Job Seekers Check Out Microsoft’s Elevate America

There is no doubt that technology is changing the way we live and work. As a means of providing the opportunity for individuals to thrive in today's technology-driven environment, Microsoft launched the Elevate America initiative back in 2009. Through partnerships with a designated agency in each state, Microsoft offers free and low-cost training to help people expand and enhance their technology skill sets. Microsoft’s programs are tailored to meet the needs of four distinct groups: 1) students, 2) entrepreneurs, 3) technology professionals, and 4) individuals new to technology. As for job seekers, it is extremely important to sharpen your technology skills and highlight this on your resume and when speaking to prospective employers.

A primary focus of the Elevate America initiative is to help those new to technology become confident, proficient computer users. Through Microsoft’s Digital Learning Curriculum and Unlimited Potential Community Learning Curriculum, individuals can access programs that enable them to develop basic computer skills, including navigating the Internet and using e-mail. These curricula also include courses covering the fundamentals of word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, and web design.

To find out more about Elevate America and to learn about how it is working in your community, click here.

Strategies to Help Offset Diminishing Job and Income Security

With company downsizing and employee layoffs still looming at many companies, there’s no time like the present to act on strategies that can help prop up your current or future job and income security. To explore these CBS MoneyWatch.com strategies, click here.

Phone Interviews Growing in Popularity and Complexity

Companies and recruiters are turning to phone interviews and asking in-depth questions to identify the best candidates from the large pool of qualified candidates who are responding to their job postings. What may have typically in the past been a brief phone interview with general questions has become an hour-long interview. Plus, potential candidates are expected to speak in detail about their work history, including providing specific project examples and statistics that demonstrate their strengths and successes.

To read more about phone interviewing and find tips that will help you prepare, click here.

A Temporary Job Solution; U.S. Census Bureau

Every ten years, the Census Bureau conducts a count of everyone living in the United States including, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The next census will begin in March 2010. This census information guides the distribution of federal funds to state and local governments each year, determines each state’s congressional representation and guides planning decisions such as, placement of schools, hospitals and transportation.

To manage this big undertaking, the U.S. Census Bureau hires thousands of temporary workers, at the local level, to fill census taker and office jobs. The peak recruitment period begins now with the majority of hiring taking place in spring
2010.

To find out more about the jobs available and associated requirements, go to
http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/.

Working with Uncle Sam; Check It Out.

Have you ever considered a government job? Government jobs have a legacy for job security and great benefits, which can be appealing in today’s unstable job market. Government jobs can be found across various agencies at the local, state and federal levels. A sampling of jobs includes:

Administrative assistant
Registered nurse
Maintenance worker
Environmental protection specialist
Food service manager
Pharmacist

To get started exploring the types of government jobs available, go to "Find Jobs" in Career Transitions and enter government in keyword search, or check out the federal government’s Web site usajobs.gov/.

How About A Virtual Job?

With an evolving global economy and a growing population of people with access to the Internet and other technology tools, coupled with job security and longevity becoming a thing of the past, it is not surprising that more and more people are finding virtual jobs appealing. A virtual job allows an employee to work from a remote location, often times from home, in completing job tasks for an employer. This arrangement can provide flexibility for the employee while reducing an employer’s operating costs.

Virtual jobs are typically a result of one of the following three scenarios:
1. Change existing office-based job to virtual-based (home-based)
2. Initial job arrangement virtual—100% virtual-based from day one
3. Self-employed or freelancer—working independently in contracting out “work for hire”

The below are jobs that are often conducive to being performed virtually:

Call center representative
Administrative assistant
Concierge
Writer (grant, technical, etc.)
Technical support—supporting businesses and consumers with Internet, Web hosting, desktop support, etc.
Web designer
Bookkeeper
Translator
Sales representative

Before you jump into a virtual job, make sure it is a good fit for your personality. It is important that you are self-disciplined and self-motivated, and can keep with a daily routine and regular work hours. Plus, it will be necessary to establish a private and quiet work space.

