February 25, 2010 | Posted by petereff
The most important test anyone has to pass is the test that places you in front of a decision making executive in an interview. That is the only time when your preparation meets the opportunity to win the actual job. So it is the most important test.
How do you make sure that you pass this test?
You have to stand out from the crowd when the interview shortlist is being prepared and the way to do that is…
Have an excellent CV and Covering Letter.
Most candidates will use an old, possibly updated CV and a ’standard’ cover letter, neither of which will be particularly inspiring to the reader. To make a real impression and ensure your place on the shortlist for interview, you should consider the extra value that a professionally written CV and covering letter will create for you.
I recommend that you employ a professional CV writer who has demonstrable experience in writing effective CVs. Please do not make the decision on price alone, although there may be some very good CV writers at the bottom of the price scale, you could find that your CV is farmed out to low paid contractors who cannot create the CV you need. When you consider the available CV writing services, look for one who will work with you to ensure your satisfaction and offer a money back guarantee.
Crucially, I also suggest that you look for the CV writing business owner who does all the writing personally and has the background and credentials to create the CV that will enhance your job applications. That way you are giving yourself the best chance of getting the new job you want much more quickly – and that means money in the bank sooner.
My CV Writing Services meet all of these criteria and will surely help you to pass the most important test.
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Tags: cover letter, important test, pass cv test | 
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January 28, 2010 | Posted by petereff
Although personality tests are becoming more common, they often cause some concern over ‘what they might find out’ about you. Truth is they work for you just as much as for the prospective employer. What they want to discover by using personality tests or psychometric tests, is whether you are the right ‘fit’ for the job.
This should also be important to you so if you view the questionnaires as just another tool to help YOU get the right job, then you can see there is less need for worrying about them.
One thing you must remember when looking for a new job – and keep this in mind when asked to do a test – the most important attribute in a new employee is the ability to fit into the organization. So what they want is someone who in many ways is like they are.
This page will help you sort out what Personality Tests are, which ones you might expect to come up against and what to do so you pass the test first time.
When writing your CV you should also bear in mind the importance of compatibility and you know that every vacancy attracts dozens, if not hundreds of applications and those other people are your direct competition. Look at it from the employer’s point of view; faced with all those CVs, what are they going to do to reduce the number to a manageable level? The answer is that they use the pile of documents to filter OUT any candidate whose CV is difficult to read, is scruffy in presentation or does not APPEAR to have the right experience. Most personnel officers do not have sufficient knowledge to understand the relevance of every bit of information you present to them, so if it is not in exactly the right format, your CV will probably be rejected at the first reading.
Equally, too many people include everything they can think of on the basis that the more detail included has to be a good thing, because the answers to all the questions lie in there somewhere. But when the initial sift is conducted, your CV must pass to the next stage within less than 30 seconds and that means that only relevant detail can be included. Too much and the reader won’t be bothered to look for it and find it.
So, writing a CV is about knowing precisely what the employer is looking for and writing it in such a way that the information is immediately accessible while demonstrating that YOU, the job candidate, has the existing skills and future potential to be an outstanding employee.
I recommend that if you decide to get help with writing a CV, employ a professional CV writer who has demonstrable experience in writing effective CVs. Please do not make the decision on price alone, although there may be some very good CV writers at the bottom of the price scale, you may find that your CV is farmed out to low paid contractors who cannot create the CV you need. When you consider the available CV writing services, look for one who will work with you to ensure your satisfaction and offer a money back guarantee.
I also recommend that you take advantage of these free Personality Tests to help you understand and write about yourself more eloquently.
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August 17, 2009 | Posted by petereff
A lot of people are unfamiliar with the laws protecting them from employers, either prospective or actual. For example, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) of 1998 protects employees or potential employees from being forced to take a lie detector test for almost all private businesses. It prevents employers from forcing applicants to take polygraph tests, requiring current employees to take such tests, or punishing employees for a failure to take such tests.
In most circumstances, if your employer attempts to make you take a lie detector test, he is in violation of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and you are in your legal right to seek compensation. Many people find it helpful to engage a qualified employment attorney to represent them when employers have wronged them, and you may want to consider doing so. Even if the employer is clearly in the wrong, you may be in for a court battle to uphold your rights.
Exceptions to the Rule
As with all laws, there are a few exceptions to the rule. Government agencies are within their rights to screen any employees or potential employees with lie detector tests, for understandable reasons. Also, many security and defense companies are exempt from the EPPA, because the very nature of their work may require complete secrecy. In certain cases, pharmaceutical companies mandate that their employees take lie detector tests, but only if these employees are working in certain fields.
