Tampa Bay Jobing Community Blogs

I met with a admissions representative for WYOTECH on Monday 2nd of November. He had a lot to say about training automotive technicians, after high school ages 18 and on. For those of you that E Mail me from all over the Country and then some. Yes I did get your message and E mails even from overseas. WYOTECH has a very nice 9 month program, and to much more to list. Plus they can help place you in a job. I have written about other automotive training schools in the past, they also have good programs. WYOTECH teaches custom automotive interior, and much more in 6 different States including Daytona Fl. Needless to say they impressed me very much, as a fellow trainer. Darrell Pfiffner is the rep, give him a call if you are looking for training, he will send you a DVD of the school and programs. Very cool stuff if you love cars and hot rods like me. Check out the web site. www.Wyotech.edu Darrell Pfiffner 813-789-6505.

(This post is based on some of the principles included in my new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough which I wrote with San Diego-based executive coach, Duncan Mathison. For a free sample chapter, visit the book's official site: www.unlockthehiddenjobmarket.com )

If you’ve been following my posts, you’ll know that I’ve been writing about networking a lot lately. Or at least it seems like it. Networking, networking, networking. Maybe it’s me but don’t you think that when you say it out loud enough, it begins to sound like earwax? Okay…it’s probably just me.

Networking doesn’t have much appeal, does it? It doesn’t sound nearly as much fun as going to your local Applebee’s with some friends for a beer and some wings. Now there’s a problem with even that Applebee’s scenario. Based on the emails I’ve been getting, a lot of you are feeling that you don’t have too many friends either. And the ones you do have are getting, like, really tired of hearing you talk about your struggles to land a job. And you’re getting really tired of talking about it too. In fact, you’d just wish they’d change the subject.

I don’t think my readers are social losers. (At least I hope not, but, then again, what are you doing reading this blog post when it’s such a pretty day outside?) When you’ve been out of work for any amount o time, it’s easy to feel that you have run aground in the contacts department – especially in recent years when we’ve all been so busy taking care of our jobs and our families. We’ve let outside friendships perhaps atrophy. Maybe all your friends were work-related. And now that you’re out of work, you’re also fresh out of buddies. Or you’ve moved to a new town where you really, really don’t know anyone.

Whatever the reason for your feelings of isolation, you know you have to mix it up a little bit, well, a lot. Get some fresh meat, I mean talent, into your tight circles of relationships. Get out of the house. So I thought I’d offer some tips in that direction.

Remember that one thing leads to another. The thing about circulating is that your first dip into big world probably won’t net you a job. It’s a cumulative kind of thing. So leave that desperate, graspy, over-eager feeling at home when you head out the door. Just be open to meeting who you meet. Maybe tonight you’re destined to actually help someone else. And you’ll come home feeling just a little better about yourself.

Look for opportunities where you can become a regular. And no, I don’t mean the Applebee’s bar. When your face starts becoming familiar, you will emerge from invisibility to someone who people will be glad to see. Maybe they’ll even shout out your name, like, “Norm!” (But don’t count on it.) If you try a business mixer or worship service or volunteer opportunity, and people completely ignore you, keep going. Week after week. Introduce yourself as often as you can. And just let the cumulative effects of time work their wonders.

Stay away from solitary pursuits, even if they’re out of the house. Going to a matinee movie doesn’t count as “getting out there.” Go to local economic development or chamber of commerce meetings, receptions, mixers. Your local bookstore probably offers booksignings, author lectures or special classes. A friend of mine who is a professional coach is part of a team who gives courses at Whole Foods! Go! The home improvement stores offer free courses. Go! The American Red Cross offers courses in first aid, cpr, etc. Go!

Make job-related networking events only a small percentage of your out-of-the-house activities. First of all, you’re so much more than unemployed. And you need to nurture those other parts of who you are. At the very least, this way you’ll lead with an opener that’s so much more interesting than, “Hi, gotta job?” But most importantly is that your self-definition has a chance to stay strong and defined beyond this immediate need of landing a gig. You will also stand a better chance of meeting people other than fellow job-seekers. You know…people who already have jobs? And who would be thrilled to help you get inside their companies or organizations.

Learn something. Go to local college courses – especially the ones at night, when employed people go to school. You don’t have to matriculate and take on the expense of a formal semester. Continuing ed courses can be inexpensive. The teachers are often professionals in the community (hint: employed people!). It’s probably best if you took a course that would help you be more qualified for the kind of job you’re looking for. But even taking a non-job related course will at least remind you that there’s more to life than your daily bread (although, it’s kind of hard to make that argument right now, I know).

Teach something. Surely you know something that will benefit others. How to read, for adult literacy programs, for instance. If you have a profession or skill that’s useful in the for-profit world, surely you can introduce at least the basics to young people. Convene a panel of other experts and put on a program! (You’ll be able to find a venue. A friend of mine hosted the annual meeting of his professional association – on the premises of the company that had just laid him off. Awkward.)

