Director Positions Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What certification/training is needed for an Activities Director position at an active retirement community? I live in Texas and I have my eye on an Activities Director position for an active retirement community that will open next spring. My background includes event planning, volunteering, marketing and property management, but no formal Activities Director experience. What certification or training might I get into in order to make me a more desireable candidate for this position?

Answer: in missouri all you have to be is 24 and have a clean driving records, no certifications are needed

Question: Applying for a director position, how can I illuminate my management experience? I have roughly 9 years of IT experience. I'm applying for a director position (with probably 3-4 managers reporting to me, each with 4-8 people reporting to them). This would definitely be a big step up in responsibility for me, but I feel I'm ready for the challenge. I've been largely a technical lead in the past. I've handled interviews and budgeting, but I'm concerned that since I have't been "strictly a manager" for 5+ years, that I won't be considered. According to the job requirements, they want a "big picture thinker", and all the other traits fit me perfect. However, I know I'm skinny on the pure management piece, which is supposedly 20% of the job. I don't want to exaggerate my resume, but I want to make sure I phrase information about my team and project leadership in a way that makes me seem as experienced in management as possible. Any tips?

Answer: Not to bust your bubble, but I probably wouldn't hire someone for a director role of this scope who hadn't had a significant amount of management experience. However, my job is to assist you, not evaluate you, so here are some ideas. -Mention your involvement in any type of team projects - if you were a leader on the project, that is essentially a "management" function. -Do you interface with team members in remote locations? There is a certain amount of management involved in matrix-managing remote resources -Of course mention any sort of previous management experience you have, putting it toward the front of your resume points. -Any leadership/management classes or school coursework that you could list? Seminars you've attended? Anything will help here... Good luck.

Question: Are there any good food and beverage director or restaurant GM positions available in Las Vegas? My husband and I would like to move there and he has been a food and beverage director at some of the top hotels in the country.

Answer: try a job search website

Question: Can a secretary and a director both be in the top positions within a government agency? I mean, the Secretary of State is the head of the Department of State, and FBI Director is the head of FBI, but can these titles coexist in the same government organization as leaders, maybe in the same way there can sometimes be a president and a CEO in the same company? I'm aware that a director can be the head of a division within an organization (which may or may not be headed by the secretary), so please disregard such a case.

Answer: Yes.

Question: What is the best way to land an upper mngmt or director position in a mfg plant in Phoenix Area? My experience is in major manufacturing plants hudrends and thousands of units per day, mulitmillion dollar a day budgets, 20 years experience and degreed. Needs to be a major operation, but I'm having a hard time finding out about the larger ones...everything is so spread out over the valley. Do they recruit in-house, do they work with headhunters and which ones and who are the best corps to work for? Trying to get out of the northeast....soon! Need names, help, direction....thanks a LOT for any help or direction. Haz

Answer: First realize that American manufacturing is declining everywhere. All the major companies are dropping American suppliers in exchange for falsified quality reports and shoddy products out of China. Add to that the fact that most manufacturers cannot increase their sales prices, but are continuously getting hit with increases in taxes, insurance, suppliers, fuel, utilities and interest, so, many have eliminated lots of management positions. So, it may take you a while. Get together a great resume that details the ways in which you saved the former operation time, man hours and money, or made them more money, then pair it with a well written letter directly to the CEO, COO or CFO. Do your homework and include comments that show you have thoroughly researched the company. Call the company you wish to apply to and ask for shipping, the receptionist will almost always transfer you back without asking to many questions. When shipping answers just say you need to write a letter to the President and get his name. Then call back to the receptionist and ask if you have the spelling correct. Now you know who you need to talk to. Then send the resumes off. At your level and in this economy, you need to contact the ultimate decision maker and blow his socks off. Few recruiters will sell an excellent candidate to a company, mostly they search for openings and pluck & fill, I say, give it a shot on your own first as you would be saving the company up to 30% of your first years salary. But if you can't get your own foot in the door, then you might get lucky and find one that actually markets candidates. Good luck

Question: What percentage increase is standard when one is promoted from a non-management to director position? This job is a step up in responsibility, including supervising 8 staff; managing a multi-million dollar budget; setting market strategy for the organization; increasing marketing share.

