Friday, February 17, 2012

Getting Trained For Construction Management Jobs

Construction Management jobs like that of a Construction Manager are two-fold in scope: you must possess the technical knowledge and skills for the job; and you must know how to manage people too. That is where the difficulty in these jobs comes in -people are flawed and lacking in some departments while exhibiting strength in others. This means the best candidate for the job may be one of the nastiest overseers you have ever met, but man, does he know construction! On the other hand, you might wind up with a candidate who is an all-around good guy (the type of colleague you would readily invite over to your house to meet your family) but who is completely inept and incompetent in technical issues. In a case like this, the better person for the job would be the nasty candidate (though you can always keep in touch with the nicer candidate for leisure pursuits, like joining a weekend bowling club together maybe.)

The technical training you need to be a competent Construction Manager would involve being a college or university graduate of either civil engineering, construction management, or construction science. Here is where some problems at work also start - there are some employees who literally worked their way up from the grungiest lowliest Construction Management jobs in the construction firm and toiled for years just to get to that post. Then, all of a sudden, the top brass go and hire some young yet very smart college graduate and put that new hiree in a higher position than that held by the older employees. Don't laugh -this is an all-too-common situation in many companies. The older employees who started at rock bottom in the company may resent their new Construction Manager for being a) young, b) smart, c) very competent, and d) now has become their new boss. Filing in vacancies for these jobs with employees who are younger than their subordinates has been proven to be a reason to expect problems in the future. It is more of a psychological and social problem though than a technical construction problem.

To resolve this problem, there are employers offering jobs who specify a range of the desired age of any candidates, as well as minimum number of years of experience in the same line of work. This helps give the new hiree a leg up when it comes to integrity and perceived competence for the position. (And it also passes the buck for training a new college graduate to a different firm which is wiling to absorb the risks that come with hiring inexperienced college graduates for Construction Management Jobs.)

Is experience the best teacher for these jobs then? Not necessarily - there are things about Construction Management Jobs you can learn by theory that you will never learn through experience. The best learning process though is one that can harness both formal education and experience together to give the organization the best possible Construction Manager they can get at that time.

Sales Manager Jobs - Skills and Requirements

An insight into sales manager jobs

Sales manager jobs are considered to be one of the most important and glorious jobs in the world of sales and marketing. But reaching the job itself is not easy. Most people look at the working of a sales manager and think that it is an extremely easy job.

After all, you only have to manage a team, attend company meetings, set targets and relax while your team works. But nothing can be more wrong than this. A sales manager's job is extremely difficult and challenging and requires the manager to take full responsibility for the working of his team.

There are a set of skills that every sales manager needs to have.

Skills and requirements


A sales manager heads a team that works in the field and interacts with the customers. So it is up to the sales manager to develop and garner the skills of the sales team.
The sales manager is the one who administers the sales and it may involve complex decisions like pricing.
A sales manager also needs to have excellent marketing skills.
Maintaining the accounts of the team, product development and many other similar tasks.
The manager is the person who overviews and reviews all the direct reports pertaining to accounting, shipping, plant production etc.
A sales manager is also associated with Identifying key skills in a sales team member and thereby promoting him to the necessary department.

Do you have the skills?

Now that we have highlighted all the necessary skills in a sales manager, you need to pop yourself the golden question. Do you possess the skills and the expertise to lead a sales team?

If you think you do, then log on to one of the leading job portals and apply for sales manager jobs. Most job portals have a minimum of 8 to 10 sales manager jobs at any time.

What Do Construction Management Jobs Require

If you are interested in applying for construction management jobs, there are many different online degrees that can help you achieve your goals and fast track your career. The best part is that you can earn these degrees from the comfort of your own home and create a schedule that works for you and your current work and time commitments.

To be considered a strong candidate for most construction management jobs, it is recommended that you earn an online construction management degree or an online construction engineering degree, in addition to gaining hands-on experience through an apprenticeship or on-site training. Regardless of the degree you select, it is very important to make sure the online university you choose is accredited. This is the only way to ensure your degree will be recognized by future employers and other higher learning institutions, which is important if you ever need to transfer your credits.

The construction management courses that you will be required to take while achieving your degree will give you all of the necessary skills that job site experience cannot provide on its own. Plus, many degrees required for construction management jobs allow you to select different areas of focus you can specialize in. The different types of course work you can focus on include business and financial management, contract administration, cost estimating, building codes and standards, information technology, inspection procedures, site planning, engineering and architectural sciences, construction project management training. Another key focus of your degree can be technical training on how to use the most advanced industry software in the construction management field.

Once you graduate from your online degree program, you can decide which types of construction management jobs are right for you and the skill-set you have worked hard to build. Some construction management jobs will require you to be involved in each project from its inception until construction is finished. This means that you would oversee not only the workforce, but also all of the construction materials, tools, equipment and safety measures that are required for each phase of the project. Other construction management jobs may allow you to focus on the degree specializations you have chosen. For example, if you have completed course work and apprenticeships related to architecture and engineering, you should consider looking for construction management jobs where you would manage or directly interface with the architects and engineers on the project.