Volunteer. Those same skills you can teach you can donate. It will make you feel good about being who you are and what you can do. That boost in self-esteem will give you the added confidence that will send out the signal that you’re a valuable contributor to the world.

Call old friends – even if they haven’t heard from you in a long time. This is where Facebook comes in handy. The other day I heard from a dear friend for the first time in about 8 years. We’d been looking for each other off and on over recent years but, thanks to Facebook, she found me first! And we talked on the phone for a full three hours. A lot of it was catching up. But, she was also very candid about the fact that she needed some professional advice from me. Did I see this as a cheesy ulterior motive? Heck no! First off all, I owed her a gigantic favor from 10 years ago (I mean, huge). Secondly, I love her and I know she loves me. So whatever I have is hers. (Advice, I mean.)

Ask for introductions. Unless you’re a bitter whiner who needs to blow your nose and brush your teeth (and, uhm, a little roll-on?), the friends you have should be happy to give you introductions you need to move your job search forward. If they’re reluctant to help you, find out why. Wouldn’t you want to know the truth, especially if it was something you could fix? And, if they’re possessive with or protective of their contacts to the point where they’re keeping you from helping yourself, or making you feel judged, it’s best that you should know that now. You might have just discovered a brand new opening in your group of friends to fill.

They say that once you achieve a certain age, it gets harder and harder to make new friends. Everyone is set in their habits, patterns, commuting routine, relationships. Well, one of the upshots of these economic times is that everyone is thrown higgledy-piggledy into a big pile of confusion and some flavor of disconnectedness. Now is a fantastic time to build new circles of friends and business contacts.

And vow to take better care of them in the future. Like, don’t wait 8 years before picking up the phone.

With the dramatic increase in the number of discrimination suits and increased enforcement by the EEOC of these issues, it is to the detriment of your organization if you don't ensure that your application is asking questions which are bona-fide occupational qualification questions. Failure to do so can mean that financially you might be in worst shape.
While we are discussing your applications it is also critical that you check the system used by your outsourced applicant tracking system. They maybe asking questions which you are unaware of. The fact that you did not know the question was being asked is no excuse for asking questions that could lead to discriminatory practices in your talent management program.

 

In recent weeks I’ve been watching events unfold in Sedona  -- that whole James Arthur Ray thing and how people died in an ersatz sweat lodge.  I suppose for many people, a terrible event such as this (where people paid $9,000 for the privilege of dying a horrible death, surrounded in the gloom by their vomiting and fainting companions) is so exotic to most people that “that could never happen to me” is a thought that briefly passes through our minds.  And that would probably be true.

 

However, this whole clutch of motivation and self-help teachers has been bugging me over recent years. While a multitude of programs are offered every year that don't involve ambulances and homicide investigations, many of them are damaging in the way they take advantage of intelligent, open-minded individuals looking for a better way out of frustration and despair.  And the cumulative effect of little damages everywhere can also be very destructive indeed. And I’m worried that the general public might be even more at risk as the economy continues its stagger, stagger, crawl mode.  These are emotional frontiers we’re in, folks, and the woods are lousy with snake oil salesmen – people who promise to give you a breakthrough secret to life in a week or a weekend, for the price of a semester of college or a small car.

 I have had in my bookshelf for a couple of years now the book, SHAM, by Steven Salerno. And I’ve been really reluctant to read it. Primarily because I knew he would blow the lid off of the mechanics behind self-help gurus and their business models. And at the time I was also reading Martin Seligman (the very legitimate founder of the very legitimate positive psychology movement), and I was also dabbling in more than a little Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Marianne Williamson and even Joel Osteen. And, frankly, I liked the way their messages made me feel.  And while I certainly didn’t buy The Secret’s promises hook, link and sucker (I mean, sinker), having grown up in a family whose mantra was mainly, “ain’t it awful, ain’t it tragic,”  I knew there is definitely something to be said for willfully focusing on the positive side of things. If you have read my earlier postings, you’ll know that I believe that a positive attitude is more conducive to creative thinking and endurance during a time where everything seems to be hitting the fan.  At least it makes the ride a little more tolerable.

 But I also know a manipulative head-game when I see one. (At least I hope I do.) I certainly learned to recognize the signs when I’ve bought into one, much to my ever-lasting regret pretty quickly thereafter.  So, I thought I’d lay out a list of danger signs for you – with the hopes of helping you keep your money in your pocket.  (I get the fact that this could mean that I might miss out on a few sales of my own books – but at the end of this post I’m actually going to offer you my first book for free. I won’t even ask you for your email address as one of those cheesy quid pro quo gambits.)

