1. Unit 1 Employment Basics

2. Unit 1 Vocabulary Base Period Benefits Childcare Leave Commission
Direct Deposit
Discount
Double-time Pay
Employment Agency
Family Health Care
Fee Paid
FICA
Form W-4
Gross Pay
Hourly Rate
Individual Health Care
Insurance
Maximum Taxable Income
Medicare Tax
Minimum Wage
Overtime Rate
Paid Holiday Time
Paid Vacation Time
Pension
Piecework Rate
Regular Hours
Resume
Retirement Plans
Royalty
Social Security Number
Stock Ownership Plans
Unemployment Insurance
Workers Compensation

3. Essential Question 1 Employment Basics
What are the processes of looking for employment?

4. Choosing Your Career
Job Analysis: A procedure that lists the positive and negative attributes of a given career choice.
Positive Features:
Salary: The amount of monthly or annual gross pay.
Benefits: Incentives added to salary such as sick pay, vacation time, profit-sharing plans, health insurance, etc.
Opportunities for promotion

5. Choosing Your Career Job Analysis: Negative Features:
Employee Expenses: Costs paid by the employee that are not reimbursed by the employer.
Uniforms or Special Clothing
Licensing Fees
Work Characteristics:
Routine vs Changing Tasks
Indoor vs Outdoor Work
Working Alone vs Working with People
Supervisory Relationships
Company Rules and Policies

6. Choosing Your Career Job Analysis:
Other considerations that could be a positive or a negative depending on your outlook:
Travel time to and from work
Company’s stability
Work hours and flexibility
Personnel policies
Additional training required
Type of work
Specific job tasks

7. Choosing Your Career Sources of career information:
Dictionary of Occupational Titles
Monthly Labor Review
The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
Sources of company information:
Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, United States and Canada
The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America

8. Planning Your Career Factors Affecting Career Choice
Aptitudes: Natural physical or mental ability that allows you to do certain tasks well.
Finger and manual dexterity
Spatial reasoning
Mechanical ability

9. Planning Your Career Factors Affecting Career Choice
Interests: Things you like to do and the reason you enjoy doing them.
Like working alone or with others or both
Like working inside or outside or both
Like manual work or thinking work or both
Like repetitive tasks or various tasks or both

10. Planning Your Career Factors Affecting Career Choice
Personality: Individual qualities and traits that make you unique.
Appearance
Intelligence
Creativity
Sense of humor
General attitude

11. Planning Your Career Sources of Job Opportunity Information
Contacts: A person you know who can help you get an interview for a job.
Relatives
Friends
People you have worked for
School Counseling and Placement Services
Periodicals, Books, and Other Publications
Public and Private Employment Agencies
Newspaper, Yellow Pages, and Private Job Listings

12. Planning Your Career Job Search Techniques
Keep a record of your work history:
A record of jobs you have held and how long you stayed with each employer.
A work history which shows you changing jobs six times in six months will make you appear immature and unstable and could hurt your chances of getting a job you might want.

13. Planning Your Career Job Search Techniques Get Organized
List prospective companies you might want to work for.
Research job descriptions, skills and aptitudes needed, and other job requirements.
Make lists of personal contacts.
Prepare a current resume and letter of application.
Ask previous employers and teachers for recommendations.

14. Planning Your Career Job Search Techniques Make a Plan
List your goals and time frames for accomplishment.
Short-term goals (days or weeks) should be detailed and specific.
Intermediate goals (months or years) should be specific but may not be as detailed.
Long-term goals (five years or longer) may be general.
Each step or goal should be checked off as accomplished.
Follow Through. The most important – and the most difficult – step to follow.

15. Planning Your Career Job Search Techniques
Check back from time to time with potential employers after filling out a job application or an interview to show you are still interested in the job.
Don’t Give Up
Sometimes you get your job on the first try; sometimes it takes a lot more.
Looking for a job IS a job.

16. Getting the Job
Letter of Application: Introduces you to the potential employer and gives you a chance to “sell” your qualifications.
Sent together with a resume.
Parts of the Letter of Application
Return Address: Your address at the top of the letter.
Letter Address: The name and address of the person or company to whom you are writing.
Salutation: (Greeting) Addresses your letter to the particular person you want to read it.
Use: Dear Mr., Mrs., Ms., Sir, Ma’am, or Sir or Ma’am.
NEVER use: To whom it may concern.

17. Getting the Job Letter of Application:
Parts of the Letter of Application
Body: The main part with from one to four paragraphs in length, and should
Attract the employer’s attention.
State your interest in the company and position.
Arouse the employer’s desire to interview you.
Request that the employer take action in the form of an interview.
AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
Complimentary Close: Courteously ends the letter.
Ex.: Sincerely yours, Sincerely, or Respectfully.
Your name is printed or typed several lines below the closing and your signature is above your name.

18. Getting the Job
Resume: Briefly describes your work experiences, education, abilities, interests, and other information such as awards, offices, and activities.
General Guidelines
There are no set rules for preparing a resume.
You should choose the style which best presents you to an employer.
Keep your resume to one page, if possible.
Should be attractive and easy to read with the most important information in the upper one-third.

