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Agenda Week 4
• Résumés Line Test + Exercise
• Psychological Impact of Long-term Unemployment – from email
• Chas’s thoughts on Long-Term Unemployment
• Recession vs. the Employment Recession
• Reasons you are not getting an interview
• Reasons you are not getting an offer
• Networking – Networking - Networking
Road to Employment Recovery
So is it better to be unemployed or underemployed? The answer really depends on three conditions. The economy, the job and the person.
In the past, during a growing economy, I had met with active job seekers that honestly wanted more in their careers. Money was not a motivating factor for their job search. These job seekers wanted something more challenging, more responsibility and in some cases maybe even a management position. These job seekers were underemployed. Some of these job seekers would even welcome unemployment because unemployment would give them the time and motive to find their dream job. As a recruiter, if I found a passive candidate that felt underemployed, I knew I found a gem. So these candidates felt it was better to be unemployed than underemployed.
But today, March of 2010, things are different. The national unemployment rate is 9.7% (www.bls.gov) and the unemployment rate for professionals in information technology and accounting may be well above 10%. (I am guessing 15% to 20%) At least 75% of candidates I talk to are unemployed. Many have been unemployed for 6 months or longer and many have exhausted their unemployment benefits. Most of these people will, and should, consider any job in their field. I would also suggest to these people to not to get hung up on salaries, hourly rates, or if the job is contract verses permanent. Any job, like “any port in a storm for a ship” is better than no job.
My friend Paul emailed and stated, “I can tell you my thoughts! Underemployed is better.”
I asked, “Why?”
His reply, “As you know I had been unemployed for a 6 month period. It was the worst time ever. I am now employed with a company at a level I feel is below my skill level and is below my pay grade, but it is a job.”
He also added, “I feel that since I feel I am underemployed, I have the opportunity to learn a new skill set and strengthen my existing skills. Also if I can prove myself as a valuable employee, I can get noticed and move into another position that allows me to demonstrate my talents.”
Great answer! And that is why Paul is employed now and will eventually move into a more challenging and better paying position.
Lore told me, “That is a no-brainer: Underemployed definitely. Having been laid off from a 6-figure income, unemployed for the first time in my professional life…the emotional distress has been debilitating.”
Lore also adds, “I am currently working a $9/hourly rate, and thriving mentally in spite of the fact that I have to rely on my savings to pay for my basic needs. The constant exposure to customers has been uplifting, at the same time allowing me to "network"…”
Another great answer as Lore finds something good in the job she has.
Daniel wrote, “My job search has been going on for nine months now and it is very draining…If I was 'only' underemployed, I could at least take pride in my achievements. Being unemployed when you really want to work and contribute something is very frustrating.”
Daniel’s comments seem to be the sentiments of most of the people I have talked to recently. Being unemployed and looking for a job is not only hard work, daunting in a recession, costly, at times depressing, it is also boring and distracting. So the general consensus today is that being underemployed is way better than being unemployed. So join a user group, take chances, read employment articles that lend advice, attend free employment groups and of course stay tuned to this blog. Most of all, consider any job at any salary or rate. If you get that job work hard, do your best even if you feel underemployed.
And remember, most employers and companies will not care what you were making per hour in your last job. However they will want to know you did a good job, worked hard and added value like Paul and Lore.
I keep getting asked about a second stimulus or more stimulus. I’m all for it! Let’s call it Stimulus II.
This second stimulus should be aimed at job growth only. The money would not go to banks, or cash for clunkers or whatever but job growth only. A large portion of this Stimulus II money would need to flow down from the federal government to the state governments.
1. With Stimulus II money we would get the state departments and agencies back to their pre recession employment figures and then add additional fulltime or contract/temporary employees to finish up information technology projects that have been shelved.
2. Some of this money would go to the educational system. Schools are closing and staff is being laid off. Let’s reverse this trend if the schools are closing because of lack of money rather then enrollment.
3. Local transportation projects can be funded with Stimulus II too. Our roads are a mess and bridges are not safe.
4. Fire and police departments could benefit too. Let’s stop and reverse any trends in laying off fire and police personal and maybe even fund a few new projects, police vehicles, fire and rescue trucks and so on.
These four areas alone would “jump start” the local economies. Let’s face it, our local state governments have lots of work that needs to be done and it never gets done because of the lack of money. Let’s get these projects funded, staffed and eventually completed. As the local governments employ more people and buy more from the local economy the private sector will come back to life.
If you are seriously looking for employment you need to let your network know you are looking. Otherwise if someone you know, who knows about a job, won’t know you are looking and won’t contact you. So you need to contact them.
Even if you make initial contact with key folks in your network, you must periodically remind them you are seeking employment. Otherwise they may forget! I suggest job seekers email their contacts once a week and call every other week.
As a recruiter I stress to some of my candidates that it is okay to remind me that they are still on the job market. If I don’t hear from them I tend to forget them. I try not to let this happen but with unemployment at 10% I average 25 new résumés and contacts a week.
Also f someone if your network gives you a name or lead on a job, you better follow-up on that lead. An old friend called me today to see if someone she knew called me after she suggested the person contact me. I told her I did not recognize the name. She immediately understood the person did not follow up.
If you are seriously looking for work, use your network, maintain regular contact and follow up on leads and referrals.
Although job postings, interviews, callbacks and offers seem to slow down in December, it is not a holiday for job seekers.
It is important to hit your job hunting activity goals and keep an eye on your target companies. While other job seekers take December off, this is a good time for the active job seekers because of the lack of competition.
Continue your job seeking activity throughout December. The jobs you apply to in December will become interviews, and maybe an offer, in January.
