The Essential Guide To Buying A Car

The Essential Guide To Buying A Car

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Buying a new car is both exciting and stressful. It is a very big purchase and it is vital that you make the right decisions early on, or you may end up paying for them when you are a few miles down the road. 

Cars can be a massive money pit. Buy the wrong one and you will end up having to pay out repeatedly to maintain it. On top of that, you will have all of the running costs to factor into your decision. While you may be taken by the sleek design, superior road holding, and powerful engine, sadly the reality of car ownership often comes down to running costs. 

Here are a few tips to help you make the right financial decision when it comes to buying your new car. 

Should You Buy New Or Used?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The fact of the matter is that the car that you choose has to be right for you, whether you buy it brand new off the lot, used from a car dealership, or second-hand from a private seller. Aside from the obvious differences in price between new and used, here are pros and cons to every choice. 

New cars can be paid for with a range of financing options. Some of these arrangements will mean that you never own the car, you are just leasing it. This is useful if you want a more expensive car as the monthly payments can be more manageable. You can often get finance on used cars from a car dealer, however, when buying straight from a private seller, you will need to find the cash to pay upfront. 

New cars are covered by manufacturers warranty. This means that any major problems will be covered when you first buy the vehicle. Used cars obviously don’t have this luxury, and if anything ever goes with your second-hand car, then you will end up having to pay to get it fixed. 

Check Out Insurance Costs Before You Commit

Before you buy your car, make sure that you check out the cost of insurance. Check out a range of different providers. Be sure and look into pay-per-mile insurance to see if this is a cost-effective method of paying for your cover. 

Often, insurance costs can be quite prohibitive. The price of cover may make the car that you are looking for out of your price range. Knowing how much you can expect paying before you buy will stop you from getting a car that you can’t afford to run.

Take The Car For A Spin

Taking the car you choose for a spin is important. How the car feels when it drives is important information that you need to pay attention to. If you are looking at a used car, driving the car on a variety of roads and performing a number of maneuvers may be necessary to alert you to any issues that may be red flags. 

These Are The Most Valuable Types Of Training For Your Employees

These Are The Most Valuable Types Of Training For Your Employees

There is enormous value in providing your employees with the right training. In fact, it can help your business be both more productive and efficient. Additionally, proper training can help minimise risk and ensure excellent staff satisfaction and retention. With that in mind, check out the post below, which details the top four most valuable types of training your business can provide to those that work there. 

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Onboarding 

First of all, and perhaps the most valuable of all types of training if the scheme you use to onboard your workers when they first start with you. This type of training needs to cover the critical responsibilities of their role, as well as the ethos and rules of the company. 

The great thing about onboarding training is that if you do it right, you can make that transition from new employers to productive workers go as smoothly as possible. Something that should have a range of positive impacts, including increased productivity, happier employees, and reduced employee turnover. 

Health and safety 

Another one of the most important types of training that you can offer your employees is health and safety. In fact, in many fields, health and safety training is required by law. However, it is best if you don’t think of this type of training as just a box-ticking activity. Instead, let it be led by your company’s desire to preserve the safety and wellbeing of those that work for you. 

Of course, you may choose to run your health and safety training in the house. Although many employers opt to go to independent providers for this purpose. Something that means they will get a specialist to deliver the course and can also be much better protected legally if there is an accident. 

Negotiation 

There are many jobs in which competent negotiation skills are essential, and its not just in roles that are directly related to sales. However, what many people do not realise is that negotiation isn’t an innate talent, but one that can be learned. 

In fact, by providing your employees with negotiation skills training, you can enable two things. The first is an increase in efficiency in their role. While the second is greater confidence in dealing with situations such as sales, conflicts, and even managerial issues. All things which can boost employees job satisfaction, and the efficiency of workers in their roles. 

Anti Harassment

Finally, training that most businesses cannot do without is anti-harassment. After all, the culture of work has changed significantly over the last 20 years. A situation that necessitates that employers be proactive about preventing this in the workplace. 

