Knee Surgery

I am scheduled for knee replacement surgery on April 24, 2014.   Consequently, I will be absent from my blog for a few days and perhaps weeks.   

I look forward to returning to gjbygj.blogspot.com as soon as I am able.  

Please continue to post comments in this blog your suggestions for job seekers.

Thanks!
Glyn

How to Find a Job in 2014

 

An article in the Parade supplement in the April 13, 2014, edition of The Dallas Morning News on page 6 by Kate Rockwall, “How to Find a Job in 2014”, provides many helpful suggestions for job seekers.

Since the article is packed with many excellent ideas for job seekers, I have tried to highlight some of them below.  I suggest that individuals who are serious about finding a job read the entire article at http://www.parade.com. 

1. Link up with hiring managers – 94 percent of recruiters use the career networking site LinkedIn to search for applicants. “If you don’t have an up-to-date profile (on LinkedIn), you’re wasting an opportunity,” says Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s career expert.

2. Broadcast your ambitions – “When job hunting, you want to sprinkle your bread crumbs on the water, and Facebook gives you a much bigger pool of water,” says Brad Schepp, author of How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

 

3. Hunt beyond your zip code – “If you’re serious about moving, make a trip and meet people in person” suggests Pamela Mitchell, founder of the Reinvention Institute and author of The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention.

 

4. Network in 140 characters – The best networking opportunities today are happening on Twitter.  “Hiring” was tweeted 1 million times more in 2013 than in 2012 says Rachael Horwitz, the site’s communications director.

 

5. Build experience – Forty-one percent of hiring managers consider pro bono work as legitimate as a job.  If you’re unemployed or have free time, consider putting your expertise to work as a volunteer.  “Designing efficient systems is something we at Toyota do well,” says CEO James Lentz, but “but there are many ways you can help charities.”  Take a moment to think about the skills you’re developed through your career and how you might contribute to local projects.  By giving back, you could gain the sort of real-life experience and concrete results that stand out to employers.

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com your suggestions for serious job seekers.   

Thanks!

Glyn

March Madness Disappointments

I have been glued to the TV, as perhaps many of you have been, watching the many basketball playoff games.  Both the NCAA and the NIT basketball tournaments match the best team in the U.S. in winner take all battles.

Everyone showers congratulations on the winners; however, what about the losers?  These teams have invested many countless hours of practice and competing in numerous games leading to these championships games.  

So what about the losers?  What is their take away from these contests?  Will they give up the game?  Will they become sad and remorseful?  I am suggesting that they will return to their colleges with a renewed energy to return next season using valuable experiences gained from this year’s contest ready to compete in next  year’s March Madness.

I am thinking that perhaps there is a similarity between the losers of the March Madness and job seekers who have been rejected from a job which they sought.  Taking a clue from the losers of the March Madness games, they should learn from their job search experience, rework their game plan, and return to the court (job market) with a renewed energy and dedication to find a job.  

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com your suggestions for individuals who have been rejected from jobs they sought.   

Thanks!

Glyn

Welders, America Needs You

An article in the March 24 – April 6 issue of Bloomberg Business Week, “Welders, America Needs You”, by Matthew Philips highlighted the shortage of skilled workers particularly welders.

The article states that welding seemed like a dead end job for most of the last 30 years when the manufacturing sector was contracting.  But since 2009 the manufacturing sector has grown faster than the rest of the economy.  Consequently, decades of attrition have left the U.S. with a shortage of skilled welders. The number of welders dropped from 570,000 in 1988 to fewer than 360,000 in 2012.

According to Doug Gregory of BMR Group “we have welding jobs and cannot find people to fill them.”  Other companies quoted in the article included Stillwater Technologies, General Electric, and Caterpillar that are in need of skilled welders.

The article discussed welding training provided by Hobard Institute of Welding Technology, Troy, Ohio. There numerous welding schooling located throughout the U.S including  Lincoln Tech - http://www.lincolntech-usa.com/?source=lti-google-college%20welding%20technology-local-match-tx-devtype-c&cr=36575048317&kw=college%20welding%20technology&mt=b&pl=&dv=c&rpltssid=533b0a7cd9422&gclid=CJyY46X6v70CFUtk7AodrD8ABA

In addition to welders, there is a great demand for other technically skilled workers throughout the U.S. 

