Sunday, January 29, 2012

5 Reasons Why Nobody Should Job Search Alone




When we started this FREE career advice blog a couple years ago, our goal was to create the most effective  job search and career development self-help guide available online.
Today, we have over 100,000 readers who gain valuable insight from 72 (and counting) proven, approved career experts and partners on a daily basis.
However, we didn’t stop there…
While this site does a good job of sharing important information, there is no guarantee readers are going to be able to apply the advice effectively to their own situation.

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4 Reasons for Career Gaps and How to Handle Them on Your Resume

Career Gaps


  • January 23, 2012
  •  


  • Especially in this economy, employment gaps are typical. Employers generally view a gap in employment negatively, however, it does not have to be this way. In these cases, it is important to indicate why you took the time off.

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    Candidates Focus On Skills Instead Of What The Company Focuses On

    Brad Remillard (Impact Hiring Solutions)

    Q. I have had a number of interviews for which I know I am qualified, yet I still haven’t been offered a job. Just what do companies mean when they ask for qualified people?
    There are actually two different qualifications required, the hard skills; experience, education, past accomplishments, years of experience and so on. The soft skills are the second component of being qualified; communication, demeanor, cultural fit, appearance, likability and so on.

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    Listen to JobRadio.FM

    Listen to JobRadio.FM
    JobRadio.fm serves streaming career advice podcasts on demand Past weekly shows archives. Stream changed each week with new shows.


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    Friday, January 27, 2012

    Steve Jobs: Career Advice for Tough Times

    Steve Jobs: Career Advice for Tough Times (Guest Blog)

    This is a guest post by Carmine Gallo, Author of The Innovation Secrets of Steve JobsInsanely Different Principles for Breakthrough SuccessIt offers interesting insights into Steve Jobs’ history of success and new ideas about how you can approach your own career.
    The global recession has forced many people to reconsider their careers and life choices. In these turbulent times, where does one turn for career advice? As I was researching the material for my new book, The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs (McGraw Hill) I realized that many of the principles behind Jobs’ breakthrough success at Apple apply equally to the management of one’s career. Read More

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    Fear: Our Biggest Obstacle

    Fear: Our Biggest Obstacle

    What would you do with your life if fear didn’t play a role?
    “Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear.   She didn’t want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it seemed unfriendly.    But the teacher said she had to do it and gave her the instructions for the battle.   
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    Thursday, January 26, 2012

    Job Search for the Rest of Us!: 4 Types of Job Attitudes – Which One Are You?Janua...

    Job Search for the Rest of Us!: 4 Types of Job Attitudes – Which One Are You?Janua...: 4 Types of Job Attitudes – Which One Are You? January 1, 2012 Mary Sevinsky Attitude | Noun 1. The way a person th...


    Mary is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.


      Monday, January 23, 2012

      Injured Workers Need Guidance to Return to Work

      January, 2012  
      By Mary Sherwood Sevinsky


      Job seekers with a work injury need career guidance to address issues only they experience due to their unique situation.  I recently asked the injured workers I am currently assisting to complete a brief survey about their job search concerns.  They were asked to list three answers for each question.  

      Of special note, one of my clients wrote, "I feel there should be a website for mature adults who have worked all their lives.  Give us a chance."  Very moving....There was no way I could turn my back on this request.
      Here is what I asked my current clients:
              What do you miss about working?
              What are some of your biggest job search obstacles?
              What are your biggest job search fears?
      Most of the answers were along the lines of what I expected to hear - I have been counseling injured workers for a long time...   I want to assure you that you are not alone and what you are feeling is entirely normal!
      Here are some of the answers I got to my brief survey:
      What do you miss about working?
      §  Being out in public and seeing people
      §  Filling up my day with different activities
      §  Earning money, having freedom and independence
      §  Having something to look forward to
      §  Doing something I'm good at
      What are some of your biggest job search obstacles? 
      §  Use of my injured body part
      §  Memory and concentration
      §  Lack of skills
      §  Finding a job in a new field or industry
      §  Age
      What are your biggest job search fears?
      §  Not being able to do the job
      §  Interviewing
      §  Not being able to make enough money
      §  Not being hired
      §  Learning new skills

      It is hard enough to look for and find work, but to add another obstacle such as a work related injury just makes it that much more difficult. There are steps you can take to overcome your concerns, obstacles, and even your biggest job search fears.  Members can find out how you can:
      §  Determine your current skills and abilities
      §  Plan a modified or new career path
      §  Identify and obtain the skills you need to get a job
      §  Learn how to look for work after an injury
      §  Resume a happy, healthy, rewarding lifestyle 



      Mary is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.

      Saturday, January 21, 2012

      The Costa Cruise Ship Disaster from a Career Perspective

      The Costa Cruise Ship Disaster from a Career Perspective

      By , About.com Guide   January 17, 2012



      Like most people around the world I was horrified when I began to hear reports about the capsized Costa cruise ship. As the events unfolded and it was revealed that the captain, Francesco Schettino literally jumped ship, I was appalled. I've been on a few cruises and each time I believed that the captain and crew would do what he or she could to rescue us if something bad happened. If I didn't believe that, I would have a difficult time putting my safety in the hands of either cruise ship captains or airplane pilots. Both will do what is best for his or her passengers. Right? Isn't that the way it should be?
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      What You Can Learn from Labor Market Info

      What You Can Learn from Labor Market Info


      By , About.com Guide   January 17, 2012



      I recently read that architecture is the worst career to choose these days, thanks to the housing bust. The truth is if I were graduating with a degree in architecture right now, I'd be worried about finding a job. Would I be worried about ever finding a job? No, not really. While I don't question the architects that reportthey are struggling, I don't think this is a dead or dying profession, just one that was hit particularly hard in recent years. Those who choose to stay in the field will eventually find employment. Looking at labor market information can help you figure out whether a career is doomed or whether it is just suffering temporarily.


