Thursday, August 5, 2010

“Free job search workshop for managers Aug. 11 at Wallingford library” plus 3 more

“Free job search workshop for managers Aug. 11 at Wallingford library” plus 3 more

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Free job search workshop for managers Aug. 11 at Wallingford library

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 10:38 AM PDT

WALLINGFORD — The town of Wallingford and the Workforce Alliance will host a job search all-day workshop for management professionals.

The workshop for middle and upper managers runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the Wallingford Public Library on North Main Street.  Admission is free and includes lunch. Pre-registration is required.

The Management Re-employment Workshop is an interactive experience for job seekers with backgrounds in professional and supervisory/management positions, who want to find jobs at comparable levels. Topics include:

- Setting smart job targets in light of today's job climate

- Empowering your resume

- Short and long-term search strategies

- Your network/your message

- On-line search and applications

- Using social networking media (FaceBook, LinkedIn, Job Boards, etc.)

- Managing your time

The workshop is led by Laura Collins of Collins Group, a human hesources consulting firm with over 20 years of corporate experience. She has held roles in staffing and development in both the finance and pharmaceuticals industries and is an adjunct professor of human resources at Gateway Community College.

The workshop is free and includes lunch. Residents who are interested in participating should reserve a seat by emailing: info@workforcealliance.biz. Or call Robert Fort at 203-624-1493 x242. Seating is limited. All requests will receive replies.

Posted in , on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 1:24 pm Updated: 1:27 pm.

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Job hunting really is a full-time job, experts say

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 09:04 AM PDT

It's a rule of thumb for those looking for work: Treat your search like a job.

"We at the workforce center always try to emphasize that it's a full-time job, that it's the hardest job you will ever have," said Ann Rynda, a job counselor and workshop facilitator at the Hennepin North Workforce Center in Brooklyn Park.

It's no picnic cold-calling strangers pleading for an interview, but studies have shown a strong correlation between the amount of time put into a job search and the speed with which job seekers find work.

Yet few appear to heed the advice.

New research focused on Minnesota white-collar professionals out of work for an average of about four months found just 7 percent logged six hours or more a day on a job search. Nearly 44 percent of the 233 job seekers in the study spent less than three hours a day pounding the pavement.

"Most people don't put in enough time," said Connie Wanberg, an industrial relations professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and one of the authors of the study to be published in the Academy of Management Journal.

Despite signs of life in the job market, it remains a tough time to look for work. Minnesota's jobless rate stood at 6.8 percent in June, considerably better than the 9.5 percent rate for the nation. But forecasters expect it to take another two years or more for the state to recover the more than 140,000 jobs that evaporated in the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

The latest snapshot of U.S. employment comes Friday in the July nonfarm payroll report.

Research hasn't determined how many hours a week is optimal for a job search, but Wanberg said spending three or four hours a day or less doesn't amount to a full-time effort. Her current research is focused on learning more about what happens on a day-to-day basis in the job search and finding out why some people give up and some persist.

Brian Pavek, 53, of Maple Grove has experienced the emotional toll that a long and seemingly fruitless job search can take. Laid off from his manufacturing job in April 2008 when the work was transferred to Malaysia, he is still looking for work.

Early in his quest for a plant supervisor position, he said, he put in about 4 1/2 to six hours a day interviewing and networking during the workweek. After a summer of hearing from former colleagues and associates that jobs were nonexistent as the nation plunged deeper into recession, he pulled back.

To keep his spirits up, he started volunteer work maintaining and building hiking trails throughout the Midwest and fundraising for outdoor projects. Some weeks, that is his full-time job.

He estimated he puts in about two hours a day on his job search when he's not working on a trail, "which is a stretch." He's had some interviews but no offers. His wife has a full-time job, so the bills aren't piling up.

So, what about that advice to make a search a full-time job? "It's not realistic," he said. "All it does is burn you out and make you so bitter that you have to work so hard to achieve something that's not there."

Rynda said she advises job seekers to get out of the house, meet people, network and track down job leads. She figures most people average about 20 to 25 hours a week searching for work, with 90 percent spending the majority of their time responding to job postings on the Internet, a strategy she likens to conducting a search in your pajamas. "You're phoning it in," Rynda said.