If you like what you are reading and want to read more, check out my eBook at www.blackholesresumesjobs.com/
If you are an IT professional and want to send me your résumé, please feel free to email your résumé to me at chas.bollow@triad-corp.com.
The world is much different today than it was ten years ago. Today we have social networking sites for both personal and professional purposes. We all know the personal social networking groups such as Facebook, match.com, atlinks.com, YouTube and others that have become common words in our vocabulary. We also know about LinkedIn, Focus, ZoomInfo and others for professional networking sites. It is very important to use these professional networking sites in your career search and it is just as important to be sure there is nothing incriminating on these personal networking sites.
LinkedIn Rules for the Job Seeker:
- Invite Others: Make sure you know the person you invite and don’t expect people you do not know to connect. If you feel the need to connect with someone get an introduction.
- Accept Invites: Don’t accept invites from people you do not know unless you were introduced from someone else and it was recommended for your career.
- The quantity of connections is not important as the quality of your contacts. More VP, directors, managers, team leads and fewer peers is better.
- Subscribe to a few local LinkedIn groups: Skip the bad news and look for articles and discussions about companies hiring. Look for job seeker tips. Most importantly, be informed about your local business climate.
- Ask for recommendations: On LinkedIn I have been asked by colleagues to write recommendations and I have asked for recommendations from others. In a sense these recommendations are references.
- Reconnect: If you have lost track of people you worked with, LinkedIn is a great way to reconnect with those you liked and the people with whom you worked well. I stay connected to those who I generally want to succeed in life as they want me to succeed.
- Ask people for introductions: Make sure you ask the person you know if it is OK to use their name. Don’t “name drop” unless you have permission.
- Ask connections for job leads: If you get a lead that is not good for you, try to pass the lead on to others in your network. They may do the same for you in return.
Using LinkedIn is a form of professional self marketing. Using your connections, is a good way to get your name “out there” to those that are hiring or know of others that are hiring. Your LinkedIn recommendations tell employers that you have performed well, are well liked, respected and can do the job. Social Networking is a tool in your toolbox that needs to be used, but don’t forget about old fashion networking.
If you like what you are reading and want to read more, check out my eBook at www.blackholesresumesjobs.com/
Are you using Career Builder, Monster, Dice, Hot Jobs, and so on as part of your job search? http://polls.linkedin.com/p/66041/roibz
This recession is different. Well all recessions are different. However those that are seeking jobs have found news tools and new techniques in their job search. Social Networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook are changing everything. This article will focus on Twitter and then I will visit the topics of LinkedIn and Facebook later.
Twitter:
Most of the job seekers I talk to know about Twitter but never thought of it as a tool for their job search. Most feel Twitter is all about following Megan Fox, Johnny Depp or your favorite sports team. However Twitter can be a powerful tool in your job search. In this case, Twitter is all about using the proper search techniques to find job postings.
Assuming you have a twitter account, the best way to search for jobs on Twitter is to simply use the search box to the right and middle of your Twitter “Home Page”. This search tool is very specific. “Job” and “Jobs” will produce different results, thus you need to search on both words. If we use “Job” as our example, “Job” will return any and all tweets with the word “Job” including any and all discussions that mention the word “job”. The results show a few jobs but mostly discussions therefore not the best results, but we can use “Hash Tags” to narrow the search.
Using “Hash Tags” in your search:
If you add “Hash Tags” to your search the results are much better. When I enter “#Job”, or “#Jobs”, the results returned are more favorable to a job seeker. Most of the fluff and conversations that use the word “Job” are gone and now I am seeing jobs! However I am seeing jobs all across the country and that may not be useful to someone looking for a job in Tennessee. When I add a state as a “Hash Tag”, such as #TN for Tennessee, I see jobs for Tennessee.
State Searches using “Hash Tags”:
There is real no standardization, and it is almost like a grass roots effort. Thus I suggest multiple searches. Try using the state’s the two letter abbreviation and the “Hash Tags” “#job” and “#jobs”. Some typical examples for searching jobs in Tennessee are as follows:
- #TN #jobs
- #TN #job
- #TNjobs
- #TNjob
City Searches using “Hash Tags”:
You may also be able to search for jobs by city such as Denver, New York City, Atlanta, Phoenix and so on. However, some cities also have abbreviations. For example, New York City may also be NYC, so you will need to search for multiple combinations if the city has an abbreviation.
- #job NYC
- #job #NYC
- #job new york city
- #jobs NYC
- #jobs #NYC
- #jobs new york city
Skills and Hash Tags:
You can also search for a skill within a city or state or in general. Some tweets may have the skill listed as a “Hash Tag” while other will not. J2EE could be listed as J2EE or #J2EE. I suggest searching for both. A few examples:
- #job #Phoenix J2EE
- #Jobs #Phoenix #J2EE
- #Job J2EE
- #Jobs # J2EE
Company Searches:
By using “Hash Tags” in your search you may find patterns to how companies post their jobs on Twitter and you may want to follow that company for future job tweets. The company I work for, TRIAD Consultants, actually has Twitter on our main page. When job seekers go to our website they will see that last four tweets, usually jobs, and can actually choose to follow TRIAD Consultants. For a good example check out www.triad-corp.com.
As I mentioned, each recession is different and in each recession new tools and techniques are developed for finding jobs. It is up to you, as a job seeker, to use the tools available. Try using Twitter and try multiple combinations of “Hash Tags”, cities and even skills.
Happy job hunting!
Now I have to admit I am new to Twitter, and welcome comments and suggestions to help job seekers. Please email me at chas.bollow@yahoo.com
If you like what you are reading and want to read more, check out my eBook at www.blackholesresumesjobs.com/
Are you using Career Builder, Monster, Dice, Hot Jobs, and so on as part of your job search? http://polls.linkedin.com/p/66041/roibz
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