 Avoid any course with titles containing such words as “breakthrough,” “success,” “transform,” “dream,” and whose tuition includes a comma.  Speaking from personal experience here.  These kinds of courses are mostly warmed over material drawn directly from the texts of books that you can purchase for $20 to $30.  There will be much playing of John Denver and hugging of total strangers  -- most who look like they either haven’t been hugged in decades or they’re really really really looking forward to hugging you. The break times are dedicated to urging you to sign up for the advanced course at twice the price (but today – and only today – slashed to the same amount you just paid for the basic course). My memories of those break times involve softly trance-inducing singing from the stage and a certain zombie-ness of the people moving to the back of the room where tables are conveniently set up, where staffers cheerfully accepted credit cards. Did I get anything of value from that basic week? Yes…my mastermind group is still intact after almost five years. We meet on the phone every other week and have become supportive friends. But have our circumstances changed significantly since we met that that “breakthrough” week?  Nope.  (As you can imagine, I’m usually the cranky one on our phone calls.)

 If you go to any course with a title that includes the words “spirit,” “warrior,” “vision quest,” make sure there is an EMT on call at all times before laying your money down. Most spiritual quests are flat-out scary. Who are these people to say they know the way, and will lead us there through a regimen of fasting, meditation and bodily deprivation? The way people refer to spirituality as Spirit, as if Spirit is their next door neighbor with handy cable piracy skills, is revolting. And the way white Americans romanticize the mysteries of Native American life and traditions is deeply hypocritical or willfully shallow. If they’re so enchanted by the Native American way, how about coming out to the Southwest, don't stop at the spas or casinos, and spend that week teaching Native American children to say no to crystal meth addiction and alcoholism? Share the inspiring benefits of your own education, skills and privilege, rather than trying to siphon off a few sips of mysticism from authentic traditions that you will never get anyway?

 If someone wants to teach you how to be rich (for whatever price), first find out how he got rich himself.  Look at the frequent fliers of this particular line of work, and you’ll find out that most of them got rich by sticking their hands into pockets of people just like you (and me). And they’re getting richer.  Did he ever grow a company, other than the staff of eager minions he has working for him now? Did he turn around a major corporation? Did he emerge from his own family of alcoholics and desperados to blaze his own trail by making something or contributing something useful to society (that is other than an ultra-expensive retreat)?  Is he an unimpeachable researcher who has the gift of translating esoteric, hard-to-understand information into immediately useful ideas that anyone can have for the price of a book?  That might be someone worth paying some attention to.

 When someone tells you that you’re nowhere without his secrets or gift, laugh and walk away. Need I say more? Okay, I will. I know of one so-called Buddhist guru (she’s American) who actually replaced the words “Higher Power” in the 12 Step Program with her own name.  That’s amazing. But what’s even more amazing is that hundreds of otherwise intelligent people said, “Duh, okay.”

 Just say no to any product marketed to you via email by someone you’ve never heard of but endorsed by someone you have. These people exchange mailing lists, knowing full well that purchasers of self-help products are the most likely to come back for more and more. The cynicism is mind-blowing.

 Avoid self-help books that were Number 1 on Amazon for, like, three hours one day.  Again, it’s the lists at work. These people know how to game the system and they use each others’ lists to snag that coveted spot, even for an instant. This way they can call themselves “bestselling authors.”  Big whup.

 Don’t give up your own dreams.  Life is full of true mysteries. My personal favorite one is the mystery of synchronicity. I’m a total sucker for those stories, and I have true, first-hand stories of my own that would curl your hair. But I wouldn’t bet the ranch on a synchronicity that I perceive to be an omen. (Even though, in my heart of hearts, I kind of hope it is.)

We all need fresh infusions of inspiration now and then. And  personal growth does involve keeping your mind open and venturing into uncomfortable zones now and then. But no breakthrough experience should necessitate group puking or even close bodily contact with strangers to the strains of “Sunshine On My Shoulders.”

 Keep your wallet in your pants. Or purse.

 (Now for the free offer:  I will give you a free copy of my very first book, Find Your Calling, Love Your Life. For absolutely nothing. Not even your email address.  Just go to www.unlockthehiddenjobmarket.com and click the green button that will lead you to free downloads. You can also have a free sample chapter of my new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market.  Naturally, my coauthor and I would love it if you also purchased that book. But you know what? You don’t have to.)

 

 

 

Basic automotive training can be another springboard for a career in selling automobiles. Having the knowledge to take good care of a car can have big returns, when you are ready to sell it. A lot of very good people around the world do want to buy certain, very nice automobiles to have across the world. Our business has sold one to Finland, one to Sweden, and we are getting ready to sell a C5 Corvette convertible to Norway. Just advertising right, and having kept the cars nice. With good automotive work habits it can mean the good feeling, of knowing your car is going to another part of the world. Someone else can enjoy what you had taken care of.

Martha Finney's new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market:  6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough, is available online and in bookstores everywhere. Follow her on www.twitter.com/hiddenjobmarket.

