Tech & Writing Jobs Site

Some of the Most Expected Pick-Up Trucks Are On Their Way to Hit The Market in 2011

Jacek — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:07:29 +0000

The automotive enthusiasts have at least one reason to get excited this year as the new line of pick-up trucks are on their way for the auto market in 2011. The new models are going to be upgraded as far as the fuel efficiency and the torque are concerned, plus they will be equipped with the complex system of safety features. Some of the most expected models include, among others:
1. 2011 Chevy Silverado HD. This well-known heavy duty truck is going to arrive at the market with a brand new type of chassis, providing incomparably better ride that similar models in the same class. In spite of the fact that the Silverado, with its Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel V8 engine, is often referred to as the one of the most powerful heavy duty trucks, its highway fuel efficiency has been even more improved by 11%. It means that drivers are able to go as far as 680 miles without having to stop for gas. The vehicle also contains Trailer Sway Control that ensures greater trailer safety and the Allison six speed transmission. Moreover, 2011 model of Silverados boasts having hill start assist, automatic grade braking and stabilitrak, the features that weren’t included in other 2010 models of vehicles in the same class. As for the price, those willing to buy this truck are going to pay between $21,000 to $39,000.
2. 2011 Ford Super Duty Series. This year’s line is going to be bigger and better, equipped with a new diesel engine, the 6.7L Power Stroke V8 Turbo. Moreover, these trucks are supposed to have the most environmentally-friendly emission rate ever and there is going to be the 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide comparing to the model manufactured in 2010. That’s good news to all environment-concerned car lovers! As for the other features, not included in the models from previous years, the 2011 Super Duty has the turbocharger relocated next to the exhaust manifold, which gives the truck shorter turbo lag and more power. The vehicle varies in price from $28,000 for the Super Duty F-250 XL to $62,000 for the Ford F-450 King Ranch.

3. 2011 Honda Ridgeline is widely known as a comfortable, safe, five-passenger crew cab. This year it is going to come standard with a reinforced body and frame plus a Vehicle Stability Assist system supported with Traction Control to help the driver in dangerous situations. The vehicle has quite an impressive towing capacity as it has built-in Class III trailer hitches, allowing for the maximum 5,000 pounds of towable weight. Although this truck is not the most powerful vehicle in its class, it is durable and can be easily maneuvered, which adds to its value. The Ridgeline is available from $28,000 up to $35,000.
This is the guestpost written by the team of Mascus.com. Visit them online if you would like to view some used trucks.

Volkswagen Attempts to Reach 800,000 sales on the US Market

Jacek — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:06:51 +0000

In the middle of September Volkswagen unveiled its plan to reach 800,000 sales yearly in the US by 2018. The attempt to boost sales will be supported by launching three key models onto the market: the Jetta, Beetle and a still-nameless mid-size sedan manufactured at the new plant based in Chattanooga, Tennesee. The company’s new strategy has been announced by Jonathan Browning , the chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, the US unit responsible for promoting and sales of Volkswagen brand in States. Officially, Browning will take over the new post Oct.1 and he has the tough job of cracking the US automotive market. He is definitely going to be under pressure to increase revenues in the US, where the company faced losses for a few years. The daring plan that has been worked out includes surpassing Toyota as the biggest car maker and increase the volume of sales in the US to one million by 2018 (altogether 800,000 Volkswagens and 200,000 Audis).
The new strategy, according to Automotive News, would also include a shift in price, from the current 10% above the US and Japanese competition to 5% which still allows Volkswagen to prevail on the market as a premium brand.
Jonathan Browning succeeds Stefan Jacoby, who is now going to head Volvo worldwide, running global operations. Browning’s appointment coincides with the launch of the redesigned version of Jetta, tailored specifically for the US market. The 2011 model is 2.9 inches longer than the version from 2010. It has a wheelbase of 104.4 inches and the overall length of 182.2 inches which gives some extra space for the rear seat. The line comes with three models: the base S model, the SE and the SEL. They have all been equipped with air conditioning, six airbags, power windows and locks, a four-speaker stereo with a CD player, stability control and antilock brakes.
The SE and SEL as more exclusive models have been additionally equipped with bigger tires, wheels and cruise control; SEL model has also got navigation system, a trip computer, fog lights, keyless push –button start and a power sun roof. Some say that the 2011 Jetta is the first vehicle in the history of that particular model, that serves as a truly family car but at the same time it is affordable for first-time buyers.

This is a gues post written for Mascus.com. If you would like to view some transportation vehicles online, please visit our site.

Who is a Technical Writer?

Jacek — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:53:30 +0000

In general the role of the technical writer is to organize complex and difficult pieces of information into user guides that are easy to understand and use by every single person. Technical writing requires various skills. Apart from the ability to write correctly, a technical writer must also be able to organize the knowledge and put it down on paper in a comprehensible and concise form. The person must know how to convert technical knowledge into easily understood terms. A technical writing job is not only about style and clarity of writing, but also about engaging with people and extracting the necessary knowledge as well as ability to describe various processes. The topics covered may include: work methods and procedures; installation, operation, and maintenance of machinery, equipment and software applications; general troubleshooting or engineering specifications for construction projects.

