Just a newbie
Submitted by Annabelle on Tue, 2008-07-29 13:42.
Hello Lisa!
Although my brother and I have been daily readers of the Bangor Daily for many months now, I had not joined any of the communities you have set up. But, the job search goes very roughly, living 1,000 miles away. Do you have any advice for young people wanting to move to your lovely state, and yet seem blocked on all sides? Our plan is to set up a string of interviews in various cities then go out for a couple of weeks and camp or live in our van { :) } while we interviewed. Seems a bit like a 1930s hobo story, but it is right now the only option opened to us... except for the imagined string of interviews.. :). Yes, we are very poor, have been in Ohio, pobably will be in Maine for quite some time, but we don't really care! We just want work and a better life for ourselves,our Mom, and little brothers. Things are all closed up here unless you want to bury yourself in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt and go into 'mega-farming' or work in a factory all your life and end up with cancer! There must be a better way to live.. and we see it in Maine. Well, I would be eternally thankful for any advice you would care to share......
God bless you, Ann

Hello Ann, Thank you for writing, I have been thinking and talking with colleagues I know to get you some of the best advice. The HR recruiters I have talked with say honesty is the best policy since their first question will be "Why Maine"? I think you answered it very nicely in your post! We are very lucky to live in this state! I would suggest trying to set up some interviews and contact the local career center in the area of Maine your would like to move too, they can tell you what is available and help set up some appointments to coincide with a visit. Their web address is www.mainecareercenter.com. Good luck, let us know how you make out!
-Lisa

It's tough out there, but with some perseverance (and luck), your teen needn't spend the summer on the sofa.
Dear Lisa: My 17-year-old son needs to get a job this summer to help save for college. He says he has been looking, and I believe him, but so far he's come up with nothing. I don't want to nag him, but the summer is passing us by, Do you and your readers have any suggestions? Meg in Carmel

Dear Meg: Teens who want jobs this summer will likely have to look harder than usual. (And they probably should have started earlier, say back in January, but that's water under the bridge now.)

About half (49%) of 1,100 hiring managers with responsibility for taking on summer help say they aren't planning to hire anyone at all this summer, according to a recent survey by SnagAJob, a job board for hourly workers. Of the managers that do plan to staff up, about 48% say they expect more applications than last year, including some from older displaced workers, so the competition will be stiffer. Not only that, but 64% of the available seasonal openings will go to people who have filled the positions in previous years, the hiring managers said; only 34% of summer jobs will be open to first-time employees.

That doesn't mean your son should just give up, but he -- and you -- will need to be persistent.

Most teens have to apply for at least 10 or 12 jobs to get an offer.

You can help your teen by setting up a written timeline of your child's availability. What hours is he or she willing and able to work? When will the family be on vacation? When does sports practice start, will work have to take a back seat? Spelling this out clearly beforehand will keep your son from leaping at a job with an untenable schedule.

Also help your teen make smart choices is it worht the gad for your child to drive 30 min. for $8 an hour? That's something you can look at as a team.
Other useful help for your teen can be proofing resumes and applications, I would love to hear from other families or teens that are looking or found work this summer!
Sincerely, Lisa

A job search is often like being on a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and job seekers need to have someone or some way to move forward and remain accountable for their search. Relying on a friend or loved one for job seeking support can sometimes be problematic and add stress to the relationship. A better strategy is to find someone else and partner with that person to share advice and leads and offer support.
If you have a great job seeking partner let us hear about them, sign in and post, or email jobs@bangordailynews.net and I'll post it for you!. Happy Job Hunting,
Lisa R.

One of the biggest headaches I find when job seeking is staying organized. I was always afraid of a phone call from a forgotten company I had applied to sometime in the past.
An Unorganized Job Search, creates unnecessary headaches, but is easily remedied.
When you are in a job search, you start to accumulate a lot of information. You may have different versions of your resumes, multiple cover letters, clippings of job postings you have applied to, business cards from networking contacts, company research, and job search articles and tips. You need a system for organizing and automating this information as much as possible so you can quickly retrieve what you need and cut down on the clutter. Create your own system or try out a free account on a career management tool.
The system I like is to create a page for each job I apply to. This page includes a clipping or a printout of the job ad, a copy of the cover letter I sent, and any other info about the company paper clipped together. I then put these papers into files based on the resume version I sent. My resume versions include "Management, Sales, Education and Creative". With these pages in their files by date sent, it is easy to locate the correct paper when I get unexpected calls and the files are small enough to keep handy by my phone, and the file actually travels with me. I also use the 3-hole binder sized business card savers and write down identifying info. on business cards as I collect them, again one binder with alphabetized cards, i keep this binder on my desk at work or in my car. As I collect the cards I extend invites to linkedin.com.
Hopes this helps you get and stay organized, best-

While you are employed, before you leave your position and you have too, it is a good idea to think about what you want in your next job. Identify the type of position, industry, company, geography, size, and corporate culture you are interested in. Then do some research to uncover which organizations best match the descriptions of your dream companies and market yourself directly to those companies whether they have an open position or not. Reach out to your network to see if you are connected to someone who knows someone in that company and ask for an introduction. The goal is to build inroads into these companies before they need you and later leverage that relationship when they are in need of new talent.