Additionally, an employer can require a polygraph test if he or she has a reasonable belief that an employee is involved in gross misconduct in the workplace. If the employee has been suspected of committing fraud, embezzlement, or a similar crime that tarnishes the name of the employer and is considered a serious crime, the employer is legally able to administer a lie detector test.
If the employer does demand a polygraph test in this situation, he or she is legally obligated to retain the results of that test for at least three years, and is barred except under very specific circumstances from releasing the information of that test. However, the employer can release this information to governmental agencies or courts without requiring a court order. It is important to know your rights as an employee in case they are being violated without you knowing it.
For more information about your legal protections as an employee, visit http://www.austinemploymentattorney.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine
http://EzineArticles.com/?Polygraph-Tests-and-Employment&id=2763202
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June 23, 2009 | Posted by petereff
What is Forensic Toxicology?
Forensic toxicology is the use of toxicology along with a few other disciples like analytical, pharmacology, chemistry and clinical chemistry in medico-legal investigations of death, poisoning and drug use. The main aim of forensic toxicology is the technology and the techniques that are used in obtaining and interpreting the results. This field of toxicology is not too concerned with the legal outcome of the investigation. As per the American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT) the field of forensic toxicology includes the measurement of alcohol, drugs and other toxic substances in the biological specimens along with the interpretation of the results in medico-legal contexts.
There are many areas of specialty within the field of forensic toxicology the main field being the postmortem toxicology. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) emphasizes on the fact that the field of forensic toxicology is very collaborative in nature as a forensic toxicologist is often working in conjunction with law enforcement officers, forensic pathologists, forensic scientists and other crime scene investigators.
The detection of the drugs and other toxic substances present in the biological samples are determined first by an initial screening and then a further confirmation of the right compound and the quantification of the compound. Both the screening and the confirmation are done using different analytical methods.
Forensic Toxicology – Samples
It is necessary that every analytical method in forensic toxicology is carefully tested with a pre-forming validation of the method to ensure the correct and indisputable results each time. A testing laboratory involved in forensic pathology has to adhere to some strict policies to ensure the best possible results and safety of every individual.
The choice of method for investigation and testing mainly depends on what substance is suspected and the type of sample used for testing. In biological samples, many complex factors like the matrix effect, metabolism and conjugation of compounds have to be considerer. Forensic toxicology also aims at finding out the compound statistics of the substances along with their concentrations.
Here is a list and description of some of the samples that are taken from the biological specimens for investigations:
* Urine: The urine samples provide quick and easy results for live subjects. It is most commonly used for drug testing in employees and athletes. The urine samples provide the added advantage that they do not necessarily reflect the toxic substances the the subject is under at the time of collection.
* Blood: A quantity of 10 cubic centimeter of blood is required to screen and confirm the presence of most toxic substances. Unlike the urine samples, the blood sample screen provides the list of toxic substances present in the subject’s body at the time of collection and is hence ideal for testing the blood alcohol content in drunken driving cases.
* Oral Fluid: The layman term for oral fluid is saliva. However, oral fluid is a more appropriate term as saliva is only a component of the oral fluid. The concentration of the toxic substances present in the oral fluid is in parallel to that of the blood. The use of oral fluids is gaining prominence in the fields of clinical settings and drunken driving cases.
* Hair: The hair is an important sample in the field of forensic toxicology as it is capable of providing information about medium to long term history of drug abuse. This is because the chemicals in the bloodstream are transferred to the hair follicle via which a rough timeline regarding the intake of drugs can be deduced. As the hair grows at approximately 1.5 centimeters per month, the cross section of the hair at different intervals will give a rough estimate of when the drug was ingested.
There are many other body fluids and body organs that are collected during an autopsy provide information that will be very vital to a forensic toxicologist. The common autopsy sample is the gastric contents of the subject that is very useful in the detection of undigested pills or liquids that were ingested just before the death. This sample is however not useful in highly decomposed bodies. Some of the other body parts that are used are the vitreous humor of the eye, brain, liver and the spleen.
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June 22, 2009 | Posted by petereff
Go to any search engine and type in the words “performance-enhancing drugs”. It will list hundreds of websites where you can learn about what to take, how to avoid being caught and even how to buy banned substances by mail order.
