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Expert Advice on Becoming an Interview Guru

Third Sector — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:09:00 -0800

As the recession intensifies competition in the jobs market, Gordon Carson asks some experts in charity recruitment for their top tips on interviewing and being interviewed For candidates.

Preparing for an interview

"It is the people who have clearly prepared for the interview and can demonstrate a good understanding of our work and key priorities who are most likely to succeed."

- John Ellis, deputy director for volunteering. Barnardo's

"Find out whether the interview will be based on your CV or the application form. Look at the way you've behaved in certain situations in the past as an indication of how you might behave in the role. And have some questions of your own ready!'

- Rebecca Clarke, adviser, organisation and resourcing, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Personal presentation and interview body language

"Dress to match the professional standards of the workplace. Arrive early for your interview to settle in and do a final run- through of your script. your interview, control stress by taking deep breaths."

- Andrea Hefferman. HR manager. Rainbow Trust

"Look like you want the job. The interviewers are often as nervous as the candidate, so the sooner the interview becomes a conversation and allows you to shine, the better. Be positive in your body language, look them in the eye, give a firm handshake - and smile."

- Matthew Page, head of human resources. Mind

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Dealing with interview nerves

"Take your coat off before you sit down. It's amazing how many people sit in an interview in their heavy coat, which immediately makes them feel awkward and uncomfortable. Make eye with the people who are interviewing you. If it's a panel interview, address all of them."

- Rob Hay ter, associate director, recruitment agency TPP Not for Profit

"If you have prepared properly and know the role and the organisation well, there is no reason to be nervous. Remember that the organisation needs you too. Try to control your nerves by speaking slowly. And make sure you allow plenty of time to get there: being late is not good for your nerves."

- Borge Andreassen, head of senior and executive recruitment, Prospectus

How much knowledge should interviewees have about the employer?

"Carry out as much quality research as possible. This is easy to do on the internet, using the organisation's own website and other relevant sites. Research the activities of the organisation and the latest news, its overall mission statement, values, finances, key players in the organisation, services it provides and competitors and business challenges. In-depth research demonstrates true interest and gives you an edge over other candidates."

- Andrea Hefferman, HR manager, Rainbow Trust

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The best sources of information on charity employers

"If the employer is a registered charity, find it on the Charity Commission's website and look at its annual accounts. And don't forget to research your actual interviewers. If the ever trusty Google fails, LinkedIn, Zoom and 123.com are good starting points. Remember to look at the obvious and the less obvious. The organisation's website is a good place to start, but you should also remember to search back through press releases and newsletters to get a flavour of the key issues it is dealing with."

- Sarah Illingworth, director, executive search and selection, People Unlimited

How to handle salary negotiations

"If a recruitment consultancy is involved, salary negotiations tend to be left to the consultant. This can be more comfortable for both sides, because very few people like discussing salaries. You might want a Pounds l 0,000 pay rise, but it is important to consider the whole package when you are negotiating your basic salary. Remember that your new employer will see your former salary when they receive your P60, so don't exaggerate."

- Rot Hauler, associate director, recruitment agency TPP Not for Profit

"Wait until you have been offered the post, be reasonable in your requests and ensure you can justify what you request."

- Matthew Page, head of human resources, Mind

"My philosophy has always been to tackle this head-on at the first interview. This will give the interviewee the opportunity to look at in a more controlled way, especially if there is for clever salary planning."

- Claire Ayerst, director. Charity HR

>>> NEXT: For Interviewers

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For interviewers

Interview formats

"Employers should start with the role and the and experience required. What are the crucial skills you need? How can these be demonstrated in an interview? For example, a presentation on a topic is usually an excellent way to get an idea of a person's thought processes and how they engage with people, especially for a public- facing role. I would recommend always having at least two people on the interview panel, partly to ensure a fair and equality-focused process. Questions should cover the candidates' career history and focus on the specific skills and abilities required for the role they are being interviewed for."

- Borge Andreassen, head of senior and executive recruitment, Prospectus

How to deal with nervous interviewees

"There's no point putting the candidate on edge; you won't see the real person behind the carefully planned CV. I prefer a relaxed style of interviewing, because this puts the candidate at ease. Try not to sit across the desk from the candidate because this creates an added barrier, and always offer them refreshments. If the candidate is junior and has not been to many interviews, it's a good idea to walk and talk them around the site and show them the surroundings. This will relax them before a more structured interview?

- Claire Ayerst, director. Charity HM

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Tests for interviewees

"You should always let the candidate know that they will need to complete the test and, where possible, let them know what it consists of?

- Claire Ayerst. director, Charity HR

"Something fairly simple but specifically tailored to the job and its immediate challenges might take a little time to put together, but can be a costeffective way of testing candidates beyond the traditional interview format. You might, for example, ask a finance director to analyse and summarise some complex data, or get a chief executive to prepare a 'soundbite' in response to breaking news."

- Sarah Illingworth, director, executive search and selection, People Unlimited

How much emphasis should interviewers place on a candidate's commitment to their charitable cause?

"Although the key objective is to recruit someone who can do the job well, it is important to keep in mind the key values and ethos of the organisation. In this sector, candidates also self-select the causes and organisations they want or do not want to work for."

- Borge Andreassen, head of senior and executive recruitment. ProspectUs

"During my 10 years in executive recruitment, I have noticed that although 95 per cent of candidates are great at saying why they'd be good for an organisation, what they'd do for it and how excellent a choice they'd be for the job, a scant 5 per cent remember to tell me why they really want the job and why that particular organisation is one they really want to work for. A subtle reframing really does differentiate candidates in a recruiter's deliberations."

- Sarah Illingworth, director, executive search and selection, People Unlimited

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

To Get Hired, Use a Personal Touch

The Kansas City Star — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:57:00 -0800

After 30 years in the recruiting industry, Dave Flanders believes he's seen the one surefire way to land a job: Give your resume to 100 friends, acquaintances and relatives; tell them you're looking for work; and ask them to keep you in mind.

Usually, Flanders says, a job offer comes before you've even distributed all 100 resumes.

He endorses the technique _ especially in a period of high unemployment and low hiring _ precisely because there are about six job hunters for every advertised job opening.

It works, says the recruiter, a partner with Christopher & Long and HCap Search in Kansas City, because you're not just one of dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants for a posted position.

You're "applying" and "interviewing" for jobs that may not have been conceived yet.

It works because you're using personal contacts.

If you hate that buzzword networking, think of this as talking to people you know.

Not one of your personal contacts may themselves have a job for you. But when you tell them that you're looking and ask them to keep you in mind, they may recommend you to someone who does.

That's the best way for you to gain access to the "hidden" job market _ the small businesses you've probably never heard of that could use your skills.

Despite the recession, some small businesses are ready to hire, but they don't want to make a hiring mistake. They feel safer hiring someone they know or someone who is recommended by someone they know.

Flanders acknowledges that this job hunting technique isn't easy for many midcareer (or older) job hunters. It demands getting "out there," overcoming embarrassment and letting people know you're looking.

Don't worry about trying to target certain people, jobs or skill sets. Small businesses, Flanders said, are more likely to "hire people" than to "fill jobs."

It's not like applying for advertised jobs, when you're going to be tested as a 100 percent perfect fit for the job description. A personal voucher trumps all.

What employers hate about your applications

Diane Stafford, The Kansas City Star — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:09:00 -0800

Job hunters, here's insight into what employers hate about your applications.

Ann Mann, who advises persons in job-transition programs at Lee Hecht Harrison in Overland Park, collected pet peeves from a "recruiters' roundtable."

