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.

5 Solid Tips for Good Business Phone Etiquette

One of the very first classes we taught at Community Business College almost 18 years ago was proper phone techniques.

Why? It might seem so obvious how to handle phones that people don’t even need to think twice about it?

But, that’s part of the problem – phones have become so ubiquitous (one of our Words Of  The Day), that they’re taken for granted and almost seem to drift into the background of everyday life. That means that a lot of common sense can be ignored, especially in today’s business environment.

We taught the class because employers told us that one of their greatest pet peeves is when a potential customer is turned away because of a louse phone call experience.

Is it still relevant? Sure is. We just posted today’s Frank and Ernest cartoon about phone messages on our one of our Pinterest boards.

So here are the Community Business College Top 10 Tips for Presenting a Professional Phone Image.

1. Speak Clearly and Slowly. Because speaking on the phone has become second nature, it’s easy to end up with words that run together. Speaking a bit slower than you usually do is a good trick top help you contemplate the words you are saying and help your listener absorb your meaning. Remember, too, that now some voice mail systems are transcribing what you say and sending it to the recipient via e-mail. Computers are notorious for switching words that sound alike. You don’t want to ask someone to “make copies” and end up having them think they have to “make coffees.”

2. Listen Carefully. The ability to listen is always a valuable skill but even more soon the phone. The secret trick here is to repeat information back to the other speaker when they ask you questions or when you are taking a message. Not only does it mean the message is clearer, but you’ll sound smarter to the person on the other end of the line.

3. Don’t Get Distracted. This tip is a corollary to #2. It’s easy to think of phone calls as less important than a personal visit and to start doing other things while the person is talking. Some cell phones these days let you play games. Avoid this temptation. The mind cannot have two masters: it will love one and despise the other with sometimes embarrassing results (i.e. “huh? What did you just say…I missed it”).

4. Keep Your Listener In The Loop. Need to place callers on hold? Ask first. Let them know why and what you are doing. If the hold is longer than you thought, pick up the phone and keep the caller informed. If the hold goes on longer, don’t hesitate to inform your caller and give the choice of holding longer or receiving a call back.  The trick is to think of it this way – how long would you care to hold if you were on the other end. The Golden Rule works on the phone as well.

5. Be Concise. Keep phone calls brief and to the point. Try not to get side tracked. Each phone call, whether you are the caller or the receiver, has a point. Try to always come back to the point to make sure the business gets done. This can also be a timesaver because you won’t need as many follow-up calls to cover what you missed in the first call. The trick is to jot down the goals of the call and keep referring to that note as the phone call progresses.

Office machines may one day make phone calls and message obsolete but there are still millions of phone calls to take place before that happens.

Want to learn more? Take an office skills class from a professional instructor. Or brush up on a quick customer service phone skills course. Classes are now online for the convenience of our students, especially working adults with busy schedules.

Community Business College has been selected as a beta testing center for the international rollout of the new IC3 GS5 industry certification examination. The selection means the Modesto, California vocational college will be participating in the beta testing of the new IC3 GS5 exams and cloud-based testing environment. 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.

  

What is IC3?

The IC3 abbreviation stands for "Internet and Computing Core Certification." The IC3 exam is a global certification, designed to certify an individual's digital literacy skills associated with fundamental computer and Internet use. IC3 is the first computer certification to be recognized by the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB). The newest edition of the IC3 certification track, known as IC3-GS5 (Global Standard 5), will be updated to include new technologies including Microsoft Windows 7 OS and the Microsoft Office suite of programs.

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 program, Community Business College is providing free vouchers to those who want to assist in the beta testing of these fully online exams. In exchange for their evaluations of the exam system, participants will receive official certificates for each exam they pass. 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, “The overall goal of the 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.”

The IC3 GS5 beta exams are completely interactive and consist of approximately 115 questions. Exam takers are given 120 minutes to answer as many questions as possible.

The IC3 exams are divided into three categories:

            Key Applications

            Computing Fundamentals

            Living Online

The exams test users’ abilities to solve basic digital literacy problems, use basic productivity applications, and understand the structure of common technologies. In addition, the exam questions assess the ability to apply existing knowledge to deal with unfamiliar situations and scenarios.

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.

One of the reasons the college is participating in the program to help to continue to bring high technology certifications to California's Central Valley.

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

What Community Business College Does 

Community Business College also offers online short courses

Community Business College has been training people in workforce development skills for over 17 years. The school offers job placement assistance to its unemployed graduates and enrichment classes for its working graduates to meet its goal of helping students practice lifelong learning. On-ground and distance-learning vocational classes include Computer Office Specialist; Legal Secretary; and Medical Billing And Coding.

Students attending the school are funded by veterans programs, the MyCAA military spouse scholarship program, and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) training funding.

