Employee Drug Tests

Whether you are trying to cleanse and detoxify your body from the effects of that big meal you ate, looking to make sure you pass your next drug test or if you simply want to feel better and lose some weight, there are many easy ways to cleanse and detoxify your body from the effects of food, drugs, drinking, smoking, stress and your environment. Here are some tips:

Drink Water

Pure water is one of the best ways to cleanse your body and your system. Simply drink more water everyday, at least the typical 8 glasses a day. Tea can be substituted for water if you want more flavor, but try to avoid adding any sweetener or milk to it, if possible. If you have to add something to your water or tea for flavor, consider adding some fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice is also a great detoxifying agent and can be a nice change from plain water.

Increase Your Fiber Intake

Make sure to get plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. While this might seem obvious, many people get precious little fiber in their diet, and simply adding much more fiber to their diet can help your digestive system, cleanse your bowels and help you lose excess weight naturally. Excellent sources of fiber include prunes, many dried fruits, whole grain breads, whole grain pastas, oatmeal, beans, lentils and nuts.

Be sure to get More Fruit

While fruit is a generally good source of fiber, certain fruits have a great deal more power where cleansing and detoxifying is concerned. Berries, especially blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, are great sources of antioxidants and phytochemicals, which have been shown to fight cancer, heart disease and other conditions. Berries are also high in vitamins, fiber and water, which makes them great options for anyone looking to cleanse and detoxify their body. Cranberries, especially cranberry juice, is also an excellent way to cleanse your body. Cranberry juice has been shown to cleanse your kidneys and has long been known as a cure for bladder infections.

Liquid Diet

A more drastic way to cleanse your body is by going on a liquid diet. There are detox kits available that include specially formulated teas that can help to flush and cleanse the kidneys and the liver. In addition, pure fruit and vegetable juices can also be used on a liquid diet.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Many people find that supplementing their diet with apple cider vinegar can increase energy and help to suppress the appetite. You can add a couple ounces of apple cider vinegar to water once or twice a day, you may also stir in a bit of honey to make it more palatable. Apple cider vinegar has also been shown to lower your blood sugar, be a curative for many digestive issues, good for your skin and can help to alleviate certain allergies.

Vitamins and Herbal Supplements

There are many supplements available that include cleansing and detoxifying vitamins and herbs. Excellent herbs for cleansing include dandelion, milk thistle, burdock root, red clover blossoms, cayenne and ginger root. Vitamins and minerals that are excellent for cleansing include Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Choline.

However you choose to cleanse and detoxify your body, just be sure you pick a method that will work with your schedule and your system.

The lack of doing an education background check has let too many situations all over the schools of the United States. Teachers and principals with backgrounds of drug abuse, sexual perversions and other criminal behavior are all over our airwaves.

Children just like yours go to school one day and their entire life changes because someone did not do their job when the teacher or principal was hired. This type of negligence in our public and private school systems is running rampant.

Schools claim they are screening everyone, but that system gets thrown out the window when there is a desperate need. Or perhaps a search doesn’t get done because this teacher was referred by a good friend.

An education background check has to get done no matter who the person is or where they come from. Omitting this from the screening process for anyone that works with children, whatever their age, is negligent and there is not any excuse for not doing one.

All teachers and principals, regardless of who knows them or their educational background, need to have a thorough background screening done before they are even considered to be hired. And the type of screening ought to match the position for which they are being hired.

Anybody working with children or teens should’ve to pass a drug test as well as a thorough education background check which should include criminal screening. If the person will be handling money at all, then a credit check should be done as well.

Many teachers teach driver’s education as an extra job after school. If that’s the case, or if they will be driving children on field trips or wherever, then they also need to have two other tests done. They should be subject to a department of automobiles check as well as a blood-alcohol testing.

If the school does not do that rigorous kind of screening, then I would find a reliable company online and run the check myself.

Our children are the most precious thing to us. If the school doesn’t do it, then run your own education background check.