The hirers' biggest gripes:

- Applicants who apply to several positions at the same company at the same time.

"It's an employers' market. They can be very particular about finding the best fit for each job," Mann explains. "If you apply to several different jobs at once, you look desperate and not discriminating."

- Resumes that go longer than two pages or are hard to read.

"Use a clear type font. Don't use colored paper. Don't include a picture. Use bold face to make important things stand out, and organize it logically," she suggests.

- Jargon, abbreviations or titles that don't mean anything to outside eyes.

"Don't say you were a PM3 at Sprint," she warns. "Don't even say you were a project manager. That's overused. What kind of project did you manage? Tell me your talent, your accomplishments."

- Misspellings and bad grammar.

"Quickest way to the 'out' pile there is," she stresses.

- Generic, confusing or inappropriate summary statement at the top of your resume.

"You need to tailor it to the specific job and briefly, strongly state what you can bring to the job," she advises.

- Inappropriate e-mail addresses or phone greetings.

"Between Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail, you ought to be able to create an e-mail address out of some form of your name," Mann counsels. "Look and sound businesslike."

- Stalkers.

"Be tenacious, but don't stalk. Don't call more than once a day. We recommend every seven to 10 days, alternating between e-mail and phone messages. Keep it short, a positive statement about your continued interest in the job.

"And remember that your sense of urgency and the hirer's are two completely separate things."

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Human Resources — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:27:00 -0800

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, devised a series of rules that describe our reactions to technology at different stages of our lives. They state: anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works; anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new, exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it; and anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things. So I think a recent article suggesting the top l0 'in-demand' jobs for 2010 did not even exist in 2004 would have made Adams smile - proof 15-35 year-olds were destined for exciting new careers. And if the track record of UK employers is to be believed he may well turn out to be right, because in the past it's been the younger end of the workforce that has been pressed to acquire the know-how required for organizations to seize opportunities. Why? Because most line managers will tell you there's no point trying to get the existing workforce to do anything 'new, exciting and revolutionary'. You can't teach old dogs new tricks they say. But can you?

A few years ago I recall a heated debate between two colleagues on this very question. People clearly change as their lives progress, argued the junior colleague: 'I've changed, and I only graduated five years ago.' Her boss shook his head. Tests such as the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, he corrected her, identify your personality type and this never, ever changes. 'You may think you've changed - but that change is an illusion.'

Research would suggest he was 50% right. Your personality type is innate and is very unlikely to change. The problem is the same studies also indicate he was 50% profoundly wrong, because, as Carl Jung (on whose work the Meyers-Briggs tests are based) stated, we spend the first half of our lives confirming and using our strongest personality preferences and the second half developing the lesser used functions to add depth to our personalities.

In short, even though your personality type may not change, you certainly do. And I believe this reality is highlighted when you talk to people who have been forced to reappraise their career as the result of redundancy or some other radical change in their personal circumstances.

For many of these individuals, fate has obliged them to take an objective look at both their total skill set (the skills they have acquired over their whole lives, not just in their current job) and their current personality preferences - and then map these onto the ever-changing employment landscape. And the results can be transformational. I expect most readers will know at least one or two such individuals who now regard what at first appeared to be a setback as 'the best thing that ever happened to me'.

Which begs the question: is HR missing a trick here? Are we making an assumption that a career has a straight-line trajectory with no crossroads, deviations or U-turns? And will we be failing both our people and our organizations if we allow this assumption to be maintained as we enter the upturn?

When I joined McDonald's I was struck by the number of people whose careers had moved between organizational disciplines in anything but a straight-line trajectory. I soon discovered, however, that encouraging such moves is part of the corporate DNA. After all, I was told, if the organization's founder, Ray Kroc, was able to successfully make the switch from milkshake-machine salesman to quick-service restaurant operator at the age of 52, why shouldn't others be given the same opportunity?

This is a philosophy I think Adams would have endorsed. After all, as he once observed: "I may not have gone where I intended to go,but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Whos Firing: Layoffs for the Week Ending 10-30-09

Phil Rosenberg — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:26:00 -0800

Who's Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing (or rumoring) layoffs for the week ended 10-30-09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Layoffs announced and rumored this week were in the Transportation, Government, Publishing, Health care, Manufacturing, Financial/Banking, and Education sectors.

Inclusion on this listing doesn’t mean the entire industry is down, as many from the same sector appeared on the “Who’s Hiring” article published 10/26/09. It is interesting to note that while Federal hiring is on the rise, a number of State and Local governments have continued to see cutbacks for over the past month.

Transportation, especially airline related companies announced significant layoffs this week, including Boeing, US Airlines, and American Airlines.

Publishers continued to shed jobs as Associated Press, Forbes, Southern Progress, and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette announced layoffs, while rumors continued at Conde-Nast about which units would face job cuts.

While many Healthcare organizations made the top hiring company lists, a number of Healthcare companies were laying off such as Quest Diagnostics (they are also on the top hiring company list), Dorothea Dix Hospital, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, LCA-Vision, and TomoTherapy. Education organizations including Michigan State, University of Maine, and State of Arizona teachers. Princeton & Dartmouth also announced layoffs, but the numbers were too small to make this lists’ cutoff (50).

Job seekers: You might want to look in greener pastures than these companies.

Organizations announcing or rumored layoffs week ended 10/30/09:

Southern Progress (Time, Inc), Birmingham AL (90) – Click to view
Boeing Corp, Kennedy Space Center FL (330) - click to view
Boeing Corp, National (500) - click to view
US Airways, National (1,000) – Click to view
American Airlines, Kansas City MO (700) – Click to view
Quest Diagnostics, Wallingford CT (60) – Click to view
Milwaukee County, Milwaukee WI (200) – Click to view
Diversco, Winston-Salem NC (55) – Click to view
Tracy CA (69) – Click to view
State of Massachusetts (1,000) – Click to view
ComScore, San Fransisco CA (50) – Click to view
Target, Minneapolis MN (85) – Click to view
Royal Dutch Shell, International (5,000) – Click to view
Michigan State University, East Lansing MI (600) - click to view
Bath Iron Works, Bath ME (191) - click to view
YRC Worldwide Inc, Overland Park KS (900) - click to view
John D. Hollingsworth on Wheels Inc, Greenville SC (190) - click to view
General Electric, Bloomington IL (96) - click to view
Microsemi Corp, Scottsdale AZ (200-300) - click to view
Dorothea Dix Hospital, Raleigh NC (300) - click to view
Shaw Industries, Tifton GA (200) - click to view
Associated Press, International (400?) - click to view
Site, Huntington WV (112) - click to view
Aramark/Broward County Jail, Pompano Beach FL (96) - click to view
Hendrickson International Trailer Suspension Systems, Canton OH (189) - click to view
State of Missouri (700) - click to view
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida, Jacksonville FL (150) - click to view
Forbes, National (100) - click to view
Intermet/Archer Creek Foundry, Campbell County VA (192) - click to view
University of Maine School System, Augusta ME (100) - click to view
Arthur J. Gallagher, Itasca IL (400) - click to view
Harley-Davidson Inc, Talladega GA (100) - click to view
Thomas & Betts Corporation, Cleveland OH (117) - click to view
Honeywell, Springfield IL (120) - click to view
HanesBrands, Forsyth NC (240) - click to view
Solano County, CA (161?) - click to view
Georgia-Pacific Corp, Fordyce AR (300) - click to view
Caterpillar, National (2500) - click to view
Arrow Electronics, Melville NY (100) - Click to view
Supreme Foam, Archdale NC (50) - Click to view
Perot Systems Corp, Lincoln NE (54) - Click for view
Capital One Bank, Melville NY (99) - Click to view
Gianni Versace, International (350) - Click to view
LCA-Vision Inc., Cincinnati OH (70) - Click to view
Wood-Mode, Kraemer PA (95) - Click to view
Direct Energy, Richardson TX (85) - Click to view
New United Motor Manufacturing, Fremont CA (3,764) – Click to view
USS-Posco, Pittsburg CA (50) – Click to view
Bank of America, Pasadena CA (174) – Click to view
Assurant Specialty Property Tustin, Orange, Santa Ana CA (256) – Click to view
Lennox Hearth Products, Inc, Orange CA (71) – Click to view
Rockwell Collins, San Jose CA (192) – Click to view
Standard Chartered Bank, Miami FL (72) – Click to view
Mohawk Flush Doors, subsidiary of Masonite Corp, South Bend IN (73) – Click to view
GECOM Corp, Frankfort KY (160) – Click to view
Miller Bros. Coal, LLC, Prestonburg, KY (225) – Click to view
New River Foundry, Radford, VA (76) – Click to view
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock AR (Unknown) – Click to view
TomoTherapy, Madison WI (10%) – Click to view
City of Cuyahoga Falls OH (53) – Click to view
US Steel, Granite City IL (Unknown) – Click to view
Citigroup, Las Vegas NV (75) – Click to view
City of Grand Rapids MI (Unknown) – Click to view
Dutchess County NY (70) – Click to view
Seattle WA Department of Planning & Development (Unknown) – Click to view
Fairpoint Communication, National (Unknown) – Click to view
State of Arizona Teachers (described as “Massive”) – Click to view
Guardian Auto Glass, Auburn IN (64) – Click to view
City of Birmingham AL (800) – Click to view
State of Pennsylvania (Estimated in hundreds) – Click to view

