European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 18. 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17moneymattersj today s tip keeping up with the Stock Market can be a problem when living Over seas. One answer May be subscribing to the value line investment Survey perhaps the Best known Stock research organization in the United states. Value line follows 1,700 stocks on a regular basis publishing full reports on each at least four times a year. Value lines weekly information service costs $500 a year. The company sometimes offers 10-week specials for As Little As $60. For More information write value line 711 third ave., new York n.y.10017.conversion rates London up fridays closing rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $366.25 an ounce Silver at $4.02. A March 14 March 15 British Pound ,. .1.8555 1,8335 German mark.,.,. .1.5750 1.5925 French franc. ,.5.3600 5.4095 dutch Guilder. 1.7715 1.7885 belgian franc. .32.4650 32.7075 italian lira. .1,176.65 1,183.20 Swiss franc1.36550 1 38175 greek drachma. 169.50 170.78 turkish lira.3,463.30 3,492.20 saudi arabian Riyal 3.7503 3.7503 Spanish peseta. 97.88 98.75 portuguese escudo .�?z136.46 138.12 Canadian Dollar .1.1525 1.1535. Austrian Schilling. 11,0450 11.1650 norwegian Krone 6.1420 61990 danish Krone. 6.0375 6.0930 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations the Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.54 through monday based on fridays noontime  signs Deal with Czechoslovakia new York up Avon products inc. Has announced it has signed an agreement with Czechoslovakia that will allow the firm to Start a direct sales business there in october. Avon entered the Eastern european Market last year when it kicked off direct Selling operations in Hungary and the former East Germany. Avon has 1.5 million sales representatives in More than 100  for gis getting out this year by Randy Mcclain _ by Randy Mcclain financial writer. America s outpouring of affection for the armed forces following the War with Iraq wont necessarily translate into better civilian Job opportunities for service members who leave the military this year. A a done to be misled by the hoopla of people welcoming you Back. Employers to my knowledge Arentt lining up at the department of defense to offer jobs a said Lawrence Tassone director of education for the air Force sergeants association and airmen memorial foundation in Suitland  whose organization runs an employment assistance program for enlisted air Force personnel said the recession in the United states makes it unlikely that military personnel separating from the service will have an easy time of it. A. Military personnel entering the Job Market in the first half of 1991 Are going to be faced with lots of Competition for relatively few positions. A there Are several million Quality workers who would normally be employed and you re coming out right in the Middle of them. Our people Are competing with Guys who have experience in the corporate world and who can hit the ground running for an employer the next Day a he said. A there May be parades and flags but we Are in a recession and the unemployment Factor just went up to 6.5 percent in february. Middle managers Are being Laid off. Companies Are going into bankruptcy.�?�. His advice to service members a if you done to have to get out of the service stay in.�?�. A a a a Tassone said cd service members who weren to officers Are often ranked below experienced civilian workers in the Job Market even during the Best of economic times. Many corporations value civilian experience in a particular Field Over military experience and sex Servic members done to make things any better by being ill prepared for their Job search Tassone said. A a when a service member walks in he or she is a babe in the Woods competing with a Guy who knows the corporate terminology and who has researched the companies they re interviewing with. Our Guy goes into the Job interview nervous As a cat and wearing the wrong suit a he said. But Tassone said the Gap Between military and civilian applicants can be narrowed through hard work and plan civilian Job search help the airmen memorial foundation in Suitland md., offers a variety of assistance for service members embarking on a Job search in the civilian world. Here is a Sample of what s available. A employment preparation guide a 92-Page guide featuring benefits and Federal assistance programs available to sex service members after separation or retirement from military service. The guide can be ordered directly from the foundation. Cost is $3.50. A self help course a 240-Page Workbook that leads service members through the Steps to land a civilian Job. Included Are tips on writing resumes surviving the interview process and assessing your professional skills. The Workbook and employment preparation guide mentioned above can be ordered As a package for $25. National Job Bank service members resumes can be included in a National Job Bank operated by Snelling and Snelling inc. Of Sarasota fla., one of the nations largest employment services. Private employers use the Job Bank to fill  of a openings. Service members can enrol through the foundation. For More information Contact the airmen memorial foundation Post military employment program . Box 1043, Suitland md., 20752. Eng. One of Tassono s suggestions is to Start thinking about a civilian Job up to three years before sending out the first resume. He said service members should also undergo assessment testing to help them pick the right civilian career to match their skills and interests. Too often in the military he said serv ice members Are put in a Job that a not right for them a because the needs of the military come first. You May be in a career Field that a not the optimum one for you.