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Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

Electric Cars Are Coal Powered

In Business, Economy, Local News, National News, Opinion, Politics on June 28, 2011 at 2:54 pm

By Gery L. Deer
Deer In Headlines

A few years ago gasoline prices were hovering around the 5-dollar per gallon
mark driving automakers around the world to meet the sweeping demand for
alternatively powered vehicles. Within a year, nearly every company had unveiled
its own version of either a hybrid or fully electric passenger car.

The first electrically-powered cars were introduced in the U.S. and Europe
around the mid-nineteenth century. Though it is unclear who actually invented
the concept back in those days, today there is every reason to believe that the
electric car is no better of a solution than its gasoline ancestors; at least
not yet.

According to the United States Energy Information Administration, almost half
(45 percent) of America’s electrical power is currently generated by burning
coal. Natural gas and nuclear power come in second and third, 23-percent and
20-percent, respectively. Wind and hydroelectric power providers barely even
register on the scale.

With these facts in mind, it may as well be said that an electric car being
operated in the United States is essentially powered by coal. Yes, coal; and
environmentally-minded drivers need to know that there’s nearly nothing green
about driving an electric car.

Coal mining requires the excavation of substantial areas of land and poses a
host of environmental hazards including soil erosion, excessive noise and
pollution of the air and water. In an effort to appear more environmentally
friendly over the years, mining companies have done a better job at covering
their tracks. However, backfilling and tree planting will ever undo the overall
destruction caused by the extraction process.

Mining also takes a toll in human life. In 2010, for example, 48 people died
working in American coal mines. At the same time, China lost more than 2,400
workers to mining accidents.

Once mined, coal is burned to boil water for immense steam turbines which
generate electricity. Burning coal is a dirty process; a statement that cannot
be easily disputed. Burning coal gives off a mixture of sulfur dioxide, carbon
dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

Any ideas that so-called clean coal technologies will help to curtail
environmental damage is idealistic but finally erroneous. Adding
chemical-filtering scrubbers to the chimneys of power plants will only slightly
reduce the amount of toxins released into the atmosphere over time because of
the increasing number of plants needed to meet power demands.

And what happens to the contaminants when reusable scrubbers are cleaned? Some
scientists claim that the filtered toxic waste ends up in the soil and water
supplies in close proximity to the power plants. There is no consensus on an
answer to this question.

Eventually, the world’s coal supply will be exhausted, just as petroleum stores
will be and vehicle designers will be back to square one. But the immediate
issue rests in how to limit America’s dependence on foreign fuel supplies. For
the moment, electricity seems to be the go-to technology, but even the cars
themselves pose an environmental threat.

While they may not directly create a pollution problem, electric cars have some
particularly toxic components, particularly the lithium-ion batteries which
power the motors. Currently, the federal government says these batteries can be
freely disposed of in normal municipal landfills.

Toyota, on the other hand, recently stated that lithium-ion batteries were far
too hazardous to be used in passenger cars at all. If sold en mass, these
batteries could create a significant amount of solid waste, with no
predetermined plan for their complete disposal or breakdown.

Trading one problem for another is not a solution. For now, the amount of
petroleum needed to generate wind and solar power prevents either from becoming
immediately affordable or practical. There is no perfect answer but until there
is a viable option, not just for gasoline but also for coal, the electric car is
not going to help the environmental problem.

In the end, using more electricity to run the millions of automobiles in the
United States will, at least in the short term, generate more pollution and
waste. Anyone looking down their environmentally-friendly noses from behind the
wheel of an electric car should remember just how much damage they may still be
doing.


Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business writer based in Jamestown,
Ohio. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com.

New Local home Care Business To Hold Job Fair July 8

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, Senior Lifestyle on June 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

SPRINGBORO – Miami Valley Golden Heart Senior Care, LLC, has opened a new office in Centerville to serve seniors in Warren, Prebble, Butler, and Warren Counties. In order to fill non-medical homecare staff vacancies the company will be holding a job fair from 9:00AM until 2:00PM on Friday, July 8 at the Springboro Dorothy Lane Market Upstairs Community Room, 740 N. Main St. in Springboro.