A technical writer can be asked to develop, write and edit material for: reports, manuals, briefs, proposals, instruction books, catalogs, customer and internal bulletins, training materials as well as related technical and administrative publications. Additionally, the person might be responsible for selecting photographs, diagrams and charts to illustrate the written material and control the process of preparing the text for publication and distribution. A technical writer may be also asked to write speeches, articles and press releases for the company. To be able to do this, she/he might have to:
• observe production or experimental activities to describe an operating procedure and detail;
• interview production, engineering and service personnel;
• get acquainted with engineering documentation;
• study reports, blueprints and specifications to become familiar with product technologies and production methods in the specific industry.

If you are looking for employment opportunities as a technical writer, apart from possessing the skills mentioned above, you need to know various related software applications, such as MS Office Suite, MS Visio, MS SharePoint and Adobe FrameMaker that are used for document management. When it comes to work environment, as a technical writer you may be a part of a writing team, but you can also work as an independent employee or decide on freelancing and work mostly at home.

This guest post was written the team of PennySaverUSA.com. Visit them online to find technical writing jobs and other employment opportunities in the USA.

A creative way of applying for a job…

Jacek — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:53:47 +0000

Looking for a job and don’t know how to distinguish yourself from the rivals? Well, there are some ways… We have already written about video resume, today it’s time to launch an AdWords campaign. Here is how it works:

Found on YouTube: Tips on Technical Jobs' Hunting

Jacek — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:05:58 +0000

Today we are publishing a post aimed at those of our readers who are looking for some kind of technical jobs. Here is the first interesting online tutorial that we have come across: Writing Resumes for Technical Jobs

And here you can find some more thorough set of advice - not only for technical job seekers:

Last but not least, something funny to relax a bit before you start writing your resume:

But don’t worry if you’ve got the knack – you can live with it

And what is more, you should treat it as an advantage when looking for a job. Even though the times are hard, the economy is slow and the unemployment rate high – you are among the most searched employees. Furthermore, the situation is umproving now. For example, Mascus – the online marketplace for used heavy machines – has recorded a record number of visitors to its portals in November 2009 and has managed to sustain that level till now. This means, that the entrepreneurs feel positive about the future of heavy industry as they want to trade. Another example comes from electrical and electronics industry. Onrec.com has just reported that there is a seller’s market for talented technical professionals across Europe specializing in electrics and electronics . The same tendendency can be seen in the USA and across the globe, regardless of the crisis.

Video Resume – Interesting Article at MyOnlineCareerSpace.com/blog

Jacek — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:53:48 +0000

Ever thought about video resume? If not, maybe you should…but be careful! Sometimes what seemed to be the best idea in the world, can fail.

Anyway, in times when the unemployment rate is pretty high, and you are desperately looking for a job, a standard resume and cover letter may not be enough to succeed. You can find some advice and examples of video resumes in a well-written article at myonlinecareerspace.com/blog/- Video Resume – May Work Wonders, But Not for Everybody.

The Benefits of Searching for the Job via Internet

Jacek — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:43:34 +0000

In the past, the companies couldn’t afford placing all the vacancy ads in the newspapers just because it was too pricey. The ads would appear in local newspapers on a daily or weekly basis and would consist on some rough descriptions of the employee’s duties, because every single word in the ad had to be paid for. However, the situation has changed together with the cheap access to the Internet, which also allows to advertise vacancies within a company.There is no doubt that the person accustomed with using the Internet is riding the wave these days. Having excellent computer skills is a prerequisite in the recruitment process, especially when the person applies to the company related with the internet or multimedia branch. It goes without saying that having your own electronic mail account is on the list of absolute necessities.

Establishing contacts via email gives you a few benefits: most of all it shows that you are conversant with this means of communication.

If you are willing to accept a non-stationary job and know at least one foreign language, working abroad seems an attractive option. Conventional methods made looking for the adequate and available job offers difficult. Regardless of the country you chose to work in, searching for the job by browsing online classifieds is much easier. And you can do it really quickly, just by organizing the ads according to key words; there is no chance you will miss any offer that may be interesting for you. Additionally, the Internet gives you the possibility to check the situation on job market in individual countries, including the information that concern the legal aspects of taking up the desired vacancy, flat prices, languaqge classes, cheapest means of transport, cultural events and so on. Another thing that speaks in favor of the Internet is that its content is less likely to become outdated as, contrary to newspapers, job offers are not published just once a day but you can download them whole month long. Moreover, with the Internet, the fact that the ad is one or two pages long does not have any influence on the cost of publishing it. This is why the ad that you have picked from the online classifieds can be more detailed than ever before which allows you to assess thoroughly the pros and conz of your job-would-be.