One may consider the hair as a person’s crowning glory. In fact, most people spend hours in front of the mirror fixing their hair. Aside from making each one of us look good, the hair has yet another function you might be interested in. In today’s modern world, there comes another way of detecting drugs in individuals. Yes, using the hair! And it’s actually the most accurate method of detecting drug abuse in individuals. It can detect drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opiates and the like. It’s known as the hair drug test.

1. Ten Times More Effective Than Urine Drug Tests

With this kind of modern and convenient method, it is now easy for schools and even employers to test students and employees to determine whether or not they have drugs in their system. Hair drug tests come in handy kits with instructions on how to get hair specimens, then send it to the laboratory for analysis.

2. How It Works:

According to studies, when a person takes in drugs, as with any other substances, such as food, medicines, or drinks, it mixes with our blood, and as we all know, the blood nourishes all parts of our body, including the head. Hints of these chemicals then become trapped or filtered through the hair follicle, therefore, as the hair grows, these chemicals are stored in the hair. Interestingly, these chemicals become a part of the hair itself.

o  Very accurate

o  Chemicals in the hair can be traced

o  Traces not just drugs in system at the time, but over the past three months!

o  A two-inch sample can give that persons drug history for a four month period of time

o  Hair drug testing is much more costly than urine testing

o  Hair testing is now widely used due to it is effectiveness

3. How It is Done:

o  A hair drug test involves cutting a minimum of 50 strands of hair

o  Hair must be cut approximately one and a half inches from the scalp

o  Hair is then sent to the drug testing laboratory

o  The hair is actually screened and reviewed, then liquified for final testing

o  There are lots of hair drug test kits available today

4. Hair Drug Test Kits

Hair drug testing kits, though widely available, are not affordable. Prices range from $50-$69 for a complete kit. Laboratory processing fees are usually included when you make your buy.

One point of view to consider tough – a positive test result does not automatically mean the person uses illegal drugs. In fact, positive results are sometimes triggered by other legal substances. One maybe is under medication or taking maintenance medications, or over-the-counter medications. It is wise therefore, that when the confirmation test comes back positive, it is important for a doctor, nurse, or other specialist to review the results and determine if illegal drugs are truly the guilty party.

5. Beating Hair Drug Tests Is Impossible

Now other smart individuals are finding ways and means to beat the hair drug tests. Some say one can pass it through a kind of shampoo, especially from companies that claim that their shampoo cleans off all the toxins in the hair, but they are wrong. These toxins are already part of the hair follicle’s structure, cleaning it’ll literally mean taking it all off. The hair is like a plant. If a plant grows in a toxic environment, it’ll absorb toxins and toxins will become part of its structure – no amount of shampoo will change that.

As we cannot clean off toxins in the hair, can we mask it by bleach or dyeing one’s hair? Maybe for a time, yes we can. But then, our skin is made up of fatty tissues. These fatty tissues are responsible for storing toxins in the body. When our body sweats, it gives off skin oil and release toxins, and these will be touched and be absorbed by the hair. It’s like a cycle. The masked hair will then be contaminated once more.

Others shave off their hair, but sad to say, toxins don’t leave the body anytime soon. If you are being kept in confinement, your hair will slowly grow back in, and your drug use history will come back for all to see with it.

Resume falsification, including; misrepresentation of educational and/or work history, omitting previous jobs and employers, giving fake job titles, exaggerating job responsibilities, lying about why one left a previous job, or claiming a job, or position and/or responsibilities which never existed (Koehn, 2007, p. 1) is a growing problem for organizations looking to hire in an increasingly competitive job market. “A recent study showed that 9% of job applicants had lied about education credentials and prior job responsibilities, while 11% had misrepresented why they had left a previous job” (p.1). Other studies have shown that out of one thousand resumes reviewed, 25% of them had inaccurate information in some form or another, and even one-third of candidates for executive positions lied about past degrees, jobs or responsibilities (p. 1). The cost of hiring the wrong person for a job can be expensive in terms of money, time and allocated resources to hiring, training, and equipping an employee who in the end may have lied in order to get the job. One has shown the hiring costs in terms of advertising and recruiters’ fees alone to be $10,500 (p.2). While working for a large pharmaceutical company, we estimated the cost to hire, relocate, train, etc., a new sales representative to be well over $100,000 for the first 6 months. While the cost of hiring an employee who has falsified resume information is high, the cost of not taking action against those who have lied and preventive actions to prevent mistakes being made in the first place, may be even higher. The true costs to the organization may be very difficult to measure, and should include the costs considered above as well as lost motivation, trust and confidence of other employees, clients, vendors, and others who depend on the good reputation of the company.

