Where are all the Jobs?

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Work Buzz's Latest News: Should your job be fulfilling?

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 12:47 PM PDT

If you've been in a classroom in the past 15 years, chances are it was covered in posters that told you to "shoot for the moon” and “go confidently in the direction of your dreams." That's because, in addition to math and science, the modern student is taught that he or she can do and be anything that he or she wants.
Apparently, that message has really stuck.
According to a recent survey from CPP, Inc., the company that publishes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 80 percent of high school and community college students believe that "a career should be something that brings enjoyment and fulfillment to their life," while 72 percent "want a career that aligns with their passion."
Not only that, but these students (part of the Millennial generation) will define their career success by this personal job satisfaction. In fact, largest group of students (58 percent) cited "'enjoyment of the work itself' as the primary motivator for career success, over money and a desire for power, influence and respect."
Students also seem to have extreme faith in the common motto "Do what you love and the money will follow." Seventy-eight percent believe they'll achieve the most success in careers they’re passionate about.
Though this overarching goal of loving their work may seem lofty or naïve, both expert opinion and research seem to find otherwise.
Lee Higdon, for example, president of Connecticut College, believes this instinct to choose a career path based on interest instead of earnings potential should be followed. In a recent article for the Huffington Post, Higdon argued, "Students who choose majors based on earnings power may be setting themselves on a path to discontent and frustration. A much better approach is for students to set a course based on subjects that truly interest them. Choosing a major is a personal decision based on subjects that match a student’s interests, aptitudes and personality."
Separately, research from Ipsos Public Affairs shows that overall, most American workers (55 percent) do love their jobs, an affinity that more people attribute to the type of work they do (66 percent) than to the amount of money they earn (9 percent), their employer (10 percent) or their co-workers (11 percent).
Though students' expectations for job satisfaction might not be unrealistic, they may hold overly-high hopes for the time frame in which they will achieve it. Millennials, known for their love of immediacy, will be unhappy to know that according to the Ipsos survey, employees over the age of 55 were the most likely to say they enjoyed their jobs because of the work they did, and that they held their current jobs because of the contribution they were making.
Younger workers, on the other hand (those under 35), were more likely than older workers to cite money or co-workers as reasons they loved their jobs, meaning Millennials may have to wait a while before finding the fulfilling careers they seek.
Click here for the full results of the CPP survey.

Resumes Are Not Just For the Unemployed! | Career Rocketeer

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Resumes Are Not Just For the Unemployed!

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:30 AM PDT

If you're an unemployed professional it's a no brainer that you need to make the investment in a professionally-prepared resume as part of your job search portfolio in order to stand out above the competition.
But does this truism also apply to professionals who are currently employed? Even if the more accurate unemployment rate is somewhere around 15% to 20%, this means at least 8 out of 10 Americans of working age have a job. And let's assume the figure for out of work professionals and executives is as high as 25%, and the average time for them to find a new position is now 36+ weeks, this means that 75% of all professionals have a job, and therefore have no need for a professional resume at this time. This makes perfect sense – Right?
Wrong! In my opinion, and the opinion of most career service professionals and recruiters, every professional, manager and executive needs a professional resume on hand at all times, especially if there are one or more job changes ahead until they reach their ultimate career goals.
So why do so many professionals and executives who already have a job balk when it comes to professionally updating their resumes? From people in the know that I speak to, the answer seems to be is two-fold.
1: They are unaware of the new reality of how the current job market works and are still under the old misconception that "the only time I need a resume is if I'm actively looking for a new job, and in a pinch I can update the old resume I used to get my last job." In reality that resume is outdated and beyond the capacity to be updated into a 21st century marketing document.
2: In this economy too many professionals think staying put in a dead end position is the way to go; they subscribe to the "better safe than sorry" approach. This may be true for some but definitely not for all.
Well I'm going to let you all in on a 'not so secret' secret; this mindset is a career killer today as much as it was 5 or 25 years ago.
As I mentioned perhaps 75%-80% of America's professionals, managers and executives have a job, but how many are now working in position they don't enjoy. And how many are underemployed and/or underpaid because they need a paycheck? From the countless professionals I hear from the number is staggering.
So if you fall into this category you need a professional resume and you need to be looking for a new job before you reach the point of diminishing returns.
Although under the current economy and national leadership (the President and the Congress) job creation is moving ahead at a snail's pace, the point of diminishing returns in a career remains constant, and so does the need for a professional resume and well thought-out career planning.
Consider this, if you stunt your career growth by allowing yourself to be content and stay where you are for too long, when the time arrives that you want to – or worse yet are forced to make a change, you are more likely to be less qualified than your competition to move upwards. And making a lateral move against younger and lower cost competition can be an impediment to your career as well; and you may end up in the long run having to settle for another position where you are underemployed and underpaid just to get a paycheck once again to cover the bills.
So point #1 is no matter what the pundits tell you, as a professional you must still plot your career wisely and be open to opportunity at all times.
Remember this in today's economic reality, most professionals have limited job security, even after 5-10-20 years at the same company. Plus the opportunities for internal promotions are slowing as well unless you want to relocate. The great job you have today that pays the mortgage, tuition, insurance, car and utility bills, and puts food on the table can be gone completely or moved to Mumbai or Booneville, Missouri with only 2-4 week's severance pay in the blink of an eye. So I tell every professional I meet that they need to be prepared to move quickly at any given moment to find a new job, because this could happen to anyone, and having a professional resume ready to go will save valuable time and aggravation if this scenario becomes a reality for you.
Here is another point to ponder. As a recruiter I position professionals and executives in 1 of 3 categories. They are either A's / EO's / or HBT's. Being on my A list does not mean you're a cream of the crop candidate. It stands for employed and unemployed professionals who were actively looking for a new job regardless of their qualifications. EO means you are gainfully employed but are career conscious enough to listen to potential opportunities, thus earning the designation ears open or EO. The final category, HBT, stands for happy beyond temptation. These are professionals who for whatever their reasoning, valid or misguided, will not listen to a recruiter's pitch irrespective to what a recruiter has to offer.
My personal favorite candidates, and the ones I made the most money placing, were the EO's. Why? Because they are generally well qualified and valued by their current employer, but more important they are career conscious and know that to get ahead in the business world when 'opportunity knocks' they have to be prepared to open the door and walk on through. However for an EO to walk through the door when a recruiter reaches out to them, they still need a competitive edge. This is why anyone in the EO category needs to have a professional resume in their back pocket at all times.
Finally, on average every six months on the job a professional, a manager and an executive will grow on the job, learn new skills, gain more experience and have more achievements to speak of. It is important that these be captured on paper at least once every six months, lest they be forgotten. If your resume is already professionally prepared reach out to the preparer and work together to update it, and if your most current resume is out of date in terms of its marketability as well as in terms of its content, then retire it to the antiquities file and invest in a new professionally written resume.
The bottom line is this, every professional, whether employed, unemployed or underemployed needs to have a resume that is professionally prepared available for use at a moments notice; unless you just put in your retirement papers. And even if you are soon to retire from the military, take early retirement, or were retired the likelihood is that you too will be looking for a new job or career and will need a professional resume to get on with your professional life.