SEO Copywriting – What is It About?

Jacek — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:55:28 +0000

If you are or want to become a copywriter, these days the most offers that you can come across are connected with SEO. This post is for those, who haven’t got a chance yet to try SEO copywriting or are just beginning their SEO adventure and need some tips. First things first…

What is SEO?

SEO – search engine optimization – is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results (definition from Wikipedia). One of the most important parts of such optimization is editing the content and meta tags of a website to increase its relevance to specific topic… And these is where copywriters are needed – the role of a skillful copywriter is to make the content friendly both to real users and to search engines. SEO copywriters often work also on texts that are published on other web pages which are linking to the site of the client (for example by guest blogging). Before writing the first texts, every SEO copywriter should be aware of certain terms…

Keywords, content, meta tags

Keywords are the words or phrases that you want the business/website in question to be associated with. People use them when making queries in search engines and ideally, our site should be listed on the first of search results pages to get the most attention. There are some online tools that you can use to find out keywords and estimate their importance. The most helpful is Google’s Keyword Tool, which can tell you how interesting was your phrase or word to Google users and what similar words or phrases you can use that are more popular. The art of SEO copywriting is preparing such content which is readable and persuasive for visitors and at the same time includes enough keywords.

Apart from text visible on the web page, a SEO copywriter is often asked to prepare meta tags, such as meta title and meta description. The description attribute should provide a concise explanation (up to 200 characters) of a web page’s content. That text is often displayed on search engine results pages, so it should be attractive to Internet users and persuade them to choose your site. It is not certain how each search engine treats the description, but is very probable that most of them take into consideration the words that are used.

The title attribute is even more influential. It is a text that you can see at the top left corner of your browser when you visit a web page. What is important, the meta title also appears as a header when your site is listed at results page and its content is very important for search engines. It is therefore good to include some keywords in it, but you have to be careful not to overuse them.

All in all, as a SEO copywriter you would have to create copy that is both “attractive” to search engines and makes the page rank higher in response to certain queries, but at the same time you cannot forget that the text is aimed first and foremost at visitors and should persuade them to come back/buy/register/ subscribe to newsletter etc.

The Best Copywriting Books

Jacek — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:47:38 +0000

Wondering how to become a better copywriter? Of course you need considerable amount of talent, and a lot of practice, but you should also take advice from experts. As it is difficult to meet them in person, you should try to make the most of their books. Here are some must-read guidebooks that will help you to develop your writing skills and technique.

1. How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab

It is a perfect book for those who are just beginning their copywriting adventure as it outlines the basics of writing a good advertisement. Even though it was written in 1960s, it is not outdated and it is sometimes used as a textbook for copywriting classes. There is an extremely valuable chapter with a list of the 100 best headlines ever written and explanation why they were successful.

2. Breakthrough Advertising: How to Write Ads That Shatter Traditions and Sales Records by Eugene Schwartz

Eugene Schwartz is one of copywriting legends – his skills made him one of highest paid consultants in advertising. The book is considered as a classic on mail order copywriting. It is more advanced than Schwab’s book, but still beginner friendly.

3. Web copy that sells by Maria Veloso

This is a book for those who want to focus on web copywriting – it not only shows you have to write good copy for the websites, but also mentions social networks, blogs, and YouTube techniques. It has been updated recently to match the current online market place. It contains not only the theory of web copywriting but also very detailed advice, for example word lookup tables outlining which words should be replaced by others.

If you are looking for some good quality guidebook on the Internet, visit http://scientificadvertising.blogspot.com/ where you will find Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. The book was first published in 1923, but it is still relevant today. “Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life,” said David Ogilvy. I guess any further recommendation is unnecessary…

Best jobs in the US

Jacek — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:28:12 +0000

As America is experiencing economic downturn and the unemployment rate is rising, many people are asking themselves: what is the best career path to choose? There is no simple answer. Each person has different skills and talents. A list of the most crisis-resistant jobs in the US, may be of help.

JobsRated.com

JobsRated.com based its rating of the best jobs in the US on a detailed analysis of median income, growth potential, working conditions, competitiveness, hiring outlook, and physical exertion. Taking these factors into consideration, the following top 10 jobs were listed:

Mathematician
Actuary
Statistician
Biologist
Software Engineer
Computer Systems Analyst
Historian
Sociologist
Industrial Designer
Accountant

CNN Money Magazine

CNN Money Magazine has prepared its own list of the best jobs in the US, and math does not seem to be a key skill this time. These analysts considered: income, stress level, flexibility of work environment and hours, creativity, ease of entry, and opportunity for advancement. Here are the results:

Software Engineer
College Professor
Financial Adviser
Human-Resources Manager
Physician’s Assistant
Market Research Analyst
Computer/IT Analyst
Real Estate Appraiser
Pharmacist
Psychologist