Last night I received an email from a reader who had this to say:

"What if I'm not shy? What if I'm just not good at the art of shameless self-promotion and have difficulty identifying my value proposition? Then what?"

Hmmmm. Hate networking as shameless self-promotion? AND you're having trouble identifying your value proposition?  If you had one of those two problems, I'd take you at face value. But put the two of them together, and I'm hearing code for "shy."  But, whatever, call it what you want.

I think you might have missed one of the core points of my earlier post on networking shyness.  To wit: Even though you're networking to find and land a good job, if you hate networking, don't make it about yourself. Make it about discovering how you can contribute your gifts, skills and energy out there in the big wide world.

You can set the tone of how your networking activities come off. Networking is not about shameless self-promotion (unless you're a shameless self-promoting kinda guy, which evidently you're not). If you want a real, authentic, interaction with a full calendar of people who you hope will ultimately lead you to your next job, have a real, authentic interaction. You're out there trying to figure out how and where you fit in. If anyone criticizes you for that, well, that's their problem. Move along to the next appointment on your calendar.

Moving to your next issue about not knowing what your value proposition is, that's not an issue to take lightly. It goes straight to one of the main pieces of your place in the world. And with the marketplace changing as rapidly as it is, it's practically impossible to keep up with how your place in the world changes in relation to the world itself.  I think three generations of working adults are going through a mid-life crisis at the same time, right now.

The good news here, for you especially, is that if you're struggling with "who am I" questions, you're going to come off authentically humble in networking meetings. So instead of worrying about "shamelessly" promoting a self when you don't even know who that self is (at least vis a vis your working life), approach your networking from the point of view of gathering data about how you might fit into the changed world now.

Use your early networking meetings to ask questions. And be sincerely interested in the answers. Then ask more questions. And be sincerely interested in those answers. (Remember, we're talking questions about work, not "how're the kids?")  Eventually you'll start seeing how you fit into the world as you're coming to understand it because of those questions. And your value proposition will make itself known to you.

It's about questioning, not crowing.

(There are a lot of books out there that help you discover what your value proposition is. If you'd like to read a collection of inspiring stories of people on that journey, email me and I'll send you a free copy of my book Find Your Calling, Love Your Life.)

Jobing.com has been proud to partner with Airman and Family Readiness Center, Transition Assistance Program Employment Workshop and Workforce Tampa to promote hiring and training dedicated veterans for new careers.  In honor of those who have served our country please take a few moments to review some of the advantages your organization will gain by hiring veterans.

1. Accelerated learning curves
Veterans have the proven ability to learn new skills and concepts. In addition, they can enter your workforce with identifiable and transferable skills, proven in real-world situations. This background can enhance your organization's productivity.

2. Leadership
The military trains people to lead by example as well as through direction, delegation, motivation, and inspiration. Veterans understand the practical ways to manage behaviors for results, even in the most trying circumstances. They also know the dynamics of leadership as part of both hierarchical and peer structures.

3. Teamwork
Veterans understand how genuine teamwork grows out of a responsibility to one's colleagues. Military duties involve a blend of individual and group productivity. They also necessitate a perception of how groups of all sizes relate to each other and an overarching objective.

4. Diversity and inclusion in action
Veterans have learned to work side by side with individuals regardless of diverse race, gender, geographic origin, ethnic background, religion, and economic status as well as mental, physical, and attitudinal capabilities. They have the sensitivity to cooperate with many different types of individuals.

5. Efficient performance under pressure
Veterans understand the rigors of tight schedules and limited resources. They have developed the capacity to know how to accomplish priorities on time, in spite of tremendous stress. They know the critical importance of staying with a task until it is done right.

6. Respect for prochiring and training dedicated veterans for new careersedures
Veterans have gained a unique perspective on the value of accountability. They can grasp their place within an organizational framework, becoming responsible for subordinates' actions to higher supervisory levels. They know how policies and procedures enable an organization to exist.

7. Technology and globalization
Because of their experiences in the service, veterans are usually aware of international and technical trends pertinent to business and industry. They can bring the kind of global outlook and technological savvy that all enterprises of any size need to succeed.

8. Integrity
Veterans know what it means to do "an honest day's work." Prospective employers can take advantage of a track record of integrity, often including security clearances. This integrity translates into qualities of sincerity and trustworthiness.

9. Conscious of health and safety standards
Thanks to extensive training, veterans are aware of health and safety protocols both for themselves and the welfare of others. Individually, they represent a drug-free workforce that is cognizant of maintaining personal health and fitness. On a company level, their awareness and conscientiousness translate into protection of employees, property, and materials.

10. Triumph over adversity
In addition to dealing positively with the typical issues of personal maturity, veterans have frequently triumphed over great adversity. They likely have proven their mettle in mission critical situations demanding endurance, stamina, and flexibility. They may have overcome personal disabilities through strength and determination.

Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance will host a Veterans Resource Career Fair on Monday, November 9, 2009.  This event will offer local veterans an opportunity to meet with employers, training institutions and community organizations offering resources for veterans.  There will also be several seminars to assist veterans in accessing their benefits and navigating the federal hiring system.

Find out if your organization is eligible for tax credits under the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit and monetary incentives to offset the cost of hiring and training dedicated veterans for new careers through the Brave Veteran Initiative.  Veterans Representatives will be on hand at the event to provide more information on these tax credits and incentives.  Please call or email Bobby for more information on how to participate!  We'll see you on November 9th. 

Bobby J. Wise
Local Veteran Employment Representative II
Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance
2001 E. Cherry Street
Plant City, FL 33563
Telephone: 813-930-7619
Fax: 813-757-9012
wiseb@workforcetampa.com

Career Transition -- Skills are transferable and lack of experience is not!

Many of the clients I work with have experienced the problems that many boomers experience as they seek re-employment.  Many boomers have attempted transitioning their skills and experiences into industries outside of their core experience and have learned a difficult lesson.  Transitioning skills into new industries is one of the most difficult methods of job searching. Your skill set may be transitional however; your specific job experience may be a limiting factor in your choices, especially within the published market.  As you build your résumé and search strategy, hopefully your résumé shows a large number of successes within your field and job industry, this is good, but what about transitioning into a new industry?  

 

Many displaced boomers are being told that career transition is the answer to their unemployment problems. And it can be, if they learn the dynamics of the current job market and how they should approach the career transition solution.  Let us look at a typical example of a displaced Marketing VP other positions of course can apply. 

 

Our VP has a 20-year career with an office technology company and has launched many successful campaigns bringing products to market. The question; can this VP of Marketing be successful in marketing medical software?  Our VP of Marketing has mastered the science and rules of marketing and has the skills to bring virtually any product or service to market.  The skill set is transferable but what about the experience?  As our VP of marketing will discover while looking for a job, especially on the Internet, they have the skills but not the experience so they hit a major barrier.  This is where frustration results, “I can do the job with my eyes closed but I don’t have the experience.”(Almost sounds like the recent grad)  Most résumés will not get past the computer, or résumé screener, especially with the Internet positions.

 

Does our boomer really need the industry experience to be successful as a VP of Marketing in a software company?

How do you get the necessary experience?  

How does the transitioning boomer get around that barrier? 

 

The answer to question one is determined by the market (the hiring companies) especially on published positions.  If you read “medical software marketing experience required” in the posting and you do not have the specific experience do not even apply for the job.  In general, the transitioning baby boomer will have little success finding a job in the published market because they are competing against those with skills and industry experience.

 

Can our VP of Marketing get necessary industry experience and become competitive in this job market?   Probably not at the VP level, one option might be to take a lower level marketing position in that industry to gain that experience.  Of course that opens a completely new problem set; you are now overqualified and will run into the “you are too qualified for this position” rejections.

 

Will attending an industry related certification program give you industry experience?  No, experience is just that, experience.  Obtaining industry related certifications will add value to your résumé and show that you are interested in the industry but never be a substitute for industry experience.  This is the biggest problem with the baby boomer and the published market, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, occasionally it might work but it is never a good fit.  As a baby boomer, you must develop a job search strategy that will get you in front of people who appreciate your skill set and accomplishments and that understand that industry experience, for the most part is overrated.

 

Tactics and strategies exist that can be employed by the transitioning boomer to make this process happen sooner rather than later.  The secret is lower your expectations of the published market if you are conducting a career transition search.  It takes a focused approach to be successful in your search.  The Internet and job boards will not be helpful to these individuals because they are competing with those who have current experience in that arena.  Getting in front of the right people and presenting yourself as the best solution for a problem a key decision maker is having is what networking is all about.  Future blogs will discuss why a baby boomer needs to have a very structured and executable networking strategy to be successful in using a career transition strategy.

 

Visit my website www.mycareerstartshere.com for more info on job searching and please contact me via this blog with your comments.  

 

Last week I wrote about my intent to reach out to Fawn Germer, a national best-selling author, through my blogging efforts. I am happy to say that it worked! Fawn responded in the same approachable and friendly manner as she did when I first introduced myself. In fact, her words of advice to me were, "write, write, write".

The difference in our meeting this time is that I was better able to express myself through my writing (all I said in person the first time was, "hello"). I share this with you for 2 reasons: 1) to let you know that persistence often pays off when you approach a business contact or potential employer in the right manner and 2) to inspire you to consider blogging and writing on discussion forums in order to advance your career. As I finish reading Fawn's book, "Mustang Sallies, Success Secrets of Women Who Refuse to Run with the Herd", I will continue to let you know about my communication with her, but, for now, I want to focus on why you should be blogging.