Source: Google, Twitter, AllPinkSlips.com, Telonu.com, TechCrunch.com, CoStar.com, Gawker, Screwedd.com

Readers – If you know of employers announcing significant layoff plans, or employers reducing large numbers of employees, please comment below to add to this list.

Executives exploring Career Change: For a free 30 minute resume consultation, or career advice for executives, email your resume confidentially to reCareered (phil.reCareered@gmail.com), and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Staff, Managers, Entrepreneurs, and career changers outside the US: Send your resume to phil.reCareered@gmail.com to enroll in a free group teleseminar "Accelerate Your Job Search - tools you can use".

Resume Inflation

Lee Salz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:22:00 -0700

Accomplishments.

In sales, there is an old expression that says if you can't prove it, don't say it. This usually refers to the dialogue between a sales person and a prospect, but it is also applicable for a resume. As a hiring manager, you are well within your rights to ask candidates for documentation of the accomplishments they list on their resume. If they don't have documentation, perhaps a request for a reference for that accomplishment is appropriate.

Checking every single accomplishment is over the top, but checking one or two accomplishments makes sense. I suggest those that seem the most impressive to you about the candidate be verified. If someone told me that they personally doubled the size of the company in one year, I would want to see proof of that!

2: Title→

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Title.

Sales people have more titles than there are prospects in the world. I can't keep track of all of them any more. However, those titles don't necessarily correspond to responsibility. A small company may call their only sales person a Vice President while a large company may call a person performing the exact same role a sales representative.

While reviewing the resume, don't limit your perusal to the title. Dig a bit into the responsibilities that the individual had. During the interview process, it is critical that you ask questions to understand the role and responsibility that goes with the title.

Where some companies get in trouble is they look to hire a senior sales person and don't consider candidates with higher level (Vice President, for example) titles. It is important to analyze the responsibilities that the individual had in their capacity to see if this individual matches your needs regardless of what you call this role. If the resume is unclear about this, ask the candidate for details.

3: Dates→

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Employer dates.

If a sales person has a gap, or gaps, in their employment meaning they did not leave one job and go directly to another one, they will show years of employment, but not months. This creates the illusion of continuous employment. If you background screen as part of your hiring process and employment verification is part of that scope, this will be identified at that time.

However, that takes time and dollars. But, why wait until the end of the process to learn something you can know now? When you see years on a resume, ask the candidate to provide months of employment too. Ask questions to understand the gaps. You may still elect to hire the person, based on the explanation. At least, you get the complete picture.

4: Training→

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Training programs.

Many sales people list the training programs that they have completed on their resume, but who verifies that? Guess what, no one does! When hiring IT professionals, it is common to check training and certification completion. Not so, with sales people. So, what risk does a sales person have by stating that they have completed the "Miller-Heiman Strategic Selling" course on their resume? None! A suggestion is to ask for a copy of their completion certificate. If they have truly taken the course, you will see a confident reaction. If they have only read the book, or perhaps, not even that, you will see them squirm in their seat.

5: College→

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College Degree.

When I look at the education section of a resume, I expect to see college name, degree completed, and graduation date. However, I regularly see that degree or graduation date, or both are omitted. Red flag! Sure, a background check will expose that too, but why wait until post-offer to find out? When you see missing information on the resume, ask the candidate point-blank, if they graduated college, what year, and with what major? Some omit their graduation year to hide their age, but others do it to create the illusion of degree completion. Unfortunately, you will find many sales people who list a college and year, and hope you won't ask any other questions.

I don't believe that most sales people intend to dupe their potential employer, but I've also been around the block long enough to know that the percentage that "inflate" is high enough to warrant a circumspect analysis of the resume.

Prep for the Top 10 Interview Questions

Carole Martin | Monster — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:26:00 -0700

Too many job seekers stumble through interviews as if the questions are coming out of left field. But many interview questions are to be expected. Study this list and plan your answers ahead of time so you’ll be ready to deliver them with confidence.

First Question→

11 Writing Mistakes that Make You Look Dumb

SalesHQ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:12:00 -0700

Professional writers often worry that their work is unnecessary. After all, can't anyone with even a basic education write? The answer: no, they can't. Even college graduates don't seem to be learning composition basics.

Of course not everyone is going to be the next Mark Twain, but career success does depend on not looking stupid. Sure, some clients, coworkers, or resume readers might make some of these mistakes themselves. But it takes just one person to see just one mistake for you to be discounted.

Avoid these 11 mistakes and get the job, make the sale, and write better!

FIRST MISTAKE

10 New Sites for Job Seekers

Brian Moore & Chris Erikson | New York Post — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:52:00 -0700

By now we all know Monster.com and LinkedIn, but practically every day new Web sites launch that aim to help you find jobs, stay on top of your industry, improve your career prospects or otherwise help you along in your work life. We sifted through the latest offerings and compiled the following list of sites that are worth a click.

BRAZEN CAREERIST Imagine a slam mix of LinkedIn and Facebook catering to the professional networking needs of Gen Yers, and you've imagined Brazen Careerist. The idea behind the site is to combine the professional foundation of the former with the interactive, social features of the latter so younger workers can actively create a professional network. Careerist profiles focus on ideas rather than the job experience that LinkedIn emphasizes, says CEO Penelope Trunk. "There's a reason why the average age of a LinkedIn user is 40," she says. "Brazen Careerist levels the playing field." Careerist takes its Gen Y mandate seriously in other ways, as well - its blog is filled with how-to videos which spare young up-and-comers the trouble of reading, you know, words and stuff.