To start a job-search for virtual jobs, use the Career Transitions “Find Jobs” section and search for jobs using keyword (virtual) search, with or without, using “my targets”.

Add A Mentor To Your Career Resource Collection

A mentor acts as a professional advisor, coach and trusted counselor. You will reap many benefits from having someone or several people act as a mentor throughout the course of your professional career. And if you’re going through a career transition such as searching for your next job, a mentor can be a great resource.

Mentors can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and formulate strategies for skill development. A good mentor will encourage you to work toward your goals, challenge you to grow, listen intently, provide constructive feedback, connect you to their contacts, and help you navigate through a job search, and new or existing job.

Where can you find a mentor? Look to people who are in the same or similar profession as yours, but have a higher ranking position and/or more experience. Scout out those who you respect and have an easy rapport with, and who you believe have an innate willingness to help others move toward professional success. Look at people in your network who may not be ideal for mentoring, but more likely can point you to someone who may be. Also consider current or past co-workers, and those you encounter through trade or professional associations.

Have your radar on and be willing to broach the subject with those you identify as potential mentors. You will soon find yourself reaping the rewards of a fulfilling mentor and mentee relationship.

Click here for additional information on mentoring.

Simple Resume Tips for Managing Employment Gaps

It is not uncommon for job seekers to have gaps in their employment history. However, for obvious reasons, most employers want to see a stable employment history in prospective candidates. So if you have a gap, how should you best handle it in your resume? Most experts advise the following dos and don’ts:

Do not make a specific statement in your resume to handle larger employment gaps—this should be done in an interview (it may be explained in a cover letter too, but keep it to a sentence or two).

Do not be concerned about small gaps in employment of a few months or less. Small gaps typically do not need to be addressed, since most employers consider this time reasonable for job searching and interviewing.

Do use years and not months to notate blocks of employment history in your resume.

Do use a functional resume (focus is on skills) rather than a chronological resume. A functional resume also allows for aligning skills to a particular job posting, as well as emphasizing the most important or stronger skills.

Do stay networked and connected to your profession by keeping in touch with those in your profession and past co-workers, maintaining your membership in a professional association, and reading up on trade journals/magazines, etc. Be sure to bring these points up either in your resume, cover letter or interview.

Do stay productive during your time off by taking additional training or continued education courses, and volunteering in various organizations or in your community. Definitely include your training and volunteer work on your resume. Training can be listed within an Education & Training section, and volunteer work could go under Work Experience or be its own section called Volunteer Experience.

Employment gaps shouldn’t become a mental block to finding your next job—follow these tips and find others for addressing employment gaps in a positive manner and move on.

Ways to Earn $100 a Month

In this struggling economy, more workers are finding it necessary to take on a second job in order to make ends meet. If you are looking to supplement your income, check out this list of 18 ways to earn $100 a month:

1. Artist


2. Bartending


3. Blackjack Dealer


4. Bookseller


5. Coach


6. Crafting


7. Freelance Writer


8. Music Lessons


9. Odd Jobs


10. Organizers


11. Referee


12. Pet Sitter


13. Seamstress


14. Survey Taker


15. Teaching Online


16. Text Researcher


17. Wait Staff


18. Web Site Design

Click here to access the full article from msn.com, which provides additional information and links to help you pursue the income opportunities listed above.

Reinventing Your Career

Between the struggling economy and the increasingly competitive workplace, is it possible for employees to achieve job security? Yes, says Pamela Mitchell, founder of the Reinvention Institute. Mitchell believes that job security can be achieved through career reinvention, a process of “recombining your skills, talents, and experience to move between job functions, departments, or industries.” She equates changing careers and industries to the experience of relocating to another country: “To be successful in your new land you'd have to learn the local language and familiarize yourself with its customs and cultural expectations. The same is true when you want to move to new career territory. To bridge the divide between your old and new careers, you need to learn the language and customs of your new field…and decide what to bring along from your former job.” Click here for additional excerpts from Mitchell's interview, which includes advice for overcoming the challenges of career reinvention.