The Janet Jackson song, "What have you done for me lately?", is not only an anthem for strained relationships, but also the burning question that sits in the back of manager's minds. Employers appreciate a track record of success, but they are often more interested in what you are doing now. For the unemployed, it can be especially challenging to talk about current successes. Blogging within your area of expertise provides you with something to point to and say, this is what I am doing". It makes it clear in no uncertain terms that you are self disciplined and committed to your field. And, if you are currently employed, then it may be a good way to add value to your employer; you can show your boss how your blog casts can be linked to twitter in order to draw attention to your company web site.

Since you are taking the time to read this entry, you may already be inclined toward appreciating the written word, but may not know how or what to blog about. First of all, It's free, so here are a few sites to refer to www.wordpress.com, www.blogspot.com , and www.typepad.com ( and, of course, all recruiters who are clients of www.gojobing.com have the opportunity to blog on this site). In regard to deciding what you should write about, there is a great deal of inspiration to be found on the internet. On www.answers.yahoo.com , people convene and to ask random questions. Similarly, on www.linkedin.com , you can click on "Answers" to find numerous professional topics to comment upon. When you provide high quality responses on these sites, you may receive approval votes from readers who wish to give  you credit as an "expert". This is certainly an impressive status. In addition, if you want to blog on your own, you can pick any of the running topics from these sites to inspire your writing.

In case you question whether somebody like you really could gain the attention of a potential employer or others by blogging, read the stories at www.girlsguidetohomelessness.com. This young woman invested some of her unemployed hours into documenting her experience as a homeless person. She wrote to a columnist after "messing up" an interview to ask what she could do to earn a second chance. After they saw her writing, they offered her a paid internship with Elle magazine.

So..... to quote Fawn once more with greater emphasis, get started today and "write, write, write".

This free webinar is presented by the Florida West Coast Chapter of APICS (http://www.APICS-FLWC.org) and provides an overview of Market Yourself! A Guide to Resume Creation and Job Search for the Operations Management Professional, a publication of APICS, The Association for Operations Management.

Topics addressed include:
- Marketing Choices
- Resumes
- Correspondence
- References
- Salary History
- Search Techniques 
- Interviewing

APICS understands that times of unemployment for you and your loved ones can be very stressful, and Career Services is here to help! The Market Yourself publication is designed to guide you through an effective job search, regardless of the operations management job you are seeking. In addition to the webinar, the publication is free to all APICS members!

If you are an Operations Management professional in Logistics, Materials Management, Operations, Planning, Production, Inventory Control, Purchasing, Scheduling, or Supply Chain, this webinar is for you!

Please register using the following link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/564612929.

Join us for this informative webinar and learn how to Market Yourself!

 

NAAAHR, Tampa Chapter was the first jewel in our diversity partnership mosaic. Jobing.com is now a national sponsor with fifteen NAAAHR chapters through out the United States.

Jobing was honored to assist in bringing the first Business Leadership Network chapter to Tampa Bay in 2006. We continue to support the chapter and its mission of employer to employer education on the hiring of candidates with disabilities.

We were excited to welcome three National Association of Black Accountants Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville Professional Chapters earlier this year.

Diversity is a way of life at Jobing.com; it is one of the ways we bring quality candidates to our employers. All jobs on Jobing.com cross-post to our network of local associations, chambers, schools, and diversity organizations.

Our growing Tampa Bay “Diversity Network” currently includes local chapters of the following:

Airmen and Family Readiness Center, MacDill AFB

Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce

Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Polk County

Independent Black Chamber of Commerce

Transition Assistance Program Employment Workshop, MacDill AFB

Minority Enterprise Development Corporation of Tampa Bay

National Association of African Americans in Human Resources

National Association of Black Accountants

National Black MBA Association

National Forum for Black Public Administrators

National Society of Hispanic MBAs

Polk County Business Leadership Network

Tampa Bay Metro Business Leadership Network

The Crescent Foundation

Your Career Calling

We commit to continue building and nurturing relationships with diverse civic and professional partners that strengthen the communities in which we work and serve. At Jobing; Diversity is a way of life.

 

Are you unemployed, under-employed, or in career transition? Or, maybe you’re concerned about your status with your current employer? Has your job search or career change slowed to a crawl, or maybe it never successfully started?

Could you or someone you care about use some job search guidance? Then this workshop may be for you...

The "Quick Start" job seeker workshop is an intensive one day job search course. The workshop is designed to give you everything you need to begin an effective job search campaign the next day – regardless of the type of work you do. Topics include:

- Managing Job Search Stress
- Transferable Skills
- Professional Objective
- Target Companies
- Your Core Message
- Search Techniques
- Effective Networking
- The Hidden Job Market
- Job Search Action Plan
- Cover Letters and Resumes
- Winning the Interview!
- Negotiating Compensation

The next "Quick Start" job seeker workshop is scheduled for 8:00am - 5:00pm on Saturday, October 17th, 2009. The workshop will be conducted in the Fellowship Hall of Faith Outreach Center, located at 7607 Sheldon Road, Tampa, FL 33615. Check-In starts at 7:30am.