BINTRO Bintro is a job-search site that uses inferential matching rather than keywordbased matching. So if a trapeze artist is looking for a job, Bintro won't simply search for trapeze artist openings but for all job listings that come under the broader rubric of performer. "We're looking at the [general] definition of what you told us," says CEO Richard Stanton. Bintro has some other notable features. Every 3.5 seconds, it re-searches its database for matches. It's free to both potential employees and employers. And it allows potential matches to communicate anonymously, so you can keep your job search on the DL if, say, you're currently employed.

JOBULOUS Manhattan-based Jobulous is the latest in a series of sites designed to give the inside scoop on working at a given company, direct from anonymous employees. Founder Ross Siegel launched it after he graduated from business school at NYU and going to work for a new media company that had a great rep but proved a disappointment. Having had more info before taking the job would have spared him the trouble, he figured. Hence, Jobulous, where visitors post "job reviews" that cover how much they earn, what the workplace culture is like, how their bosses treat them, and so forth. Then they can peruse others' ratings, which can be searched in various ways. Given the newness of the site, it has yet to generate a meaningful database of responses, but it's smartly put together.

TWEET MY JOBS Twitter is nothing if not fast, and Tweet My Jobs is a free job search engine that puts that idea into play for job seekers. The process is simple: post your resume and a brief "tweet" about yourself and the type of job you're looking for. When a job match appears, you'll receive instant notification - perfect for Twitter obsessives who constantly check their cellphones for updates. To keep you from being buried under an avalanche of other tweeting job seekers, the site allows you to "retweet" your resume every 24 hours so you can stay at the top of the list. Tweet My Jobs is a free job search engine that puts that idea into play for job seekers. Tweet My Jobs looks to be a killer ap, at least until someone comes up with Pwicter.com, where people send messages using only 25 or fewer emoticons. Give it six months. Guaranteed.

COWORKERS This brand-new site follows the model of Ed Koch, who as mayor famously queried constituents with "How'm I doin'?" The concept is to aim that question at work colleagues, requesting feedback by forwarding various review forms for them to fill out. In addition to general reviews of your job performance, you can request feedback on your interpersonal skills or "core values," as well as on a specific achievement such as a report or a presentation. The site - which calls itself a "career development and reputation management" tool - offers a dizzying number of options. Feedback can be made anonymously or not, it can be requested or offered unprompted. Results can be kept private or made public for bosses and recruiters to see, and can be viewed in various formats, such as graphs and pie charts. So it takes some navigating, but it may be worth it to see how you stack up in your colleagues' eyes.

FIREDUP NETWORK In spite of its name, the Manhattan-based FiredUpNetwork.com is primarily a resource site and secondarily a networking site. Expanding the range of possibilities for the unemployed beyond simply outlining resources for finding work, the site lets visitors research opportunities such as starting a new business, potential business investors, post-graduate degrees and buying or selling a business. "It's kind of like LinkedIn meets Wikipedia," says founder Matthew Pizzi. "I basically created a foundation of starting points, of resources. Now it's up to the community to use them and add to them."

ZOOSA For those of the do-gooder persuasion, zoosa.org is the site to visit. It lists jobs and volunteer positions in the clean-tech, education and non-profit arenas. It's a perfect destination for those who can't find a job but would like to keep their skills hot by volunteering for a nonprofit, a move that networking experts say can often lead to a paying gig.

HOW I GOT LAID OFF It's no surprise that not all employers handle layoffs gracefully. HowIGotLaidOff.com is a blog that calls these reprobates on the carpet, allowing victims to chronicle their horrific tales of getting the boot. And horrific they are, from a p.r. exec who was fired by her alcoholic boss after her abusive husband attacked her at work to a nonprofit worker in Kenya who got canned after witnessing the misappropriation of funds. (Naturally, his boss waited until after he finished a seven-day stint laid up in a rural Kenyan hospital before letting him go.) Visitors can submit their own tales of woe or spend hours reading about the misery of others. The blog won't land you a job, but it'll make you feel better about not having one.

PATH 101 Path 101 is for job seekers wrestling with the ultimate question of what they really want to do. It has a personality test, career advice and a fancy resume analysis service that helps users pinpoint, among other things, where their skills are valued and what skills they need if they want to make a career switch. All you have to do is upload your resume. Rather than finding specific jobs, "We're more focused on helping people figure out what they want to do and where they might fit," says CEO Charlie O'Donnell. In a couple of weeks, Path 101 will add a search function to its resume database, allowing employers and others to take a gander.

BEYOND Beyond.com compiles job listings and resumes from about 15,000 niche job sites from around the country broken down by industry (e.g., accounting) and geography (e.g., Miami). The result is a more targeted approach to the job-seeking process which eliminates much of the dross, particularly for employers seeking candidates. Just for laughs, we searched for "shoemaker," figuring the career is about as niche as you could get, and actually found a listing, for a shoe-designing job at Oakley, the sunglasses firm. Then again, the search also yielded an accounting professorship in Nebraska, with resumes submitted to a certain Dr. Shoemaker.

THE OFFICE Here at @work we're attuned to what wage slaves really need, so to that end this list wouldn't be complete without a Web site that offers cube jocks nothing more useful than a prime way to waste time. At "The Office" home page, you can indulge in the great workplace tragicomedy with archived episodes as well as games and other extras.

Originally published by BRIAN MOORE and CHRIS ERIKSON.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Planning, Emotions Affect Landing Job

UPI — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:34:00 -0700

U.S. scientists say sound planning activities and positive emotions have a large impact on success in finding a job.

University of Missouri researchers say unemployment is more challenging than ever and the process of looking for work is tiring, but it is important to expect rejections and develop a coping strategy ahead of time.

Maintaining positive emotions throughout the process can help improve the chances of getting a job, the researchers say.

"We found it most interesting that metacognitive activities - thinking about a plan, acting on a plan and reflecting upon that plan - were important early in the job search while having positive emotions were important later in the job search," Daniel Turban, professor at the University of Missouri, says in a statement.

The study, published in Personal Psychology, finds metacognitive activities - including goal setting and plan development - affect resume submission and success in first interviews, while the ability to maintain positive emotions plays a larger role during second interviews and receiving a final job offer.

"People don't have strategies, they don't assess their plans, and they don't think about their strategies and reflect on whether it's working or how to make them work better," Turban says. "They just don't do it."

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Customize Your Cover Letter to the Ad

Kim Isaacs | Monster Resume Expert — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:01:00 -0700

Found the perfect job through an ad? Before you whisk off your resume and cover letter, study the ad and determine how your qualifications match the employer's requirements. Armed with this information, you can craft a cover letter positioning yourself as the ideal candidate.

For example, look at this sample job ad:

Outside Sales Rep

Our client, a fast-growing, Staten Island, NY-based software company has an opening for an outside sales professional.

Requirements:

A minimum of 3 years' outside business-to-business experience selling enterprise software

The ability to develop a list of prospects, build a pipeline of opportunities and close business

A proven background working within a quota and exceeding sales targets

Ability to demonstrate software and manage a complex sales cycle

Strong verbal and written communication skills

Availability to travel at least 50%

Bachelor's degree preferred

Compensation:

Competitive base salary plus commission and company car.

Average first year income $85K+.

Full benefits

Quarterly sales contests

If you are a true sales hunter and an energetic self-starter with the desire to be part of a fast-growing software firm, submit your resume and cover letter to Brandon Marks at BMarks@somedomain.com. Reference #28903888.