Answer: There is no standard increase percentage. Geography, industry, and job scope are all factors, as is the compensation structure of your current company. You may want to check salary.com for salary data that pertains to your locale and position description and/or check on monster for similar jobs posted in your area to get a sense of what companies are paying. You should also be able to obtain a pay range for the position from your HR department. If you know any headhunters, they are often good sources of the going rate for positions at your desired level. Professional organizations may also publish salary data for their members, so check the web sites of any groups to which you belong. Best of luck.

Question: Is a Kumon "Center Director" another name for a franchisee/instructor? I have a phone interview with Kumon soon for a "Center Director" position. Is this position different from the franchisee/instructor position?

Answer: In order to become an instructor, you need to qualify for the position by the actual company. If you are calling a center, then that center wants you to fulfill that position. After you qualify by the company and go through training, you can open your own center. That is the only way to become a center instructor. It takes about six months to a year to become an actual instructor. Working in someone's center is different. Each center has their own positions and they vary from center to center. You are not really supposed to check out any of the students or assign work to them since you are not the actual instructor, but some centers still do this.

Question: Interview questions for massage therapy instructor/director position? Does anyone have any insight on what specific questions would be asked during an interview for either or both of the above positions? My wife is really excited about her interview with a career training school and wants to be as prepared as possible.

Answer: I used to be in recruitment and in any interview as an applicatant you should remember the 'star' method when answering... remember to talk about the Situation or Task - describe it (ie lasy came in with severe back pain, been to lots of therapists) Action - the action you took (you tried a 20 mins remedial massage and then nexk massage with heat etc...i don't know anything about massage so I am making it up) Results - the outcome or results of the action you took in relation to the matter (she had no pain after the massage, and said it was the best massage she had ever had!) Anyway - it means you cover all the angles when answering and helps you to think about situations you could describe which relate to the job description - you prove you can do it Hope this is helpful! Best of luck May Mitchell

Question: In an organisation, those in key positions might periodically "acquaint" the director with the current situation. Won't this fact be left out of any ISO9000 document ? So isn't the ISO9000 document worthless ? To cas, Thanks To montana, Thanks

Answer: At its roots, the ISO 9000 document is a statement of how the organization does its thing. The object is to accurately outline what everyone does. Enterprises are hierarcharchical. People are to do things, take initiative, if the higher ups in the organization want stuff done. Whether lower down people inform higher up people of some situation, really depends on the expressed needs of the higher ups, not on the situation.

Question: Is Syracuse University a good choice for someone interested in a creative/art director position in advertising Also, what other schools would help to land me a good creative position in the Advertising industry?

Answer: Syracuse University -- I went there. So did my girlfriend who is currently a creative/art director in NYC. She's been working in NYC since graduation. The Newhouse School is THE communications school for the Northeast and NYC. Forget every other comm school except Northwestern as even being in the same league. Go to Newhouse and try to get a job in media in NYC and you are IN. The alumni network is strong, so dubbed "the newhouse mafia". Why my g/f went to her interview she was interveiwed by two newhouse grads, who liked her and has her meet with the head creative, who was from......newhouse. She's worked on Bass Ale, American Express and Verizon. The only drawback about SU is that there advertising major splits at the end of your second year. Some will go the creative track, others the managment (media buying, etc) track. She went the creative track. She said that the school did not give her enough formal graphics training (indesign, Photoshop, etc.) which is true. She did however, work on alot of things on her own, and got training once she was hired. They have an ad club and many meet and greets in NYC with the power players. If you have the GPA and SAT, you can get in. Warning: Newhouse is much more difficult to get into than Syracuse's liberal arts schools. Whereas if you choose liberal arts you can get in w/ a 3.0 and 1100 (1600) I don't know the new scale. Newhouse you will need a 1300+ and a high GPA. I got in with money with a 1400/1600 SAT and a 3.9 GPA/4.6 in 2003. My girlfriend did not get into newhouse right away, (she was a 3.3 w/ 1220) she had to apply at the end of year one of school to transfer in. I am pretty sure you can transfer in automatically with a 3.5GPA or better after year one. She made it.