Miami Valley Golden Heart Senior Care, LLC, will be filling numerous positions in anticipation of rapid client growth over the next several months. Those selected for these jobs will work as in-home companions, home helpers, and provide other non-medical personal care. All Applicants will need a copy of current Driver’s License, proof of car insurance, proof of eligibility to work in the USA such as birth certificate, passport, or social security card. Background checks and drug screening will be required of new hires at employee expense.

Applicants should be prepared to complete application, provide resume, and speak with a Company representative during this process. Those meeting all requirements will be called back for a second interview and completion of employee paperwork, drug screening and background check. Inquiries many be directed to Kim Bromagen at 937-985-4911.

Miami Valley Golden Heart Senior Care, LLC, offers 24-hour, 7-day services to help elderly clients remain in their homes longer while still living full, productive lives free of some daily tasks that may have become more difficult as time passed. They can assist with personal care needs like bathing, meal preparation and mobility as well as grocery shopping, managing bills and keeping up with medications and appointments.

Aviation History Begins In Greene County

In Economy, Local News, Senior Lifestyle, State News, Uncategorized on April 29, 2011 at 2:58 pm

By Gery L. Deer

(FAIRBORN) – For those looking to save money on vacation this season, consider staying closer to home. Day and weekend trips to local attractions can save hundreds and provide a fun, educational experience for the whole family. The Dayton area offers many such locations and many are free to visit.

One particular jewel in the Gem city’s historic crown is the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. Comprised of multiple attractions, the park system includes homes and workshops of the Wright Brothers as well as related figures including poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

Most of the sites are located in or near Dayton proper, but, apart from the work done at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, most of the actual flying and development actually took place in Greene County.

Perched atop a hill at the corner of SR 444 and Kauffman Avenue in Fairborn is the Wright Memorial. The hill overlooks Huffman Prairie, where the two aviators developed many of the innovations of powered flight following their success at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

At the Huffman Flying Field Interpretive Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, visitors can see exhibits and films about the importance of the area to modern aviation.

Upon completing their experiments in North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville returned to Dayton to find a suitable location to perfect their new aircraft. A Dayton area banker named Torrence Huffman owned a field situated about eight miles northeast of the city where he kept horses and cattle.

Huffman offered the field to the aviators on the sole condition that they keep the gates closed so that his livestock would remain in the pasture. Huffman Prairie, as it later became known, was flat, open and bordered along the north by the Urbana Electric Railway system.

The trolley depot at Simms Station, near the prairie, allowed for easy transport of tools and equipment. The Wrights had no way of knowing that less than a decade later, this would become location of the world’s first airport and aviation school.

From 1904 until 1905, the Wright Brothers had developed a flying machine capable of controlled, sustainable flight, but the task had not been without its problems. The tree line surrounding the field often created unpredictable wind drafts, thus making take off and landing problematic for the fledgling airplanes. At the end of 1905, the men moved from the site and did not return until 1910 when they built a permanent hangar and aviation school after obtaining a patent for their new invention.

Today the field is part of the national park in their honor and now situated at the end of one of the busiest military runways in the world at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Flying over Huffman Prairie, the birthplace of modern aeronautics, are some of the largest and most complex flying machines ever devised by mankind.

As a tribute to the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers, the Wright Memorial was erected in the middle of a 27-acre parcel of land in 1940. Originally planned for construction in 1913, the project was put on hold because of the great flood of that year.

In 1938, a revised plan was undertaken on land owned by the newly-formed Miami Conservancy District. Overlooking the Huffman Prairie Flying Field, the memorial was dedicated on August 19, 1940, Orville Wright’s 69th birthday.

Though Wilbur had passed on, his brother and several of their flying students were on hand for the ceremony. The site today includes the monument and plaza, a scenic overlook, a series of Native American burial mounds and an interpretive center.

The monument is a 17-foot obelisk made of pink, North Carolina granite. The material was taken from the same quarry as that used in the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk.

A bronze plaque on the face of the monument notes the accomplishments and dedication of the monument, while four smaller ones adorn columns at the entrances to the plaza area. Each plaque commemorates an historic attribute of the site including its prehistoric significance. Surrounding the monument is a circular plaza.

The site was also important to the Native Americans known as the Adena, who lived in the region between B.C. 500 and 200 A.D. Several burial mounds of various sizes are easily spotted by even the most amateur archeologist. In 1974, The Wright Brothers Hill Mound Group was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its archeological significance.

