Posting Guidelines (04-20-2011), Your Identity, Job Search Protection, Advertisements
Posted By: Moderator on 2010-02-16
Protect Yourself: Research Your Potential Employer First
- Pay attention to what the company ad states. What is not stated in the advertisement is just as important as what is provided. For example:
- Do they list their full company name? If a company is not willing to tell you who they are up front, what else are they not willing to tell you about?
- Do they list a website? Is the company listed on social networking sites such as Facebook?
- Do they list contact information visibly? You need to know their email address BEFORE you send your resume and personal information to them. Never blindly send your information to an address or into cyberspace without knowing exactly where it is going and who is going to receive it.
- Do they list their location?
- Do they make statements that elude to less-credible or unscrupulous practices such as low pay or expect you to work for free to get experience?
- Do they want you to pay for the “opportunity” to work with them?
- Do they provide a description of the work, the general expectations for turnaround time and the equipment needed?
- If the company provides a credible advertisement, begin your search by looking online. Even small companies in today’s technologically progressive world have websites. If the company you are researching does not have a website, it is probably a very small operation. It may be a single owner. While there are legitimate companies operating on this small scale, remember that you are dealing with an individual usually without the protection of company policies and standards to protect your rights and expectations. If you choose to continue contacting such a company, don’t send your information up front. Require that they respond to you first with contact information. Ask for a reference from them: Two or more current employees, perhaps a client or two to speak with. You need to evaluate their reputation.
- Contact the Better Business Bureau in the city/state the company is based to see if there are or have been complaints against the company and any action or resolution. Look for online newspapers to see if they are advertising locally and/or any past articles have been written about them. Contact the Chamber of Commerce in the city/state of the company; at the very least they should have filed a business license in the court house. Many city and state governments now provide online access to public information such as judgments and other court reporting. See if there are any claims for nonpayment of work, etc.
- Network with your friends but ask specific questions. Don’t accept general statements whether positive or negative. Ask for details and descriptions supporting that opinion and experience. Descriptors such as “good” or “bad”, “wonderful” or “pitiful”, “low pay” or “excellent pay”, “expensive insurance”, “poor communication” are too vague. Again, people who have nothing to hide do not hide anything. Someone making those general statements should be able and willing to give you details if they want to be heard with any credibility.
- Testing on 2 or 3 files is one thing. Testing on 8, 9, 10 or more files is another. Be cautious.
In general, remember:
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
- People and companies with nothing to hide don’t hide anything!
- A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush: In other words, don’t quit your current job just because you have an offer for another. Get established with your next job first. It may not be what you expected!
- Consider other’s opinions but don’t make decisions by them. Everyone’s perceptions and needs are different.
- Know your bottom line. How much money must you have? How much can you afford to pay for insurance? Do you want IC or employee work? Know what YOU need.
- Don’t sell yourself short! Get what you deserve but deserve what you get, too!
General Posting Guidelines
Updated: 04-20-2011
MTStars encourages and accepts the opinions of all of its posters. We want posters to be able to express their perspectives and views. We do not moderate the boards for niceness. You will often find posts and, sometimes, specific posters presenting ideas and thought lines that are in opposition to your own. Tolerance, acceptance and patience should be demonstrated by everyone. You may want to skip certain posts in order to fully enjoy the board(s) for your own experience. We encourage open discussion and even vigorous debate about TOPICS or ISSUES. Civility and respect should be maintained. MTStars will not be tolerating personal attacks of any kind.
A few basic guidelines for posting are provided below; however, it is not an exclusive list. It is expected that all posters will abide by these guidelines. MTStars also reserves the right to update this list of guidelines as necessary.
- Foul language, hate speech, violence, threats, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling and abuse of posting privileges will not be tolerated. No poster here has the right to demonstrate these behaviors. Leave the foul language completely. If you cannot debate or discuss the topic or issue without personally attacking the poster, it is best that you not respond to that particular post.
- Remember: You are responsible for YOUR posting behavior. Don’t join in with posters who are acting out. Don’t try to moderate their behavior. Actions taken against your posting are due to your own behavior.
- Absolutely no grammar, spelling, punctuation police! Do not correct posters on spelling, grammar usage, punctuation, etc. The ONLY exception is for items specifically asked about on the Word Help board.
- Don’t try to moderate. Report posts that you feel violate the posting guidelines. You can do this by clicking the Options box when viewing a post and choosing the Report This Message option.
- Do not post private, indentifying or privileged information of any kind. This includes names, initials, account/client names or references, email addresses, telephone numbers, etc. Do not post communications from your company or any company.
- Use URLs (links to Internet sites) with a summary of the information you are trying to share.
- Do not redirect posters to other forums, blog sites, selling sites, social media platforms, etc.
