Turn yourself into a “trust agent” through social networking

A book I ordered from Amazon.com on social media arrived this afternoon. I can’t put it down.

It is Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.

Brogan and Smith write:

“(Trust agents) are the power users of the new tools of the Web, educated more by way of their own experiences and experiments than from the core of their professional experiences.

“They speak online technology fluently. They learn by trying, so they are bold in their efforts to try new on applications and devices. They recommend more, and more often, on social bookmarking applications (Delicious.com and the like) than anyone else. They connect with more people than anyone else, and they know how to leave a good impression.

“As they do so, they build healthy, honest relationships. Trust agents use today’s Web tools to spread their influence faster, wider, and deeper than a typical company’s PR or marketing department might be capable of achieving, and with more genuine interest in people, too.”

I’d like to become more a trust agent on the Web as my staff and I reach out to non-credit students who are searching for quality continuing education experiences.

This blog is one example. Our Twitter page and ever-expanding Web site are others.

If you want to learn what the social media fuss is all about, I invite you to attend our first non-credit course on this hot topic.

“Social Networking” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on October 20 at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville. The course fee is $109.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Medical Administrative Assistant program scheduled to begin in February

Response to our health care certificate programs has been so strong that we’ve decided to introduce a fifth program in February — Medical Administrative Assistant.

Medical administrative assistants support physicians and nurses in maintaining a patient’s medical and financial records.

An administrative assistant’s tasks consist of keeping medical records, greeting patients, billing and clerical duties, scheduling appointments, arranging for admission to the hospital and laboratory services, and checking supplies.

This new program joins Phlebotomy Technician, EKG Technician, Pharmacy Technician, and Medical Billing & Coding in our menu of health care programs.

If you’d like to learn more about any of these programs, please attend a free information session at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville.

Sessions are set for Thursday, January 7, 2010, and Tuesday, January 12, 2010 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. each day. E-mail professionalpgms@utk.edu or call (865) 974-0150 to make a reservation.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Acquire the techniques and skills used in the field of private investigation

We’ve brought back our nationally-recognized certificate program for aspiring private investigators.

You will learn the basic techniques of information gathering and techniques required to successfully practice as a private investigator.

Class sessions are taught by educators who are experienced licensed private investigators.

The course fee is $425. Register now.

Class sessions are set for Oct. 23-25 and Nov. 13-15 at the UT Conference Center.

This course provides you with the knowledge to apply for apprenticeships with investigation agencies and/or to open your own private investigation agency in the states that do not require apprenticeships.

Note: The program provides a Certificate of Completion but it does not give you a license to practice private investigation.

In addition to the main certificate program, we are offering Investigative Research Skills for Litigation on Oct. 23. The course fee is $225.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Business courses on tap for early October

“Starting Your Own Business” is one of several non-credit business courses scheduled for early October at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville.

Instructor Mike Carroll will cover the basics of starting a business and help you develop your business idea. The five-session course begins Oct. 8 and continues through Nov. 5. The course fee is $159.

You may also learn how to produce clear, concise, and compelling business documents in Janice Hampton’s “Productive and Powerful Business Writing Skills” course on Oct. 8. Hampton will reveal proven methods to tailor your message to the target audience and how to provide a persuasive “call to action.” Registration for this day-long course is $149.

Jeanne Tapp will discuss ethical behaviors of leaders and their need to provide frequent and accurate communication to those who report to them in “The Ethics of Great Communication” (Oct. 6; $149).

And, if you’re looking for a new job opportunity, you’ll want to take “Online Job Search” (Oct. 13; $99). Melissa Feinbaum of Melissa Feinbaum Recruiting will tell you how to navigate Internet job search engines, how to track where you have forwarded your résumé, and how to get your résumé viewed by a hiring authority.

View our entire fall schedule of non-credit professional development courses.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Smoky Mountain Field School offers diverse October course schedule

The Smoky Mountain Field School has saved some of its best courses for October, a great month for spending time outdoors.

