PVB GROUPS - NEWS

Tips for examination success

2009-03-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

Start planning for your exams as soon as the study period commences

1. Understand what you will be tested on….
2. Put time management strategies into practice early
3.Use your Study Period Planner to organise yourself and develop a checklist of things to do on certain dates.
4. Revisit your Exam Plan from time to time…. Are you on track?
5. Make a note of learning skills and exam tactics workshops in your diary.
6.Take steps to minimise the effects any temporary or permanent impairment might play on your examination performance.

1.Understand what you will be tested on

Study your Subject Outline closely

For each subject you are enrolled in the subject coordinator or lecturer will have made available a ‘Subject Outline’.
The Subject Outline for each subject should be kept in an obvious place because you will need to refer to it regularly throughout the Study Period for the following tasks:
Managing your time:
• Completing your Study Period Planner
• Developing your Exam Plan
• Noting important dates in your diary
• Noting anything important about submission of assessable items (eg. Electronic submission? Cover sheet? Submit through SafeAssignment?)
Understanding what you will be tested on and when:
• Subject aims and learning outcomes
• Types of learning exercises
• Timetable of topics, exercises, skills development and deadlines for assessable items throughout the Study Period
Understanding how you will be assessed and how you can obtain the best results:
• What aspects of the subject are assessable, and how much of the overall subject mark is each aspect worth?
• What is the precise nature of each assessable aspect/item?
• What are the marking criteria for each assessable aspect/item, and how do these match up with the subject aims and learning outcomes?
• How can I obtain more than a Pass? How will the assessor differentiate between an exam answer that is a ‘Pass’ and one that is of ‘HD’ quality?

Time Management

Good time management is essential to success at university. Planning your time allows you to spread your work over a Semester, avoid a 'traffic jam' of work, and cope with study stress. Many deadlines for university work occur at the same time, and unless you plan ahead, you'll find it impossible to manage. To meet the demands of study you need to spread your workload over a Semester. Work out what needs to be done and when. Work out how to use your available time as efficiently as possible.
Plan Ahead and Prioritise

The first step to good time management is to prioritise your tasks. In other words, deciding which task is most important and should be completed first. For example, in a choice between reading for an essay due in four weeks or preparing a seminar presentation in two weeks, choose to prepare the presentation.

To prioritise successfully you must develop weekly and long term time management plans. Many students find long, medium and short term planning useful for organising their study as effectively as possible. Planning ahead saves time, worry and energy.
Tips to Make Time Management Easier

* Complete small tasks straight away rather than putting them off. This will encourage you to begin tackling larger tasks needing attention.
* Break difficult or 'boring' work into sections. This allows you to approach a large task as a series of manageable parts.
* Don't try to write a whole assignment in one sitting. Write it section by section.
* If you have 'writer's block', try writing something-anything-down. Even if you change it completely later, at least you've started. The alternative is having nothing at all.
* Remember that it's your study and the time you spend on it is up to you. If you find yourself losing direction, sit back and think of why you are doing your degree; remembering your goals can put everything into perspective.

Career Building Tips: Avoid the Top 5 Career-Killing Mistakes People STILL Make & Get the Paycheck You Deserve

2009-03-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Unless you are very wealthy or extremely good at winning lotteries, you can expect to be working for 40 years of your life or more. And while not everyone has what it takes to become a top executive, you do have complete control over how far you go and how much you earn in your career.

You can crack the corporate success code! But only if you stop making career-killing mistakes...

Here are the Top 5 Career-Killing Mistakes People Still Make & Then Wonder Why They're Not Advancing Their Careers:

Career Killing-Mistake #1: Not knowing the real purpose of your resume.

Of all the things critical to landing a great job, having a great resume isn't on the list because that's not its real purpose! And you cannot create a killer resume if you don't know what that purpose actually is.

The purpose of your resume is not to get the job. It's to be selected for the short-list of people that the employer wants to interview. This decision is made in less than 10 seconds and NOT by the hiring manager. It's usually an administrative assistant who looks at the submissions and it takes him/her at least 3 seconds to look at your name! Not understanding this means most resumes are thrown in the trash immediately.

Career-Killing Mistake #2: Not getting the answer to the most important question of all before you start answering your interviewer's questions.

The hiring decision is made in the first four minutes of a job interview. Everything that happens after this only serves to reinforce your interviewer's decision. You HAVE to get the answer to this question before time is up: Are they looking to hire MORE people like those they already have on the team/in the department or are they looking for people who are DIFFERENT from those already on staff to inject new blood/fresh thinking into their organization? The answer to this question will determine how you respond to their questions. Otherwise, you'll just be wasting their time and yours.

Career-Killing Mistake #3: Believing the key to success is working hard and putting in long hours then making sure your boss knows about it.

Most people believe ensuring people know how hard you are working is the #1 key to getting ahead. No -- A thousand times no! This is actually one of the fastest ways to hold yourself back in your career! In fact only 3% of people working hard ever experience success. And this career-killing mistake is not good for your health either.

Career-Killing Mistake #4: Not doing the one thing that renders all on-the-job competition irrelevant.

The one thing is taking ACTION. Taking action requires no special tools or intelligence. And 98% of your co-workers will NOT be doing it.

In any organization there are always a bazillion things that need to be done. However, 10% of the employee population will make professional commitments to getting things done with enthusiasm. And only 2% ever actually take action.

Management has to constantly CHASE and FOLLOW UP with the other 98% if they want to make sure things are getting done. So what this means is if you work in a department of 100 people, only 10 people will have high potential and only 2 people will be in direct competition for raises and promotions.

So, if you're not taking action you are automatically keeping yourself from getting ahead and won't be taking home the paycheck you deserve.

Career-Killing Mistake #5: Not setting up an employment file at home and not checking what the employer has in your personnel file once a year.

No one will ever care more about your career than you do. Create your own employment file and keep it at home.

Also, once a year, make an appointment with Human Resources to review your personnel file. Mistakes happen. Only you can make sure all the good things that should be in your file are actually there. Opinions (strong ones) of your worth to the employer are formed on the basis of what is found in that file. Don't let the wrong ones be made about you.

The Best Way to Avoid These Career-Killing Mistakes

These career-killing mistakes and many others people still make at work have one thing in common. They are all easily preventable. The best way to do that is to get a good mentor. Someone more experienced, who can guide your way and keep you from making these mistakes in the first place!

A BL-5C battery in your Nokia?Get it changed

2007-09-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Nokia offered to replace Matsushita -Manufacturered BL 5C batteries in 52 of its models sold between December 2005 to november 2006.
The move follows complaints that the affected batteries were overheating because of short circuit
while charging,causing the battery to expand and dislodge from its place and making the phone go off.

How do you check out if your phone has a defective battery?
Go to Nokia.com there is a line right on top in green:"more information concerning battery replacement"click on it.scroll to the bottom of the next page titled,'product advisory '.
There is a slot to enter the 26-digit identification number on the back of the battery.
Enter it and you will be told if the battery requires replacement or dial customer helpline(08030303838) to find out if your battery needs replacement.