The Wright Memorial and Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center is located at 2380 Memorial Road, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Visitation hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Hours are extended to 6 p.m. daily from Memorial to Labor Day and the facility is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

In addition to the Wright Memorial, there are several other Wright-related sites in the Dayton area including the Huffman Prairie Flying Field, The Wright Brothers Aviation Center, the Wright Cycle Company, and the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center.

The sites are easy to find and most are free to visit, including the Wright Memorial, or require a minimal donation. For more information visit the U.S. National Parks Service website http://www.nps.gov/daav or call the Huffman Prairie Interpretive Center at (937) 937-425-0008.

Tips From A Pro On Hiring A Handyman

In Business, Economy, Home Improvement, Local News on April 15, 2011 at 3:42 pm

By Gery L. Deer

Photo By Martine Doucet

Spring is finally settling over the Miami Valley region and many property owners are preparing to dive into that long list of home improvement and repair projects. Occasionally, some tasks may be beyond require more expertise, yet be smaller than what might require a large-scale contractor. For these jobs, many people seek out the services of an independent building repair specialist, also known as a “handyman.”

A handyman can do many different kinds of jobs but is often incorrectly labeled as a jack-of-all-trades, with most people assuming there is no expertise or specialized skills needed for the job. Renovation and repair specialist Rob Breckler disagrees. A native of Kettering, Breckler is an independent home improvement and remodeling contractor and owner of Quality Handyman Services, LLC, based in Miamisburg.

“I think the term handyman is perceived as a person who just fixes all of the small items that a larger contractor does not want to do,” says Breckler, who graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in finance from Brescia University in Owensboro, Kentucky. “While that may be true in some ways, it is certainly not all a handyman does. Anyone who describes themselves as a handyman should also be able to take on more involved projects as well, like a bathroom or kitchen remodel and minor plumbing and electrical work.”

According to Breckler, it’s not enough to just have a tool box and the ability to use the equipment inside. A professional handyman and home improvement specialist needs to have knowledge in many different areas of home repair.

Sometimes a job is more than it appears on the surface and an experienced professional will know what to do in those situations. “Most people let things go a lot longer than they should before doing repairs so until you start tearing into a project you can’t see the extent of the problem,” Breckler says.

“Part of the job is troubleshooting and determining what the right course of action will be based on the customer’s budget and other considerations.” He notes that while there are plenty of good people working independently in the remodeling trades, consumers need to be cautious.

Before hiring someone to take care of that spring honey-do list, Breckler has some suggestions. “References are the most important marketing tools of any remodeling professional,” he says. “Get the names and phone numbers of previous customers and call around to see what kind of work was done and get their take on how it went.”

Punctuality and professionalism are also important traits of a good handyman service. “I am frequently told that one thing my customers like is that I show up when I say I’m going to,” says Breckler, who adds that people should be wary about someone going door to door offering to do odd repair jobs.

“We all know times are hard right now, but if someone just comes knocking at your door, out of the blue, offering to fix a broken porch light or other problem visible from the road, it’s probably best to say no thank you,” Breckler adds. “Since a lot of people are without work right now, many people that have some knowledge about remodeling are trying to be a handyman and working for little money just to get by.”

“I’ve heard certain contractors referred to as ‘band-aid’ repairmen because all they do is cover the problem rather than fix it permanently,” Breckler continued. “Then, after taking your money, some just disappear and they are rarely insured nor are they part of any organization like the BBB to hold them accountable for their work.”

Finally, Breckler recommends that people get quotes or other critical project information in writing. “If someone is unwilling to put it in writing, you probably shouldn’t work with them,” he says. “A reputable company will always give you a written estimate on work and most will guarantee pricing, work time and other points of the job.”

Consumers have many choices in the area of home improvement and, with money being so tight, they should be cautious and take the steps necessary to prevent problems with disreputable service providers. To learn more about hiring an independent home improvement specialist, contact Rob Breckler at Quality Handyman Services, LLC, by calling (937) 620-8212.