A $10.00 fee for the 100 page workbook, payable by cash or check, will be collected for each participant at the check-in table. Also, a 45 minute break for lunch on your own (which you may bring) will be taken at noon. In addition, please note all participants must be at least 18 years of age, and child care is not provided.

If you would like to enroll, please register at http://yourcareercalling.org/Workshops.html.

Work is work and fun is fun right?  When you say work is fun people act surprised.  They consider those terms to be mutually exclusive, an oxymoron, like touching the wrong side of two magnets together.  You get the point.  I’m lucky to be with a company that challenges this notion and has created a company culture where people consider work to be fun!  Wow!

Someday we’ll write a book and be famous like the authors of Fish!  Until then we’re focused on our goal of connecting  local employers with local job seekers.    I will say however, that having this shared goal amongst all employees is the first step toward making Jobing.com a fun place to work.

Most of us in the HR world know of the Fish! Philosophy.  If you don’t, look into it soon.  It’s a great story.  Take a few minutes to rethink their 4 basic principles and how you can positively affect the morale in your workplace.

1.        Play

2.        Make Their Day

3.        Be There

4.        Choose Your Attitude

Make work fun.  Increase employee engagement.  Improve productivity.   Increase profitability.  Become a more successful organization.

Contributed by Doug Mayes – Jobing.com Community Relations

Here's how it too often goes down:

Recruiter:  So what type of work are you looking for?

Candidate:  I just need a job.  I can do anything, and I'll take anything.

Recruiter:  Oh, ok, well let me get back to you on that one.  (Recruiter looks for the EXIT sign and splits). Oops, guess that didn't go so well.  Let's go to the play-by-play and figure out how this potential career match went off the rails.

1.  The recruiter was testing your knowledge of the company and your response didn't address your knowledge of what they do.  Research the company prior to meeting with the recruiter and you'll have a better answer to this question.  Visit their website, and look them up on Jobing.com.  A better response might sound like this.  "I know that your company is a leader in field X and since I have ten years experience and a passion for that field.  I would like to learn more about your opportunities in that area."

2.  Your response didn't address what you bring to the table for the company.  We all need a job in part because we all need to pay our rent.  The recruiter understands that too.  However, the recruiter's main responsibility is to get the right people on the team and grow the company.  Their main responsibility is not to provide a livelihood for you.  Sorry, these are the facts.  To learn more about what the company is looking for, ask questions.  What skillsets are they looking for?  Do your skills match their needs?  How can someone like you help the company meet its needs?  What type of person succeeds in their company?  

3.  Desperation isn't an attractive characteristic in a date or a candidate.  By admitting that you're willing to take anything, you give the recruiter no reason to believe that you won't take off when something better comes along.  Easy come, easy go.  

My friend Patricia is probably the only person I would call a natural networker. Her worldly possessions have been in storage for most of the last 10 years as she goes where her heart tells her to (always beautiful places: Hawaii; Aspen; Naples, FL;  San Diego; hey! Why not?). Jobs and projects fall into her lap no matter where she goes (and right now she’s in Austria after having spent a couple of weeks in Spain).  She always has friends to stay with or a house to borrow.  I would say she’s female version of Tim Ferris. But she’s her own self.  And she makes her way in the world through relationships she builds along the way.

 

You ever have one of those right-words-at-the-right-time moments that blasts all your illusions away?  Patricia gave me the right words at the right time and showed me the way to think about networking.  It was a few years ago while she was visiting me on Cape Cod. I was feeling rudderless, pitiful, unnecessary, unwanted,  all those un’s that make it such a drag to get up in the morning. Patricia and I were sitting in the livingroom wrapped in blankets and drinking coffee (well, she was drinking herbal tea, of course). I was saying that I just couldn’t bring myself to knocking on Cape Cod businesses begging for a job.  And she gently said this:

 

“It’s not about what you need, it’s about what you can contribute.”

 

Oh.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhh.

 

I’d been thinking about networking all wrong! It wasn’t about what a pitiful needy, loser, user I was. It was about letting the world know that I was here to help. Patricia certainly isn’t a needy, loser, user. She moves through the world like a queen (in a good way), and people take their cue from her – treating her accordingly.  And she benefits a lot of lives as she goes.  She may not have a permanent address (other than her Naples PO box). But she has real friends who love her, and she earns an honest living (thanks to laptops and cell phones), growing spiritually, emotionally  and professionally along the way.

 

You may not want to live the life that Patricia has (although, for me, every time she breezes through Santa Fe, where I live right now, ever fiber of my being screams ROAD TRIP!).  And you may not have the flexibility of treating the entire planet as your own personal marketplace.

