Advice for the long-term unemployed: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Advice for the long-term unemployed: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "Advice for the long-term unemployed
Friday July 21, 5:15 pm ET
By Marty Nemko
I recently asked an audience of 100 job seekers, 'How many of you have been unemployed for more than a year?' Although the U.S. unemployment rate is near all-time lows, 25 percent raised their hands.
Not surprisingly, the long-term unemployed get despondent. Here are some ropes that can pull you out of the muck and perhaps land you a job."
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Advice for the long-term unemployed: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Advice for the long-term unemployed: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
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Mystery Shopping Services and Employment - NSSN
Mystery Shopping Services and Employment - NSSN
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CrossRoads Newsletter and Career Development Center
Get Your Job Search Organized

What was the name of the manager you met at last month’s business mixer? Did you ever follow up on the application you mailed two weeks ago? Which version of your résumé is the most recent one -- without the typos? If you’re asking yourself questions like these, your job search could benefit from some organization.

The typical job search can generate a daunting stack of paper and a backlog of communications from many channels at once. If you are actively looking for work, you may quickly find yourself buried in multiple versions of your résumé, copies of cover letters, clippings and printouts of job listings, business cards from people you have met, e-mails sent and received, bookmarked web pages, phone messages, flyers for networking events, and much more.

To keep all these essential job search components organized, here’s what you will need:


Calendar – You’ll need to keep track of appointments, when you sent out résumés or placed phone calls, and what date you should be following up with people you speak to. Use whatever system works best for your personal style: a pocket datebook, a PDA (e.g. Palm Pilot), or task management software on your computer (e.g. Outlook) are all appropriate choices.

Contact Manager – To take full advantage of your personal connections, you will want to maintain a list of everyone you speak with about your job search, along with their complete contact information, when you last spoke, and what you discussed. Contact management software such as Outlook or ACT! is one option, but you can also use a card file, notebook, or large address book.

Filing System – On your computer, set up a special folder to hold all your job search materials, and create sub-folders to help you find items quickly. Be sure to give all your documents distinct names. Instead of simply “Resume,” for example, you might use names like “Resume updated with feedback from Ken” or “Resume sent to Marshall Co” to identify different versions.
For your e-mail, use the same idea to save copies of e-mails you send or receive in separate folders in your e-mail system. You might create one folder for all your job search correspondence, or if you are a heavy e-mail user, add sub-folders for each prospective employer or opportunity. Also use a folder to organize bookmarked web pages, such as job postings you check regularly.

With paper documents and clippings, the type of system you choose should depend on whether your job search needs to be mobile. File folders in a drawer or standing file work well if you will always be conducting your job search in the same location. If your job search needs to travel, a better solution might be a three-ring binder with dividers or an accordion file with several pockets.


Task List – You’ll need a way to keep track of what may seem like an endless list of things to do. Appointments and notes to follow up on a certain date can be put in your calendar, but you’ll also need a way to track tasks with no date assigned as well as daily or weekly activities. Some PDA’s and contact or task management software offer this feature, or you can keep your master task list in a document on your computer, in a notebook, or on a bulletin board or whiteboard.
Once you have set up a system to organize your job search, you’ll need to remember to use it. Get in the habit of making entries in your calendar or contact manager immediately, rather than saving them up for later. When you print documents, open postal mail, or receive e-mails, file them right away, making a note of any action you need to take on your task list. Don’t try to use a pile of paper as your reminder.

One technique that can help to keep your job search visibly organized is creating a “job wall.” Dedicate some wall space or the back of a door to your job search and post a large calendar, list of job postings to check regularly, events to attend, people to talk to, and important tasks you want to keep in mind. Use sticky notes to highlight important deadlines or projects. You could also keep the same material in a three-ring binder prominently displayed on your desk.

Whatever organization system you choose, find a way to keep your job search activities constantly in front of you and check your to-do list often. If everything you need is buried in a drawer, a pile, or your briefcase, your job search won’t get as much attention.

- C.J. Hayden, MCC

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Hired Now! and Get Clients Now! Since 1992, she has helped thousands of professionals make a better living doing what they love. C.J. is a Master Certified Coach who leads workshops internationally – in person, on the phone, and on the web. Find out more about C.J. and get a free copy of "How to Find a Job in 28 Days or Less" at www.gethirednow.com.


