Happy Holidays and have Great New Year
by Daniel Bealey on Dec.24, 2009, under My Job Blog
I want to thank everyone for their continued support with The Job Trekker. You might have noticed that i have not contributed much in the last month or so. The reason for this is to allow myself to rethink the direction of The Job Trekker. I am in the process of thinking and developing new ideas; I would like The Job Trekker to take a new form in the New Year one that is more comprehensive for a job searcher and offers real time solutions.
The Job Trekker is currently looking for a job site to team up with, a developer to offer real site flow and hopefully soon will be able to employ some fine people out there.
With that said Have a great holidays and Happy New Year and remember you are a Job Trekker through and through.
Best
Dan
How to Beat the Stress of Losing Your Job
by New News Article on Nov.11, 2009, under In The News
By Joel Garfinkle
It doesn’t quite measure up to experiencing the loss of a loved one, divorce or being thrown in jail, but losing your job still ranks as one of life’s 10 most stressful events. So it’s natural to feel pressure when you’re laid off. You’re worried about your family, finances and future. Not to mention you’ve been tossed overboard into the worst job market in decades.
As you develop your job search strategy, I encourage you include a category called, “Stress Busters.” Write down the specific things you intend to do minimize the stress you’re bound to feel over the coming weeks and months. Then, periodically check your list to see if you’re following through. And constantly look for opportunities to expand your list.
Here are some examples to get you started:
- 1. Take comfort in knowing that others survived and accomplished great things during difficult times. Read books or articles (or rent movies) about religious, political or humanitarian leaders who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. As difficult as your circumstances may be, they’ll seem far less daunting. Be inspired by others who overcame adversity.
- 2. Break out the old golf clubs you haven’t used for awhile. Learn a new language or software program. Take up yoga. If you have trouble discovering a new passion, just fill in this blank: “I’ve always wanted to learn to ____________, but never had the time.” Learn a New Hobby or Skill.
- 3. Volunteering for a nonprofit or getting involved in your community is a way to feed the soul and relieve stress. You’ll not only be helping others, you’ll be helping yourself. Volunteering is an excellent way to expand your network of people who can offer job leads. At the very least, it’s another positive item you can add to your resume. Volunteer.
- 4. Eliminate the negative “self-talk” that inevitably comes with unemployment. Stop yourself every time you hear your inner voice saying “I can’t” or “It’s impossible” or “I didn’t get the job interview” or “I’m not qualified.” And avoid negative people. Maintain a positive attitude.
- 5. Target how many hours you ideally want to sleep each night. If you’re having trouble sleeping, there are a number of websites on the Net that provide excellent advice on ways to get a better night’s rest. If the problem is severe, talk to your health care provider. Get plenty of sleep.
- 6. It’s always a good idea to maintain proper nutrition, but especially so during stressful times. Being at home and having easy access to junk food or leftovers make for an unhealthy combination. Watch your diet.
- 7. Being temporarily unemployed is an excellent time to begin the exercise program you never seemed to have time for when you were working. If you need to lose a few pounds, set a weekly goal. You’ll not only improve your health, but your self-image.
Start an exercise program. http://www.DreamJobCoaching.com
I f you have any specific questions you’d like our Experts to address, please email them to me, John Cox at john@cynopsis.com.
Joel Garfinkle is recognized as one of the top 50 coaches in America and is the author of 5 books. He has over 17 years experience in the job search and career transition field. He has worked with many of the world’s leading companies, including Google, Cisco, Oracle, Bank of America, Starbucks and Visa.
Pile On Mentors in Tough Times
by New News Article on Nov.09, 2009, under In The News
Written By: ELIZABETH GARONE Found on TheWallStreetJournal.com…
- The Job Trekkers NOTES: This is something I am terrible at, I constantly think that the learning process is my struggle and that if I can not forge forward, it is my fault… But a friend who seeks out mentors to grow is always telling me, “you need to find a mentor; they can tell you the ins and outs of the business, teach you how to grow and just give you that general advice you need to be successful”. I need to listen to him and this article, it is great advice. Dan- The creator of the Job Trekker.
This was written By: ELIZABETH GARONE
In this economy, you need to take advantage of every available resource to propel your career. Finding a mentor—and preferably a network of mentors—is an easy and smart way to get started. And, it won’t set you back financially the way hiring a career coach would. Here’s how.
Develop a circle of mentors. Look more widely than your company-assigned mentor. You’ll benefit from multiple advisers, especially if you don’t click with your official one.
“Unlike a marriage, mentoring relationships do not have to be monogamous,” says Ellen Ensher, the co-author of “Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most out of Their Mentoring Relationships” and a management professor at Loyola Marymount University.
And don’t limit yourself to people within your company, suggests Ms. Ensher. Rather than make a cold call to a potential mentor, she recommends getting introduced through a mutual friend or colleague. “Contact more than one mentor and think about what complementary skills you might offer them,” she says. Mentoring is about reciprocity. Be clear about what you hope to learn and what you can offer.
Don’t count out your boss. When searching for a mentor, it’s easy to overlook the person you see on a daily basis and the one who most likely has a position you covet: your boss. If you like your boss, suggest starting a mentoring relationship.
“Make sure that your direct supervisor understands your career aspirations,” says Michael Fenlon, people strategy and U.S. markets human resources leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “There is nothing like having a boss who is your biggest fan and who will advertise your abilities and potential to management and other senior leaders.”
Consider a “step-ahead” mentor. Many people—often mistakenly—set their sights on the company’s top brass as the Holy Grail of mentors. But, more often than not, these relationships aren’t the most helpful, Ms. Ensher says. “High status is not always equivalent to high competency when it comes to mentoring,” she says. “Senior-level mentors may be less accessible or less patient than mentors lower in the hierarchy.”
Ms. Ensher recommends a “step-ahead” mentor, someone in a position one up from your own. This type of person might have “more empathy, more time, and more recent recall and direct knowledge of career paths in the organization,” she says.
Start your own program. If your company doesn’t have a mentoring program, consider approaching management with the idea of starting one.
It shouldn’t have to be a hard sell, especially if you include in your pitch the potential benefits to the company’s bottom line. Mentoring can improve morale, help employees learn, fuel innovation and build better leaders, says William F. Banholzer, chief technology officer for Dow Chemical Co.
Do it now. If you’re unemployed, don’t wait until you land a position to seek out a mentor. “Look around and see who inspires you,” says Ms. Ensher. “Who do you want to be like in style, career trajectory, accomplishment?”
Once you develop descriptions of those people, contact people in your network to see if anyone knows someone that meets those criteria. In addition to tapping formal sources such as career centers, professional organizations and past employers, spread the word to friends and family.
“Tell everyone you know that you are looking to connect with a specific mentor or role model, and be persistent,” says Ms. Ensher.
Write to Elizabeth Garone at cjeditor@dowjones.com
Great Job Openings, No Candidates
by New News Article on Nov.06, 2009, under In The News
By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Posted Nov 4th 2009 5:00AM
Hiring managers struggle to find employees, even as millions of jobs seekers are desperate for work.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite millions of unemployed job seekers desperate for work, many open positions are languishing unfilled. The reason? Not enough candidates.
With job openings largely concentrated in specialized industries like healthcare, green technology and energy, some employers say the problem is finding qualified workers, which are in short supply. Meanwhile, they are inundated with eager candidates from other industries who lack the skills and experience that the job requires.
According to a recent survey by Human Capital Institute and TheLadders, more than half of employers said “quality of candidates” or “availability of candidates” are their greatest challenges — despite the recession.
Mary Willoughby, the director of human resources at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, New York, has been trying to hire registered nurses, home health aides and service coordinators for several of the agencies that she oversees. Many of the positions, which require specific skills and offer salaries in the range of $30,000 to $45,000, have been vacant for six months or longer.
The job postings, which appear on CareerBuilder, Craigslist and some regional sites, garner a lot of attention, she says. “We get tons of résumés from people. We are just not getting highly qualified candidates.”
The problem, according to Willoughby, is that they are bombarded by résumés from job seekers without the two years or more of healthcare experience necessary. “We’re seeing a lot of people trying to break into the healthcare arena,” she said.
As a result, human resources spends too much time sifting through résumés for people who aren’t remotely qualified, and can’t find many that are. “We’ve gotten close to 300 résumés for a service coordinator position. Out of that we brought in four people,” she said.
Those that didn’t make the cut included someone with previous experience as an office clerk and a job applicant with a bachelor’s in mathematics, currently employed at a café.
Willoughby recently instituted a hiring incentive program to encourage existing employees to refer viable candidates. Those responsible for bringing in new hires are eligible to receive $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the position. She has also added in a signing bonus for the new employees.
Things are even worse on the higher end of the pay scale. At wireless leasing firm, Unison Site, a position for director of lead generation, which pays $90,000-$140,000, has been open for three months, with no candidates in sight.
“With the job market the way it is, we should be able to recruit really good people and it hasn’t worked quite as well as we wanted,” said Joe Songer, co-founder and chief financial officer. “My problem is when I put an ad out I just get bombarded with people that aren’t qualified.”
They’re hiring!
Typically, the jobs that are the hardest to fill are those that require unique or extensive work experience, according to management professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
For job seekers, applying to those types of positions may be worth the off chance that one responds with a request for an interview. “They think, I’ve got nothing to lose,” Cappelli said.
Recruiters recommend that job seekers create a targeted list of companies with a clear match to their background and tailor their experience to the job they are applying for, rather than blanketing all available job openings with the same résumé.
“Eighty percent of jobs are being obtained on personal referrals so candidates that are spending the bulk of their time sending their résumé out blindly are not being the most fruitful,” said Carolyn Thompson, president of CMCS, a boutique staffing firm near Washington, D.C.
Thompson advises job seekers to network within those target companies, whether in person or through social networking sites.
Without a contact at the company, résumés should highlight and emphasize any relevant experience specific to the job opening, added Jennifer Becker, market director for Ajilon Professional Staffing. “You really want your résumé to very quickly and easily reflect your relevant skills and the value you can bring to the position.”
“If the client has to look for it, you are probably going to get passed over.”
Get Clear -Get Connected – Get a Job
by Debe Bloom on Nov.04, 2009, under Contributing Authors
If only getting a job could be as easy as repeating the above mantra three times each morning. The possibility is, it just may be. However, first you would need to have a definite understanding of each part of this mantra.
Let’s Get Clear….
Clearly, you know you are seeking a job, no two ways about it. But, how clear are you on what position you are after and how far you will deviate from it? Making a list of exactly what you are looking for, including hours, size of business (since employees will become your co-workers), market value of the company, style of presence (are you willing to wear a suit and tie every day, all day—or is casual wear your preference?) —oh and your starting pay—will help get you clear.
But also what is necessary is clearing your desk. Yes, I know…housekeeping! In order to have a clear mind, your path needs to be clear as well. Now is the time to purge and straighten so you can move forward through your job hunt challenge. When your desk is clear, there will be nothing getting in your way.
If you haven’t taken a Myers-Briggs® Assessment test in the last couple of years, now is a good time to do it. Interests and skills are changing all the time for each of us.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to take care of your body during the job-hunting process. Sleep, food and exercise. Even though you may not think your mind may not be stressed, your body will be harboring it, so keep moving it to allow release of the anxiety. The exercise will give you a better night’s sleep, too…and will most likely cause you to seek some fuel.
Now, Get Connected….
If you aren’t on LinkedIn with your professional profiles, this is a must. The audience on LinkedIn is typically in the business arena, so do your best to have a presence on LinkedIn..and ‘look good’!
And, then there’s Facebook. Designed as a socializing tool, Facebook is quickly becoming a business networking place. It is technology’s answer to referrals. Bear in mind when on Facebook that everyone and anyone can check and cross-check your friends, your friend’s friends and their friends. A potential employer can easily look at the person you are when socializing and (unfortunately) make a judgment call based on you-having-fun….
The connection highway is overwhelming. There’s Plaxo, Digg, Del.icio.us, furl, newsvine, iMeet, Reddit, Yahoo!Buzz, etc. etc. I’m exhausted just thinking about all the ways a person can get connected. And once you’re connected, in order for it to be productive, you need to stay connected. That’s a lot of work and a heck of a lot of time. It is best to choose one social network and one professional network and work them ‘deeply’ rather than working several ‘wide’. The deeper you can go, the more detailed and stronger it will prove.
Twitter is an excellent way to keep abreast of what possibilities are available. Make sure you let your social and professional networks, both on and off the technology highway know of your job seeking challenge.
Be prepared whenever you are out in the world to give out your contact information. iPhone has an application, Bump, that allows you to transfer information to another iPhone with a ‘bumping’ gesture—as long as the recipient iPhone has the same application. In lieu of that exercise, it would behoove you to have simple business cards on hand with your contact information, including your phone number, email address and line of expertise. You’ll never know what conversation you will hear while standing in line at your local coffee shop. Being prepared is an incredible first impression.
Get a Job….
With a clear mind and desk, a focus on what you are searching to do, a web-based presence and being prepared to hand out your contact information, it’s time for S and M (Search and Market). Linkedin has employers listing opportunities so be sure to reach a bit out of your comfort zone into other professions that have a relationship to what you are looking for. Keep your path open to your Twitter account so your friends and associates will let you know when they hear of any opportunity. And make sure that your personal contact time is in play, too. “Face time is important”.
Take this challenge as a ‘job’ in itself. “Hire” yourself. Put a time block on your daily calendar for job seeking and stick to it. Keep focused and stay determined. If you have the ingredients for being a good employee, there is an employer looking for you. Stay strong and stay directed.
….Debe Bloom ~ Professional Certified Coach
Learning About the Job Hunt from Ferris Bueller
by New News Article on Nov.03, 2009, under In The News
Found in The Wall Street Journal
By John Brownrigg
John Brownrigg was a senior manager at Corporex Companies LLC, a real estate development company. Mr. Brownrigg, 54, was laid off in August 2008 after almost two years with the company. Previously, he worked on commercial real estate and construction projects for General Electric, Ericsson and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and two children.
Does anyone else remember this scene from one of my favorite movies of the 1980’s, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”?
“Teacher (played by Ben Stein): Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Simone (played by Kristy Swanson): Um, he’s sick. My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious.
Teacher: Thank you, Simone
Simone: No problem whatsoever.”
Talk about networking — Simone had it covered! Although her information wasn’t exactly correct, (Ferris skipped school that day for a trip into Chicago), her network went eight layers deep within about 12 hours, back in the days before cell phones, texting, and YouTube. If Simone had used her network to find a job, she’d be CEO of Paramount Pictures by now.
While I’m not quite up to Simone’s standards, I am currently one of two remaining candidates for a position where my network includes my brother in Denver, my brother-in-law in Massachusetts, family friends in New York City, an ex-co-worker in Kentucky, another ex-coworker in Florida, and my wife for a job in Cincinnati. All of these people have provided me information or assistance for this specific opportunity. Without them, I would have missed the job opening all together. Which is not bad for me.
Another quote from the movie, is when Ferris proclaims: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” For the past year, I have been looking for a job — searching internet job boards, reading company web sites, establishing user accounts, filling out applications, anti-ATS-ing my resume (making sure to include all of the key words in the job description), making a relevant and interesting cover letter, monitoring job pages — taking lots of time and effort. The responses from the companies for my efforts are more or less non-existent, and are almost never positive. While I know that “attitude is everything,” it has been very difficult for me to remain positive amongst all the rejection.
I try to keep things in perspective — life is too short. I believe that a qualified, hard-working, value-added employee will always be needed. It is just a matter of time for me to find the right fit and I’ll be back in the ranks of the employed. I need to follow Ferris’s lead and take some time to laugh and enjoy the things I like to do. I won’t let job hunting get me down while my life passes me by.
Readers, what movies or books do you find inspiring and uplifting as you continue your search? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Jobless in Today’s Economy What to Do?
by New News Article on Oct.27, 2009, under In The News
found on Cynopsis
By Joel Garfinkle
In today’s economy, every person knows someone who has been laid off, fired, terminated or is unemployed. Finding a new job has become a lot more difficult. You can’t expect to have three great opportunities lined up in the next six weeks. You must stay steadfast and patient. The right opportunity will ultimately come along. Just realize that your job search will take longer than expected.
Here are some tips to get you through this difficult period:
- 1. Don’t succumb to the fears of this economic recession.
- Be careful how much bad economic news you digest. If you don’t limit your exposure to all the naysayers, you will feel totally defeated. You will lose all your energy and excitement necessary to move forward to find an actual job.
- 2. Notice all the people employed so you visualize yourself being employed.
- Are people still getting hired? Absolutely! The national unemployment rate through Sept, 09 was 9.5 percent. That means 90.5 percent of American workers still have jobs. Focus on the prospect of joining the vast majority of workers rather than bemoaning your temporary status as a member of a small minority.
- 3. Prepare for the long haul a job search can take.
- Doing a job search and actually landing a job takes a lot longer than most people expect, even in the most lucrative times. Prepare yourself, in advance, to experience disappointments, lost opportunities, and rejection during your job search. Don’t take it personally. Hold your head high and move on to your next step.
- 4. Believe you are employable and will be employed.
- Be confident that a job opportunity will happen. You are employable! You will be employed. List all the reasons you are employable and what you have to offer a company. You’ll be inspired by all your talents and skills. Make the strongest case for yourself to energize yourself with a sense of empowerment, confidence, clarity and conviction.
- 5. Push though the rejections and lack of job opportunities.
- Deal with the rejections that will inevitably come from a job search. Remember, Gone With the Wind was rejected by 38 publishers before being accepted and Fred Astaire was told on his first screen test, “Can’t act! Slightly bald!” Feel confident about your skills, resume, and job prospects and recognize that rejection is a part of the job search process.
- 6. Maintain positive momentum with small wins so you feel progress in your job search.
- Relish small wins that will keep you engaged in your job search. For example, establish daily goals to make a couple of networking contacts, or contact three people for job leads. At the end of each day, celebrate your progress. These small wins help create momentum so you are able to move forward, stay motivated and take action daily.
Joel Garfinkle is recognized as one of the top 50 coaches in America and is the author of 5 books. He has over 17 years experience in the job search and career transition field. He has worked with many of the world’s leading companies, including Google, Cisco, Oracle, Bank of America, Starbucks and Visa. http://www.DreamJobCoaching.com
How to find the right job for you
by New News Article on Oct.20, 2009, under In The News
Career fulfillment | Entrepreneurship | Leadership
We reorganized the company today. We brought in a new, interim CEO, who’s not me. For many entrepreneurs, that is their worst nightmare.
But I couldn’t be happier. For one thing, it’s a sign that my company, Brazen Careerist, is doing well. Remember when the company was running out of money and my electricity was getting turned off? There was no one worrying then that I was the wrong person for the CEO position. No one cared because it looked like we were going under.
But then the media started talking about how we could be LinkedIn for Gen Y and we started moving fast. I don’t worry about of money anymore, and we are moving at a faster speed because we can see where we are going, how we’ll make money, and how we’ll grow the community.
1. Know where your strengths are.
The thing that makes me great is my writing. I have spent my whole life writing, constantly trying to figure out how to earn money writing. My favorite thing I’ve ever written is this blog. I adore the conversation, I adore the format, the never-ending research, and the self-referential links, because that’s how my mind works: connecting random stuff together all the time trying to figure out the best path to happiness. Blogging is my dream-come-true media.
But I also love building companies. So I was in heaven for two years turning my blog brand into a social networking company.
I am great in that phase of a business–thinking, philosophizing, finding holes in markets, finding holes in ideas. I never give up. I always have another idea, and I don’t mind feeling lost day after day, week after week.
2. Watch where you gravitate.
But now the company needs to run fast, to execute a model we have confidence in. I am not fast at execution—I do not keep ten thousand things in my head at one time. Here’s a good example: I flew to DC to talk with investors and had about five hours to retool our presentation to incorporate a new marketing plan. I spent two of those hours writing a blog post.
And the more responsibility I had for running a large team, trying to hit many goals at once, the less work I did. Honestly, I just didn’t know what to do. I was outside my core strength.
And I know this: the first sign that you are outside of your strengths is when you can’t make yourself do the work you need to do.
3. Find people who complement your strengths.
To get out of germination mode and reach our launch, I needed to surround myself with people with complimentary skills. I spent two years looking for business partners before I found Ryan Healy and Ryan Paugh. The way I knew it was a good fit is that as soon as I suggested we partner, they said yes, and then had a million ideas of their own.
Then, when the company was stuck financially, I found a new board member who runs a company with $150 million in revenue. He met with me every week for six months to help me focus on cash flow.
When the company was clearly moving too fast for me to keep up as CEO, I badgered another board member to be CEO. He told me a number of reasons why that wouldn’t work – he had had two huge exits and he wasn’t planning to be CEO again, and another company wanted him to be CEO, and he wants to watch his kids play football. These are all good reasons that I overcame, and I got him to agree to be interim CEO.
4. Do what differentiates you.
So I’m going to be Chief Evangelist. This is a great job for me, because basically, I keep blogging, and talking to the media, and I go to SXSW with my fake tan.
Most of all, I am certain I’m right about Brazen Careerist. LinkedIn is a place to display your network, not build your network. Facebook is too personal to use as a platform for managing your professional life. The way to build your network is through conversation, and Brazen Careerist is a great tool for that network-building conversation that gets you control over your career. (And hey, you should sign up!) I can talk about this all day.
5. If you really can do the job, you’ll be doing it already.
Recently, I did a live chat on the Washington Post web site, answering fifty questions in sixty minutes about how to use social media to help your career.
The chat was fun, and people asked interesting questions. It was great exposure for Brazen Careerist. But during that hour I couldn’t help wondering: Who is making sure we’re hitting marketing numbers? Who is going to hire the new head of sales?
Now I have an answer: Ryan Healy.
In any office, employees gravitate to the job each should be doing, no matter what the titles are. Sometimes we gravitate to a job and it’s not available, and we go nuts doing something we shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes we gravitate to that job and it’s such a good fit for us that we do it even without a title.
Ryan Healy has been running day-to-day operations of the company for a while now. Without the official authority. Because he’s great at it. While I am thinking of ideas and philosophizing, Ryan is always asking, “What are we getting done?”
A lot of people say they should be doing a job they do not have the authority to do. Here’s some news, though: You’d be doing it already if you were great at it. Ryan Healy is now Chief Operating Officer at Brazen Careerist because he’s already shown he can do the job. That’s how you get serious promotions: doing the job first, in an outstanding way.
Okay. So what you can expect from me is more blog posts, because when my blog traffic goes up, it’s good for Brazen Careerist. And you can also expect to see less of me feeling frazzled and crazy and fighting with Ryan. Because I’m not anymore. I’m back in my sweet spot, and I feel so lucky to be here.
Laid Off And Looking
by Daniel Bealey on Oct.19, 2009, under In The News
Found in the Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal follows out-of-work M.B.A.s as they search for jobs in a post-meltdown world.