Where once getting hold of illegal anabolic steroids meant visiting a dodgy gym in a bad area of town, now it is as quick and simple as ordering the latest Harry Potter book.
You want the EPO you keep reading they are using in the Tour de France? No problem. Like to try some human growth hormone which the world’s top sprinters are rumoured to be taking? Easy. Fancy some anabolic steroids to help build up your pecs? Enter your credit card number and we will ship them to your home address.
This week’s case concerning the Great Britain rugby league international Keiron Cunningham is only the latest in a series of drug scandals involving some of the biggest names in sport. The man rated the best hooker in the world joins a long list of iconic stars to have been implicated in a doping controversy.
If past history is any guide, however, the biggest winner will probably be the manufacturer of HCG, the drug for which Cunningham tested positive after it was given to him without his knowledge.
“We couldn’t ship the stuff out of the warehouse quick enough after all the publicity involving British athletes and [the anabolic steroid] nandrolone a couple of years ago,” said a salesman for one company, who wished to remain anonymous.
“People suddenly thought it was a magic elixir. It is the same with EPO and the Tour. We don’t stock it because it’s a prescribed drug, but if we did we would make literally millions judging by the number of inquiries we get about it. Sunday cyclists seem to think it’s going to turn them into a world champion overnight.”
Although most are banned in Britain and by the International Olympic Committee, hundreds of these performance-enhancing substances are just a mouse-click away on the internet, which has made them more readily available than ever.
Some are relatively harmless, others can have serious effects on a competitor’s reputation and health.
One of the leading drug advice sites on the internet, for example, warns of the dangers of taking HCG. It could lead to “reinforcing already existing breast growth in men” and “mood swings and high blood pressure”.
At a press conference in London tomorrow, UK Sport’s head of drug-free sport, Michele Verroken, will announce the results of the latest drugs tests for the quarter ended June 30 2003. There will be details of competitors who thought they could outwit the dope-busters, failed and were caught.
Much more worryingly, there will not be any information on those who thought they could get away with it and succeeded. For the drug war is a race where the cheats always try to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
Today, the industry is increasingly hi-tech: a complex, super-specialised smorgasbord of “designer” drugs. The relative few cases in Britain involving HCG – Cunningham is among only a handful to have tested positive for the drug – may make it seem to be the cutting edge of doping technology.
In fact, those in the know already consider it passé and are now using another drug, clomid, which offers the same benefits but is harder to detect.
Another example of how the cheats can steal a march on the dope-busters came during the 2000 Sydney Olympics when there were rumours some competitors were using an anabolic steroid called ganabol, which the IOC did not have a test for.
Scientists were baffled because the drug had been discarded by laboratories years earlier on account of its high toxicity. But in clinical tests in 1967 involving rats, ganabol had been shown to develop huge muscle growth, making it attractive to competitors in the power events such as swimming and sprinting.
The fact that some athletes had been using it was confirmed in 2001 by Charlie Francis, Ben Johnson’s former coach, when he wrote about ganabol in an article for Testosterone Magazine.
“This drug was brought to the attention of the drug testers in 1984, but as it wasn’t in commercial production a test wasn’t developed for it,” Francis wrote.
“Once athletes became aware of this loophole, a market quickly developed for the drug … By the time a test was developed, the word was out and the athletes moved on to other products.”
Ganabol is generally considered to be among the first of what are known as designer steroids, where the drug has its chemical structures modified so it is undetectable in urine tests but maintains its performance-enhancing qualities.
In his 2001 article, Francis claimed clandestine labs around the world were already working on finding the next designer drug that cannot be detected in time for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Few doubt they have succeeded.
The top names may have moved on but coming behind them will probably be a whole lot of eager new customers, armed with a computer, access to the internet, a credit card and warped sense of ambition, only too willing to click on for the chance to emulate their tainted idols.
How to abuse the system
HCG
What it’s for: to treat infertility in males. Found in pregnant females.
What athletes use it for: to increase testosterone. To help them recover from injury.
Human gene therapy
What it is used for: to develop new body parts for transplants. What athletes use it for: not on the market yet but set to be the next big thing. Athletes already looking for the formula.
EPO
What it’s for: to treat seriously ill kidney patients.
What athletes use it for: to boost oxygen-carrying red blood cells and increase stamina.
Human growth hormone
What it is used for: to treat underdeveloped children.
What athletes use it for: to increase muscle mass and strength. Very popular because it is almost undetectable.
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