19. Getting the Job Resume: General Guidelines
Include all information pertinent to the job for which you are applying.
Do not prepare a “generic” resume.
Use bond quality, standard size paper.
Proofread carefully. THERE SHOULD BE NO ERRORS!
Use a good quality laser printer and choose fonts that are attractive and business like.
The resume not only shows information, it shows an employer how you organize and present yourself.

20. Getting the Job Resume: Parts of the Resume
Personal Information: Appears first and includes your name, address, telephone number, and address.
Career Objective: A short, assertive statement indicating your career goal.
Education: List all secondary and postsecondary schools you have attended, starting with the most recent and working backwards.

21. Getting the Job Resume: Parts of the Resume
Work Experience: List all jobs, paid and unpaid, that you have held, including assisting at school functions, working as a teacher’s aide, and any part- or full-time summer or vacation jobs.
Additional Qualifications: Additional skills and abilities that you want to bring to a potential employer’s attention.

22. Getting the Job Resume: Parts of the Resume
References: Persons who have known you for at least one year and can provide information about your character and achievements.
Be sure to ask permission of the people you wish to list as references.
If references are not listed on the resume then include the statement, “References available on request.”
References should include the name, address, and telephone number.

23. Getting the Job
Letter of Reference: A statement, in letter form, attesting to your character, abilities, and experience, written by someone who can be relied upon to give a sincere report.
Make several copies and save the original.

24. Getting the Job
Employment Application: Form provided by a potential employer to ensure pertinent information is obtained prior to an interview.
Type, if possible, or print neatly in black pen.
Be truthful.
Have all information available that might be requested.

25. Application Forms Procedures
Use a pen with dark ink that does not skip or blot.
Write legibly and small enough that information will fit into the space provided. Be as neat as possible.
Fill in all blanks with the information requested; if the question does not apply to you, use one of these:
N/A (meaning information not available or not applicable).
Fill in the space with a broken line (- - -) to indicate that you saw the question but have no answer.

26. Application Forms Procedures
Read the form carefully and be sure you are answering the questions properly.
Be truthful in your responses.
Read all the small print before you sign the form.
Have with you pertinent information.
If you make a mistake, draw one line through it and write the correct information above or below it. DO NOT make big scratch marks on the paper.

27. Getting the Job
Job Interview: A procedure in which you may be questioned about statements you made on the application form or about information contained in the letter of application and resume.
Preparing for the Interview
Practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more.
Arrive on time.
Dress appropriately.
Go alone.
Appear poised and self-confident.

28. Getting the Job Job Interview: Reasons for NOT Being Hired
Poor personal appearance
Over-aggressiveness
Poor Communication Skills
Lack of Desire/Enthusiasm
Lack of Purpose or Goals
Lack of Confidence
Lack of Career Planning
Lack of Tact and Courtesy
Lack of Maturity
Condemning Past Employers
Sloppy Application Form
No Sense of Humor
Failure to ask Questions
No Knowledge of the Company

29. Getting the Job Job Interview: What To DO When Interviewing
DO stress your qualifications.
DO recount experience that fits the opening.
DO talk and think about the future, not the past.
DO maintain poise and self-control.
DO show interest and enthusiasm.
DO show flexibility and a willingness to learn.
DO learn about the company and its products.

30. Getting the Job
Follow-up: Positive contact with the employer after the interview.
Reminds the employer of your appearance, personality, and qualifications.
Designed to improve your chance of getting the job.
Usually done in the form of a Thank-you letter: Letter written to remind the interviewer of your interest in and desire to work for the company.

31. Essential Question 2 Employment Basics
What is Social Security and Medicare and how do they affect your paycheck?

32. Keeping Your Job
Form W-4: Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate: Determines the amount of money your employer will deduct from your paycheck for income taxes.
Allowance: Persons claimed that reduce the amount of tax withheld from your paycheck.
The more allowances you can claim, the less tax you will have withheld.
You may automatically claim yourself; other allowances may be claimed for spouse or children.
You do not have to claim your full allowance however, you CANNOT claim more than your authorized allowances.

33. Taxes
Form W-4

34. Keeping Your Job
Social Security Number: Your federal permanent work identification number.
Required before a person turns age one.
Required for assessment of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Required for eligibility of funds received from federal programs.

35. Keeping Your Job Employment Laws
Federal Insurance Contributions Act of 1935 (FICA)
Established Social Security.
Amended in 1965 to provide Medicare.
Every state must provide Unemployment Insurance.
Involuntarily left job.
Actively seeking a new job.

36. Keeping Your Job Employment Laws Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Established minimum wage at .25/hour.
Maximum work week for hourly employees is 40 hours.
Established Worker’s Compensation.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Commonly referred to as Title VII.
Established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Established laws against sexual harassment.

37. Keeping Your Job
FICA: Federal Insurance Contributions Act of 1935; also known as Social Security.
Money contributed to Social Security provides the following benefits:
Retirement income.
Income for disabled persons who can no longer work.
Survivor’s benefits for the dependents of a worker who dies.
Medical costs for persons covered by Medicare.

