Central Valley Professionals

Monthly Newsletter
February 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Page

To Contact CVP:
1 1 2 3 3 5 5 7 8 8 3302 N. Blackstone Ave., Suite 225 Fresno, CA 93726 (559) 230-4063 cvpfresno@gmail.com www.cvpfresno.org CVP Coordinator: Annette Wholaver (559) 230-3628 Edited by:
Darlene E. Lobkowski darlenelob@gmail.com & Roselyn Walker roselynwalker@aol.com

About Central Valley Professionals Members Who Got a Job this Month CVP Committees, Meeting & Facilitator Training Times Upcoming Events to Put on Your Calendar Leadership Professional Dress Code Article Why Printer Ink is the Other Black Gold Article How to Save Money on Printing Costs Article More Money-Saving Print Strategies A Special Note of Thanks and Recognition Happy Valentines Day!

About Central Valley Professionals

Central Valley Professionals (CVP) is the local chapter of Experience Unlimited, a networking group of unemployed and/or underemployed mid- and upper-level technical and managerial job-seeking professionals, which is sponsored by the Employment Development Department (EDD). The EDD provides our active members with the resources and guidance on job search activities, which meet and conform to the State and Federal laws, Equal Employment and all Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws. CVPs mission is to provide a supportive environment to allow active members to assist others and obtain employment and return to work as soon as possible. All our services are free to new and active members, as well as all Central Valley employers. Listed below are the services that CVP provides: Classes/workshops/training sessions for job searching Computers, printer, Internet and Wi-Fi access Telephones, fax and copy machines Employee job listings and referrals Resource library Guest speakers that speak at a seminar once a month

Congratulations!
Got a Job: Wm. Bill Kenney Marlene Sham Raul Parra

Central Valley Professionals Committees

ADMINISTRATION: This committee creates and catalogues all forms and flyers used by CVP to make sure the content is approved. They maintain membership files, create name badges and produce the Rsum Book. This committee is also responsible for presenting semi-weekly Orientation sessions, maintaining the CVP calendar of events, and preparing the Newsletter. COMPUTER SERVICES: This committee maintains the CVP member database, provides reports to the CVP Coordinator, and provides member information to other CVP committee chairs and co-chairs. They also provide computer assistance to members who need it. INFORMATION & RESOURCE: This committees primary responsibility is communication. They use the web and social media to connect employers with people seeking employment. They maintain the CVP website. INTERVIEW: This committee offers practice interviews to new members. They videotape the interview, if the member gives consent. Practice interviews are done on the first Thursday after seminar week. MARKETING: This committee builds and maintains a positive image of CVP. They create and deliver a message of value for the membership, clients and community. They network with local media, businesses and organizations to promote the message of CVP. RSUM: This committee reviews rsums for inclusion on the website, CD and Rsum Book, as well as reviews and edits new member rsums. They work together to ensure that CVP members have a resource for developing their best rsums. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: This committee is responsible for facilitator training, scheduling speakers and workshops, preparing handouts and putting on the monthly CVP seminar. They provide administrative support as requested by seminar guest speakers and maintain the training room during the seminar.

Facilitator Training
(Now presented as a Seminar Workshop during Seminar)

CVP Committee Meeting Times

Administration: 11:00 a.m. - Tuesdays Computer Services: 1:30 p.m. - Wednesdays Information & Resource: 9:00 a.m. - Fridays Interview: 11:00 a.m. - Thursdays Marketing: 9:00 a.m. - Fridays Rsum: 9:00 a.m. - Wednesdays Training & Development: 9:30 a.m. - Wednesdays

NO

Committee meetings during Seminar week, except the Computer Services and Rsum Committees.

Upcoming Events
Check these dates and mark your calendar
Practice Interviews:
Feb. 13 Call Robert Bob Croeni, Chair, or Elaine Frei, Co-Chair of the Interview Committee to schedule your appointment time.

Job Fairs:
Feb. 13: Feb. 20: 9 12:30 HireLive at the Raddison Hotel (downtown Fresno) 9 2 at American Legion Post 509, 3509 N. First St., Fresno, CA

Feb. 22: 10 4 Heart & Soul Festival presented by Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce at Manchester Center, Fresno, CA Mar. 26: 10 2 Fresnos Biggest Job Fair Annual Dept. of Social Services Fresno Fairgrounds, 1121 S. Chance Ave., Fresno, CA Apr. 10: May 29: 9 2 at West Hills College in Lemoore, CA (Highway 41 north of Highway 198) 9 2 at Clovis Veterans Memorial Bldg., 453 Hughes Ave., Clovis, CA (5th and Hughes)

We need members to volunteer for our upcoming job fairs and this is a good way to help you get your monthly hours in. Please contact Bill Kenney or Paul Ventura if you are interested in working at one of these events.

Look for flyers on these job fairs at the CVP office.

Wednesday Workshops at 10:30 a.m.:

Feb. 5: Feb.12 Feb.19 Feb.26 Facing New Challenges of Job Searching in 2014 Bernice Kao Topic TBA Gina Estrada Using a Standard User Account Terry Zody Cutting Household Expenses Rudy Crook

You can check our website calendar or one of the printouts in the CVP office for other upcoming dates and times.