A job posting’s Requirements section provides a roadmap you can address point-by-point in your cover letter to build your case to get called for the interview.

Let’s take a look at a cover letter, written by Susan, a fictional job seeker. See how she leverages information from the job posting, and then get to work on tailoring your own cover letters in similar ways -- the extra work can make a big difference in your job search.

Let an expert write you a job-winning resume and cover letter.

Your Cover Letter Needs Work

Kim Isaacs | Monster Resume Expert — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:37:00 -0700

Feeling overwhelmed by the cover letter feedback you've received? Not sure where to begin to make improvements? If you’ve had a cover letter critique and are now faced with harsh criticism, here's help from career professionals on what to do next.

Get Started!

Channel Your Cover Letter Feedback

Kim Isaacs | Monster Resume Expert — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:37:00 -0700

Prioritize the Feedback

Most professional resume-writing firms also offer cover letter services, so if you're not having much success improving your letter on your own, it may be worthwhile to hire a professional.

"I have seen many job searches stalled, because the individual had a terrific resume written by a professional but did not want to pay for a cover letter," says Sally McIntosh, chair of the Certification Commission for the Nationally Certified Resume Writer credential and owner of Advantage Resumes in St. Louis.

Break your critique advice down into three categories: must-do, should-do and ways to outshine your competitors.

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Language Mechanics

Obvious errors should be tackled first, even if you do nothing more, advises Norine Dagliano, a certified resume writer, job search strategist and owner of EKM Inspirations. "Spelling, grammar, punctuation and typographical errors fall into this category," she says.

What's YOUR Cover Letter IQ?

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Structure and Basic Content

"If the letter is not in appropriate business letter format, if it is too long or too short or if it fails to say why the job seeker is writing, attempt these changes next," says Dagliano.

Although more challenging than correcting typos, revisions to a letter's structure and basic content are usually not too difficult and can significantly improve your letter, she adds.

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Rewrites and Major Overhauls

After tackling the first two categories, it's time to address advice you received on further strengthening your letter.

"This feedback might include suggestions that you explore more of the employer's needs in your cover letter or write a stronger sell paragraph that gives examples of how you have addressed similar needs in previous work settings," Dagliano says.

"This is a much higher level of feedback and requires critical thinking and strong communication skills." So don’t be too hard on yourself if you're having trouble making these more advanced revisions, she adds.

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Get a Second Opinion

If you think your cover letter reviewer's recommendations are off-base, McIntosh suggests you get another assessment from someone else and see if the comments are similar. If they are, McIntosh suggests you make the changes.

"If two professionals agree, go with their opinions,” she says. “They deal with cover letters every day, whereas job seekers deal with them only when looking for a new job.”

But what if you still disagree with the feedback? Dagliano’s advice: “Ask yourself if it is because you do not understand the feedback or if it is because you think the reviewer is wrong. Ask for clarification about the recommendations, and make the changes that work for you."

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Set Aside Your Ego

Still struggling to accept negative feedback? You might be letting your ego get in the way. "Job seekers need to put their egos aside long enough to grasp what the reviewer is saying,” says McIntosh. “The writer wants you to improve your cover letter and have a successful job search.”

If you listen to the advice of an objective reviewer, you can transform your cover letter into a powerful marketing tool that can jump-start your job search.

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15 Companies Hiring Now

SalesHQ — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:34:00 -0700

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Brown-Forman Corporation

Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Sonoma-Cutrer, Korbel and 31 other alcohol brands

Brown-Forman employs 4,440 people worldwide with about 1,300 located in Louisville. Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies and among the top 10 largest global spirits companies, sells its brands in more than 135 countries and has offices in cities across the globe. In all, Brown-Forman has more than 35 brands in its portfolio of wines and spirits.

Industry: Wine and Spirits

Corporate Offices: Louisville, Kentucky

Other Major Office Branches: North American branches include Versailles, KY; Braintree, MA; Dallas, TX; Lebanon, TN; Lynchburg, TN; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Hopland, CA; Newport Beach, CA; San Rafael, CA and Windsor, CA

How They've Handled the Recession: There hasn't been much of a hit to Brown-Forman and its brands. Last quarter sales jumped 4.6%, posted higher earnings, and raised its fiscal year earnings. In a Reuters report, chief executive Paul Varga said “Thus far we are doing fine. These results also reinforce our belief that premium wines and spirits are an affordable luxury in both good times and bad.”

Working at Brown-Forman: At Brown-Forman, we focus on developing the people who build our brands. We begin by recruiting and hiring people of the highest quality and character and then help these talented people grow through formalized professional development programs, such as our award-winning Brand Building University. Less formal training, such as peer-to-peer coaching and our mentoring program, reinforces our guiding philosophy to constantly encourage and enable our employees to grow, learn, and realize their full potential.

Career Opportunities at Brown-Forman

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Kraft

Cool Whip, DiGiorno, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Oscar Mayer, Maxwell House, Nabisco, Planters, Ritz, and over a hundred more

Kraft has approximately 103,000 employees worldwide and more than 180 manufacturing and processing
facilities worldwide.

Industry: Food and Beverage

Corporate Offices: Global Corporate Headquarters in Northfield, Illinois

Other Major Office Branches: Glenview, Illinois; East Hanover, New Jersey; Madison, Wisconsin; Tarrytown, New York

How They've Handled the Recession: Kraft products are present in more than 99% of U.S. households, and even in a recession, that type of figure isn't likely to change. More now than ever, people are turning to convenient and affordable groceries, over the previously fashionable organic and high-cost foods. The Business Mirror reports, "Sales of Kraft’s boxed mac-and-cheese rose to $193.1 million in the first quarter, 10 percent over the previous year, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market-data company." Economist also cite Kraft's cutting of food costs, rather than increasing prices like their competitors, as driving more sales for the company.

Working at Kraft: Each location offers extensive convenience services, including fitness facilities, banking centers, on-site dining, on-site dry cleaning, some office locations even have car oil changing services. Also, all sites observe an "appropriate attire" policy, enabling employees to choose to wear traditional business attire or less formal alternatives.

Career Opportunities at Kraft

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Philip-Morris

Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Merit, Parliament, and 14 other cigarette brands

PM USA has five regional sales offices, 22 sectional sales offices and a field sales force of approximately 2,700 employees located throughout the U.S. and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Industry: Tobacco Products

Corporate Offices: Richmond, Virginia

Other Major Office Branches: Cabarrus County, North Carolina and 22 Sales offices across the country including Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Seattle, Washington; Bedminster, NJ; Mandeville, Louisiana; Berwyn, PA; Tampa, FL; Milford, OH; Wixom, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL; Overland Park, KS; Denver, CO; Pleasanton, CA; Los Angeles, CA

How They've Handled the Recession: Hermann Waldemer, chief financial officer at Philip Morris International, calls the tobacco industry "very recession-resilient." People are willing to sacrifice a lot of luxuries during tough times, but most have a hard time cutting back on this vice. Shares of Philip Morris have fallen nearly 30% from the year’s highs, but continue to outperform the S&P 500. On December 8th, the The Montley Fool, put PMI on the top of the list "5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop." Plus, the foreign demand for cigarettes remains strong, keeping the bottom line afloat.

Working at Philip-Morris: For three years in a row, BusinessWeek put PM USA in its list of the 50 best places to launch a career. PM USA jumped 11 spots to No. 32 in the 2008 rankings. Richmond Magazine named PM USA to its annual "Great Places to Work" list in November 2007. The magazine featured various company benefits and amenities, while highlighting "an average tenure of 17 years for salaried and hourly employees and a one-year retention rate of 97 percent in 2006."