38. Keeping Your Job
FICA
You are required to contribute 7.65% of your pay to social security.
Your employer is required to match your contributions.
If you own your own business, you are considered both the employee and employer and must contribute both shares or 15.3% of your pay to Social Security.

39. Keeping Your Job Example:
You earned $300 last month. How much was withheld for Social Security?
x = (0.0765)($300)
x = $22.95

40. Keeping Your Job Examples:
Your friend Alicia earned $475 last month. How much was withheld for Social Security? How much was left over after paying Social Security?
You own your own craft and hobby store and made $1565 in income last month. How much do you have to contribute to Social Security.

41. Essential Question 3 Employment Basics
How is piecework and commission calculated?

42. Piecework and Commission
Incentive pay: A payment or benefit given to encourage employees to do more and better quality work.
Piecework Rate: Pay based on the number of items produced or jobs completed .
Commission: An amount of money paid for selling a product or a service.

43. Piecework and Commission
Examples:
Suppose you are paid $4.67 for each garment you complete while working in a clothing factory. If you complete an average of 2 garments per h, what is your average pay for a 40 h work week?
(2)(40) = 80 garments produced per wk
(80)($4.67) = $373.60

44. Piecework and Commission
Examples:
Alex works part time at home typing papers for others on his word processor. Alex charges $1.75 per page and averages 9 pages per h. Alex needs to earn $250 per wk. About how many hours must he work each week? About how many pages will he need to type each week?
Bonnie is a telemarketing caller and makes 18¢ per answered call. She made $ last week. How many calls did she make?

45. Piecework and Commission
Examples:
As a magazine salesman John makes a commission of $8.25 per subscription sold. If John sells 60 subscriptions, how much money will he make?
(60)($8.25) = $495.00

46. Piecework and Commission
Examples:
Susannah is in automobile sales. She has a monthly salary of $1200 and earns a commission of 2.8% on her auto sales. If she had sales of $93,250, what was her gross pay for the month?
Jim is an appliance salesman and earns a commission of 5¼% on each sale. Jim sold a washer and dryer set totaling $945. What was his commission on the sale?

47. Essential Question 4 Employment Basics
How do you calculate your wages?

48. Employee Pay
Gross Pay: The total or agreed-upon rate of pay before any deductions are made.
Hourly Rate: Amount of money you earn for every hour you work.
Salary: Amount of money you earn on a monthly or yearly basis regardless of hours worked.
Overtime Rate: Pay received for any hour worked above 40 h per wk. Overtime pay is 1½ times your regular hourly wage. Salaried workers do not earn overtime pay.

49. Employee Pay
Example:
You work as a mechanic in a garage and earn $8.40 per h. What is your regular weekly pay if you work 37½ h each week?
pay = (37.5)($8.40)
pay = $315

50. Employee Pay
Example:
You work as a mechanic in a garage and earn $8.40 per h. During a very busy week, you are asked to work 44 hours. What was your total pay for that week?
regular pay = (40)($8.40) = $336.00
overtime pay = (4)($8.40)(1.5) = $50.40
gross pay = $ $50.40 = $386.40

51. Employee Pay Examples:
Jason has contracted to work for a monthly salary of $2,400 plus $25 per hour for overtime. If he worked 56 hours last week, what was pay?
regular pay = $2,400 × 12 = $28,800 ÷ 52 = $553.85
overtime pay = 16 × $25 = $400
gross pay = $ $400 = $953.85

52. Employee Pay Examples:
Kaylan earned $342 in a 40 hour week. What is her hourly wage?
pay = $342 ÷ 40
pay = $8.55

53. Employee Pay Examples:
Angela has an annual salary of $36,000. Calculate her monthly pay.
pay = $36,000 ÷ 12
pay = $3000

54. Employee Pay
Time sheet: Anything used to keep track of the hours you work. Can be a punch card, log book, sheet of paper, etc.
Deductions: Amounts subtracted from your gross pay. Examples include federal and state withholding taxes, social security, retirement, insurance, and other voluntary deductions.
Net pay: The amount left after all deductions are taken out of the gross pay. Also known as “take home pay.”

55. Employee Pay Examples:
If your gross pay was $ and your net pay was $213.98, how much were your deductions?
$  $ = $131.02
How much will be deducted from your pay over the course of a year (52 weekly paychecks) for Federal Withholding Tax ($54.40 per wk) and Social Security Tax ($28.76 per wk).
($54.40)(52) = $2,828.80
($28.76)(52) = $1,495.52

58. Withholdings and Deductions
Examples (Refer to tax tables):
Jasmine is single, claims 0 allowances, and made $360 this week. What is her Federal and State Withholding Tax.
Federal: $47
State: $24

59. Withholdings and Deductions
Examples (Refer to tax tables):
Rusty is married, claims 3 allowances, and made $ this week. What is his Federal and State Withholding Tax?
Federal: $53
State: $30

60. Withholdings and Deductions
Examples (Refer to tax tables):
Marie’s monthly salary is $1,636 and she claims single 1 allowance. What is her Federal and State Withholding Tax?
Federal: $133
State: $102