High-Tech Xenia House Open For Spring Parade of Homes

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News on April 11, 2011 at 9:15 am

The Completed ICF Home by Beaver-Vu Construction

XENIA – A new energy-efficient home in the Wright Cycle Estates of Xenia will be a featured stop on the 2011 Spring Parade of Homes Tour, Sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Dayton. Built using Insulated Concrete Forms technology, the home will be open for tours from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10 and 16-17.

Located at 2230 Schwinn Ave., just south of downtown Xenia off of State Route 42, the home was built by Beaver-Vu Construction of Beavercreek. A combination of interlocking polystyrene foam blocks and reinforced concrete form the foundation and walls of the ICF house, resulting in greater energy efficiency (equivalent to R 22 insulation), as well as increased fire and storm resistance.

Insulated Concrete Forms can be used in slab foundations, crawl spaces, basements, and the living area. Utilizing the ICF technology helps to create a healthier living environment by reducing excess noise and eliminating moisture problems common to traditional construction techniques.

Marty Walling, vice president of Beaver-Vu Construction, chose Xenia for the ICF home site partly because of its resistance to high wind. “Among the many benefits of ICF construction, is its inherent ability to resist winds up to 250 miles per hour,” Walling says. He also notes that the ever-shifting weather of the Miami Valley is perfect for demonstrating the home’s energy efficiency.

Furnishings and staging for the ICF model home are being provided by Jo Beth Bryant of Total Transformations Home Staging. For more information about the ICF home tour, or to schedule a private showing, contact Marty Walling at Beaver-Vu Construction by calling (937) 426-4455. Complete details about the 2011 Spring Parade of Homes is available online at http://www.hbadayton.com.

Beavercreek Firm Builds Xenia Home Using Green Technology

In Business, Economy, Local News, Media, State News, Uncategorized on March 16, 2011 at 9:32 am

In an effort to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly, more energy efficient homes, designers have developed cost-saving heating and cooling systems, appliances and electrical systems. Until now, however, those improvements have been used in standard stick-framed homes where the energy savings can escape, literally, right through the walls.

Just south of Xenia in the Wright Cycle Estates, Beaver-Vu Construction and Waterproofing is building a home using new technology that marries the insulating properties of a polymer with the strength of concrete. Located at 2230 Schwinn Ave., the project is making use of Insulated Concrete Forms, or ICF, which combines polystyrene foam with reinforced concrete.

Used in the foundation and walls of the home, ICF offers greater energy efficiency (equivalent to R 22 insulation), as well as increased fire and storm resistance.  ICF can be used in the walls of slab foundations, crawl spaces, basements, and the living area creating a healthier living environment by reducing excess noise and eliminating moisture problems common to traditional construction techniques.

Marty Walling is the vice president of Beaver-Vu Construction, based in Beavercreek, Ohio. He recently became one of a select group of professional builders nationwide to earn the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation and is an authority in the new, continuously insulating technology.

“An ICF home is extremely energy efficient because it is air-tight,” Walling says. “No joints exist in the exterior wall envelope, or between walls and floors. This prevents conditioned air leaking from the interior to the exterior of the home. Energy savings from reduced air infiltration are obvious when compared to the large amount of heating and cooling losses experienced in traditionally built houses.”

Walling says that the idea of building an ICF-structured home had interested him for some time, but he was skeptical of the quality and design of available materials. “I investigated Nudura Insulated Concrete Forms which has a local distributor, Holdfast Technologies,” Walling says. “After attending one of their informational seminars, I felt their materials met all the criteria I was looking for.” Almost as important was the choice of location for this unique project.

For Walling there was no better location than Xenia, Ohio. He chose Xenia because of his long history with the Wright Cycle Estates development and to help promote one of the benefits of ICF construction: its inherent resistance to high winds, up to 250 miles per hour.

“We own building lots at Wright Cycle Estates and over the years we’ve heard endless comments regarding Xenia’s tornadic history,” Walling said. “Sometimes serious questions were raised regarding safe rooms within slab construction. So, if we were going to build this project anyway, why not make the most logical choice for the location.” As one might expect, increased energy efficiency and structural integrity comes with a higher price tag.

Until the ICF technology is more widely used, construction may be more expensive than that of traditional wood-framed homes. According to Walling, however, the expense is negligible.

“Depending on the build, construction costs using the new technology can be anywhere from 5 to 10 percent higher.” He added that the long-term benefits such as reduced sound transmission, greater fire and moisture resistance and overall energy savings would far outweigh any initial expense and insists that ICF is a good investment in the Miami Valley.