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com your suggestions for individuals seeking employment with organizations seeking technically skilled workers.   

Thanks!

Glyn

March Madness

It seems that the U.S. is extremely excited about the phenomenon of March Madness.  Have you completed your bracket?  Many citizens including the President have spent time completing their brackets based on experience or just their naiveté. 

It occurred to me that if job seekers would gain the excitement of these bracket prognosticators, perhaps they would be gainfully employed before the Final 4 is completed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

There are blogs and thousands of other sources provided suggestions for these job seekers.   For example:

 

Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Channel has been active in assisting in the search of jobs.  Below are links to several of her on-air suggestions for unemployed:

 

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/03/03/hired/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/03/11/hired/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/02/25/hired/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/02/07/hired/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/20/hired/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/09/hired/

 

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com with the websites you recommend to job seekers.

Thanks!

 

Glyn

 

Putting Experience to Work

 

In an article in The Dallas Morning News March 22, 2014, edition on Page 1D, by Pamela Yip describes how the Senior Source organization in Dallas helped Williams-Gary by “Putting Experience to Work.” 

Many senior women who have lost a spouse, become unemployed, or have an adult child moving in frequently with small children must return to the workplace.  Claire Turner, Director of the Senior Employment Program at the Senior Source is ready to help.

Here is some advice offered by individuals who have benefited from this program:

1. DON’T RELY ON COMPUTER JOB SEARCHES ALONE. “Spend time being out and about talking with people and volunteering with organizations.”

2. DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY. “It is critical that you take action every single day – Monday through Friday.”  Set goals such as number of contacts and job searches so at weekend you can celebrate accomplishments.

3. TRUMPET YOUR AGE AS AN ASSET NOT A LIABILITY. Don’t apologize for your age – brag about experience gained!

4. MAKE YOURSELF STAND OUT FROM THE COMPETITION. What is one thing you can do that is daring, different, and smart to get the attention of hiring managers?

5. UPDATE YOUR WARDROBE.  Discord your old out-of-date cloths and dress professionally. The Senior Source and other organizations can help here.

6. GET COMFORTABLE WITH VIDEO INTERVIEWS.  Develop your elevator speech and prepare to answer typical interviewer questions, e.g. your greatest strength, greatest weakness,  best/worst boss, most challenging situation

This advice should be helpful to all job seekers.  

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com your suggestions for putting your experience to work.

Thanks!

Glyn

 

E is for Effort, Energy, and Excitement,

 What about those E’s?  Will they help you find employment?

I have four grandchildren who have just received their bachelor’s degree, and they are now entering the grown-up world of making it on their own.

One granddaughter had an internship with Omni Hotels during the summer following her junior year at the University of Kansas.  Because of her outstanding performance during the internship, on graduation, she received a permanent job in the hotel’s management development program.

Another granddaughter, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, has just received a job with the Cooper Aerobics Fitness Center and is also working with two partners to launch an Internet site for an audience of people who frequent boutique fitness centers. 

Another granddaughter, a graduate of Southern Methodist University, has gone to New York City to try to make it!  She is attending acting schools and is an associate editor for The Stylish Standout  (http://thestylishstandout.com/) writing blogs for its online site.

Our grandson, a graduate of Franklin College, Lugano, Switzerland, is also in New York City. After finishing internships at the Guggenheim in Venus and MOMA in New York, he is now working part-time at art galleries and substitute teaching at private schools in the City.

What do these new graduates have in common?  First, they have put forth the EFFORT to find their first jobs. Second, they exhibited the ENERGY to continue their quest after receiving many disappointments and set-backs.  Third, they maintained a temperament of EXCITEMENT as they begin each day’s quest.

Of course, I am very proud of my grandchildren as they pursue their dreams.  I hope that their examples of success will encourage all job seekers to put forth the effort, energy, and excitement to find employment.

Please post a comment in this blog or email me at glynjordan@gmail.com if you have found these E’s helpful in your job search.

Thanks!

 

Glyn