THE CLOSEOUT AISLE

This is -- hands down -- the BEST software package we've seen for creating resumes (and we've reviewed every product on the market). But ResumeMaker Deluxe does much much more than guide you through the process of creating a great looking resume. It also helps you write all sorts of correspondence related to a job search -- and keeps track of all your job leads, applications, and needed follow-up. PLUS . . . it gives you lots of advice about "Getting the Job You Want" and helps you prepare for interviews (and salary negotiations) with sample questions and model responses (in simulated video format). And what's really cool -- it automates the process of posting your resume to the major resume banks and databases on the Web, and lets you send your inquiries directly to companies with job openings. If you're even beginning to think about working on your resume, you need this package.

Requirements for Windows Version: Windows 3.1 or higher; 486 or higher; 8MB RAM; 2X CD-ROM Drive or better; 1MB of free hard disk space to run directly from CD, 6MB for optimal installation; 256 Color VGA Display or better; Sound Card; Speakers or Headphones. Modem and faxing software recommended.

Requirements for Mac Version: Macintosh II/Power PC; System 7 or higher; 4 MB RAM available; 2X CD-ROM Drive or better; 2MB Hard Drive; Color Display.

101 Best Home Businesses

Aerobics instructor. Beekeeper. Dog breeder. Resume writer. Freight broker. So many possibilities! If you've dreamed of opening a home-based business, here's a book that not only gives you ideas about 101 different types of businesses you could start, but tells you what you need to know about each one before you decide to take the plunge. You'll see what you'll be doing, learn about start-up needs, pinpoint your customers, and take a realistic look at pricing and profits. You'll also discover where you can turn for free help with taxes or business counseling. "Eight Steps to Starting Your Home Business" (in Chapter 1) and "Ten Steps to Success" (in Chapter 2) ought to be read -- and probably memorized -- by everyone who's considering starting a home business. And the "Worksheets for Weekend Entrepreneurs," included as an appendix, ought to be used by anyone who's serious enough about working from home to actually develop a practical action plan. If you're thinking about starting your own home business, read this book before you tell your boss.

The Joy of Working from Home

Want to know how you can join the ranks of telecommuters and "cottage industry" owners? -- how you can make a life, not just a living? -- how you can be available when friends and family need you (or you just want to take an unplanned day off)? This book will tell you. The author's easy style make it an effortless read, and his knowledge of the subject make it enormously helpful. Eighteen chapters sweep you along: Starting a Home-Based Business . . . Organizing Your Space for Fun and Profit . . . Balancing Personal, Family, and Work Needs . . . Motivation and Self-Discipline . . . Contact! Finding and Keeping Clients . . . Making Money and Getting Paid . . . and on and on. Everything, in fact, you need to know to work at home successfully -- all in all, the best manual for home workers that we've read. 101 Best Home Businesses will help you pick a home business that's right for you; this book will help you make the most of it and integrate it into the rest of your life.

How to Supervise People

Every supervisor's success depends on getting things done through others -- and every one of those people has different goals, ideas, preferences, and priorities. Learning to focus, motivate, and get the right results from groups of people on time and within budget is the toughest challenge supervisors face. But you don't have to face it alone.

This 3-piece set identifies, explains, and demonstrates the supervisory techniques that will help you get the results you want. You'll see how to build strong teams and minimize conflict. You'll learn how to develop your leadership skills and motivate others to work smarter and harder. And you'll see how to handle sensitive issues (like what to do when a worker's personal problems affect job performance).

This set brings together the conceptual framework of effective supervision and gives you the here's-how-you-handle-it-from-start-to-finish details that can move every supervisor up the curve from good to outstanding. Use the video to jumpstart the training, The Supervisor's Handbook to build a strong foundation, and the audio tape for reinforcement. With all three, this set is a terrific value.