The ICF home project is expected to be completed in late March and will be on the market and available for tours early in April. A public open house is planned as well to give people a chance to see, first hand, how this new building technology can benefit future homeowners. For more information on this project, contact Marty Walling at Beaver-Vu Construction by calling (937) 426-4455 or go online to http://www.beaver-vu.com.

 

 

 

Public Employee Protests Just The Beginning

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Politics, State News, Uncategorized on February 28, 2011 at 8:35 pm

By Gery L. Deer

DEER IN HEADLINES

A serious uprising is currently in progress against several state legislatures around the country. In capitol buildings around the country public employees are protesting en mass in response to a proposed bill that, among other things, would limit their collective bargaining power.

When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that there would be an immediate vote on the bill, thousands of teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public workers descended on the capitol and entrenched themselves in dissent.

A similar bill has been introduced in other states, including Ohio, resulting in the same kinds of resistance. In an unprecedented and brilliant political publicity stunt former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland joined the protestors on Thursday, even donning their red-colored clothing. The red clothing is an effort by union members to steer opinion away from the belief that unions are purely democratic organizations.

While protests flare, the democratic members of the Wisconsin legislature fled the state in an effort to stall the vote. Both states are in a serious budget deficit and their republican legislative members are insisting that correcting the disproportionate benefit investment requirements between the public and private sector employees would help to shore up state coffers.

In addition, the Ohio bill would replace negotiated salaries for teachers with merit raises, which is how wage increases are granted in the majority of private sector jobs. Limiting the power of unions to engage in collective bargaining activities on behalf of public employees has sparked rage across the country, and now the Tea Party movement has jumped into the fight, showing the instability and unfocused actions of its organizers.

The Tea Party’s involvement in the collective bargaining debate serves only to contradict its own foundation. The Tea Party movement began because certain groups of conservative Americans were unhappy with the ways in which their legislative representatives were handling their interests in Washington, in effect, limiting their collective bargaining strength.

The point of a union is to work on behalf of its members to bargain with employers for the best possible working conditions and benefits. Representation of a group of constituents, whether they are made up of voters or union members, is essentially the same concept. In Ohio, Governor John Kasich is not only supporting the current bill but also wants even further union limitations.

If balancing the budget is really the problem, perhaps unions and legislators should do a better job at bargaining in the first place. Some salaries for public workers seem totally off balance with the position. The idea that anyone in a public school system, for example, makes a six-figure income should infuriate people more than anything else.

Consider the superintendent of Dayton Public Schools whose salary, as of July 2010, was $150,000. Why? The Ohio governor earns only $145,000, and that’s only the 14th highest in the country. How does running a school system possibly warrant more money than overseeing the operations of an entire state?

Besides the collective bargaining argument, there is also the debate as to whether public workers should be required to contribute as much to their retirement and healthcare plans as their private sector counterparts. The answer to this is a resounding yes. There is no reason that public employees should have their health care or retirement over-subsidized by the taxpayer when those same constituents already provide their paychecks.

Some teachers are underpaid and some are making too much, as do firefighters, police officers and health care providers. But in the end, they are taxpayers too and they should appreciate that everyone else has to ante up for their benefits and forcing the public to pay the majority of it is unreasonable.

There is no question that that there may be inherent union corruption and their power should be reasonably limited to work for the good of lower level employees, not to boost overinflated benefits of a few. Sadly, unions are still a necessary evil in the continuing effort to ensure fair labor practices whether public or private.  That said, if the governors of these troubled states are paying attention, there are only two words to keep in mind: remember Egypt.

Columnist Gery L. Deer is a freelance journalist and business writer based in Jamestown. Read more at http://www.gerydeer.com

Obama Administration Ignores Small Business

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Opinion, Politics, Uncategorized on February 9, 2011 at 9:47 am

Commentary By Gery L. Deer

DEER IN HEADLINES

 

President Obama addressed the United States Chamber of Commerce this week, receiving a less than warm reception. In his speech, the president stated that American companies are sitting on about $2 trillion and encouraged business leaders to spend that money on new jobs.