So come out and enjoy the beautiful fall colors with one of our expert field instructors.

We still have space available in six courses, including the family-oriented Animal Tracks and Traces on Sunday, October 25.

Instructor Wanda DeWaard will take your family on a treasure hunt and find clues in the forest to tell what animals have been there, what they were doing, and when they may come back.

Naturalist Carey Jones, a retired Park Ranger, will lead two courses: Fruit, Foliage and Fall Wildlife (Oct. 10) and Day Hike to Mt. LeConte (Oct. 17).

Perhaps most memorable on the 10-mile roundtrip hike to Mt. LeConte will be the discovery and identification of the trees, flowers, birds, salamanders, and other wildlife that make the Smokies the biological capital of temperate America.

Other October courses are Edible & Poisonous Fungi of the Smokies (Oct. 3) with instructor S. Coleman McCleneghan, Incredible Edibles & Traditional Medicinals (Oct. 10) with Ila Hatter, and Fall Nature Photography (Oct. 24) with Kendall Chiles.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Report: Recession turns a graying office grayer

Older adults are staying in the labor force longer, while younger adults are staying out of it longer, according to a Pew Research Center report released earlier this month.

Nearly four out of 10 adults who are working past the median retirement age of 62 say they have delayed their retirement because of the current recession, which some in the media have labeled a “he-cession” due to the large percentage of men who have lost their jobs. (Construction and manufacturing are two of the hardest hit areas.)

Young adults are staying in school longer due to poor job prospects and their collective belief that more education now will help their careers later.

These trends started about two decades ago and are expected to continue even after the economy improves, the report says.

Read the full report.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Tomorrow is Patriot Day

Americans will observe Patriot Day tomorrow.

Patriot Day is an annual observance on September 11 to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.

Many people observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). This marks the time that the first plane flew into the World Trade Center.

I hope everyone will pause Friday to remember the people who lost their lives on that day as well as our military personnel who actively serve our country.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Think tank identifies “hot job” areas through 2016

A new report by the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) says health care, education, energy and environment, and information technology will be the hottest job areas from now to 2016.

The report defines “hot jobs” as jobs paying above average wages (above the 2006 median wage of $32,000) and having above average growth (more than 10 percent), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projections through 2016.

Read the full report from the DLC, a non-profit think tank.

Many of the jobs will require an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, but some of these job areas can be entered with vocational training or a non-credit certificate program.

UT Professional & Personal Development offers certificate programs in areas such as health care and telecommunications as well as new energy courses.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Prepare yourself for a career in real estate

George Ballenger of G.T. Ballenger Realtors in Knoxville will teach a 60-hour Real Estate Principles course to prepare aspiring realtors to take the Tennessee Affiliate Broker Examination.

Topics include an introduction to the social, economic, financial, and legal problems involved in the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of real estate.

The course fee is $325.

Classes meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings from Sept. 15 through Nov. 19 at the UT Humanities and Social Sciences Building.

Read background information from the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, including details about license requirements.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

 

Oh, snap! Enter our annual photography contest

Students who take a non-credit photography course in Fall 2009 are eligible to enter our fifth annual photography contest. 

One photo may be submitted in each of these categories: Architecture, Nature, Portrait, Sports/Action, and Still Life.

All entries must be mounted (foamcore mounting is acceptable). The print area must be between 5×7 and 8×12.

Include with your entry a 3×5 index card with the title of your photo, your name, address, two phone numbers, and the title of the photography course you’re taking this fall.

Entries must be mailed or delivered to UT Professional & Personal Development, 313 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996. The deadline is Dec. 4.

The winner will receive a free UT non-credit photography course (up to $199) and will be featured in a future non-credit course catalog.

If you have questions about the contest, please e-mail program coordinator Jennifer Bennett.

Learn more about the UT Photography Certificate Program.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit