Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Good Article to Read

Click on the link below - found some interesting 'things' to think about.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/storysupplement/flyp/index.htm

Ways to Save $$$

  1. Plan out a weekly menu
  2. Watch for the grocery ads/sales and use coupons
  3. Buy and cook in bulk - freeze part for another meal
  4. Stay away from restaurants and fast food places - their prices are rising and the portions are becoming smaller
  5. Stop using your your credit cards - pay in cash or use your debit card
  6. Ask your utility companies to average your bills
  7. Don't buy what you do not NEED. If you self sooth by shopping, learn to ask 'do I need it or is it nice?'. If it's 'nice', don't buy it or return it.
  8. Turn off lights and appliances when not in use
  9. Have garage sale - all the 'junk' and outgrown clothes can be cleared out and sold - and this is not reportable income (usually - consult your tax advisor if in doubt).
  10. Grow a vegetable garden - it's cheaper, more nutritious and delicious and gives you plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
  11. Trim the entertainment - instead of going to the movies, swap DVDs and videos with the neighbors. Have a movie night at home and pop your own popcorn.
  12. Have a family night - now you have time to do fun things like crafts, play board games, etc.
  13. Carpool and/or plan your travels so as to cut your gasoline costs.
  14. Rent out an unused room.
  15. Ask your older neighbors if they need help with their yard work, heavy chores, etc. Negotiate a fee or barter for services.
  16. Check out services offered through local churches and synagogues
  17. Shop at the thrift shops - rich people donate items that have been gently used or not used at all - some good bargains can be found.
  18. Check out local discount stores.
  19. Make your gifts. Let's face it - a batch of homemade cookies is often more appreciated that a do-dad that they didn't want or need but don't want to tell you so.
  20. Check with your local nonprofit agencies - some of them will provide food or other types of vouchers if you give them a helping hand.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sample Electronic Resume

Although I have not used an electronic resume a great deal, Maxine Kent does a marvelous job with her sample.

Visit:

http://www.personalmarketingtools.com/images/maxine-kent.txt

Electronic Resumes

Electronic resumes, also known as e-resumes or online resumes, are NOT the same as a paper resume handed to an employer.

A good site for more information is found in the link noted on this post. However, here's some basic tips....
  1. Only use Arial as the font or letter style - not all computers read the same fonts
  2. Keep the font size 11-14 points
  3. Line length should be 65 characters which means, letters, symbols and spaces
  4. Do not use bullets - I personally use the minus sign (-) or an asterisk (*)
  5. Use upper and lower case letters - capitalize the job title and the section headings. Do NOT capitalize more than 3 words in one grouping/phrase.
  6. Use key words (industry buzz words)
  7. Align all lines on the left - do NOT justify both margins.
  8. Spell check - at least 2 or 3 times
  9. Do not use a tab bar - use your space key instead

Job Hunting Approaches and Success Rates

A friend and I found the following information from a variety of resources. Mull this information over - are you using your job search time in the most beneficial way?

SUCCESS RATES JOB HUNTING APPROACH
86% Creative approach - self reflection, company research, identifying the decision maker, interviewing

69% - 84% Cold call from the yellow pages

47% Cold call by walking into a business and speaking with the key decision maker

33% Talking to friends, family and neighbors

14% Working with government agencies (employment security commissions within each state)

12% Talking to former teachers

8% Working with a union hall

5-7% Responding to classified ads

7% Responding to a trade journal

5-24% Private agencies (but you will need to call them every day in order for them to remember you. Remember - temp and private agencies are dealing with hundreds if not thousands, of people right now).

1-7% Using the Internet

Friday, April 24, 2009

Waiting to look for the perfect job?

I am hearing that some people who have been laid off are hoping to be recalled to their companies.

My advice, DO NOT hold your breath.

You need to be searching for a new job or working on getting into a new career NOW! With unemployment rates going from single to double digits, you have a ton of competition. It is a buyer's market and employers know it.