Find Career Opportunities at Philip-Morris:

CantBeatTheExperience.com

PMI Career Opportunities Search Page

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Abbott Labs

15 popular prescriptions, 15 popular medical products, 9 nutritional products including Ensure, Pedialyte and ZonePerfect

Abbot Labs is a 120+ year-old company. They employee 68,000 people worldwide and have more than 100 facilities worldwide. Their products are sold in more than 130 countries.

Industry: Pharmaceutical Health Care

Corporate Offices: North suburban Chicago, Illinois

Other Major Office Branches: Parsippany, New Jersey; Worcester, Massachusetts; Ludwigshafen, Germany

How They've Handled the Recession: Medical care is an essential area for people to spend money in, regardless of a downturn in the economy. People will still get their prescriptions, hospitals will still need equipment, sick kids will still need Pedialyte. "Our products are the kind that people rely on and need, regardless of economic conditions," CEO Miles White says. Furthermore, Abbot Labs' products are sold internationally. USA Today reports, "Abbott's third-quarter sales this year soared 18% to $7.5 billion, boosted by autoimmune disorder drug Humira and drug-coated metal stents for heart-related surgery. About half of Abbott's third-quarter sales were international."

Working at Abbot Labs:

Abbott has been named to DiversityInc magazine's annual "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list for the fifth consecutive year.

Named one of America's Most Admired Companies every year since 1984 by Fortune magazine

Ranked 96 on "The Fortune 500" list of the largest U.S. based corporations (based on 2007 earnings)

Ranked 167 on the Forbes 2000 list (based on 2007 figures)

Ranked No. 23 in 2007 ranking of world's 100 most respected companies by Barron's

Dow Jones Sustainability Index: Listed among world leaders in economic, environmental and social performance four straight years (2005-2008)

Career Opportunities at Abbott Labs

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Home Away

HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, GreatRentals.com, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, OwnersDirect.co.uk, FeWo-direkt.de and Abritel.fr.

The HomeAway website has more than 122,000 vacation rental homes, condos, guesthouses, cottages, and cabins in 118 countries. Travelers can search vacation rental listings for free and find accommodations by the night, week or month. For calendar availability and reservations, HomeAway.com directly connects travelers with private homeowners and property managers who know their vacation homes best. Property owners who rent their vacation homes can gain valuable marketing exposure by listing their property on the website for an annual fee. HomeAway is No. 1 in the online vacation-rental sector — a $48 billion market in the USA and Europe, according to research firms PhoCusWright and Illuminas.

Industry: Travel and Hospitality

Corporate Offices: Austin, TX

Other Major Office Branches: New York, NY; London and Ashtead, Surrey in England; Kassel, Germany; Marseilles, France.

How They've Handled the Recession: HomeAway.com's service is attractive for both home renters and property owners and managers, especially in a credit-crunch and mortgage crisis. Property owners and managers that would sell their vacation homes under normal economic circumstances now are stuck with their space. Utilizing a site like HomeAway.com, they can now rent or lease their travel homes to interested travelers for cheaper than the cost of a hotel. This business model has proved profitable with sales up 58% over 2007. Keeping their sights ambitious, HomeAway is aiming for annual revenue of $500 million within five years.

Working at HomeAway: The company cites one of its strongest selling points to potential employees as its awesome location in Austin, TX. Austin was ranked in CNN Money's Top 100 Places to Live."

Career Opportunities at HomeAway

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Costco Wholesale

Costco Warehouses: 400 locations in 40 U.S. States

Costco Wholesale is a multi-billion dollar global retailer with 526 warehouse club operations in eight countries. Membership sales jobs and marketing jobs abound. They employ 104,000 full and part-time workers in the U.S.

Industry: Supplies and Goods Warehouse

Corporate Offices: Issaquah, Washington.

Other Major Office Branches: Regional offices located in each warehouse in 40 States

How They've Handled the Recession: At the end of their fiscal year on August 30, 2008, they made $72.5 billion in revenue. By selling things in bulk at discounted prices, Costco is the go-to store for small to medium size business and individuals that have lots of mouths to feed and clean after. But the bargains come at a price: businesses and people become members to shop at Costco and must pay $50 - $100 a piece. And although stock prices dropped steadily through September and October, the company is on the rise again in November and December. With office supply chains like Office Depot and technology stores like Circuit City closing shop, Costco will remain (with Wal-Mart) a discount-retail leader.

Working at Costco: Costco's career site asserts "Today, we have accountants, lawyers, buyers, and human resources personnel who began their careers as stockers or cashiers in our locations. We believe that Costco's future officers are currently working in our warehouses, depots, and business centers, as well as in our Home and Regional Offices." Costco was named by Washington CEO Magazine as one of the top three companies to work for in the state of Washington. According to an MSN Money report "(Employees) are paid well and enjoy generous health-care benefits."

To find a job at Costco, look for warehouse in your area. Each one has a regional office and "Most of them are located near or inside a Costco warehouse for additional convenience" according to the Costco Employment website.

Career Opportunities at CostCo:

Costco Career Homepage

Home and Regional Office Jobs

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Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart stores, Wal-Mart.com, Sam's Club, Sam'sClub.com

Wal-Mart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide, including more than 1.4 million in the United States. Wal-Mart is not only one of the largest private employers in the U.S., but the largest in Mexico and one of the largest in Canada as well.

Industry: Retail

Corporate Offices: Bentonville, Arkansas

Other Major Office Branches: More than 4,100 facilities in the United States. Walmart.com's office are located in Brisbane, CA

How They've Handled the Recession: Wal-Mart is a company meant to thrive during a time when people's wallets are thin. Plus, their brand is well recognized as a store that offers low prices and deep discounts. This brand-recognition brings cash-strapped people flocking to buy from stores all over the country. Additionally, Wal-Mart sites conservative financial and operational practices, such as tight inventory control as contributing to their current success. According to USA Today, "During an analysts' meeting in October, CEO Lee Scott said that Wal-Mart is doing "extraordinarily well," and that founder Sam Walton built the company to thrive during downturns...At the analysts' meeting, even cautious Wal-Mart executives couldn't resist a little crowing. "How many companies," said Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe, "could stand before you today and say that their balance sheet is stronger today than it was a year ago?"

Working at Wal-mart: The average, full-time hourly wage for Wal-Mart associates is $10.83 and is even higher in urban areas. The average full-time hourly wage is $11.62 in Atlanta, $12.57 in Boston, $11.52 in Chicago, $11.26 in Dallas, $11.49 in San Francisco and $11.48 in New York City. (All metro figures based on MSA). Additionally, associates receive performance-based bonuses.

Career Opportunities at Wal-Mart

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McDonald's

McDonald's franchise restaurants, Ronald McDonald House Charity

Is the leading global food service retailer. McDonald's employs 1.6 million people in more than 30000 restaurants worldwide; it serves 52 million people in more than 100 countries each day.

Industry: Chain Restaurant

Corporate Offices: Oak Brook, Illinois

Other Major Office Branches: Bethesda, Maryland

How They've Handled the Recession: When times are tough, it is hard to resist the prices of a Dollar Menu. CEO Jim Skinner says the hamburger giant is "recession-resistant." Additionally, with their expansive reach across the globe, McDonald's is still as popular as ever with global sales up 7.7% increase in Europe and up 4.5% in the U.S. in November. Because of the international boost, third quarter earnings rose 6% from last year's. There's even a term called the "Big Mac Index" coined by The Economist magazine: "the comparison of a Big Mac's cost in various world currencies can be used to informally judge these currencies' purchasing power parity."