Thank you to the reader who posted a helpful web address in reference to building an online presence, I have pasted their posting below:

Submitted by reddevils21 on Tue, 2008-06-24 17:59.
One of the tools I've used recently is VisualCV (http://www.visualcv.com/www/). Its similar to a social networking site (like Facebook or MySpace) but is only for professional usage. Its basically a Web 2.0 resume, with work samples, video of references, or even video of yourself. Below is the description:

The VisualCV reinvents the resume. It’s a better resume, online. The VisualCV makes a traditional resume come alive with video, pictures and a portfolio of your best work samples and other supporting documents. Informational pop-ups provide background data on the companies you’ve worked at and the colleges you’ve attended. You can securely share different versions with your own network of employers, colleagues and friends, and control who sees what.

Obviously its only as good as what you put into it, but helps to achieve that online presence that Lisa is referring to.

Thank you Reddevils21! Remember anyone can post responses or comments to my posts either through this blog or by emailing jobs@bangordailynews.net Happy Job Hunting!

So you have perfected your resume, it shows that you are an accomplished professional and a leader in your field. Yet when a hiring manager or recruiter puts your name in a search engine, either nothing comes up or they find others with the same name and can’t distinguish you from the others they see listed. (Or, oh the horror!, a drunken or explicit photo appears, I am not even going to go there if that's you, clean it up!)Many hiring authorities will want to research your candidacy and an online search is one of the fastest, easiest and cheepest, ways to do this. Make it easy for them to find you by creating a customized online identity. Some free tools to consider using are LinkedIn, and naymz as a minimum.

Nowadays more companies are making it "against the rules" for employees or HR to give out references including anything more than job title and dates of employment. Therefore, it is more essential now than ever before, to maintain relationships when moving from job to job. If you don’t stay in touch with friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and clients your request to reconnect with them after the relationship has been dormant may be met with suspicion. If you only reach out to your network when you need a favor, your network will dry up very quickly.
Find ways to remain involved in the lives of your acquaintances, colleagues, and clients and plan to give more than you get. Create natural touch points for staying connected. Send articles that you think might be of interest to your network or create a personalized e-card to recognize someone’s birthday. Invite people for coffee and attend events at professional associations.

Having a good basic understanding of a company you may be interested in working for, will enable you to get right to the point when you have the opportunity to ask questions in person.

You will ask more useful questions, as well as make a better impression than a person who has not prepared ahead.
Figure out your targets, companies with open positions and companies you want to know more about regardless of whether they have open positions.
Check out their website, and google the company name and the names of your interviewers.
Make note of press releases on the website and anything labeled "New".
If a company of interest is attending a job fair, go and check out their booth, ask questions and make a contact.
This will help you develop questions around what the comapny is currently working on.
Follow up. Once you have met with an employer, get their contact information, and take some notes to remind you of points you want to follow up on, additional questions you may have thought of, and any specific recommended action. Follow up with a thank you note or email to express your appreciation and solidify your good impression.

Check out my answer to comments under past blogs, let me know what you think by logging in and posting or e-mails jobs@bangordailynews.net
Happy Job hunting!
Lisa

I often get asked how to improve a resume quickly...
The number one area for improvement I see in most resumes is to make your resume accomplishment focused rather than task focussed. A typical job seeker resume contains a laundry list of job tasks. Such documents do little to differentiate you from your competition. Instead of writing about things you did, write about the accomplishments you created.
Rather than saying that you make 100 "widgets", explain that you exceeded the company’s quota for making widgets by 25% by retooling the production process and eliminating redundancies.
An accomplishment statement includes an action verb: Created, Designed, Developed,...
Accomplishment Statements can be placed under specific jobs or under skill headings, depending on your needs.
Please send your questions about resumes, and Job Seeking to jobs@bangordailynews.net

With warmer weather approaching, its time to take a second look at what we are wearing to the office. I know when the sun is shinning I am tempted to dress for afterwork at 8 am, but we all need to resist this urge and keep a professional image in the workplace.

Etiquette books still tend to take a very conservative approach to the office. Emily Post, for example, swears that "business casual" doesn't exist, while Amy Vanderbilt prefers women not to wear pants to the office.

So, is it "anything goes" today? What you wear continues to say a lot about your work. So think about your company, your teammates, clients, management, and your position when reaching into your closet,know that the catch phrase "dress for the job you want" still applies, and you'll always come out a winner.

Every day, you get a chance to make a statement about your value to the company through your choice of clothes. Moreover, salary negotiations can happen at any time. Here's a list of ways to say "pay me more" - or at least avoid saying "pay me less" - with your wardrobe.

Here are some "rules" for work place dress that probably apply to all workplaces in our area: (I already took out ones I thought were grey area so these are pretty basic "no's"!)

Tank tops
Tee shirts
Athletic shorts
Athletic sandals, flip-flops (or any shoes that slap when you walk)
Scuffed shoes
Shiny or see-through fabrics
Tight/revealing clothing
Ripped jeans
Showy belt buckles
Anything dirty, stained, or torn
Shirts with offensive words or pictures
Tattooes/piercings
Fishnet stockings
Visible lingerie (bra straps, garter belts, etc.)
Glitter/club makeup
Messy facial hair
Baseball caps, remove all hats indoors

Refer to your employee handbook or HR for detailed information.
Good luck, Please send comments and questions to jobs@bangordailynews.net