Escalating regulations, soaring tax increases and sharply negative rhetoric coming from The White House has kept relations tense between the president and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  The anti-business agendas of congress and the president pushed chamber leaders to spend millions in support of ousting the democratic leadership.

According to their website, the United States Chamber of Commerce is, “The world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.” They go on to state their core purpose as to fight for free enterprise before all areas of government (domestic and international) including congress, the White House, the courts and regulatory agencies.

Many business leaders insist that the very nature of chamber organizations is contrary to most of the goals of the Obama administration. Any olive branch offered by the president is believed to be merely some type of distraction from the hardships created by the economy and exacerbated by government interference.

President Obama’s call to hire more workers is yet another indication of how out of touch he is with the current state of business in America. What seems like a lot of money just hanging out there waiting to be used is actually in the possession of only the largest U.S. companies. Apple, for example, holds approximately $50 billion, with the rest spread among about ten others.

Not so long ago, the president called upon business leaders to tighten their belts and do more with less, just, as he said, the American people were doing. Now, he’s suggesting that those organizations spend what little capital they may have preserved well before the economic crisis has actually passed. Once more, his lack of insight has him ignoring the largest group of players in the game – small business owners.

According to the Small Business Administration, U.S. small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, generating half of all private sector jobs. Concentration on the survival of these companies seems at least prudent if not essential but they have been largely ignored.

While Washington has handed over billions in tax dollars to rescue big business, government has done nothing to help small businesses secure credit and spur recovery and growth. Because smaller companies have a harder time procuring capital, either through investors or loans, they are unable to take on more employees.

In addition, most business leaders agree that belts should remain tightened until consumer spending increases. Before smaller manufacturers can hire more workers, there must be an increase in demand of their products, a statistic that is not evident in the well-spun economic figures spewing from The White House.

The West Wing might be rejoicing at growth numbers taken out of context but Main Street has to deal with the reality that the rough patches are far from over. Any stockpile of cash being hoarded by America’s largest corporations is useless to the overall growth of the country’s economy because it has no effect on small business.

Until the government begins to turn its attention to the struggles of the little guy, the country will continue to crawl to recovery. Fortunately, small business owners represent the best of America. Their entrepreneurial spirit, determination and ingenuity will carry them through these tough times – no hand outs required. That’s far more than any Wall Street executive can say.

Gery L. Deer is a freelance columnist and business writer based in Jamestown. For more visit http://www.gerydeer.com.

Jamestown Firm Offers Resume Help

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, Uncategorized on January 20, 2011 at 2:19 pm

GREENE COUNTY, OH – As hundreds of thousands of Ohioans continue to search for a job, a well written resume can get be the difference between getting the interview and getting shut out. GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing based in Jamestown has just announced an affordable service for those having trouble creating an effective resume.

While a resume will rarely be the determining factor in why an applicant is hired, it is usually the first impression that a potential employer gets of the individual. For as little as $20 per hour, GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing will work one-on-one with clients to help customize a resume to suit the applicant and the desired position.

Owner and managing copywriter of GLD Enterprises, Gery L. Deer, is an award-nominated freelance journalist and business writer. “A resume is one of the most important parts of anyone’s job search and, oddly, it’s also the one document that is reviewed more subjectively than people realize,” Deer said. “There is no way to really know what a human resources professional is going to be looking for, so it’s important that the information is well written, clearly explained and economically worded.”

According to Deer, basic language and communication skills are essential to any job and many resume coaches or free help centers ignore a prime factor in resume development – the writing. “Resume help programs often over emphasize the layout of a resume, or more trivial issues like whether your name should be in bold print,” he said. “We can help the applicant to focus on the wording and content of the document to make it stand out from the competition. The improvement they gain in their communications skills will
also benefit them once they land their new job.”

In addition, help is available for preparing job-specific cover letters and for those job-hunting professionals who require a CV, or curriculum vitae, which is a more expanded listing of academic achievement and work history. For a minimal hourly fee, GLD Enterprises experts can also assist people with the completion of online job applications, which can often be tedious and frustrating.

“If people have patients, and prepare before trying to fill out internet-based job applications, the process will go smoothly, but it is still time consuming. We can help with that,” Deer said. For more information on resume assistance programs call GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing at (937) 902-4857 or visitwww.gerydeer.com.