Leadership Coaching: How To Qualify For A Management Job

What Managers Do

Doing a management job means you're getting things done through the work of others instead of doing them yourself. As an example, there's the Production Manager. Being a production manager doesn't mean you'll be operating machines even though you're very good at working them. A Software Manager may be so adept in writing lines of codes, but he/she doesn't do so. The one thing that these people do (people in management), is manage.

Being a lead welder, a team leader, a senior programmer or a head cashier requires some kind of managing, but these are not management jobs. Basically, it's not a management job if you do the same job as others in your group. In every location, every industry and every profession, there are management jobs. Small companies, large companies, non- profit companies and for- profit companies have management jobs.

How To Qualify For A Management Job

You may be interested in a management position. What do you need to qualify as manager? Primarily, you should have the ability to manage people. As important in a managerial role is also the mastery of the tasks done by the people you manage. If it's a first managerial job you're applying for, you need to have experience. A company will not hire somebody to be manager if they don't have experience. You want to land your first managerial job? Then do a good job at the job you have. You don't have to be the best at doing the job, but you ought to be proficient. There's the best programmer in the company, for instance, who would prefer to write codes instead of being Development Manager. But it's apt to say that the Development Manager is a good programmer.

Promotion To Higher Management Jobs

There are higher management jobs you can ascend to in the same manner. To move one step higher in a management position, you need the same thing- you need to be competent in the current managerial job you are holding. Demonstrate your ability to handle your job easily. That's one major key to getting promoted. Recognize the fact that as you go up the career ladder, you'll be competing with more candidates at each level for fewer and fewer managerial positions. In a large company, you'll see that many people occupy first line managerial seats, but there's only one CEO.

Getting promoted in a managerial position means you start from mastering basic management skills and move up by improving your abilities. Here, you should also learn how to manage with substance over style, deal with office politics, utilize networking, handle difficult employees and do employee coaching, among others.

Construction Manager Jobs - Q and A About Construction Manager Jobs

Construction manager jobs require you to oversee all the different constructions of the various infrastructures, roads, highways and even the smaller projects that happen all around the city. With the general contractor jobs you will be required to restore the old buildings that are damaged. Construction managers are also required to make new buildings and infrastructures that will help the progress of a certain place. All these different activities require someone at the helm of it. As the construction manager it is your duty to oversee all of the above.

Construction manager careers will bear fruits to anyone who is interested and doing this work because of the fact that there is dearth of opportunity. The need of human kind to build more secure places, houses, shopping malls and places like hotels and educational institutions will always provide ample amount of job opportunity for the construction managers.

The construction manager job description shows that you will be the one responsible for the supervision of the entire project. You will be there overseeing all the nitty-gritty's and sorting out the nuances of the making of the plans till the work ends. In the construction manager jobs the manager will be responsible for the whole project and he will be the leader instructing the team to work together towards the completion of the project. In the general contractor jobs you are required to oversee the planning, direction, plotting of the budget for the whole project. The manager is also required to handle all the issues that happen during or before/after the completion of the project.

In the construction manager jobs what you will be required to perform can be listed as the following.

• You will have the authority over everyone involved in the project. Everyone will report to you and in turn you will be responsible for mitigating all the circumstances that arise.

• It will be your job to schedule the job. When and where to start and how to finish within the budget.

• You will be required to hire the number of workers, and the machinery required for the job.

• You will be monitoring if the work is being properly done or not. On a regular basis, it is your duty to track the work and curtail expenses if the overhead is increasing.

Basically as the construction manager you are required to check all the things that are necessary for the completion of a project and it is your duty to fully understand what the plan of action should be. The workers will be looking up to you for direction. So this is a very important job.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Manager Jobs - Myths About Being a Manager

So you're new on board and have landed yourself a plum manager job, one of several general manager jobs that your company had vacancies for, but you don't know what to do and how to go about things. You have all the theoretical knowledge and know how about being a manager, but practically, the situation is quite different and you don't know what to do.

Well, my friend, this is the situation faced by every new manager, whether you've taken on sales manager jobs, project manager jobs or operation manger jobs or even, the aforementioned general manager jobs! It's nothing new, every manager has to go through it and you will too! But, to help you out, here are a few myths about being a manager unraveled for you!

Management Myths

• A mistake which every new manager makes is that he believes that he can frame and implement new policies of his own free will. But, that's a myth and you need to bust it! A new manager throwing his weight around will just earn resentment from his subordinates. Did you ever consider the fact that your new policies could annoy or even offend various departments? You should at best make suggestions to the top management and implement your policies through them!

• You do not have absolute authority as a new manager! Yes, that's true; the myth about having power or being "the boss" is just that, a myth. You need to earn respect from your peers and from your direct subordinates and obviously your own boss. That is a measure of your success in manager jobs.

• Control is one hell of a word. It isn't really easy to control your direct reports because, though you might be in a position superior to theirs, their knowledge and experience far outweigh yours. Plus, your direct reports will, more often than not, have the best interests of your company at heart, so try not to overrule them too often.