 

But then again, maybe you do.  At the very least the marketplace that you most naturally belong to needs you! But it may not know you’re there. If your resistance to networking is keeping you shy, I don’t blame you. So maybe the thing to do is examine your beliefs around networking. And maybe change your mind just a little.

 

Networking is a waste of time.  It could be, depending on what you expect from your networking activities. If you want a job right this very minute (of course you do, just bear with me here for a minute), you’re probably going to think that networking activities are a waste of time because what are the chances that any given networking encounter will result in a job offer? To be honest – practically zero. 

 

Yes, I get that you need a job – right this very minute. And networking will eventually bring you that job. But it’s a cumulative effect kind of thing.  One person leads to another who leads to another who leads to five others.  As my coauthor for Unlock the Hidden Job Market, Duncan Mathison, says: Networking is about planting seeds. Lots and lots of them. Some will sprout. But the more networking you do, the more of those seedlings will sprout. And some – not to drive a metaphor in the ground or anything – will bear fruit.

 

Still not convinced?  What are the chances that staying at home will result in a job offer? Guaranteed: Zeeee-roe.

 

The only people I meet at networking events are people who are out of work themselves. That would be true.  Those networking events are the worst.  They suck the life right out of you. They waste your time. And feed your growing sense of despair and overwhelm. So. Stop going to them.

 

Networking is not  about going to networking events. It’s meeting people one-on-one, showing sincere interest in what they do, your shared industry or profession, your community, future trends, ideas, etc. 

 

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t network with other people who are out of jobs. But still make those one-on-one events, high-quality conversations where both of you end up with a growing list of ideas, connections, phone numbers, companies, introductions. 

 

People don’t want to meet me. How do you know? Somewhere someone needs you.  And that will only happen if you get the heck out of the house.

 

Just because you don’t have a job, that doesn’t mean you don’t have value and that you have nothing to contribute. People need you. To use Patricia’s philosophy: Get out and find out who they are.  Under other conditions would you let negative self-talk prevent you from lending a hand where your unique strengths and gifts can really make life easier for someone?  Of course not. So why let the inner gremlins have the power now?

 

People only want to hire to people who already have jobs. That’s a myth.  If you’re unemployed right now, you actually have some advantages working for you.  You’re available now.  You’re not coming in with that entitled “what can you do for me” attitude. You won’t be taking their offer back to your current boss to try to snag a sweeter offer.  Everyone knows that really great talent is on the loose right now because of the massive trend of lay-offs.  The fact that you’re between jobs right now is not a black mark on your record.  It’s just one of those things.

 

There’s no point in starting now, since the holidays are around the corner.  Wrong. This is absolutely a terrific time to look for a job. Budgets are being formulated for Q1. So while you might not start until January 1, you’d be making great use of your holidays by networking your brains out.  And just think,  if everyone else thinks that there’s no point in job hunting right now, you are out there with very little competition.

 

For a great article on this subject, check out: T’is The Season To Follow the Money.

 

I look like hell.  That might be true. If you’ve been stuck at home all day, not having seen the business end of a razor in weeks,  it might be time to put on your go-to-meetin’ clothes (assuming they still fit) and see if your car will start.  

 

Not judging here. In recent months I’ve been stuck at home writing books. Yoga pants and t-shirts have been my friends.  My business clothes have been on the floor, serving as bedding for the cats.  And just yesterday I spotted a coyote sauntering past my windows. And, while I was admiring its glossy coat and bushy tail, the thought came to me that it is better groomed that I am.  I picked up the phone and made an appointment. For tomorrow.  Can’t wait.

 

If you look like hell, you know what to do.  You probably won’t look like Heidi Klum, once you’ve spruced up. But you won’t look like Tom Hanks in Castaway either.

 

People will know that I’m only networking because I need a job.  So what?  You’re not the only one looking for a job. The question is: are you the person they’re looking for? It’s up to you how they’ll regard you. They’ll take their cues from you. If you act ashamed or frustrated, they’ll pick up shame and frustration and treat you like you have a contagious disease.  Figure out what it will take to behave with confidence, calm and professionalism. And do that.

 

Focus your conversation not on what you need but on what they need, what they think, who they might introduce you to, who you might introduce them to, etc.  Remember: It’s about contribution, not need.

 

I’ve already done everything I can think of to get my resume into circulation. No you haven’t.  Networking is not about bugging your family, friends, the Rotor Rooter man. A reader actually wrote to me saying that she gave her resume to her mail carrier.  

 

Networking is about expanding your circles of contacts, acquaintances, colleagues. It’s about making lists of people and their phone numbers. Then picking up the phone and calling those folks.  It’s difficult, I know, especially for people who don’t enjoy calling strangers.  But remember, you’re calling colleagues and peers…people you have something or someone in common with.

 

These are people you might be able to help.

 

And that’s what it’s all about.

 

Special note from Martha:  These principles have been borrowed from my new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market, which I wrote with Duncan Mathison. To learn more, visit our website!