How's your job search going?
I think summer must be one of the hardest times of the year to maintain an active, vigorous job search. What are you doing to overcome the inertia that can be generated by the lazy, hazy days of summer? If the focus of your job search isn't networking, this is a perfect time to make that your priority. Call your local library or unemployment office to find out where local job clubs are being held. (If you're in the Chicagoland area, email me at gc@resumeswithspirit.com and I'll send you links to job clubs in your locale). Job clubs can be an excellent way to broaden your network and get re-energized about your job search. See if you can find a job search buddy at a job club and commit to speaking or emailing each other every week about what you're doing with your job search. Accountability to someone else can be a great motivator to keep doing those tasks that you might rather avoid.

If you find that you can't muster the enthusiasm for your job search, consider hiring a coach. I offer job search coaching and can help you create a job search strategy and stay on track.

Job search in the summer is difficult. Others are vacationing and while you're not working, job searching, as you well know, is no vacation. Call on your reserves and commit to your job search. Hopeully, that next opportunity is right around the corner for you. Instead of waiting for it to come to you, take the action you need to take to go out and meet it.

I wish you speedy success with your job search.
Warm regards,
Georgiana Carollus, MA, CPRW
Certified Professional Resume Writer
www.resumeswithspirit.com
630-654-8540
07.05.06 @ 05:18 PM CDT [link] [7393 Comments ]

Funding for One-Stop Career Centers Is in Jeopardy
Are you familiar with services available through your local One-Stop Career Center, known in Illinois as Illinois Employment and Training Centers (I.E.T.C.)? One Stop Career Centers have funded retraining and job search assistance for thousands of unemployed workers. Under the Bush administration, their continued funding is in question.

This article is from: http://www.workforce.com/section/15/feature/24/24/67/index.html

Bush Voucher Plan Threatens Career Centers
Concerned that too many Americans lack basic computer skills, Microsoft late last month made a $3.5 million donation to the U.S. Department of Labor to bolster technology training.

But the one-stop career centers that are the intended recipients of the gift may be targeted for shutdown. That’s according to critics of a Bush administration proposal to put more federal training dollars into the hands of workers seeking to find or change jobs.

Over the course of two years, Micro­soft will send cash and software to nine one-stop centers around the country that administer federal training programs.

Pamela Passman, Microsoft vice president of global corporate affairs, says the company’s partnership with the Labor Department will "help job seekers obtain the IT skills that every working person in America needs to participate in a global knowledge economy."

The company also is providing a digital literacy curriculum designed to teach the fundamentals of the Internet, word processing, databases, spreadsheets, Web design and digital media to adults who have had little exposure to computers. In the process, Microsoft may be connecting itself to potential future hires and customers.

While Microsoft targets one-stop facilities, the future of those centers is in some doubt. As part of its fiscal year 2007 budget, the Bush administration is proposing $3.4 billion for "career advancement accounts." The initiative would allocate $3,000 in federal training funds directly to workers each year for two years, potentially obviating their need to use one-stop centers.

Under the administration plan, states would receive a training block grant, 75 percent of which would have to be spent on career accounts. Another 22 percent could be allocated for employment services. Although employment and training programs are slated for a $620 million cut, administration officials say that the career accounts will reduce bureaucratic waste and enable the government to train about 800,000 workers annually, up from about 200,000 currently.

The career account approach will privatize the U.S. training system and put one-stop centers out of business, center advocates say.

"All of that is a smokescreen for the president to find a lot of room in the budget for tax cuts," says Stephanie Powers, CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards. "We’ll end up wasting money. It’s hard for people to self-manage their careers."

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have given the accounts a chilly reception. "They have not done a good enough job of justifying why they want to create a new program," says John Scofield, communications director for California Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

A Labor Department official says that career accounts can exist in harmony with one-stop centers. The centers "would continue to have a significant funding stream to support (their) ongoing activities," says Steven Law, deputy labor secretary. "We want to free up money for direct training services for specific career needs."

CVS/Pharmacy is a proponent of the one-stop centers. The company turned to them to fill 113 of 280 jobs related to the opening of eight stores in Minnesota in fall 2004. "I became a believer at that point," says Brian Miller, CVS district sales manager. "Industry can work with government and it can be successful."

—Mark Schoeff Jr.


Voice your concerns to your legislators before the funding disappears.
Wishing you job search and career success!
Georgiana Carollus, M.A.
Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Coach
www.resumeswithspirit.com
03.21.06 @ 05:21 PM CDT [link]

New candidate screening laws
There is a very interesting article posted on CNN.com about new candidate screening laws that are taking effect. While the impact to the private sector may not happen until later in the year, the article offers excellent advice about following to the letter application directions, targeting specific companies and frequently visiting their web sites, and keeping your resume specific and current.

"Job hunting online gets trickier
Federal regulations kick in today that will make Internet job hunting more complicated. Here's what candidates need to know – and change -- now."

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/06/news/economy/annie/annie_0206/index.htm?cnn=yes


Georgiana Carollus, M.A., CPRW
Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Coach
www.resumeswithspirit.com
02.07.06 @ 10:15 AM CDT [link]

2006 Employment Forecast
Job Seekers Expect Success in '06: In a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, 54 percent of respondents said they plan to increase their staffs in the coming year. Only 9 percent anticipate staffing cuts.

Additionally, 20 percent of hiring managers said they will recruit in bulk, expecting to add more than 50 new employees to their staffs in 2006, and of those half plan to recruit more than 100 employees.