Employers know there are thousands of qualified, hard working prospective employees looking for a job. If you are giving yourself a break because "you deserve it", I agree, you do deserve it, however ....you are losing valuable time. Your new job is being offered to someone who may not be the best choice, but (s)he got "his/her act together", was the first in line, sold him/herself the best and "closed the deal".

If you take a job and your former employer recalls you, deal with that situation when it happens, but DO NOT waste time giving yourself a break - that little break may end up being much longer than you planned and this is just the beginning of the layoffs - many, many more are anticipated.

GET OFF YOUR SEAT and ON YOUR FEET! Hustle. Sell. Close. Get that job!

Human Resources and YOUR job hunt

Human Resources departments differ from one organization to another. A larger organization may have a separate HR Recruiter whereas in a smaller organization, the HR Manager does all human resources functions (much more than compensation and benefits go into HR).

HR however will usually write the job description in conjunction with the department manager/director who is looking for the new employee.

HR will most likely receive all resumes, cover letters and applications.

HR will most likely prepare a list of questions which are appropriate to ask during an interview.

HR may or may not be a part of the interview team.

This said, your paperwork (cover letter, resume, reference list and applications) will most likely be collected and initially reviewed by HR. From the large pool of applicants, HR may select and forward a smaller list of potential candidates, to the hiring manager (the ultimate decision maker) or to a selection committee. From there, a list of interviewees is compiled and the interviews begin.

This said, HR plays a huge role in your selection - if you don't get past HR, you won't be in the interview pool.

So....ask yourself.....
  1. Is my application neat and able to be read?
  2. Did I answer all questions and fill in all the blanks on the application?
  3. Did I follow the instructions in the application? (did you even read the instructions????)
  4. Is my cover letter neat, to the point and easy to read?
  5. Is my cover letter and/or resume all about me? (do you use the word "I" allot? If so, you are giving the impression that the job is about you and not the employer).
  6. Do I let the employer know what knowledge, skills and abilities I have?
  7. Do I let the employer know how I can save or make him/her money?
  8. Do I keep your cover letter to one page?
  9. Is my resume 1-2 pages?

If you spoke with the decision maker, which a good job hunter will have done, do I use the decision maker's name in my cover letter or do I address the letter to the HR person and not let him/her know I have spoken to the decision maker? (Do NOT blind-side HR - let them know you have spoken to the decision maker).

HR can help or hinder you - follow their directions, turn in neat, well-written documents and ask them questions if need be.

RETRAINING

I have a number of people asking how they should go about changing careers/retraining for a new career.

I am not a career counselor, however I know several. Here's the step-by-step plan I would do....

  1. make an appointment with a CAREER COUNSELOR (community college, votech, university)
  2. ask to take some interest inventories or career assessments (for free)
  3. talk to the career counselor about the jobs suggested from the assessments.
  4. visit online.onetcenter.org and read about the career suggestions
  5. research and talk to people (votechs, employment security commission, chamber of commerce) to see what industries and jobs are needed for your local area.
  6. review your budget and look up the salary ranges for the careers in which you are interested (you need to know if you can live off the salary of your new career)
  7. make an appointment with the financial aid officer at each school in which you have interest in attending.
  8. make another appointment with an academic advisor to set up a personalized class plan.
  9. Find out and not the deadlines for applications, etc. - MAKE A PLAN
  10. WORK YOUR PLANS

RESUME PAPER

If you are going to spend the time writing a good resume, then take the time to buy some nice resume paper.

Resume paper is 24-32 pound paper

Color - white or offwhite (ivory, cream, light grey). Please do not use any flashy colors - it is tempting, I have to admit, to use something that makes you stand out, however it is not appropriate. I prefer to use a heavier 32 pound paper with a texture to make my resume stand out.

Margins - at least 1" on the top, bottom, right and left. DO NOT set the margins less than 1".

Font (Letter style) - Arial BOLD 12 point for your name Arial 10 point regular for the body of the resume.

What does your email address say?

If you provide your email address to an employer, does it give away too much information?