An employer who discovers and can document that and employee had falsified information on a resume or application is justified in terminating employment with this individual for “cause” in that it demonstrates the individual cheated, falsified documents, or showed grow insubordination by lying about their qualifications (Trevino and Nelson, 2005, p. 144). If the employer does not terminate employment they risk lowering the standards of what is acceptable ethical behavior for all other employees within the organization. It may set a precedence that sends the message to other stakeholders in the organization that lying is accepted and true effort, dedication and hard work isn’t necessary to get ahead. Employees who were honest in their applications and in their approach to work may “perceive that they have been unfairly treated” may become less “satisfied, less likely to go the extra mile, and more likely to steal (or lie to) the organization” (p. 146).

Rather than discover a mistake after it occurs, it is far more cost effective for an organization to invest in extra measures to avoid making a hiring mistake. There are 10 steps an employer can take to reduce their risk of hiring the wrong employee and to catch those who may misrepresent themselves in a resume. These steps include:

Before the interview:

1. Have each applicant sign an document in the application process where they must declare that all the information on their resume, the application and the interviews is accurate and correct. The document must specify that lying or misrepresenting the truth will be cause for immediate termination.

During the interview Process:

2. Conduct a phone screening first. This is less expensive than a full fledge interview with the candidate. In this interview review employment history, educational degrees, certifications, and general qualifications with the candidate. If the phone screener confirms the basics meet the job requirements, then move on to face-to-face interviews.

3. Be certain to use behavioral based interviews by 3 separate individuals. Have each interviewer rate the candidate on how well the candidate has demonstrated they are able to meet the qualifications of the job based on past behaviors. When the candidate gives examples of their past performance, ask them to provide names of individuals whom are familiar with the situation whom you might talk with as another reference. Look to gather new contacts in addition to the ones the individual may have provided on an “official” reference list.

4. In the interview focus also on job “fit” or motivation. Design questions that explore what the candidate thinks is and is not exciting about their past positions. Ensure they are a good motivational match to the job.

5. Ensure that the three interviewers come to a consensus on whether or not the candidate should be hired. Discuss each behavior, capability and skill discovered in the interview. Move forward with the hiring process only if the 3 are in consensus.

After the interview, but before making an offer:

6. Confirm all past jobs, degrees, dates, etc., with past employers and universities. Ask each if they would recommend the individual. While they likely will not give you more information in order to protect themselves from lawsuits, they just might. Also, ask if there is anyone else they would recommend you talking to. They may be willing to give other references. Be certain to check on each.

7. Follow-up with each referral the candidate gave you on the application and/or resume and especially with the “referrals” you accumulated during the interview. Ask them to relate any experiences they had that demonstrate capabilities covered in the applicant interview. Ask them for general reference for the candidate and for any other information they would like to add. They may be more willing or able to tell more about the candidate than prior employer’s HR departments.

Once a decision has been made to hire, make the offer based on the following conditions:

8. That they pass a drug test.

9. That you complete a criminal background check.

10. That they pass a psychological profile test and/or skill aptitude test. These tests will confirm whether the candidate has the skill and the psychological “match” of the candidate to the job, as well as identify questionable ethical behaviors which would prevent the candidate from fulfilling their responsibilities in an ethical and legal manner.

While this process may increase the time, cost and energy needed to make a hiring decision, it will save a company thousands in additional costs if the wrong hiring decision is made. It will also protect the company from the unpredictable costs of hiring someone who isn’t licensed and/or has falsified information. If they are not trustworthy enough to represent themselves in a resume to you, they will not be trustworthy enough to trust with the company’s good name and resources.