Working at McDonald's: McDonald's trains its franchisees and others at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois.

McDonald's Named One of 100 Best Companies for Working Moms

2001, LATINA Style Magazine recognizes McDonald's Corporation As One Of The Top 50 Best Companies for Hispanic Women to Work for in the USA.

1998, Fortune Magazine Global Most Admired Companies, "McDonald's Corporation was named the most admired company in the food services category".

ComputerWorld Magazine 1997 recognized McDonald's Corporation As One Of The Top 100 Places To Work In Information Systems.

ComputerWorld Magazine 1997 recognized McDonald's Corporation As One Of The Top's In Training.

Career Opportunities at McDonald's Corporate

APPAREL AND COSMETIC COMPANIES

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Avon Products

Industry: Cosmetics

Avon Products generated $9.8 billion in revenues in fiscal year 2007, with a gross profit margin of 60%. The stocks have been on the rise in December after a deep lull in November.

Career Opportunities at Avon

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lululemon and Urban Outfitters

These two wardrobe powerhouses are far outperforming their competitors, even in tough times.

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Career Opportunities at lululemon

Career Opportunities at Urban Outfitters

PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

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Other companies with decent earnings this quarter that continue to hire include:

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Procter and Gamble

Industry: Consumer Goods (products include Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Pantene, Bounty, Pringles, Charmin, Downy, Iams, Crest, Actonel and Olay.)

"In October, Procter & Gamble said it earned a nearly 9-percent higher fiscal first-quarter profit because of growth in emerging markets and higher prices" in a report by Forbes.

Career Opportunities at P&G

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Johnson and Johnson

Industry: Health Care Products and Pharmaceuticals

Like Abbot Labs, health care and pharmaceutical companies will continue to perform well in a recession. Furthermore, their recognizable name brand goes far with babies' hygiene products.

Career Opportunities at Johnson & Johnson

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Novartis

Industry: Health Care Products and Pharmaceuticals

The range of medical products - including vaccines, over-the-counter medication, and animal health tools - will keep productions from this company in high demand.

Career Opportunities at Novartis

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Silicon Valley Bank

Industry: Banking

One of the few banks that's weathered "the storm better than most," CEO Kenneth Wilcox said to USAToday. How? By using a different business model that requires any loans to have either a) backup from the company's assets or b) be a long-term, 5-10 year technology or life science project, which are not as effected by a struggling economy. The USAToday report states "Silicon Valley Bank's total loans hit a record $4 billion last year, and third-quarter deposits grew 18% to $4.8 billion from the same quarter last year."

Career Opportunities at SVB

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Hartford Financial Services

Industry: Insurance

According to BusinessWeek, Hartford Financial Services "actually raised profit expectations, saying it expects to earn between $4.70 and $4.90 per share, up from a range of $4.30 to $4.50 previously. (HFS) has... More than $12 billion in cash and other liquid investments means “the Hartford is well-capitalized and has ample liquidity,” chairman and chief executive Ramani Ayer said in a statement."

Career Opportunities at Hartford Financial Services

Jobless May Find Deal at School: Dealers Earn Their Income Through Tips and a Base Wage

Tim Stanley, Tulsa World, Okla. — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:29:00 -0700

If you've been dealt a losing hand by the recent economy, Matt Mehler and Audrey Loyd say a solution just might be in the cards.

When their new school starts Sept. 21, Mehler and Loyd will team up to teach students how to become dealers for casino games - an ace of an opportunity, they say, for anyone out of a job or looking for a new career.

Professional Gaming Academy, 603 S. Aspen Ave., is licensed by the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools, and board officials say it's the only licensed gaming school in the state.

Mehler and Loyd, who have worked together as dealers and in casino management, say training opportunities for dealers are rare in Oklahoma, hence the idea for their new business.

Online courses do exist and some casinos offer in-house training to current employees.

"But you can't go to a casino and say 'I want a job dealing. Will you train me?' You would have to get a job in another department and wait for a training class, which doesn't happen very often," Mehler said.

Mehler and Loyd will be two of the school's five licensed instructors, teaching courses in blackjack, three-card poker, ultimate Texas hold-em, craps and roulette using real gaming tables, chips and equipment.

Completing

a course and earning a certificate won't guarantee you a job, but the academy also will help graduates with the next step - interviewing and auditioning at a casino.

Auditions, where prospective hires must show not only their skills but how well they interact with customers, are make-or-break deals and can be stressful, Loyd said.

"It's up to them to pass the audition," she said. "But we will work with them to get over the nerves to where they won't have a problem with it."

Beyond card skills, an engaging personality and the ability to keep customers entertained are essential.

"That's how you're making your money as a dealer. We could teach anybody how to deal cards on the table. But we're going to work with them on these aspects, too," Mehler said.

Dealers make most of their money through tips. The average pay rate for dealers industry-wide is $6 to $10 an hour but with tips, many dealers clear six figures annually, Loyd said.

"We want people to understand that this is not like any other trade school," she said. "This will give you a career. You will make good money at it. You will go places with it. And you will always have it to fall back on."

That sounded like a gamble worth taking to Andrew Edens, one of the school's first enrollees.

Edens, of Tulsa, says he was looking for a career change from his current sales job.

"I'm a people person," he said. "My job right now involves standing and talking to people, but with dealing I'm not here to sell things, just provide a service to people. It's less stress and it's fun."

One of the academy's goals is to build a reputation with state casinos for producing good dealers.

"On down the road, we're hoping to contract with some of the casinos to outsource their training to us," Mehler said.

The school offers learning opportunities for players, too, such as a blackjack class for $60 per couple or $40 for individuals.

Mehler, who worked for NORDAM in aircraft repair before taking up dealing five years ago, said he's ready to begin instructing.

"We thought it would be a great opportunity to teach these skills to people here in the state, especially with the economic downturn and so many people looking for jobs or a change in careers," he said.

Loyd, whose father is a casino industry veteran, said she moved to Oklahoma from Arizona just to work in the casinos as a dealer.

"You flip cards for almost six figures a year," Loyd said. "You get to talk to people all the time. And the benefits are great. What could be better than that?"

Tim Stanley 581-8385 tim.stanley@tulsaworld.com

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To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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5 Worst Job Advice Tips

Jane Allerton | The Monster Blog — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:07:00 -0700

So while I am conquering my anxieties with positive action steps in my job hunt, I've received some rather amusing bits of advice. I've managed to always graciously smile and say thank you outwardly, while inwardly wondering what is occurring in people's minds as they share these bits of advice.

1^st PIECE OF BAD ADVICE

15 Networking Mistakes You Can't Make

Zac Frank, Tania Khadder, and Alice Handley | SalesHQ — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:47:00 -0700

Need-Based Contact

Imagine you have a friend or relative that you only hear from when he needs money. Do you take their calls? Do you look forward to hearing from him? Very quickly, you have no desire to do anything to help him.

The same goes for networking. If you only get in touch with a contact when you need something—a job, a reference, etc.—their desire to help you will be quickly vanish. Remember, these people are under no obligation to lend you a hand, they want to get something out of the relationship too.

What to do? Make a point of sending an e-mail periodically to just say hello, ask how your contact is doing, or send her something interesting. Not only will this prevent you from being a networking mooch, it will strengthen your relationship so when you do need something, you'll get it.