Do you use a number in your email address? If you do, can the reader determine your age? If the reader can guesstimate your age by your email address, you need to change your email address.

Does your email address give away your hobbies, interests, religion, political viewpoint, etc? If it does, this is personal information that should not play a part in determining whether or not you are a person the employer wants to interview. However, most of us know that people have biases and if you give away your personal information, it can hurt you in the job selection process.

And for Pete's sake, do NOT have a sexual-based email address. You may like it, you may think it is cute, however a prospective employer will not view this as professional (the prospective employer may get a chuckle out of it but (s) he will think of you as the moron of the day).

When I tell people to sell themselves, I am not saying to sell yourself as a streetwalker - so do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have sexually explicit email addresses if you want to be offered a respectable job.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Worker's compensation

I ran into someone who had Workers' Compensation questions as they somehow tied into their layoff.

Worker's compensation is different from you receiving your unemployment benefits - usually there are two separate agencies/organizations each specializing in its own field.

If you feel you were involved in a layoff due to being on workers' compensation - you should seek advice from an expert in the field - an employment attorney. I have never been an attorney, but attorneys seem to specialize in an area or may practice several legal areas. If I had a question, I would look up, in the yellow pages, employment attorney and seek his/her advice. If I didn't find an attorney specializing in employment law, in my town, I would ask my general counsel, who (s)he would suggest.

My guess is, asking questions from the employees dealing with unemployment will not be of great benefit to you - these people specialize in unemployment issues. Therefore, if you do have questions regarding unemployment benefits, they will be of great help to you because they have specialists within their own agency.

For workers' comp issues, you might also call your State Department of Labor for advice.

Retraining Opportunities

Some of the people with whom I work have asked how displaced workers find out about retraining opportunities and funds.

First, I cannot suggest strong enough to visit a local community college of state vocational and career training school/votech. The career counselors are usually more user friendly/have more time to spend and are more accessible. If you don't know what you really want to do, a career counselor can give some assessments which may give you insight into your innate interests, skills and abilities as well as take into consideration your on-the-job experience. After the assessments, jobs may be recommended. Visit http:// online.onetcenter.org (hyperlinked in my blog) and read about those careers.

Once you know where you want to go, make an appointment with the community college/votech Financial Aid Counselor. There should be federal funds available for retraining displaced workers. You want to emphasize you are seeking these funds and/or grants - not loans. My suggestion is to look for money you don't have to repay because student loans may take awhile to repay and you already have been put in a position which is not economically attractive.

Once you know what you want to be and how to access funding, find out how to register and apply for the programs. And...take your school career seriously - this will be your new job and many times, funding is provided on the condition you apply yourself and perform. Remember, the funds are not hand outs - they are a helping hand available to get you back on your feet.

Go luck on your new adventure.

PS- Alternative energy and health professionals are good areas to look into - for training and future work.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Cover Letters Made Easy

In addition to my information, please view the video on the following link....

http://education-portal.com/videos/Tips_for_Writing_a_Resume_Cover_Letter_Video.html


Cover letters ALWAYS accompany a resume when resumes are:

  • mailed
  • faxed
  • emailed

Cover letters should be on paper that is used for the resume (resume paper is 24-32 pounds, white or off-white), with 1" margins (top, bottom, right and left) and using a font which can be read by all computers (highly recommend using ARIAL in a 10-12 point size).

Cover letters can be easier than you think if you keep the cover letter to three (3) paragraphs. The first paragraph states what job you are seeking, the second is a summary of how you can meet the employer's needs/wants and the third paragraph is a closing which will reiterate that you would like to discuss how you can help the employer.

The following is a sample of how a cover letter can be arranged....

First Middle Last name
your street address spelling every word out
City, OK
ZIP
Email:
email address Cellular: Phone w/area code


Date




Name of Decision Maker
Title
Company
Mailing Address
City, State zip

Dear name or Hiring Manager:

This letter and the enclosed resume are in response to your search for a
name of the position to which you are applying. The skills and qualifications you mention closely match my experience.