Further, TheLadders.com reports that 65 percent of job seekers making $100,000 or more think 2006 is a better time to be in the job market compared to a year ago. The majority (63 percent) expect to apply to fewer than 50 job listings before receiving an offer. Unemployed job seekers are less confident, with 31 percent indicating they expect to apply to more than 100 listings before receiving an offer.

Reflecting their overall optimism, 34 percent of executive job seekers believe their search will take only three to six months. Another 26 percent predict one to three months, while 27 percent anticipate a 6 to 12-month search

(Source: CareerBuilder.com, TheLadders.com)

Hoping that this year proves to be the year that you quickly find your next and most-fulfilling job!

Georgiana Carollus, CPRW
www.resumeswithspirit.com
gc@resumeswithspirit.com


01.09.06 @ 09:14 AM CDT [link]

How’s Your Job Search Energy?
One of the biggest challenges of the job search is to sustain your energy for the search. Weeks can go by without visible results. As creatures who respond to positive reinforcement, these dead periods can make it very difficult to continue making an effort.

What are you doing to keep your job search energy up? This is the time to bring out all those stress relievers that have helped you in the past. Maintain a support system and have that system extend beyond your immediate family. Exercise, eat in a healthy way and avoid junk food. Don’t let your stress reliever become more a problem than the stress you are trying to relieve. In other words, while an occasional glass of wine or beer might be fine, don’t let alcohol get out of hand. Consider journaling as a stress reliever. Meditate or pray.

If your job search is stalled, go back to the beginning and reconnect with earlier networking contacts. Ask everyone you speak to for one or two names of others that you could talk to about your search. If you keep asking for more contacts, your network won’t dry up.

Attend a job club in your area. These are great for connecting with others and expanding your network. It also helps normalize your process – yes, you’re not the only one job searching! There are others and they would like to help you.

A job search can be depressing. It’s normal to feel angry, sad, depressed, unhappy but if you find you’re getting stuck in your emotions, it’s time for a change. See if you can set a timeframe for feeling bad – perhaps a couple hours and make a deal with yourself that once this time is up, you’ll quit the pity party. Take some positive actions. Action can be a great antidote to feeling badly.

I wish you an energetic job search!

P.S. I had to block comments to my blog because I was getting spammed by poker players and porno sites. If you have comments or questions, please write to me at gc@resumeswithspirit.com

Georgiana Carollus, M.A., CPRW
www.resumeswithspirit.com
630.654.8540


11.09.05 @ 05:18 PM CDT [link]

What are Résumés with Spirit?
I was asked the other day what the name of my business means. To me, my intention with my clients is to capture what is special about what they have to offer employers. In addition to capturing what is special about them, I definitely aim to incorporate what is most important to my clients. After all, someone may excel in working with numbers but would much rather work with people.

I believe the Spirit of a client is based on what they most enjoy doing and that a solid résumé is a reflection of what they offer as well as what they prefer to do. My skill comes into play in making these two factors appeal to a broad range of employers. The client is then well positioned for the type of work they would most like to do. I believe it is in environments that we are happiest that our Spirit and our contributions shine. When this happens, people feel a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in their work.

I can't leave this subject without saying that I rely on Spirit to help me not only interview my clients but also write their resumes. I ask for spiritual help before I start work with any client. I listen for intuitive hits that let me know that I am on the right track with clients. I experience the writing of the resume as a creative process, deeply influenced by Spirit.

What could be better?

Georgiana Carollus, M.A.,CPRW
www.resumeswithspirit.com
630-654-8540

07.12.05 @ 03:52 PM CDT [link]

If you're ready for a new job...
OK, suppose you're one of those who is dissatisfied with your job. You've been hanging onto it because you read the job market statistics and think you have few, if any, options. I would like to encourage you to ignore those statistics and start job searching! Life is too short to be spending hours every day in a situation that doesn't fit you or worse, completely stresses you out.

Ignore those job statistics! You only need one new job, not hundreds or thousands. Despite the tight economy, employers are continuing to hire. People move, get promoted, retire, etc and jobs are created. Now, it is easier when it's an employees' market and employers don't have the luxury of being quite so choosy. But, no doubt, you have more to bring to an amployer than you're recognizing. Polish up that resume! Send it to me (gc@resumeswithspirit.com) and I'll be happy to critique it for you.

Stop waiting and start moving to your future happiness. Wishing you career - and job search - success!

Georgiana Carollus, M.A.,CPRW www.resumeswithspirit.com 630-654-8540


05.02.05 @ 10:26 AM CDT [link]

Ready for a new job?
There are a lot of dissatisfied workers out there! Are you one of them? I'm a member of Career Masters Institute and this morning in their newsletter, they posted the following:
~~~Stats~~~

Ready To Jump Ship?: The Insight Track: Exclusive Job Seeker Research for HR Professionals, published by careerbuilder.com, released these results from a survey of more than 2,500 workers (the sample consisted of members of SurveySite Web Panel; of the 2,500 surveyed, 1,000-plus were hiring managers):

48% of workers say they do not look forward to going to work
23% say they are dissatisfied overall with their jobs
47% of workers are dissatisfied with their pay
61% say their workloads have increased over the last six months
47% say their workloads are too burdensome
Nearly 30% of workers say they are struggling to balance personal and professional commitments
43% of workers say they plan to leave their current jobs in pursuit of a better work experience by the end of 2005

Are you of the unhappy ones? See my next post for suggestions on changing your situation.

Georgiana Carollus, M.A.,CPRW www.resumeswithspirit.com 630-654-8540
05.02.05 @ 10:09 AM CDT [link]