Professional Dress Code:

Lately we have had members coming in wearing what is considered inappropriate attire. Below is what CVP/EU consider professional dress.
DRESS CODE: Men: Dress Shirt and Tie Sports Coat is preferable Suit (if you like) Women: Business dress: Dress and Jacket Pantsuit or Coordinated Pant outfit Skirt and Sweater set Suit (if you like) *NO cleavage showing please and sleeveless tops and dresses are not professional. The following are definitely not appropriate attire: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Hats or Caps Tennis Shoes Denim Leggings Polo Shirts Cargo Pants T-shirts (outside wear; colored or white)

Because we cannot control the office temperature, layers work best, but please keep seasonal guidelines in mind. Your cooperation in coming to the CVP office appropriately dressed is appreciated.

The Executive Council

Articles of Interest to Job Seekers

Why Printer Ink is the Other 'Black Gold'
May 24, 2012 3:00 PM

Printer ink is more expensive per unit than some pricy vintage champagnes. Robert Siegel and Audie Cornish explore why that is. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Now to the liquid gold that has long sustained HP: printer ink. These days, the cost of just a few cartridges can quickly exceed the cost of the printer itself. In fact, Audie, ink is so expensive... AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Robert? How expensive is it,

PORTER: Trap a customer into a format and once that customer has already sunk in some decent amount of money and/or, you know, effort into getting that format, well, you can charge a lot for the little thingies that need to go with it. CORNISH: In 2010, Hewlett-Packard spent roughly $1 billion a year on ink research and development. And here are some fun ink facts. According to a story that appeared on computerworld.com, printer ink must be able to withstand intense heating and some very fast squirting - 30 miles per hour through a nozzle onethird the size of a human hair. Oh, and it has to dry instantly on paper. SIEGEL: And here's some trivia you can impress your friends, at least your impressionable friends with: Ink dates back to ancient Egypt and China. Back then, ingredients included soot and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin. CORNISH: These days, the ingredients - besides water - sound slightly less organic. A story last year in Wired magazine lists a few: Reactive Red 23 dye, Direct Blue 199 dye, Acid Yellow 23 dye. The last one, we should note, can reportedly trigger asthma attacks and hives. So if you print out a picture of a lemon, the article advises, don't try and take a taste. SIEGEL: And in that sense, at least, perhaps your money is better spent on Russian caviar or Krug champagne than on a cartridge of ink.

SIEGEL: So expensive, Audie, that back in 2003, PC World magazine reported that at $22 per quarterounce, a Hewlett-Packard color inkjet cartridge was more costly by weight than imported Russian caviar. Or here's how Eduardo Porter puts it. He's an economics columnist at The New York Times. EDUARDO PORTER: $4,731 a gallon of printer ink. And that was more expensive than a 1985 vintage Krug champagne. SIEGEL: That said, the street value of printer ink may be a bit inflated. PORTER: I could assure you that that has very little to do with the cost of making the ink. It's more to do with what they can charge you for it. CORNISH: And that's because the printer industry has adopted the same business model as, say, the razor industry. Again, Eduardo Porter. PORTER: Printer ink is so expensive in order for printers to be so cheap. CORNISH: In other words, give away the razor so people will buy the blades - again and again and again.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/24/153634897/whyprinter-ink-is-the-other-black-gold

How to Save Money on Printing Costs

By Christopher Null, PCWorld Jun 11, 2012 6:00 PM

reported on that almost ten years ago, and not much has changed since. These days, printer ink will still run you about $20 to $35 per minuscule cartridge, each yielding 400 to 1000 printed pages. In fact, unlike everything else in the

By now youve heard the claim that at close to $4731 per gallon, printer ink is more expensive than vintage Champagne, rare whiskey, and Russian caviar. PCWorld

world of consumer electronics, ink prices are going up-as much as 30 percent since 2009. In a business where hundreds of pages are being printed each day, those costs are significant. Its easy to dismiss a single page coming out of the machine as inconsequential, but with a price per printed sheet (per color used) now hitting anywhere between 3 and 10 cents, a business that goes through 500 sheets a week

reason forwarding a link doesnt work). You can even use the print-screen function and the Windows Snipping Tool to create quick screen grabs instead of printing them on paper. The bottom line: Theres virtually nothing you might be accustomed to printing that you cant reproduce in digital form instead. Whats more, you can archive, index, and search digital files much more quickly than paper files.