Attaining your pilot’s license is no easy task, for there is a significant number of things that you must do, as well as a significant time commitment you have to be willing to make, to be able to be up there flying. But, if you have dreamed of being a pilot, it should be worth the effort and time. If you are interested in obtaining your pilot’s license, below is the general guide to how to go through this process.

Locate a good flight training center. If you have any friends that are pilots, they are able to advise you on a good flight school. Often, they can either recommend their own school or direct you to a better one. It’s not difficult to make friends with other pilots. Pilots are generally very nice, friendly people. You will be welcomed into their extended family. Try asking around at a small airport and chances are good you’ll find plenty of answers from local pilots. If all else fails, search through your local phone book for flight universities.

Before you enroll in a flight school, check them out. There are many important things to know about a flight school, including how long they have been teaching pilots, the type of planes used for training, the age of the training planes, and how often the planes have had maintenance checks. The flight board requires that an airplane be inspected every 100 hours, but a reputable flight school will make these inspections more frequently. Ensuring that the flight school that you choose gauges their engine hour meters with Hobbs Meters may be a good choice. Instrumental in recording your accurate flight time, an engine hour meter will be used to record the time between the start and shutdown of your plane’s engine.

Complete your ground school training. It is very essential that you obtain ground school training and endure flight hours. Before you can get into the airplane, there are several topics you have to cover in the classroom, that’s what ground school is for. While some flight schools run ground school and flight training at the same time, most require you to finish ground school before you get any instruction in the air. Ground training will be defined by comprehending aerodynamics, airport protocol, and the basics of flying, while experiencing first hand tutorials on what it’s to fly and how to ensure the safety of a plane. You will also be exposed to reading sectionals such as maps, radio frequencies, avionics, and the like. The written portion of your upcoming exam is taken from ground training.

Pass the medical exam. Passing your physical exam is the first requirement to being permitted to do any flying, including basic training maneuvers. The flight exam covers more than your basic physical. It also consists of a drug test, a blood test for health issues that could negatively affect your flying, and perhaps most importantly – an eye test. Yes, people with corrective lenses can still become pilots! However, a doctor must determine whether or not your vision is sharp enough to fly a plane without incident.

Log as many hours in the air as you possibly can. At the beginning of your training, you will spend many hours with an instructor, as the flight lessons will be mainly educational. You will learn many critical maneuvers, such as how to take off, how to stall, and how to land. It is imperative that you learn how to stall the plane because this will inherently train you on how to get out of a stall. Power on stalling and power off stalling are the two forms of stalls that you will need to become familiar with. If a stall occurs while the plane is at full throttle and taking off, this is referred to as power on stalling. Another form of stalling takes place in the landing sequence when the plane resides at a low idle, and it’s referred to as power off stalling. You have to be prepared for all scenarios in the event of a malfunction, thus it’s very important that you know how to deal with both types of stalling.

You will go through the process of learning how to execute a number of techniques including ground reference maneuvers during your flight hours. The successful execution of ground reference maneuvers entails finding an object, and then circling it 360 degrees also to maintaining your initial starting altitude and equidistance. During flight hours, you will learn how to read navigation panels and fly with and without instruments. After the basic training you will need to fly solo. At this time, you will be on your own to fulfill your needed amount of solo flight hours.

It’s imperative that you approach your testing very seriously. You can begin the actual testing process upon the completion of your ground training and when all of your flight hours have been amassed and collected. In this step of the process, it’s very important that you do very well in this area, and this is even more important if you are intending to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot. Without success on every test, you cannot hope to become a commercial pilot; however, you are permitted to take a test over again if you do fail it.

Your instructor usually recommends a facility where you will take your written test. The test will cover items from both your in-air training and ground school. If you pass the written exam, you’ll then be able to take the final exam: a flight with a licensed examiner.

The flight examiner will be asking questions while this test flight, and it’s very likely that he or she will focus in on things that you may have erred on in the written portion. Among the tests you have to pass are inspecting the plane prior to flight, flying proficiently according to your instructors commands, and landing the plane numerous times. If the flight examiner is satisfied with your performance, you’ll have passed your test and can expect your pilot’s license in the mail!

