhere else, they should take it. After all, the employer is under no rules of loyalty to keep employees and layoffs happen all the time.

The Dreaded Double Entendre.

One resume was an electronic oriented resume with lots of technical skills listed. One of the attributes was “Sound Design Skills.”

So was he saying he has audio skills like for dubbing in audio in movies?

Or was he trying to say that his design skills are sound?

When working on your resume phrasing, remember to watch out for phrases that can be read more than one way.

There have been other, more extreme examples of this, like the ever embarrassing – “I was told by my last employer that he was lucky to get me to work for him.”

Sometimes it helps to have friends and family read your resume for that reason alone– it gives you a new pair of eyes who can read things differently like a potential new employer might.

The Real Job Of The Resume

One of the school’s resume evaluators found a common concern - Getting interviews can be quite a challenge.

Here’s one of the most common reminders we offer:  It’s the resume’s job to get you the interview. Then it’s up to the interview to get you the job.

We’ve never heard anybody say that they got a job just off the resume. There almost always is an interview required.

The last quirky thing that occurred at this particular job fair? One job seeker couldn’t stop sneezing. It must still be the end of allergy season.

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Do you find the job search process frustrating?  Try taking a short course on finding a job with our six-week, instructor-led online course at:  http://www.ed2go.com/cbc123/online-courses/12-steps-to-successful-job-search

Need some tips on developing your resume? Get the professional resume development package on sale now at Groupon.

Or try taking a six-week, instructor-led resume class or job search techniques class at Community Business College.

And of course, there’s always our popular Use Linked In To Jumpstart Your Career certification class.

Veterans Day Job Fair at the Modesto EDD Office

Stanislaus County hosted a job fair for veterans this morning. Although the job fair had a particularly focus of helping our veterans, the fair was also open to the job-seeking public. 

It was an overcast morning after a rainy day and there weren’t the long lines of job seekers waiting to get in that there have been at past job fairs, but give them kudos for trying, especially for trying to help veterans - a much under-served population here in Stanislaus County.

The fair ran from 9 AM to 1 PM today. Given the list of exhibitors that showed up, it appears this fair ended up being more of a “resource fair” than a job fair, per se.

With regards to the exhibitors, there were many of the same ones who attended last year’s Veterans Day fair.

Below, Community Business College has listed some of the participants who attended the fair. If you weren’t able to make the event, you can still look up most of these exhibitors by their websites. (Google searches are an amazing advantage of modernity). Job opportunities are usually posted on the organizational websites. Other services can typically be found there as well.

2015 Veteran Fair Exhibitors

Employment Development Department Office, Modesto, CA

Staff Mark Employment Agency

California Employment Development Department

California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

The Veteran’s Administration

California department of Business Oversight

Stanislaus County Alliance

California Department of Veterans Affairs (Cal-Vet)

The Stanislaus Small Business Administration

Delaware North Company (Yosemite National Park Concessions)

Heavy Equipment School

SMX Staffing Agency

Disabled American Veterans

San Joaquin Valley Veterans

American Legion

Stanislaus County Veterans Service Organization

Goodwill of San Joaquin County

The Veterans Day Job Fair Hall  11/10/15

Need some tips on developing your resume? Get the professional resume development package on sale now at Groupon.

Or try taking a six-week, instructor-led resume class or job search techniques class at Community Business College.

And of course, there’s always our popular Use Linked In To Jumpstart Your Career certification class.
 

By the way, Community Business College will be closed tomorrow for the Veterans’ Day holiday.