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      Drastic Career Change at 50 Years Old

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      What Athletes Can Teach Job Seekers About Career Success

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      Career Mania 2012

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      22 Secrets to Discovering Your Dream and Living It

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      Friday, January 20, 2012

      #1 Mistake Injured Workers Make



      The number 1 mistake that injured workers make from the time of their injury to the time they return to work is this:

      INJURED WORKERS GIVE UP.   

      There are many things that injured workers give up for a myriad of reasons, usually because it seems to be the only course of action at the time.  Just a few of important things injured workers give up include:
      o    Control
      o    Hope
      o    Focus
      o    Sense of Self

      All of these are, of course interrelated – usually one leads to the other.  The order of the loss varies from person to person and situation to situation, with Loss of Control leading to Loss of Hope which leads to Loss of Focus  and  a Loss of Sense of Self.  

      The reason and/or intention of the giving up process is somewhat immaterial.  Often, the worker gets lost in the “system.”  The medical system, the workers compensation system, the unemployment system…. Quickly, the worker who has been injured may come to feel like a statistic.  Or, as one client recently described it, may come to feel like a piece of paper.   Can you imagine feeling like a piece of paper?

      Not long after my client shared this description with me I got two calls for requests to work on the same case – one from the plaintiff attorney and one call from the defense attorney.  One attorney noted they had a client in the such and such area that needed my help.  The Opposing attorney stated they had a claim they needed to take care of, could I handle it.  Wow.  I couldn’t ask for a better illustration, if even by chance.

      Regardless of when, where, what, or why – if you have been injured it is imperative that you understand that it is imperative that you regain:

      o    Control
      o    Hope
      o    Focus
      o    Sense of Self

      Regain can come in any order as well as loss.  Personally, my view is that it is easier to start back on the path to RETURN TO WORK by first determining what you can CONTROL.   Little, if anything, can be gained by spending energy on something you cannot, yourself, control.  It is hard enough to handle the things you CAN control, let the rest go… Those of you who are religious may receive strength from The Serenity Prayer, those opposed, from The Secular Serenity PrayerYou can find both versions here.

      I met with another injured worker recently who wrote me two emails within 24 hours that both ended with, “So, I assume they don’t want to hire me.”  Unwritten, but definitely there was:  Because of my injury….    He was so focused on his injury and the resultant disability that he assumed that everyone else is too.  In both cases he was expecting action from the employer that may not have been realistic.

      What we choose to focus on correlates directly to what we see in terms of options. The narrower our focus, the less there is to see. Cup your hands around your eyes and describe what you see – the computer screen?  A piece of paper?  The floor?  Whatever your answer, it is a mere fraction of what there is to see.   There are options and opportunities out there that you will never know about because of your FOCUS.

      As adults, we structure our days around our work schedules and identify ourselves as what we do.  Think about it.  When you meet someone new do you say, “Hi, Joe Smith, I am trying to teach myself Spanish and am taking piano lessons in my spare time.”  No.  We typically will say something like, “Hi, Joe Smith, I am a Plumber.  What do you do?”

      When someone is injured, they often lose this sense of self, which includes:

      o    Esteem
      o    Confidence
      o   Identity           
      o   Reliance
      o   Determination

      This area of loss includes so many aspects that it requires separate treatment.  In short, if a worker has been injured he or she may become almost paralyzed – not sure what to do or in which direction to turn.  I hear, “I can’t…” so many times a day it makes me crazy (it may explain a lot, actually!).   I hear myself say, as many times a day.  “Focus on what you CAN DO and/or WANT TO DO.”

      This leads in nicely to another major area of loss:  HOPE.  With all of the losses that an injured worker experiences, it is no wonder that, for many, Hope is lost.  It needn’t be so, but it is hard to see options when you are demoralized and no immediate solution is in sight. 

      “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” 

                                                                                                  ― Martin Luther King Jr.

      For many of the people I work with, activity helps them to FOCUS and to feel hopeful. First consider, what is in your control – your ACTIONS.  If nothing else, you have control of this.  Next, what do you want?  If it is like most of the clients I work with the answer is to RETURN TO WORK. The very next step then is to figure out what YOU CAN DO (physically, mentally, in terms of your skills, anything you can think of).  Finally, JUST DO IT (thank you NIKE).

      So what can you do to regain these important parts of yourself if you have been injured at work, have been disabled, or are looking to make a career change?  It may not be easy, but it is possible:
                 
      ·        Focus on what you CAN control
      ·        Think about what you WANT or CAN do
      ·        Set short and long term GOALS
      ·        Determine what you NEED to attain your goals
      ·        Ask for HELP

      It may not be possible for you  to get back on your feet and back to work alone – you may need assistance, as we all do from time to time.  Talk to your family, friends, co-workers and seek out expert help.  You can find information and support at www.InjuredWorkerHelpDesk.com in the members section.


      Mary is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.


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