The school’s other enrichment programs include advanced technology training, specific software classes, Business Spanish, English As A Second Language (ESL) and certifications.

Enrichment courses focus on common operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android. Software classes are based on Office applications (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Office 365, Google Docs, and iWork) and standard computer productivity applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, multi-media, and file and data management.

The college also participates in programs which assist adult students in completing high school diplomas and obtaining their GEDs free of charge.

The college maintains an A+ rating with the Ne-Cal Better Business Bureau.

CBC Receives Veterans/Military Family Award

Community Business College has been recognized by Military Advanced Education Magazine as a “Top College” in the 2015 Guide to Colleges & Universities.”  As such, the college received an award and an article in the 2015 guide published for military members and their families.

 

The magazine selected the college for its programs to help both veterans and military family members obtain new skills and jobs. It is one of the few vocational colleges in California to be included and it is the 4^th time the school has been so named.

 

Military Advanced Education is the journal of higher learning for today’s service member.

 

Community Business College has placed a high priority of training and services on veterans and active-duty military families. Working with the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Defense, the school has been able to provide employment training and job placement assistance to California’s Central Valley military families for over 17 years.

 

“We’re excited that the college has once again been recognized for its efforts to assist the courageous men and women and their families serving our country.  They take time out of their lives to serve us and we appreciate the sacrifices they make every day. Military life can be very disruptive and our part of school’s mission is to do what we can to support them.

Community Business College provides “Thank You For Your Family’s Service” scholarships and support activities for active duty families. The school also provides active duty military spouses full training and job placement scholarships through the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA), G.I. Bill, and Work Investment Act (WIA) tuition programs to help eligible military-related students cover the costs of attending the school’s vocational training programs.

In addition to its regular vocational training courses and its assisted job placement services, the school provides specialized training programs for military spouses who don’t have high school diplomas or need to learn English as a second language.

An image of this and other awards received by Community Business College can be seen at the school’s Pinterest site on its awards board at: https://www.pinterest.com/businesscollege.

Military Advanced Education is a publication of the KMI Media Group.

The 2015 Guide to Top Colleges and Universities is published each year with only the top scoring universities and colleges making the list. The goal of the guide is to measure best practices in military/veteran education.

 

Community Business College offers both online and campus-based vocational classes to help adults obtain the skills they need for employment. Throughout its 17-year history, the college has always placed a special emphasis on veterans, military spouses and military dependents.

In addition to training in portable skills, the school offers test preparation in a wide range of industry-recognized exams and also offers “Where You Go, We Go” job placement assistance.

As part of its special practices for military family, the school is also currently offering military-related job seekers a free “Job Search Tool Kit” which includes package a professional resume review, a job search guide, and help military family members complete their high school diplomas or earn their GEDs.

Staff and students of the school collect items and send care packages to troops stationed overseas. School personnel also send expired grocery coupons to overseas military families who can use the coupons for up to 6 months after their printed expiration date.

 

National Cookie Day Recipe

Here’s  the recipe for our cookies for National Cookie Day!

What makes this one special? It uses leftovers from Thanksgiving.

National Cookie Day was started by the Blue Chip cookie company and  being set in the first week of December is at the perfect time to use up Thanksgiving feast ingredient leftovers.

The nuts, canned pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice were Thanksgiving ingredients that were in the fridge and pantry. The canned whipped cream was what didn't make it to the Thanksgiving Day pies.

It’s always good to learn new things and coming up with creative ways to use ingredients that would otherwise be left to slowly migrate back to the fridge until they take on new life of their own with new and exciting organisms.

Here’s the Left-Over Thanksgiving Ingredient cookie recipe we had at Community Business College:

1 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup white flour

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not canned pumpkin pie mix)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Canned whipped topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the egg and sugar together. Add vanilla and pumpkin and combine. Mix in almonds, pumpkin pie spice, flour and baking powder.

Spoon out onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet 1 teaspoon at a time, or use a molded cookie pan.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Then let cool another 15 minutes before topping with the canned whipped cream topping.

Today Is International Talk Like A Pirate Day - Arrr You In, Matey?

Community Business College has created the "Talk Like A Pirate" starter kit to help people learn to talk like a pirate through a distance learning class and help people prepare for Talk Like A Pirate Day and Halloween. Community Business College in Modesto, California has launched a “Talk Like A Pirate” starter kit in recognition of national “Talk Like a Pirate Day 2014” on September 19, 2014.

Learn To Talk Pirate

The pirate starter kit includes the five things every pirate needs: 1) a pirate crew; 2) a first mate buddy teddy bear; 3) an online language “Pirate Talk” class; 4) a wallet-sized pirate treasure map with common pirate slang and, of course, a swag bag of pirate booty.

More details can be found at the Talk Like A Pirate website at CBCWebCollege, the student store of Community Business College vocational training school in Modesto.