Author:
Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

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blogging4jobs

Blogging For Life

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:36 AM PDT

When I was sixteen, I took a creative writing class in high school. Until that time, I had written many poems and a couple songs; I loved to rhyme and thought that was how you could distinguish a poem from rambling. But I learned that poetry could also be found in free verse and short stories. The way I thought about poetry changed forever. I have always loved to write, but I didn't always like to stick to the rules of scholastic writing. Poetry allowed me to step outside of the lines of writing and find character and value in something as simple as a raindrop.
Ten years ago, I had heard of blogging but never thought it would be something for me until I joined a little social network called MySpace. In your individual profile section, there's a "blog" tab. And I used it, often. Mostly for poetry – free verse – but soon I was publishing rants that seemed to garner a little attention from my MySpace friends. As the years went on, I continued to blog pretty regularly. When I became a member of the RecruitingBlogs.com community in 2007, I saw an opportunity to turn a rant into not only a real blog, but also a piece of poetry. I know it sounds silly, but for me a blog has to read like poetry, it has to fall out of your mouth, to make perfect sense or open minds or drive learning.
In 2008, I wrote a post simply titled, "Online Social Networks". It was part of a new series I called Words to work by. This particular post gathered a little attention and one of my mentors, John Sumser, highlighted it in one his own posts. His mention and Jason Davis' encouragement inspired me to believe that I should write more, and I did. Less than a year later, I was producing Bonus Track daily on RecruitingBlogs. When I started the project, I promised my kids that I wouldn't write on the weekends, so I published Monday through Friday, including holidays, never taking time off. Because I write so topically, I never believed in having posts in a queue, ready to launch. I actually wrote daily.
To date, I have written 630 Bonus Tracks with no intention of stopping, any time soon. I did take two weeks off this past April to go on a much-needed, unplugged vacation, breaking my streak – but to that point, I had written 568 consecutive posts. Writing daily requires extreme discipline. But it has been the best thing I have done my career, my life, for me.
I was surprised when Jessica Miller-Merrell approached me about bringing Bonus Track to Blogging4Jobs. I have valued her writing and insight for a couple years and I am thrilled to be working in her backyard.
Every day, I write about life lessons. Sometimes these apply to business, sometimes to recruiting, but they always apply to life. Glad to be living it…
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Is Being Muslim Keeping Me From Getting a Job?

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 04:17 AM PDT

Sometimes readers send me questions looking for career advice or thoughts on a particular topic. A couple weeks ago, I received one email that stopped me in my tracks. I’m posting the question for you, my readers to answer. On Tuesday, (tomorrow) I’ll post my answer to her, but for now, I look forward to your responses on religion, being Muslim, and if it’s hurting this job seeker’s job search.

Hello Jessica,
As a job seeker I know the number one strategy for getting a job is networking and its all about who you know. I’m involved with my college SHRM and also go to a few networking events and luncheons around my state. Networking is what landed me an Employee and Labor Relations internship position last fall. I’ve been applying for positions this summer that one I was referred to by a professor and two by a college SHRM officer. I basically got the run around on one of them and no replies back on the other two.
I originally had on my resume that I was bilingual knowing Arabic and English and also that I’m a member of my state Muslim Women’s Foundation, I’ve been thinking lately maybe I’m not getting replies back because of the upraising in the middle east? Do you think I should remove everything that connects me with the middle east when job searching? Please give me your thought on this. Thank you.

What do you think? Is a job seeker listing her affiliation and position with the Muslim Women’s Foundation on her resume, hurting her job search? Should it matter?

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7 Small Business Strategies for Your Career

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 10:00 PM PDT

Almost daily, I watch new grads fail in their career quests just like a small business fails to successfully launch a product or service.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

[Web TV Schedule] How to Match Your Brand to Potential Employers

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 09:30 PM PDT

CAREEREALISM TV is a social television network dedicated to providing job seekers with career advice for finding professional satisfaction.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

Career Comics: Funny Caption Contest #21

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 02:35 PM PDT

Are you funny but your career isn't? Prove it! Enter this week's career comics contest for a chance to win a free CareerHMO.com membership.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.