Of course, effective anti-harassment training will include clear guidelines as to what is acceptable or not in the workplace. Something that will ensure your employees are all on the same page. 

Additionally, it is crucial to ensure examples are given, and the consequences involved are detailed. Then, you can minimise the risks of occurrence, and make sure that your workplace is as positive and supportive an environment as possible. 

Top Industries in The Philippines With the Most Job Openings (And Tips to Land a Job)

Top Industries in The Philippines With the Most Job Openings (And Tips to Land a Job)

Top Industries in the Philippines to Get a Job In

by Brian McKay

Getting a job in the Philippines still tends to be a struggle despite many available openings in various companies. College graduates also normally go through a phase of being suddenly undecided on the path they’d like to take next, even with diplomas and impressive credentials under their belts. The competition can be pressure as well because it’s easy to feel small in a world where so many seemingly more qualified individuals are around you, pursuing the same thing.

That said, if you feel trapped in your job-hunting, take the time to reflect on your strengths and goals, and then consider these top industries with the most job openings in the country:

1. Business Process Outsourcing

The BPO industry in the Philippines continues to thrive, and it’s teeming with job opportunities for various fields of expertise, including information technology, communication, healthcare, and marketing. Call centers and back-office service providers also hire college undergraduates, and the compensation they give is widely known to be higher than the average compensation given by other industries. Explore BPO companies near your place and see where you can fit.

2. Information Technology

You’re in luck if you graduated with an IT degree and is specializing in software development. An entry-level employee – specifically a junior software analyst and a front-end developer- in an IT-company can earn as much as₱21,000 every month, a figure that’s higher most entry-level salaries in the Philippines.

3. Data Analytics and Security

There is a growing demand for data security professionals, so if you have a related degree, you have high chances of getting hired in the data analytics and security industry. Make sure to update your skills when necessary, because the demand for these roles continuously evolves.

4. Legal and Public Relations

Law-related positions are paid over₱27,000 every month, while PR professionals are paid more₱24,000. They’re actually the first and second highest-paying jobs in the country, and they’re in-demand, too.

5. Technical Vocational, Retail, and Manufacturing

The rise of the construction and manufacturing industries has led to technical vocational jobs being in-demand. Technical vocational graduates may also work in the retail and manufacturing industries, so it may be safe to assume that they have diverse career options.

Tips to Land a Job

What if your degree isn’t related to any of those top five industries? What if they are, but for some reason, you still aren’t getting hired? The job hunt can get disheartening if none of the companies you’ve applied for has reached you after the initial interview, but with these tips, you may find yourself soon weighing tons of offers.

Make job-searching a priority. Apply for as much as companies as you can every week or every month, and don’t miss out on job fairs. Have someone look at your resume, too, preferably a friend with job experience, and ask them for advice on how to improve it and to ace your job interviews.

Widen your search by looking for career opportunities outside your current field. For example, if you’re a Finance graduate, don’t limit your search to a bank and financial service companies alone. Look for jobs in other industries such as retail because they might be looking for staff in their finance department.

Consider expanding your qualifications, too. Maybe the jobs you’re after are something you’re underqualified for, so in this case, you might need freelance or part-time work to gain experience. Don’t rush on deciding to get a master’s degree yet. The costs might not be worth it, especially if your prospect companies value experience more than knowledge.

Get help from your friends, family, and acquaintances who can refer you to their companies when they have new job openings. And if nothing works, don’t lose hope and give up. Don’t be afraid to explore part-time jobs, or perhaps start a business. Maybe your calling is different, and you’re meant for something greater.

Bringing Your Real Life To Your Marketing Content

Bringing Your Real Life To Your Marketing Content

You know how you feel when you interact with a fake person in your own life. It’s annoying and disingenuous but it’s ultimately harmless in most cases. When a business is fake, that is an extra slap in the face because they’re trying to get something from you. When you feel as if a business is not being honest with you, it’s almost like a personal attack. You feel that they think you’re stupid or that you’ll be their next gullible customer. Authenticity in people is valued just as much as brand authenticity. Being true to who you really are, is a matter of honor and respect. Consumers react incredibly positively to a business that is open and honest. But how can you express this in your marketing content?

