“Job search tips for (formerly) self-employed” plus 3 more |
- Job search tips for (formerly) self-employed
- Job Seekers With Criminal Records Face Tougher Job Search
- Search for MoDOT director narrowed to about 10
- South Bend police: Teen job search turns into robbery
| Job search tips for (formerly) self-employed Posted: 21 Sep 2010 02:01 PM PDT For the AJC One of the things they don't talk about in business startup training is how to explain yourself in an interview if your business fails and you need to find work. Nor do you learn how to discuss with the interviewer the likelihood of your return to that business, should the economy rebound. And certainly missing from the curriculum is the technique required to take orders from a new boss once you've been a boss yourself. Sigh. Maybe it's for the best. After all, if the training for new business owners focused on anything but inevitable success, who would enroll? That said, an awful lot of businesses -- small ones especially -- do go under, particularly in tough economic times like these. And when they do, those business owners are going to need a job, sooner rather than later. Since most business owners are not eligible for unemployment benefits or state-sponsored retraining funds, the situation deteriorates quickly. If you or someone you know falls into this special category of workers, the following job search tips might come in handy. 1. Take stock of your situation. It's reasonable for an interviewer to ask if you plan to revive your business. Do you? If so, when would that be and how would it affect your work with this new employer? At this stage, you may be thinking of the new job as simply a tool to bail you out of a tight situation, but to the employer, it represents the future of his or her company. They will want to understand where they fit into your overall plans. 2. Catalog your skills. As a business operator, you developed at least passing familiarity with dozens of business specialties, from marketing to accounting to facility management. Are any of those skill sets strong enough to become your next job? If you had employees, you can add hiring and supervision to your list. How about the service or product you were selling? That expertise also counts for something. Write it all down and don't be surprised if the list grows quite long. 3. Determine your job target. Now that you know your skill set, it's time to decide what kind of job to seek. Perhaps you already know that you will stay in your field but work for a competitor. Maybe you'll seek work with a vendor. In those cases, your target job title will be fairly obvious. But if you're planning to exit the field, you'll probably be relying on the skills you used to run the company, as opposed to your industry-specific knowledge and skills. 4. Connect with your network. This step usually stings a bit, but delaying here can cost you big-time. It's not uncommon for unemployed business owners to put off talking with their networks "until there's something positive to report." Meaning, the prideful entrepreneur wants to get a job first, then tell everyone. The problem is, you probably need those connections in order to get the job. It won't be easy, but you'll have to swallow that pride and start telling everyone what you need. 5. Get your head straight. Here's another tender spot. When an entrepreneur first starts talking to potential employers, it's difficult to employ the proper levels of respect and humility. Not humiliation, mind you -- there's no shame in closing a business and looking for a job. But the role of humility is critical. You need to appreciate that you are now seeking a role where you will report to someone else, and follow their systems. Which means that interviews cannot be turned into consultations with you telling the employer how to run the company. Don't laugh -- this mistake is quite common, particularly at the beginning of a search. 6. Get your story straight. Whatever you've decided -- to quit the business for good, to run it on the side, to come back to it in a few years -- you need to find a way to communicate that to employers. The trick is to be honest without looking like someone who is itching for the chance to ditch the employee gig once and for all. 7. Give yourself a break. You tried something, and presumably it worked for a while. It may even have worked wondrously. Or perhaps it never did get off the ground and died a sad, whimpering death. It doesn't matter. You get credit for giving it a shot, and for all the things you learned along the way. And to ensure that you actually do get credit for those things, next week's column will focus on resumes for former entrepreneurs. Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Job Seekers With Criminal Records Face Tougher Job Search Posted: 21 Sep 2010 07:40 PM PDT Lexington, NC -- Finding a job in this tight economy is tough. It's even harder for someone with a criminal record. Employment Security Commission job counselors work with applicants with criminal records. Diana Meier is at the Employment Security Commission office in Lexington. She works with applicants with criminal records. Meier explained when employers have a lot of applicants for one job the process of elimination starts with those who have a criminal record. "But we help them with any jobs that are there to see if employers will accept former offenders," Meier explained. She added that there are incentives for employers who hire ex-convicts. Counselors who work with former felons say a steady job lessens the chance they'll return to a path of crime. Project Re-entry works with inmates in the Triad. Rebecca Sauter is Co-founder and Director of the organization. Sauter explained employment specialists help prisoners prepare for the job search before and after they're released. Project Re-entry has programs in 16 counties and 13 prisons across the state. "It's that bridge from the inside to the outside that I think really helps an individual feel that they think they're going back to a community where they have a chance," Sauter stated. "Versus going back to a community where they feel that they're going to be ostracized." Project Re-entry has helped 400 former inmates since the program started seven years ago. And in that time, Sauter said less than ten percent became repeat offenders. WFMY News 2This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Search for MoDOT director narrowed to about 10 Posted: 22 Sep 2010 02:57 AM PDT The search for Missouri's next transportation director has been narrowed to about 10 people. Transportation Commission Chairman Rudy Farber says commissioners will be meeting privately Tuesday to discuss how to proceed with the selection process. Commissioners started out with about 75 names after Director Pete Rahn resigned in April to take a job with a Kansas City engineering firm. Farber says he hopes to have a new director for the Department of Transportation in place by December, but that target date is flexible.  This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| South Bend police: Teen job search turns into robbery Posted: 22 Sep 2010 12:21 PM PDT Story Created: Sep 22, 2010 at 3:18 PM EDT Story Updated: Sep 22, 2010 at 3:18 PM EDT SOUTH BEND — Police say a teenager applying for a job decided he didn't want to work; instead, he pulled a gun and stole a laptop. According to police reports, a teenager had gone to the Youth Services Bureau office in the 2200 block of Lincoln Way West to apply for a job about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. While filling out an application, the teen became frustrated and displayed a weapon. The teen then took a worker's cell phone and car keys, as well as an office laptop computer, before running out the door. Police initially believed the teen had stolen the woman's car but found it untouched in the lot. Officers were unable to find the suspect, who had given an address for an abandoned house on his application. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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