Paper Tricks
Duplex printers save cost by using both sides of each sheet of paper. One of the oldest tricks in the playbook to reduce printing is to cram more information onto each page. This task is easy with a duplexing printer (one that can print on both sides), although the options might be buried in your printer preferences. By the same token, when you're printing PowerPoint slides, use the option to print multiple slides per page instead of just one. In PowerPoint's Handouts mode, you can print up to nine slides on a single side of paper (albeit very small). Another paper-saving possibility is the 'shrink to fit' option in Excel and most Web browsers. This setting keeps orphaned text and columns from being cut off when you print a page thats ordinarily a bit too large for your printer. Using 'shrink to fit' can save you from printing lots of sheets with just one or two words (not to mention likely having to reprint the whole job).

could be spending $2600 annually on printing--and many times that if staffers regularly print in color. Printing is a substantial business expense, but ultimately you have more control over it than you might think. Sure, some printing--packing slips, mailing labels, legal paperwork, and so on--may be unavoidable, but theres a lot you can do to cut printing costs. Here are some ideas, from the relatively painless to the rather aggressive.

Conscientiousness
Do those little email-signature 'Please consider the environment before printing this email' notices, followed by a tiny green tree, do any good? (In my experience, when you do print such an email, that message invariably ends up on a page of its own.) Hey, at least its a start. The recycling bins of the worlds offices are crammed full of pages that never should have been printed. Instead of printing on paper, save your document as a PDF that you can archive and search easily. Ending that wasteful practice starts at the top. If youre a small-business owner, lead by example: Dont print memos, maps, baseball scores, and interesting articles to leave on employees desks. This is why email was invented. Instead of dropping a 30-page report on your assistant, forward it as a PDF. Word can save documents directly in PDF, and sites such as Pdfcrowd can save Web pages as PDFs (if for some

Next section: More Money-Saving Print Strategies

More Money-Saving Print Strategies

How to Save Money on Printing Costs By Christopher Null, PCWorld Jun 11, 2012 6:00 PM

WHITE', and ensuring that the laser is everyones default printer.

Fun with Fonts

Another simple way to save ink is to use a font that requires less of it. A popular study from Printer.com found that Century Gothic uses so much less ink than industry-standard Arial that a company printing 250 pages a week would save about $80 a year by doing nothing more than switching fonts. The more professional-looking Times New Roman was nearly as cost-effective. You can update the default font in Word through the Change Styles drop-down, and in Outlook through Tools > Options > Mail Format > Stationery and Fonts.
Sample - Century Gothic font; Century Gothic font bold; Century Gothic font italic

Extreme Measures
What if all of the above fails? What if your staffers simply cant curb their printing habits? One drastic solution, not to be embarked upon lightly, is to take the printers away. You can start by banning individual printers on users desks. Workers are less likely to print something if they have to get up and walk to the printer to fetch it. You can also place networked printers near the location of the office manager, or whoever is in charge of maintaining and restocking them. People who get dirty looks because theyre printing too much are likely to self-regulate their usage over time. With few exceptions, no employee needs a dedicated printer on their desk. Pushing the envelope further, you can start banning printing altogether, at least one day a week. No, seriously: Every Friday, for instance, unplug the printer and lock it in a closet. The complaints will be fierce and furious, and you will hear considerable begging that I have to print this boarding pass right now, but it wont take more than a few weeks for employees to figure out how to survive without the printer one day a week. (Remember, businesses have taken far more serious measures, turning off the phones or email system periodically, and they've managed to get by.)

Free Refills
PCWorld has conducted significant research into the question of third-party ink cartridges, and the bottom line is that, in most cases, prints made with off-brand ink were as good or nearly as good as their brand-name counterparts. In the case of text and other black-andwhite prints, we detected virtually no quality differences. If you need the very best quality from glossy photo prints, investing in OEM ink may be worthwhile. But most people, particularly those who print text, can get by with third-party ink, which can offer a cost savings of up to 70 percent.

Two Printers Can Be Cheaper Than One

Its a paradox, for sure, but having two printers in the office can be an easy way to save money on printing. How? Dedicate one printer to black-and-white printing, and the other to color. The former should be a high-speed, workhorse laser printer, and the latter should be a printer that you use only for photos. Never use a photo printer to print black-and-white documents. Laser printers, while far from perfect, are considerably cheaper to use than inkjets. Laser printers' per-page printing costs are highly variable (as are inkjets' costs), but a price of 2 to 4 cents per page is about average--and less than youll pay with even a conscientious inkjet. Lasers are also much faster-which means you and your staff waste less time waiting for jobs to finish--and produce better text quality. The trick, of course, is making sure that employees dont accidentally use the wrong printer for each job. Help them to avoid that error by giving your printers custom names like 'COLOR ONLY $$$' and 'BLACK &

From there you can go even further. Turn the printer off two days a week, or even three days. Youll know when you reach the breaking point, but if your business can get to the point where the printer is off more than its on, you might be able to ditch the thing altogether.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/257306/how_to_ save_money_on_printing_costs.html

Darlene Lobkowski - Administration Committee Chair

Ive had the opportunity to work side by side with Darlene as a member of the Admin. Committee, and I so admire the excellence and commitment in which she performs her many tasks; the generosity she exhibits when assisting fellow members or in directing a mere stranger over the phone, providing the information ones seeking in order to take the next step forward. And as for her patience, well, shes blessed with plenty of that! Thank you, Darlene, for the exceptional individual you are; a lady of great integrity, and an outstanding example from whom we may all learn.

Roselyn S. Walker, Admin. Committee Member