�?�. Service members should have a Complete and accurate picture of who they Are what makes them Happy and what they re capable of doing before starting to look for a Job he said. Once you be picked a civilian career Field Start learning More about it tas Sone said. Do research on individual companies in that Field make Contact with professional organizations and subscribe to Trade journals. The latter step can help Scricc Mem ers learn about new equipment or techniques in their Field and also expose them to the terminology used in the civilian work place. Tassone said too Many Servic embers get off on the wrong foot after leaving military service and never recover. A is amps a the biggest mistake Many people make is getting out of the service to a specific location rather than for a Good Opportunity. They go to a particular City because a mom and i liked it when we served there a a Tassone said. That often leads to the sex service member Landing a Job that pays less than head like with a company he a never heard of before. A too often the Normal thing is that a Guy gets out interviews unsuccessfully with several companies and finally some Friend tells him about a Job some place. So he grabs it a Tassone said. In Many cases the Job pays less than a service member expected and it does to match his skills. A because of the pressure of having to put Beans on the table a person takes whatever he can get Quot Tassone said adding that service members often end up Back on the Job Market within a year or two looking for something better. Instead Tassone suggests going after jobs that pay the Best wages from the Start even if they re in an area of the country that a not a persons first or second Choice. A if that a where the High Dollar is that a where you have to go a Tassone said. A after you have a civilian track record of three years or so then you can negotiate from  picture not expected to improve soon by Karen Ball the associated press Falls Church a. A when John Pennylegion was Laid off As a computer systems designer he was confident head find a new Job quickly but months later he found himself standing in an unemployment line at 7 . A a it a very demoralizing a Pennylegion who has a wife and three children said waving toward the cramped unemployment office where the jobless lean dejectedly against Walls and wait hours to file for benefits. Pennylegion who got up before Dawn to get a jump on the crowd at the Virginia employment commission still had to wait nearly three hours and was told that if All went right he should Start receiving his $198-a-week Benefit Check within three or four weeks. Not much compared to what he used to earn but a a it la pay the groceries a he said. The unemployment picture Isnit expected to improve anytime soon. In february americans jobless rate Rose to 6.5 percent an increase of 0.3 percent from one month earlier. The jobless level has climbed since last june when it was 5.3 percent. Even a mild recession could put another million americans out of work by the end of the year analysts say. Under the nations unemployment system states pay out benefits through employer taxes that they collect. The Federal government which receives a portion of those taxes is responsible for paying the administrative costs of the system. \ Over the past decade Federal cuts have forced states to close dozens of unemployment offices and trim staff. Now the offices Are so shorthanded lines stretch into the streets and checks can to be processed for weeks state officials complain. In Rural areas the unemployed May have to drive for hours to reach an unemployment office. A sometimes these applicants have to wait two or three hours just to talk to the claim taker a Bob Wagner who runs an unemployment office in Bloomington ind., complained at a hearing by Congress joint economic committee recently. A i can to Tell you How Many times claimants ask me Why this is such an inefficient and humiliating experience. And when they done task i can see it on their faces a Wagner said. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin has said some states suffer from internal problems that  be solved by increased Federal funding. Some employee groups disagree. A when you re grossly underfunded i done to think its fair to say these problems Are self made Quot said Bob Wack president of the economic Alliance for Michigan a labor business group urging Reform of the unemployment system. A benefits Are mandated but there a no mandatory requirement that the Federal government cough up Sut Focient funds to get the Job done a Wack complained. He said the Federal government takes in about s5 billion a year for the program from employer taxes but spends Only about s3 billion. The rest he said is being used to offset the Federal deficit