Question: In a corporation, what position status is higher-- President or the Executive director? Need to know scope on the duties & functions of the President and scope and duties of the Executive director. These position/status if undefined have conflicting friction on final decision making. Need help in defining & really pinpoint limitations of each position. Reference materials will be appreciated.

Answer: Chairman Board of Directors Chief Executive Officer President - The president’s role is to manage and be responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the company. The board sets policy, the president executes that policy and reports back to the board, and the board then reports to the shareholders, or owners, of the company. Executive Vice President or Chief Officers (IT, Sales, Operations,etc) Sr. Vice President Executive Directors Directors Sr. Managers Managers Sr. Supervisors Supervisors

Question: How much should a childcare center director make w/ 8 years teaching experience? I'm wanting to get out of the classroom & had an interview for a director's position. Teachers don't negotiate their salary- it's just based on # of years exp. I just want to know what a fair salary would be w/o being taken advantage of ya know.

Answer: Depends on your state and cost of living, here in KS i'd say 50,000ish seems fair.

Question: "What's a higher position (generally speaking) an Associate Director or an Assistant Director? I'm thinking of applying for a career opportunity with a firm and they've detailed an Associate Director position. I'm not to familiar with the role.

Answer: associate directors generally head up their own little niche within the company. they may be in charge of a group or several other supervisors. asst. directors do all the grunt work for the director but are trained to eventually take over the director slot either there or somewhere else. asociate directors are primarily focused on one field like HR, biz mgmt, or purchasing while asst directors learn how to manage all of them both as an asst director and as the director, eventually.

Question: what are all the positions of a board of directors on a non profit organization? im forming a non profit and want to know ALL the positions a board of directors for a non profit. i have tried searching online MANY times to no luck... please send me the information if u have it. thanks

Answer: Board Chairman,Vice Chairman,Board Member,Secretary,and Treasurer are some of the positions of a board of directors on a non profit organization. You can visit http://www.mncn.org/info/template_gov.htm for board members position descriptions.

Question: Help! Can anyone advice me on what's the ideal salary for art director position in Hong Kong? My best friend (Malaysian) got an offer to work as an Art Director in one of the multinational agency in Hong Kong. He's currently working in one of the top agency in Malaysia and to-date, he's got 10 years experience in this industry, and besides, he'd won an international award. How much do you think he should be getting per month and what are the deal he should be getting (eg: one flight allowance per year...etc.)?

Answer: you can check out the following websites of 2 of the most popular online job posts in Hong Kong: Salary report: http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker/Resources/salaryreport2007Q1/Advertising.htm Career doctor: (you can ask her questions) http://classifiedpost.scmp.com/jsforumnew.php

Question: As Director,how do I solve conflicts on an all volunteer Board for a parent co-op cultural summer school? I am new to the position - not to the Board - I am the youngest and for the most part, in charge. The group consists of 10 members most of whom are good friends and are used to "their way" of doing things. I was pursued for two years by the former Director to fill the position (nobody else would take it!). Our newly elected President just resigned because this Board is so unwilling to change the way things are done. They are not looking any further into the future than how long they have left. My concern is for the betterment, development and progress of the school. Our numbers are declining and our parent interest and participation is waning. It is like "pulling teeth" to get parents to fill the volunteer teaching and aid positions, not to mention the Board positions. Our recently resigned President was "elected" at a Board meeting in which we were sitting around trying to figure out who we could get to do it.

Answer: At first it sounded like more than one parent volunteered for the same position and I could help but when I clicked on it I became less sure of what you needed help with. I guess you don't mean conflicts with more than one person signing up for the same spot. Were you ever in 4-H? Use their format of, "The chair recognizes ____" and so on and, "All in favor . . . " and so forth.