It was practically unheard of for anyone my age to be using drugs when I was in high school about twenty years ago. Drugs were way too controversial for my generation, even though we did have get-togethers and the majority of us were guilty of underage drinking. Drugs weren’t completely unheard of in our small town because it was right outside of Philadelphia. We just had better things to do than take drugs during those years.

However, the same high school that I went to now has a substantial drug problem. A lot of kids in my hometown have been caught dealing drugs or in possession of illegal drugs. In fact, parents are starting to give their kids drug tests at home in order to keep things under control.

I really have no clue why a sudden interest in this activity appeared in my area. Since crystal methamphetamine became more popular and more low cost than other drugs, quite a stir has been caused in the small towns all over the country.

Employers across the nation are also starting to require their applicants to take drug tests. In fact, the astounding job offer I received several years ago was contingent on whether or not I passed my drug test. Of course, I had no problem passing the drug tests, but my new company was very strict. They are still testing new hires for drug abuse after four years of implementing the anti-drug use program.

A lot of people are arguing that employers shouldn’t care about what someone does on their own time. They feel that there is no need for drug tests if they are not engaging in any illegal activities while at work. I admit that they have a valid argument but I am still uncomfortable with hiring people who have evidence of drug usage in their systems.

In my opinion, certain positions ought to require drug tests. It’s a fact that many companies do random and frequent tests because their employees work with the public. Police officers, doctors, nurses, pilots, and many others who have important positions in society should be given random drug tests. This is because we trust them with our lives.

However, I’m a bit worried about the existence of ways to “pass” drug tests. There are certain products that can cleanse your system quickly and guarantee that you will pass any tests within a certain time period. I suppose that means that there are quite a few people walking around with jobs that they should never have received.

If you want to become a truck driver and enter the transportation industry, there are several requirements that you must fulfill. A lot of companies will pay for your training but you ought to know what may be expected of you. Most Trucking Companies will ask that you are at least 21 years of age for interstate driving or 18 years old for intrastate driving. They also require you to pass the DOT physical exam, a drug test screen exam and ask that you posses a valid driver license issued in the state in which you live. But the most universal requirement of them all is the Commercial Driver License (CDL). If you do not have this permit you can not drive trucks of more than 26,000 lbs hauling capacity. Even if you have experience on the transportation business you must have this permit.

The CDL test is divided in two sections: the General Knowledge Test and the Road Driving Test. The first part is a written test which includes subjects like endorsements, air brakes, cargo cars, combination cars, dangerous materials, passenger cars, tank cars, school bus endorsement and doubles and triples.

The second part is the driving test which includes: pre-trip inspection and on the road driving skills. There are some practical techniques that you can practice that will help you to prepare to pass the CDL test. First, establish a research study  schedule. This allows you to maximize your studying time. A good technique for this is to study one hour before work and then one hour after work but if you do not work yet the best moment to study is in the morning when your mind is fresh. Later, do a review in the afternoon and quiz yourself. It’s best that you not study very late at night as you will not retain the information as well. Just do not wait to study until the last moment! You can not rush memory skills. It takes time and dedication.

After you get your CDL and are ready to work, there are other requirements/endorsements that you may be required to pass. This depends on the kind of truck that you are going to drive, or the kind of job you are going to do.

One common requirement is the airbrakes endorsement that is required for people who are going to operate a vehicle with airbrakes, which may include buses and/or trailers. Hazardous material endorsements (required to operate trucks that transport hazmat) are also very common. For this endorsement you must know all the rules and regulations about the transportation of this freight. Passenger endorsement is necessary to drive vehicles designed to move 16 or more people including the driver but most truck drivers will probably not be required to pass this. Another is cargo endorsement for people interested in hauling cargo. This mainly covers various safety rules. There is also a combination vehicle endorsement that is required for people who are going to drive vehicles such like tractors and trailers. Truck drivers may also be required to pass doubles and triple endorsements (to pull two or three trailer combinations, it also requires special skills) and tank vehicle endorsement (required for hauling liquids, this requires special training because the center of gravity and the movement of the liquid may cause a roll over more easy than other vehicles).

Some antibiotics, like Amoxicillin are allegedly said to induce a positive reading on heroin and cocaine tests. A reliable source of mine was not exactly able to verify this information, so I must admit that there could be some mistake on this matter.

There are some legally sold products in the market that actually contain minute traces of illegal chemicals. Tests like the GC/MS will most likely give you a positive reading since the metabolites that come from the positive testers are similar to those of illegal drugs.

Detoxification products may include drinks, pills or bubbly tablets what are usually ingested at least one hour before undergoing tests in order to stop the body from producing toxins within a 5-hour period. There are preparatory steps that are advised for a few days before a particular deadline, in which you take in lots of water, consume light meals and veer away from toxins. This can help greatly in reducing the amount of toxins in your body. And when the actual day for the test comes, just take the pills or drinks and the toxins will get barred from being released in your system for at most 5 hours. For better results, it is also good to take Pre-Cleanse products, which usually comes in pill form, 12 to 24 hours before undergoing examination in order to reduce toxin levels in your system. Using Constant Cleanse cleaning capsules in connection with detoxification drinks, pills or effervescent tablets can give you the best detoxification effectiveness.

The Detox Drink is a body detoxification product that blocks the toxins in your system and allows you to successfully pass a urine drug test. Most toxins are kept in the fat cells of our bodies and get released the moment these cells are burned. The Detox Drinks impedes the fat burning process of the body for a maximum of 5 hours; therefore toxins don’t get released within that time. This Detox Drink acts on all toxins and completely goes undetected. It is specially engineered for people who are smoking around 4 times per week or less. Should an individual weigh more than 200 pounds, taking two detox drinks and two bottles of water is advisable before undergoing examination. These drinks will usually have around 99.60 percent passing rate on many drug tests upon proper usage. Make sure you shake the bottle before consuming. Also drink the contents until the last drop, and have plenty of water after a 15 minute interval. Effects usually settle in at around 45 minutes or so.

The regular procedures include:

1. Avoiding toxin contamination 48 hours before examination.

2. Refraining from taking in more than 16 ounces of water each hour.

3. On the date of deadline, eat and drink in your normal routine and stay away from sugary foods.

4. Try scheduling your test date in the afternoon and urinate 3-4 times from taking a Detox Drink subsequently.

5. Drink will have an effect from 45 minutes to 5 hours; summit effectiveness is achieved at 2 hours.

6. Like any drug examinations, it is important that you stay away from sugary foods and avoid engaging in any strenuous activities for the time being. Continue with your normal eating routine otherwise.

7. The drink gets a better taste once chilled before drinking.

Urine must have a reading of 91 to 97 degrees. Temperature will be verified by NIDA qualified labs. Should this not be the case, you will be suspected of adding water to the cup, or made some substitution. Disposable pocket hand warmers can be used in order to maintain proper temperature of urine sample (provided it’s contained in a condom or douche bag) and are available in department stores.

Knowing where to start in the job arena, and it is an arena out there, can be a daunting and stressful experience. What do I wear? How’s my hair? Do I wear my nose ring or not? What skills do I really have? Are they skills they are looking for? What’ll they ask me?

All valid questions, but the answers are not as difficult as you might think. Let’s take one at a time. For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on interviewing for most any office position.

1. The resume. I am a corporate recruiter. I do not read cover letters, mostly because they all say he same thing. “I feel as though my superior customer skills and attention to detail would make me an asset to any company.” Who cares. Everyone says some version of the same statement. Unless you have something really relevant and out of the ordinary to say, don’t say it.

Do not list every single job you’ve ever had, especially if you’ve worked for temp agencies. Simply state that you worked for the FGH Agency from 1996-1998. If they want more details, they will ask.

Never hand write a resume or cover letter. I have seen more than one resume come through hand written on lined, spiral notebook paper, torn from the book with ‘chads’ and all. (I always wanted to use that word!)