Supervisor's Portable Answer Book

This is the book to reach for when you feel like you're out on a limb. It's full of quick, on-the-money answers to a wide variety of tough questions, from handling employee complaints to overcoming challenges to your authority. The Q&A format provides specific examples of how to handle all sorts of problems quickly and effectively. Challenges like successfully supervising difficult people . . . the do's and don'ts of dishing out discipline . . . the in's and out's of hiring and firing . . . holding your own outside your department . . .overcoming obstacles to productivity . . . following up without flack . . . and more. If you've ever felt like calling 911 for help on the job, this is the book for you.

Economic Insanity

The world of work is largely authoritarian. And that despite the massive efforts in recent years to unleash the powers of democracy -- at least in organizational America -- by "empowering the workforce," "creating self-directed teams," "making every employee a leader," etc. These (and similar well-intentioned) management initiatives are doomed to failure, this book argues, because the values and assumptions that fuel the American economy are flatly opposed to them. These values and assumptions -- which include boundless growth, ever-increasing productivity, and unrestrained competition -- actually encourage businesses to treat individuals as commodities . . . as "human resources" to be bought, used up, and replaced. If you're a Hard@Worker who's ever wondered why management fads come and go but nothing much really changes, Roger Terry has some answers for you. Get yourself a copy of this eye-opening book while it's still in print!

Job Shift

Downsizing, reengineering, job redesign, outsourcing -- all these are signs of what this book tells us is an irreversible trend, the "dejobbing" of modern life. This is a totally new development in the world of work, and a scary one for those of us who know we must stay Hard@Work for years yet to come. How will we -- how can we -- manage to stay employed when there are no jobs for us to hold? The answer, according to William Bridges, is to understand the "new employment contract" which tells us, among other things, that we are all contingent workers. We must develop a "vendor mindset," and learn to move quickly between tasks and organizations. We need to analyze our D.A.T.A. (desires, abilities, temperament, assets), build our own version of "You, Incorporated," and get much, much better at managing change. All this won't be easy, but Bridges explains how to do it. Better check out what he says before the next R.I.F. is announced.

Team Fitness Builder

If you need to optimize work team performance, you need the Team Fitness Builder, the latest in powerful, cost-effective training and development software.

What It Does: Team Fitness Builder incorporates time-tested methodology that enables teams to:

• Analyze current team effectiveness and determine actions for improvement.
• Establish a common focus and direction for the team -- align team goals with business goals.
• Monitor progress and facilitate ongoing team development; teams can reuse Team Fitness Builder to continually assess effectiveness!
• Ensure that each team member understands his or her role and accepts the roles of other team members.
• Implement procedures that equip the team to function efficiently.
• Resolve conflicts that can hinder team effectiveness.

How It Works:

• Using a computer-based survey system, the team evaluates its effectiveness by responding to 40 targeted questions using a 4 point rating scale. (The survey can be completed in 10 minutes or less!)
• The survey rates the team's performance level as it relates to the team's ability to handle the following critical indicators of success:

  1. Mission		5. Procedures
  2. Goals		6. Effectiveness
  3. Roles		7. Satisfaction
  4. Relationships		8. Conflict Resolution

• Encrypted passwords and responses assure that confidentiality is maintained.
• Surveys are distributed to team members and collected via diskette, LAN/WAN or the Internet.
• A detailed report is generated that summarizes survey responses.
• The report includes statements that provide easy to understand interpretations of survey results and provides suggestions for steps the team can take to improve its effectiveness.
• Exercise cards that provide improvement techniques and tools that are easy to understand and implement round out the kit.

Team Fitness Builder

was $149.00, now $74.50

Requirements: Windows 3.1 or higher; 386/25 or better (486/33 minimum recommended); 4MB RAM; 500KB free hard disk space; SVGA display; mouse. Sorry -- no Mac version currently available.

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HOW TO ORDER: Call our toll-free number (800-580-5421) and ask for Ruby. She'll be glad to expedite your order and answer any questions you might have about our stuff. Please have your credit card ready -- your order must be prepaid (prices shown here are plus tax in Texas and Canada, and some shipping). Please note that at these prices, all sales are final.

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