In her research, the U's Wanberg tries to break down the daily activities of job seekers. Her most recent study, co-authored with researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Amsterdam, focused on the question of how getting discouraged with a job search affects the amount of time put in.

But their research found that it's encouragement that actually had a more profound impact on the search. When people receive positive signals — such as landing a job interview at a great company — they tend to pull back on the time they put in, waiting for that lead to play out. But that can take weeks, and the lost momentum in a search can be detrimental.

That's why career consultants such as Karen Kodzik hammer away at that basic message: Spend 26 to 32 hours a week talking to people who have jobs in order to get leads and then follow up.

She's among those seeing a pickup in the job market, despite simmering fears of a double-dip recession. She points to two clients who, after searching for a couple of years, recently landed executive jobs. The leads didn't come from a posting, but rather from people who knew people.

"We're still a relational society," Kodzik said. "Getting in front of people is key."

Julie Forster can be reached at 651-228-5189.

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

The job search goes on for many

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 09:56 PM PDT

Paxen Introduces New Online Tool to Help Job Seekers Successfully Prepare and Navigate the Employment Search Process

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 08:07 AM PDT

The company will use the EmployMentor™ offering in a variety of its work-readiness programs throughout the United States


Press Release Source: Paxen Learning On Wednesday August 4, 2010, 11:07 am EDT

MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paxen Learning is providing job seekers with a new weapon in their arsenal of job-search tools. EmployMentor™, an online work-readiness guide developed by the company's publishing division, provides job seekers with much-needed comprehensive instruction and hands-on practice in seeking and securing employment, standing out in a competitive job market, and succeeding in the workplace.

The nine-chapter, web-based instructional guide and tutorial provides an accelerated and targeted approach that spotlights strategies to help job seekers identify career interests and opportunities, write and customize résumés and cover letters, properly prepare for interviews, develop negotiation skills, and excel in a chosen career field. Material in EmployMentor™ fully correlates to the nationally recognized Equipped for the Future adult education standards, which form the backbone of the National Work Readiness Credential.

Currently available as a resource for National Guard soldiers seeking civilian employment opportunities through the Guard's Job Connection Education Program in Texas, EmployMentor™ will be used in a variety of Paxen's work-readiness and life skills-development programs throughout the United States.

"In today's highly competitive workforce environment, it is crucial that job seekers understand and properly use all the resources available to them to stand out amid a crowd of job applicants—and EmployMentor™ addresses this need," said Doug Merlin, Chief Operations Officer, Paxen. "We're very excited to introduce EmployMentor™. This online tool provides excellent insights into best practices and is designed to readily support job seekers of all skill levels and backgrounds."

Topics covered in EmployMentor™ include an overview of the job-search process, in-depth instruction about how to write clear and concise résumés and cover letters, a comprehensive overview of the interview process and best practice techniques to use during the actual interview, details on post-interview protocols including insights and strategies related to salary and benefit negotiations, and strategies to help new employees succeed in the workplace and advance in their chosen careers. Each chapter of EmployMentor™ features easy-to-understand instructions, essential concepts, best-practices strategies, hands-on tutorials and activities, and appropriate supporting information.

Upon successful completion of each chapter, job seekers gain valuable workforce knowledge and proven strategies, and create immediately relevant materials—such as résumés and cover letters—for use in the job-search process.

About Paxen Learning

Paxen Learning specializes in developing and delivering outcome-based educational programs that build academic and employability skills for at-risk youths and adults. Each year, thousands graduate from Paxen programs on their journey toward meaningful employment. The company currently operates 25 programs in 10 states. Its clients and partners include the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Blackboard, Department of Defense, Department of Juvenile Justice, Indiana University High School, Home Builders Institute, National Guard Bureau, The Florida and Hawaii National Guards, state Departments of Labor, and local Workforce Investment Boards. The 25-year-old private, for-profit company is headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, with offices in Tallahassee, Florida, and Maui, Hawaii.

Paxen Learning, 710 Atlantis Road, Melbourne, FL 32904 Tel: 800 247 2936 (www.paxen.com)

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