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Advice for the Work-Weary
Dear Joan,

I am what I guess you could call a low-level manager in my
office, a position I attained after starting several years
ago at the bottom. I found that as my bosses became more and
more confident in me, they asked me, as a lower-rung
employee, to tackle jobs that low-level and mid-level
management are to perform. While these jobs are not beyond
my skill level, they are jobs that normally fetch a higher
salary for someone who is a full-time manager.

While on the one hand, I felt I was "paying my dues" and
helping my coworkers and company by agreeing to take these
jobs, I always felt it was not fair for my managers to ask
me to do their jobs, when it was convenient for them,
without offering me the pay rate a manager would make. Of
course, I always had my own work to do, and these requests
often came without notice.

Whenever I objected to my various managers and supervisors
about being asked to do a higher level of work-in addition
to my own-without any pay increase, special pay rate or any
reward whatsoever, I got the same response: "That's just the
way it's always been," as if that made it right.

Now that I am in a low-level management position, after
being the only applicant for the job, I see my coworkers at
the entry level being asked to do the same management-type
work, with no compensation. I feel sorry for them. How can I
help them get what they have coming to them, when they are
put in a similar situation as I was?

Answer:
You did get rewarded for doing extra-- you got promoted. Why
feel sorry for employees who are stepping up to do more? If
they do extra, they could build their skills, beef up their
resume and get promoted, too.

You haven't given any examples of the kinds of "higher level
work" you and others are being asked to do. For example, if
supervisors are asking employees to speak with their peers
about poor performance, or asking employees to conduct
performance reviews or hold disciplinary meetings, I agree
that would be out of line.

But if the supervisors are asking employees or teams to do
some of the following, I think that is not only appropriate
but also healthy. It allows the employees to actively
participate in running the business and growing personally.

. Create work schedules
. Interview potential peers
. Give the manager input into peers' performance
reviews
. Conduct occasional meetings
. Train/mentor co-workers
. Lead projects

Most businesses don't compensate people in a piecemeal
fashion for taking on tasks outside of their job
descriptions. More today than ever before, people are
expected to take on responsibilities that are outside strict
boundaries. If those responsibilities consistently exceed
the job description by around twenty percent, then a job
re-evaluation is warranted. Obviously, there are situations
where a bonus is warranted for stepping up to run a major
project or fill in for a sick boss, for example.

Companies expect employees today to step beyond their job
descriptions on a regular basis, as needs dictate.
Companies reward this initiative by promoting people who
demonstrate that they can do more. That is the way the
company can test for those skills and abilities. It also
allows employees to grow and develop.

Companies have reduced the number of layers of management
and expect employees to become involved in decision making,
especially when the outcomes of those decisions will affect
them. The result should be employees who are empowered to
try new things and share in the sense of ownership that has
been traditionally the domain of management. The intention
is not to have employees doing management's work.

If the tasks are not crossing the line into clear management
accountabilities, such as performance management, your
company may be fairer than you think.
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Tip of the Day - Join a Job Search Networking Group
Here's a link to the job search group I joined in Boulder Colorado. Search Yahoo Groups for one near you.
Yahoo! Groups : BoulderNet
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Three Things Every Recruiter Looks For In A Resume
There are three things every recruiter looks for in a resume:

- Focus
- Core competencies or transferable skills
- Accomplishments

If your resume lacks any of these crucial elements, then you are probably not capturing the attention you deserve, and you are missing out on important interview opportunities.


read more
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Starbucks Ice Cream Social
In case you have some extra time on your hands today, here's a freebie worth checking out:
Starbucks Ice Cream Social
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The Buzz Report: Five reasons social networking doesn't work - CNET.com
Social networking is laboring under the inescapable weight of the dot-com curse: you have to find the money. No matter how cool your idea is, it's dead on arrival without an actual business plan. At least, that's the theory. If that's true, though, why has blogging, which seems like a neat idea dependent on interest but without a concrete revenue stream, managed to not just thrive, but really dominate the Web? How is it that free instant messengers are as indispensable as any search engine, and little guys like Trillian are still going strong? Is it really true that free services can't be effective business plans? Or is it possible that--gasp!--social networking isn't really that tenable an idea after all?

The Buzz Report: Five reasons social networking doesn't work - CNET.com
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How to Ask for the Job
How to Ask for the Job

One of the great qualities that children possess is the ability to ask for what they want, from extended playtime to an extra piece of cake for dessert. Not only do children ask for what they want, but they don’t give up. They conspire, they’re tenacious, and if one method doesn’t work, they try another.

Then something happens as we grow older and we acquire hang-ups that hold us back from going after what we want. We develop emotions such as pride, embarrassment, and self-consciousness that hinder our professional and personal growth.

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