You do not have to pay someone to write a resume for you, and I’d not suggest using a template resume from a computer program unless you really know how to do it. Make sure to take benefit of your local state career office. They will help you put together a professional and meaningful resume.

2. Make sure to work Skills. If you have a computer at home and are able to surf the net and write n occasional letter, you do not have computer skills. Again, your local career center or library runs classes either free of charge or for a small fee. The programs you need to know are included in the Microsoft Office Suite. Note that MS Office is not a program unto itself, but a group of programs in a bundle. If the interviewer asks what software you’ve used, and you say “Microsoft Office, Word, some Excel, Internet Explorer,” you’ve already demonstrated that you don’t know enough.

The core programs you ought to know in any office environment are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, of course Internet Explorer, and sometimes Power Point. Be sure to take the classes, borrow beginner training books from the library. Be sure your typing is up to snuff. These skills alone will almost guarantee you a better, higher compensating job.

Learn how to use office equipment such as faxes, copiers, printers, mail meters, and learn the basics of filing and general office etiquette. Again, there are great resources out there at a career center, a library, or on the net. Volunteer to work as an intern a few days or nights per week to see how a real office runs.

3. Customer Service Skills. If you don’t have these, don’t bother. Most companies would rather hire and train someone who demonstrates great customer service skills, than hire the person with superior office skills, but could not get along with a twig. Don’t misunderstand what customer service is all about either. If you don’t know, there are three different types of customers:

Internal Customers, who are your colleagues.

Vendors, with whom you place orders with, deliver paper, fill the snack machine, repair the copier, vacuum the floor, etc.

Then there are external customers who include everyone else, and this is where it gets interesting. Your external customers keep you in business by purchasing the product and/or services your company provides.

But did you know that they also include the coffee shop person in the lobby, the elevator attendant, the desk security person, the waiter at your favorite lunch spot, the hot dog guy, and the newspaper lady? Yes, these people are customers too, as they have the potential to become future customers, or may be in a position to help you get new customers. Think about that for a moment…Done? Okay.

Part of customer service means that you go out of your way, sincerely, to say “Good morning!” or whatever time it happens to be. Make sure to put smile ob your face as you say this, as you consult with anyone, and even when you are on the phone…the difference is unbelievable. Listening to your customers when they have issues, compliments, requests or even short anecdotes, within reason of course. Customer service can be picking up a newspaper someone dropped, bringing in a plate of cookies once in a while, and remembering birthdays.

The main rule of customer service is to treat others the way you’d want to be treated.

3. Do not be too cool for school. Your potential employer will probably not be impressed by your tattoo or earring. Nor will they appreciate street slang or silly handshakes. Untied sneakers with baggy pants and shirt hanging out. For women, don’t plaster on the make up, bathe in perfume or use a bottle of hairspray. Gum chewing, short skits, tight pants, stiletto heels, cleavage and too much jewelry won’t get you the job. The employer is always cooler than you are. remember that they might be giving you a job?

Look in business magazines or at people coming in and out of office buildings. Notice what they are wearing for the most part, and go for that look. If you can’t afford a suit or business clothing, go to the thrift store or borrow form someone. There really is not a valid excuse. Men, remove any body jewelry, and cover any ink. Woman, go easy on perfume and makeup, were a minimal amount of jewelry, and never wear any clothing the might be provocative.

4. Slang. No matter how cool your interviewer may be, never underestimate them. Never think that they will be okay with being called “dawg” “dude” “buddy” “pal” sweetie” “honey” etc.

Also watch the bad grammar. I recently asked for interview notes from a manager and asked how he liked the person. “She was very pleasant, had the skills we need, but kept on saying things like ‘youse guys’ and mispronouncing common words.” The manager could not use her because she’d be making copies in a major law firm, and the attorneys would pick up on that. Often it’s the silly things that you don’t expect that will make or break you.

There are many good books out there which delve much deeper into the art of surviving an interview. I suggest that you use some of this unemployed time not just looking for work, but reading, acquiring and brushing up on skills.