• Your opinion is supreme. That is a myth you really need to bust! Managers are employees who help to keep things running smoothly. You should only repeat processes if they give you fruitful results and find favor with everyone on the team. Not because they are profitable for the company or you! Being a manager always means that you have to pay special attention to the human aspect of things.

• Coordinating team work - A great manager is one who can smoothly and effectively run a team. It is quite easy to extract the best performance from your subordinates. They are most talented anyway! But, everyone knows that a team performs better than a single individual and you will only be successful as a manger if you can make sure that your team of performers is well coordinated!

Manager jobs aren't too many in a company, this is because it takes special talent to be a manager and run things. But, attached to the management jobs are a few myths and as a new age manager you have to bust them!

Set a Strong Foundation in Hospitality Management Jobs

Many people want to start a career in hospitality management. Sad to say, this job isn't ideal for everybody and you can't easily land the job as a manager if you lack the necessary degree, training, and skills. Just like with other careers, you have to start from the bottom and slowly move up to managerial status.
Hospitality management jobs are very lucrative with good pay and benefits. No wonder many are after being a manager in the hospitality industry may it be in a hotel, restaurant, casino, amusement park, travel agency, and the like.

Since it's almost impossible to become a manager as your first job, you have to start from lower positions. From there, you should set a strong foundation to prepare you for hospitality management jobs. Here's how:

• Gain experience
Just like the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. This holds true especially if you're after a career in hospitality management. Many who're holding managerial positions started their career from the ground up. You can do the same by gaining experience from entry level positions until you're promoted as manager. Your experiences can eventually help you relate well to your constituents, manage your workers effectively, and learn leadership and managerial skills you can apply in your job.

• Attend relevant trainings
Every now and then there are private institutions that offer hospitality management trainings where you can obtain a certification. The training can equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle hospitality managerial positions including proper ways to handle your staff, train employees, payment processing, and many more. Once you've undergone training, you have better chances to be promoted as manager.

• Get a degree in hospitality management
Though there are jobs in the hospitality industry that don't require a college degree, you need to obtain one in hospitality management if you're after a career as a manager. You'll also be hired faster if you have a master's degree.

• Possess the necessary skills
Education and experience are vital but without the right skills, you won't make a great manager. The position requires excellent customer service and leadership skills. At the same time, you must be ready to face challenges, anticipate the needs of the company, and manage resources and staff effectively.

• Be a loyal employee
If you already have a degree in hospitality management and have found a company where you enjoy working, you better stick to it. As mentioned you have to start with lower positions. However, if you stay long, have exemplary track record, and have proven your worth in the company, you have a great chance to be promoted as manager.

Hospitality management jobs are among the highest paying in the whole industry. You can have a shot at this position once you've set a solid foundation. You never know, this industry could be perfect for you.

Public Relations Manager Jobs

Public relations manager jobs take care of the top most needs of the company. A company is a big organization with various activities. Public relations manager work is usually involved in the highest echelons of the company. While production, purchase and sales are the ground level functionaries of a company, PR manager jobs are on the highest level of company strategy.

If a mishap happens in the company and it is in fear of losing its reputation, then it is the duty of the public relations manager to make the company look the best possible. If on the other hand the company does something good, then it is again the duty of the public relations manager to make sure that everyone hears about it.

Basic Responsibilities

The main responsibilities of a professional in public relations manager employment is to make and execute such campaigns so that the organization is looked upon favorably by the public. There are many duties that a manager of public relations has to do.

He has to give interviews, write and send press releases, draft speeches, hold press conferences, oversee the charity programs run by the company and meet with various community leaders.

In fact, he is also responsible for representing the company at various social events. PR managers generally specialize in some specific area of management such as crisis management or event management.

Job Requirements

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that companies generally prefer individuals who have done graduation or post graduation in Journalism or Public Relations. In fact, they also look for candidates who have completed their coursework in business administration, advertising or communications.

But the fact lies that in top level positions such as public relations manager jobs, people are usually promoted and not directly appointed. It can take you seven years to reach this top position. Even if you do not have a degree in public relations there is nothing to fear.

You can always start by doing an internship and learn more on the job. This kind of internship also helps you to gather practical knowledge which becomes very useful for the future. However to be a master of this field, one must have good communication and computer skills.

Working Conditions

If you are interested in PR manager careers, it would be helpful for you to know about the working conditions of this job. A PR Manager generally has to work under very stressful and fast paced environment.

In fact, a lot of these professionals also work during the night and holidays to meet deadlines. You might also have to face long work schedules and extended hours during crisis. In this kind of job, it is quite common to travel. A PR manager also will have to meet government officials, media personalities and groups with special interest throughout the country.

Job Outlook

It has been estimated that the growth of public relations manager jobs will increase by 13% in 2018. This would create around 7,300 new jobs. As the senior managers retire or leave, these high level jobs will gradually become available to other candidates from outside the company.

In spite of this, Public relations manager jobs continue to remain some of the most coveted jobs in the country.