Qualifications Desired My Qualifications

* list a skill they want * tell them what you can offer to fill the skill

* list a skill they want * tell them what you can offer to fill the skill

* list another skill they want * tell them how you meet their qualification

Name, I am excited about this position and look forward to meeting you to discuss how my qualifications could be of benefit to your endeavors. Should you have questions, please contact me at: phone number with area code. In the meantime, thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

leave 4-5 lines for your signature


Your complete name

Enclosure

Portfolio Check List

Whether you are visiting a potential employer to fill out an application or to interview, here are some items you MUST have in your portfolio...
  • Resumes (3 to 5 copies)
  • Black and blue pens
  • List of questions to ask
  • Your business card
  • Your Personal Data Sheet (cheat sheet) printed and on a flashdrive
  • Reference list
  • Work samples

Before you leave the house, you might check the address to where you are reporting and print off a map (from mapquest, etc) and you should, if you are not familiar with the area, do a "dry run" to see if there is construction or obstacles along the route and give yourself plenty of time to arrive 10-15 minutes before the interview.

How are you spending your time?

Looking for a job in today's job market takes time - most likely more than you have spent in the past. Looking for a job is a full time job in normal economic times, however now don't be surprised if you spend more than 40 hours a week looking for a job.

Are you spending your time wisely? Consider the following success rates....

1-5% of the people looking on the INTERNET have success finding a job,
5-7% find success responding to a CLASSIFIED AD,
7% have success responding to a TRADE JOURNAL AD,
14% have success working with their STATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY,
47% have success finding a job by WALKING INTO A COMPANY and talking to the decision maker,
12 % find a job by talking to TEACHERS,
33% of the job hunters find a job by telling their family, friends and neighbors that they are looking for a job,
69% of the job hunters find a job by COLD CALLING companies from the phone book and
84% of the people find jobs by working together in JOB CLUBS and COLD CALLING companies and sharing the information.

So....how are you spending your time? Wisely or are you spinning your wheels?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Good Feedback From Employers

Here’s what these employers had to say when asked these questions:

“What skills do you look for when making decisions about new hires?”

  • Good attitude; teachable - willing to learn new skills, etc;
  • Hard worker.
  • How you present yourself during the interview and on your resume.
  • Look for some longevity in employment: should not have a lot of different employers in short time frame.
  • Your appearance: watch the amount of jewelry and body jewelry you wear to the interview. The work place still hires based on older generations code of dress.
  • Ask the right question when you apply for a job with the company: Don’t ask “Are you hiring?” but rather “I am seeking employment as a _____”. The employer is more likely to allow you time for an application than just telling you “No”.
  • Integrity: stability on a job; dependability on the job; punctual at beginning of your scheduled work shift.
  • Have the right skills: math is needed at some level in almost every job. Good communication skills, background in general science, must have computer literacy.

    “What characteristics in an applicant appeal to you?”
  • Have a polished resume - typos are an immediate turn off.
  • Your resume should show related work experience to the job in which you are applying.
  • Your completed work application and resume should be easy to read. The employment history should be descriptive of what you did on the job in the occupation you held with the employer.
  • Your resume and application should have correct telephone numbers. Use a telephone number that will be consistent. Notify the employer if it changes. Employer stated that if one applicant had not had a friend that worked at the company they would not have been able to reach the applicant to schedule an interview.
  • Your resume should tell something unique about yourself. It should show your accomplishment, achievement and result in positive impact on the company.
  • Research the company. One employer stated he ALWAYS asked each applicant, “Tell me something you know about my company?” If applicant is really interested in working at the business, he/she will have researched the company.
  • Know how to dress for the interview with the company. Ask people that work there or call and ask the receptionist.

“What advice would you recommend to applicants?”

  • Always do follow-up after the interview. One employer said she preferred e-mail follow-up. Others wanted that hand written “thank you” note.
  • Network with everyone you know. Let others help you find possible employment opportunities. Networking is the key to getting a job.
  • Don’t leave a job if you are employment before you have another job offer. You want to reduce any unnecessary gaps in your employment.