Increasing Your Career Currency

Lynn Taylor, CEO of Lynn Taylor Consulting, provides this explanation of career currency: “Each of us brings a unique skill set and intrinsic value to the job marketplace. How we reaffirm our professional worth to ourselves and broadcast it externally (to colleagues, employers, and even customers) can increase our career currency and contribute heavily to our success. Your career currency changes every hour, much like the stock market. A brilliant idea, a masterful meeting, the savvy handling of a difficult matter with a subordinate, peer or manager, your assertiveness—all affect the index. A rewarding day of job hunting, interviews, or bringing a major project closer to fruition all move your index higher.” Click here to access Taylor’s article, in which she discusses career currency as it relates to setting career goals and objectives, plotting a career road map, and more.

Worm Farming?

My fellow bloggers and I have spent the last few weeks providing what we hope is useful, timely information on topics ranging from apprenticeships to career mentoring to volunteering your way to a new career. Determining a new career path is serious business, but let’s take some time to have a little fun. We’ve scoured the Internet to find the most unusual and interesting job titles and careers out there. Check them out!

• Furniture Tester
• Cowpuncher
• Snake Milker
• Dog Food Tester
• Bath Sommelier
• Odor Tester
• Fig Pollinator
• Cheese Sprayer
• Worm Farmer
• Pet Detective
• Tanning Butler
• Neck Skewer
• Hot Walker
• Oyster Floater
• Dice Inspector
• Hair-Boiler Operator

When considering your career options, keep an open mind...your skills and interests might lead you somewhere unexpected!

Hot Jobs, Rising Salaries

Job seekers may consider several factors when evaluating whether a job is right for them, including work environment, company culture, the opportunity for advancement and growth, and job security. An additional factor that frequently tops this list is compensation. If the potential to see increases in salary is one of your career must-haves, check out this list of 10 hot jobs (as reported by Forbes.com) for which salaries are currently on the rise:

• Pharmacist
• Research Scientist, Biotechnology
• Project Engineer
• Nurse Practitioner
• Civil Engineer
• Physical Therapist
• Speech-Language Pathologist
• Occupational Therapist
• Dental Hygienist
• Registered Nurse

The career overviews for these jobs, which include information on average salaries as well as projected growth figures and educational requirements, can be found in the CAREER TARGETS section of EXPLORE CAREERS in Career Transitions. You can also use the FIND JOBS section of Career Transitions to conduct searches and view listings of current openings in these occupations.

Volunteering Your Way to a New Career

While volunteering for an organization is generally considered an altruistic gesture, it is also a valuable learning experience that can lead to different career opportunities. Steve Vetter’s friends thought he was losing two years of his life by volunteering with the Peace Corps after he graduated from college in 1966. His training with the Corps led to a satisfying career in international development. He’s now president and chief executive of a group that connects U.S. residents with people throughout Latin America on projects such as agricultural development and youth programs. "About 12 percent to 15 percent of professional jobs are in the nonprofit sector," Vetter said. "Almost all the people who work in those jobs began as volunteers. It's like baseball's farm team system. You can check out an employer and they can check you out."

To see how others have advanced their careers through volunteerism, read this interesting article from The Washington Post. You can also visit VolunteerMatch, an online database that pairs volunteers and nonprofits.

Steps to Take Before Transitioning to a New Career

New York University career counselor Linda Stone recommends taking the following steps prior to transitioning to a new career:

• Recognize that change is a process and that the pace of change varies.
  
• Understand why you feel unfulfilled in your current job.
  
• Assess your skills and achievements and figure out what you want to continue to develop.
  
• Research and conduct informational interviews. Network.
  
• Recognize that everyone has personal barriers and constraints in changing careers.
  
• Develop short- and long-term goals with realistic objectives based on the first five steps.

Click here to read the stories of four recent career changers who are currently pursuing their dream jobs.