- Do not post your personal website, business, etc., without expressed consent from the Administrator/Moderator.
- If you have questions as to why your post was edited or deleted, check your email as you will have a moderator notice in your inbox explaining the reason for the action taken. Do not complain about it on the board.
- Remember that your email address is NOT provided to anyone by MTStars at all. By posting, you agree to accept emails from posters through the board. The posters emailing you will NOT see your address. However, if you respond to an email received through the MTStars board, you will be exposing your email address.
What does it mean if your post was edited, moved or deleted?
It means that information within the post was against posting guidelines and, therefore, removed or the post was deleted. Remember that all replies are lost when posts are deleted. If a post belongs on a different board, it will be moved to the appropriate board.
What does it mean if you try to post and you see a message about being banned?
There will be a reason given for the banning. Please note this is usually to get your attention to stop an unacceptable behavior. However, repeated behavior ignoring posting guidelines may result in a permanent ban. Please follow the instructions on your ban notice to reinstate your posting privileges if possible.
If you have any questions at any time, do not hesitate to contact the Moderator. Happy posting!
MTStars Team
ADVERTISING NOTICE
Posted By: Moderator on 2009-11-25
MTStars will not be accepting any advertising offers from MTSOs (Medical Transcription Service Owners). In doing so, MTStars would be creating a biased atmosphere for discussion, which is not the purpose of MTStars.
Non-MTSO businesses (i.e., software vendors, equipment sales, educational facilities, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the wide exposure through advertising on MTStars.
For advertising package information, please contact cher@mtstars.com
See Detailed Advertising Policy here:
http://www.mtstars.com/medical_transcription_advertising.htm
ALL POSTERS READ - YOUR IDENTITY ON MTSTARS
Posted By: Moderator on 2009-08-10
I have addressed this in the past and, due to the content on the board currently, I believe it would be in everyone's best interest to repeat it on occasion. Let's be perfectly clear about a few things on posting on MTStars and posting on any board. There are 3 topics here each of you need to read:
1. Your identity when posting on MTStars: Your identity is safe on MTStars, including your IP address, your email. Your IP address is not and will not be given out unless we receive a court order to do so. Even if you receive an email through this board, ONLY if you reply back to that email will your email address be revealed to that person. If you receive email through this board, the individual sending the email to you has read a post by you and is emailing you blindly - they have no idea who they are emailing.
Anyone making any suggestion whatsoever that your identity can be determined or verified or retrieved from MTStars through actions by MTStars (other than through a US court order) is libeling MTStars and just trying to panic all of you. It is a lie.
2. Exposing your identity on MTStars or any other forum: This is something YOU do. You do not have to list your name for others (individuals or companies) to recognize you. If you give enough information, it can be very apparent who is posting. So, you do need to be very aware of this. Especially if you are discussing details which tie you to a specific situation with a company - if you talk about it, that company probably will recognize who you are. This can happen on ANY forum - even private ones. Who reads this board? EVERYONE! Anyone can read it. Anyone can post here. Individuals, companies...everyone reads here. Do not think that your own company does not read this website to see what is posted about them. Even private boards (where you have to sign up to be a member and then log in to post) can only offer you so much protection. Anyone can become a member of a forum and then read all the posts. So, again, if you give out too much information you are giving away your identity.
3. Posting on other forums: I want to make sure that all posters here are aware of this situation: No other forum, including MTStars can guarantee you they will never reveal your information. Especially those that use free forum software and online applications to provide their boards (e.g., Proboards) as they don't even own their own board and domain! All posts belong to the company they are getting their free lease from! In any event, if a forum is hit with a court order, they will have to give up that information (and it can be given from the website host). So, do not believe any other individual who promises you such safety - it is limited anywhere. I just wanted you to be aware of it.
If you have questions about any of this, please email me.
Moderator (Cher): cher@mtstars.com
Don't make your decisions based on someone else's recommendation
Posted By: Administration on 2008-11-24
Postings on this board constitute personal opinions and experiences, should not be considered as substantiated by MTStars. Under no circumstances will MTStars be liable for any loss or damage caused by a user�s reliance on information obtained from Company Board. MTStars.com cannot effectively monitor validity of material/information posted on its Message Boards and, therefore, makes no representation and warranty with respect thereto.
Information posted on this board and all inclusions are not to be taken seriously. Users of this forum are requested to make their own assessment of the information and should verify all relevant representations, statements and information from other sources as well.
Furthermore, while the information is considered to be true and correct at the date of posting, changes in circumstances after the time of posting may affect the accuracy of the information.
Don't make your decisions based on someone else's recommendation. Do your own research! Not only might you get a bad tip; your career goals may be totally different. |