Honest vs concocted image

Business blogs are one of the most important aspects of your online presence. From the largest to the smallest, companies are seeing their blogs in a different way. It’s no longer a place to upload content that only industry experts will enjoy reading. It’s no longer a place to utilize as a press release space. Your customers read what you write, so why not connect with them on a much deeper level? Write honestly about the challenges you’re having within your business. It could be a product design phase is not going as expected, but that you’re learning new things about your capabilities. Customers can see through a concocted image, one that projects a flavor of ‘everything is fine’ when it’s not. Addressing the shortcomings of customer services is a way to be brutally honest about your business that customers will respect.  

Real-world examples

Nothing gets a customer more interested in your articles and blog posts when you use real-world examples. If you run an ecommerce business, convincing customers to buy the products you offer is difficult. They have so many options, why should they purchase from you? Giving them real-world examples of how you use certain products and the results you have experienced, gives wary customers a firsthand account. By learning how to start affiliate marketing you can promote your products with effective SEO techniques weaved into your honest review posts. Your job is to sell the product but not do it obnoxiously. Customers want the truth, so give it to them. You should try to avoid selling products that you don’t believe in to start with, so you can lay it all out in your blog posts.

Vlogging your experience

Video content must be matched with written content. Google promotes websites with a mixture of both over one or the other. Therefore vlogging your experience with products that you personally sell, is a superb way to reach through the screen and connect with consumers who are teetering on the edge but don’t quite know how useful the product would be to them. 

Customers have more patience for a company that is willfully being honest to them. Speak openly about the challenges you face in your business and give real-world examples of how you utilize the products you sell. 

Why It’s Important To Be Happy With Your Career

Why It’s Important To Be Happy With Your Career

Being happy in your career is important to all aspects of your life, and finding something you’re passionate about is beneficial when it comes to work. A happy work life is going to make you feel more comfortable and content within your personal life too. Here’s why it’s important to be  happy with your career.

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It’s Something You’ll Do For A Long Time

Working isn’t something that’s brief and fleeting. You have to work for the majority of your life in order to be able to retire comfortably on your own funds. Without that funding, how do you expect to live your life? We need jobs that are going to keep us excited and will want us to wake up in the morning with a big smile on our faces. So whether you’re training in flight training or doing your qualifications to become a school teacher, you want to be sure that the job or career you’re going into is right for you. Being unhappy in your job is not going to go away if you ended with the one you weren’t 100% convinced with. Remember, it’s an almost life-long thing you’re doing, so it has to make you happy.

It Benefits A Big Area Of Your Life

There are a lot of benefits that come from having a good job, not just emotionally but also financially. And our finances can impact our level of happiness too. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck and not saving money, it can make life that little bit tougher. But when you’re happy in your job and making money to save, it can help you to enjoy life more. As your work is the biggest area of your life and where you spend most of your time, it has to be something that’s going to elevate and better the quality of your life, rather than contributing anything negative.

Brings More Productivity And Energy

There’s nothing worse than being unmotivated to do anything. Being in a job, it’s important to be productive and work hard. However, the first two things to go when you’re unhappy are productivity and energy. If this is something that you’re feeling regularly, then it’s important you address this as quickly as possible or consider a different career path. You want to come to work every day feeling like you’ve got this and to actually look forward to it, rather than dread it.

Less Stress In Life

Stress in life is part and parcel with everything we experience, but when you’re happy in your job, a lot of that stress doesn’t exist. And mostly, stress is often related to things happening within the workplace. So try to have less stress in your life when it comes to your job. If you’re having problems, then it’s worth trying to fix them yourself or by speaking to a manager.

Being happy in your career is essential, and it ends up benefiting your life in a lot more ways than you probably first realized.

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