5. Be prepared for questions. Most interviewers today use a method of interviewing called “Behavioral Interviewing.” It’s a technique that’s guided by the principle that performance is the best measure of future performance.

They will go over your resume, but will also ask questions such as “You left FGH Inc. because of a management change. Can you tell me more about that and why it affected you?”

or “Are you able to tell me about a time when you were really busy and getting behind in your work? What did you do in that situation?” There are many questions such as these, but just be ready to tell stories rather than answer questions. If you can’t think of one at work, tell one about real life. If all that fails, tell what you’d do in that situation. It seems very uncomfortable at first, but really does get easier as you move along.

6. Be straight. Do not lie on your resume or in person. If you don’t have a degree, don’t put it down. If you never reached that $1 million dollar sales goal, don’t bother. These things always follow you around.

Another thing that I don’t understand, is that you will be asked outright if you agree to a drug test, background check, automobile check (if job requires driving) or even a credit check (for banking or finance jobs) If you don’t think you can pass any of these, please let the interviewer know. There may be some way around certain checks, but it’s a waste of your time, the interviewer’s time, and the company’s money if you know that you’ll never pass the drug test, for example.

There you have it. Just a few pieces of information that might help you land that great job, and not be so intimidated by the interview process. Remember, that you don’t need a formal education or a degree to get a good paying, respectable job. It just takes learning, persevering, improving yourself, and a positive attitude. I’ve seen it and I know that it is true.

Bodybuilders generally follow different cycles than other athletes because of their objectives. Bodybuilders use steroids for two purposes, to increase muscle mass and decrease bodyfat. Such other factors as endurance, stamina, and strength are secondary and while important for training purposes, play no role on a bodybuilding stage.

Cycling means alternating periods of anabolic steroids use with non-use. But bodybuilders competing at the national and professional levels seldom come off the drugs. For most of these people being “off” the juice just means taking lower amounts. There is rarely a point during the year when the person’s system is clear of the drugs. Generally speaking they stay on heavy amounts of steroids continuously.

Why Cycle?

The primary reason why bodybuilders cycle steroids is to reduce the risk of side effects. It is well known that the risk of side effects greatly increases with the length of time the person is on the drugs. A short 6 to 8 week cycle will probably not produce any serious medical issues, but most bodybuilders don’t limit themselves to such short cycles. They stay on for months, if not years at a time. It is not surprising that many of these individuals start suffering side effects.

A second reason for anabolic steroids cycling is to beat drug tests. Bodybuilders and other athletes got a free rise for the first 15 to 20 years of drug use, as a test for steroids wasn’t developed until the mid 1970′s. The first tests were easy to beat but it wasn’t long before the testers had closed the gap. By cycling the drugs between long acting and short acting, bodybuilders can often pass their drug test on contest day.

A third reason for cycling steroids is to increase their effectiveness. Most users report that they made their best gains on their first cycle. This is because their systems were not used to the drugs. But with each additional cycle their steroid receptors become less responsive to the drugs. That’s why heavy users stay heavy users – small amounts just don’t produce significant results anymore. This “down regulation” of steroid receptors is one of the primary reasons why the first cycle of steroids is usually the most effective.

The problem with Cycling.

Even though most intelligent bodybuilders realize that cycling is the way to go, it’s not foolproof. Some individuals are very sensitive to the effects of these drugs. Even by alternating periods of usage with non-usage they may still develop medical problems. No one knows exactly how a drug will affect a person’s body until he starts using it. By then it may be too late.

Anabolic Steroids cycling is no longer a guaranteed method for passing a drug test. Tests are becoming more and more sophisticated and many steroids can be traced as far back as 18 months from their last usage. Even some of the short acting, fast clearing oral drugs are being picked up in drug tests. Even if an athlete cycled steroids to beat a drug test and reduce the risk of side effects, the bottom line is that as of 1991, steroid laws have made anabolic steroids illegal substances.

Legal alternatives!

With all the risks associated with steroids, bodybuilders should review the various legal steroid analogs that are available. Users report that many of these products are just as powerful and as effective at increasing muscle size as their illegal and dangerous cousins.