Optometrist wins Super Bowl trip

Optometrist wins Super Bowl trip

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

Dr. Candice Macri, a New Castle optometrist, won Davis Vision’s Order Online to Win promotion and received a free trip for two to the Super Bowl in Miami.

Each time a provider placed an electronic order in 2009, Davis Vision of Plainview, N.Y., added the office name to a pool of entries.

Tweet your way into new career

NEW YORK

Can you keep your r sum under 140 characters? You may be able to tweet your way into a new career, according to Susan Britton Whitcomb, Deb Dib and Chandlee Bryan, co-authors of recently published book “The Twitter Job Search Guide.” The micro-blogging Web site is changing how people hunt for work, they said.

“In the past, you had to go through a maze of gatekeepers to get to the cloistered person in charge of hiring decisions,” Britton Whitcomb said.

“Now you can have access to them with the click of a ‘Follow’ button. The ability to level the playing field — placing you nearly peer-to-peer with influencers, leaders and hiring authorities — is extremely powerful.SDRq

When leaving job, negotiate reference

NEW YORK

Negotiating a fair severance package is common when a person involuntarily leaves a company. But just as important is negotiating a fair professional reference.

This is one of the biggest blunders people make when they lose a job, says Heidi Allison, president of reference checking and employment-verification firm Allison & Taylor Inc.

“No matter how you leave a company, you need to know what your immediate past employer is going to say about you to prospective new ones,” Allison said. “People mistakenly think that all employers will simply verify your past employment, but this couldn’t be further from reality. In many cases, people talk more than they should when providing a reference.”

Allison suggests confirming the answers they will give to prospective employers, including whether you are eligible for rehiring and what is the specific reason for losing the job. It’s important to get these details in writing, Allison said.

Vindicator staff/wire reports