By Kevin Hudson
Kevin Hudson spent almost four years at ServiceMaster as an IT finance director. When the company relocated to Memphis in January 2008, Mr. Hudson, 52, decided not to move. Previously, Mr. Hudson worked as an independent IT consultant and spent 21 years at Ameritech. He lives in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago, with his wife and has three children.
It has now been a little over a month since I was offered, and accepted, a full-time position at the company where I had been working as an external consultant for the past year. The project has picked up momentum in the past couple of months and I now have the opportunity to see the fruits of our team’s efforts.
Transitioning from working part-time to full-time has gone smoothly. Since I have met quite a few people over the past year, I did not experience that feeling of being the “new guy.” Having been the new hire a few times in the past, it is difficult those first few weeks when you do not know anyone but the manager who hired you, and perhaps a few of the folks from the interview process. I am excellent at remembering faces, but I have always had a hard time remembering names.
A number of people in the organization were surprised to hear that I was now full-time, because they were used to seeing me around and had thought I was already an employee. I could understand their reaction as many times there is not an obvious difference between a full-time employee and a contractor – perhaps just the color of their ID badge.
This opportunity came about through networking, after someone I worked with at ServiceMaster gave me a call a year ago and asked if I could assist his organization on a project. I continued my job search as a consultant because the work was part-time and it was never a given that it would lead to something permanent. As it turns out, it did.
I plan on keeping my eyes and ears open. One of the first tasks I completed was to update my resume. I have chosen to remain on the distribution list for all of my former networking avenues. As I mentioned in an earlier post, jobs are just what you do between periods of transition. In the meantime, I am happy to once again be among the ranks of the employed.
Readers, have you made the transition from consultant to full-time? Share your stories in the comments section.
What to do when unemployed
by New News Article on Oct.13, 2009, under In The News
Found on www.Cynopsis.com
BY john@cynopsis.com
Being unemployed should be treated like a job, meaning you should dedicate 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, addressing the situation.
• Check your unemployment benefits.
• Perfect your resumes. Have several resumes ready, each emphasizing different highlights of your career.
• Contact friends, neighbors, relatives, and people within your social and business networks. Get the word out, you need a job. Keep at this.
• Have cards made up with your name, profession and all contact information. Not exactly business cards, but “reminder cards” what you want people to know about you. That’s a different approach, and will help them remember you.
• Make a list of the most successful people you know who could be most helpful. Make appointments to meet with them and tell them about your situation. Do Not Ask Them For A Job. Ask them to suggest people they know who might be helpful in your search, and if they might contact them to help you get an appointment. If they’re too busy for that, might you use their name as a reference? If the guy has an opening, he’ll probably consider whether you’d be his solution.
• When you run into any of your business colleagues, ask them how work is going. When they ask you, tell them you are looking for a job and if they show any interest, give them a couple of reminder cards, in case they run into someone who could use a bright fellow like you.
• When you meet people you don’t know, ask them what business they’re in. Be attentive. When they ask you, tell them your profession and that you are looking for work. If they show any interest at all, give them your reminder card. And if they don’t show any interest, give them a couple of cards anyway. You never know.
• Practice and videotape mock interviews. Watch them, make notes, practice.
• Spend some time each day reading about your industry, keeping ahead of the curve. Read about your particular niche as well as the industry in general. Broaden your horizons to increase your chances of getting a job.
• Keep a list of companies that you would like to work for and check their sites each morning for new postings, and of course check industry job boards twice a day.
• Exercise daily, it will help with the stress and being in shape is always good.
Ifthere’s any time left after all of the above, you might consider-Volunteering,
- it helps the organization; it’s good for the soul and not bad for the resume;
• Starting a blog, if you are a competent writer, about your industry, or an analysis about the struggle of being unemployed. If you don’t write well, forget this one;
• Learn a foreign language, since most Americans are monolingual it looks great on a resume and who knows, you might enjoy working in Paris or Rome;
• Learn a new skill that can be applied to a job outside your industry.