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Not Knowing What You Want

You've gotten in touch. Your contact was very positive and wants to speak to you further. You go to meet him and all you are prepared to talk about is what you've done in the past or very vague plans for the future. Your wasting his (and your) time.

Before you get into an extended conversation with a contact, figure out what you want for yourself. Is there a particular job that he could give you ideas about how to get? Are you considering a new career path and want to know what steps you should take to start down it? Is there a particular company you're interested in and want to know more about it?

Whatever it is, figure it out. If you don't, you'll not only fail to get valuable information, you'll ruin the contact who will now see you as unfocused and listless.

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Failure to Mobilize

You may think that the job search process is straight forward.

See if contacts know of opportunities. Pursue those first.

Look on sites like Monster.com and Craigslist for jobs.

Prepare resumes and cover letters.

Submit.

Wait.

You know to network at the beginning of the search process, but you should also be networking at the end. Even if you found a job through a posting, do a deep dive into your contacts to see if anyone has any connection to that company. A friend of a friend might work their already and you wouldn't even know.

The least time intensive way to do this is Facebook. Your network on Facebook is probably much larger than on a site like LinkedIn. Search Facebook for the company. There might be a group associated with it or you might just come up with profiles of people who work there. Find them and see if you have any mutual friend. Then mobilize.

NEXT MISTAKE

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Resume, Unprompted

How many e-mails do you get a day? Probably more than you'd like and probably fewer than someone who can help you move up or get a job. If you send your resume unprompted, you're just asking for it to go straight to the trash. Just like in any conversation, you need to break the ice first. If a person can (and is willing) to assist you, they'll ask for your resume. It's not like they're sitting around their offices, twiddling their thumbs, thinking, "Gosh! I wonder what his resume looks like!"

NEXT MISTAKE

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Overestimating Your Bond

You may think you know a contact well, but unless you're seeing or corresponding with her regularly it's better to play it safe. If you come off as presumptuous, you come off as rude and drastically diminish your chances of getting help.

When you reach out to one of these "weak" contacts (and face it, most are weak contacts), be as deferential as possible. Ask more questions, make fewer statements. And keep it short. If they want to and have the ability to give you more of their time, they will open the door for you.

NEXT MISTAKE

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Not Doing Your Homework

So you’ve got the contact right in front of you. Great … what now? Well, if you don’t know who the person is or what they want out of you there’s no way you’re actually going to get what you want.

Everyone likes to feel special, or at least recognized, so make sure that you know at least the basics about your contacts before you approach them, unless you’re in the most casual of networking situations. Besides, think about how much they’ll be relieved not to have to introduce themselves and sum up who they are for the hundredth time!

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Being Overly Aggressive

We’ve all been there: Stuck on a plane next to someone who just won’t shut up about where they’re going, walking down the street being followed by a persistent petitioner, or trying get away from the biggest bore at the party. You need to be outgoing and persistent while networking, but you certainly don’t want to be a pest.

Make sure you’re reading the verbal and non-verbal signs for indications that your contact just isn’t into it anymore. Letting a reluctant person get away is better than forcing them to stay against their will. You might get a second chance!

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Not Seeking Mentors

You have a new contact. He has extensive experience. You were about to start looking for a new job and you send an e-mail:

It was so nice to meet you. I'm looking for a new job and thought you might know of some opportunities.

MISTAKE

Especially with new contacts, it is important to approach them as a person in search of a mentor. While they may be able to help you get a job, they could also help you discover new career paths and opportunities you hadn't even thought of.

It was so nice to meet you. I was hoping you would be willing to talk with me further about the direction of my career. Your experience and insights would be immensely valuable.

What's more, they get something out of the relationship. As your career advances, they can take satisfaction in having helped you and you may even become a useful contact for them.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Not Following-Up

You’ve gone to all that trouble to make the contact – why let it go to waste? You need to follow up after every meeting and job interview to reiterate your interest and to ensure you remain at the very front of his or her mind. Remember – people are busy. And you probably aren’t their number one priority. But they are your number one priority, right? Make sure they know it.

Don’t let two weeks to slip by before you get back in touch. Sending a thank you letter or email within 24 hours of your meeting will go a long way towards making a good impression and keeping you on their radar. And don’t be afraid to get back in touch within a couple of weeks if you still haven’t heard back. Persistence pays.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Gauche at Networking Events

A lot of networking takes place at parties or events. You probably know the obvious rules: don't drink too much, don't be sloppy with food, don't talk with your mouth full.

But how you interact with hors d'oeuvers is equally important. In one episode of Seinfeld, George Castanza looks like a total fool when he grabs not one but a handful of cocktail snacks from a waitress. Then asks her where she comes out so he can get a head start. When a woman sees what he's done, he embarrassingly says, "She's been ignoring this seciton the whole night."

Don't look like a fool. Ignore the hors d'oeuvres. If you happen to be near a waiter bringing them around, take one. Don't pursue the waiter. Don't lie in wait for him. Pay attention to the networking, not the cocktail weanies.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Always Taking, Never Giving

Networking is a two way street. If you’re reaching out to your contacts every time you need a something – a job, a sales lead, a favor – without ever giving back, people will stop being so willing to help.

And rightly so. A good networker is ready and willing to help their contacts wherever they can. Did you meet someone who you know would be a great contact for your friend? Introduce them! Know of a job lead that might be perfect for your contact’s unemployed son? Hook it up! If your network sees you as a resource, they’ll be more inclined to nurture and maintain this mutually beneficial relationship.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Negativity

You’ve probably heard it before, but attitude is everything — and your attitude is catching. We know, we know, it sounds so hokey, but it’s really true. If you come off as negative or not into the whole thing while you’re networking it’s going to be that much harder for people to feel all that great about working with you in the future.

Remember: You’re selling yourself as much as you’re trying to get something from other people. Make sure you’re selling something they would want to buy!

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Not Asking Questions

People love to talk about themselves. Including you. Instead of talking incessantly about your needs, your goals and your interests, throw in a question here or there. Give them some room to get a word in. Prompt them to tell you a little bit about themselves. This way, not only will they feel like they are actually part of the conversation, but you’ll actually learn a little bit about them. And the more you know about them, the more you’ll know what they can do for you and even – brace yourself —what you can do for them.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Poor Etiquette

Etiquette – good or bad – can extend from table manners to punctuality to your approach to social networking. And if you think people don’t notice, you’re wrong. Committing this type of blunder is so self destructive, it deserves its own article. In a nutshell, mind your manners!

Don’t be late to meetings, enter group conversations sensitively, don’t talk with your mouth full and keep your emails (and your Facebook profile) professional. A common etiquette mistake – and one that will quickly land you a top spot on the blacklist – is to share a person’s contact details without their permission. Check in with them first. Always. Even if you’re doing them a favor.

NEXT MISTAKE

[page]

Not Tying Up Loose Ends

You found a new job! You reached out to everyone you knew who might be able to help you. They helped you find opportunities, got your foot in the door, secured interviews and now it's finally over.

Not quite.

You will probably need those people again at some point in the future. Write them a thank you note for their help and let them know what you ended up doing. And you cannot just do this for the person or people who helped you find the job you took. Do it for everyone who helped or offered to.

And come on, it's just polite.

Cold Call to Hiring Manager May Not Help Job Seeker

Steve Giegerich | St. Louis Post-Dispatch — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:58:00 -0700

You've adhered to the job-seekers' bible by networking with friends, family, the guy seated next to you at the ballgame and anyone capable of providing a connection to get you off unemployment and back on a payroll.

The payoff, or at least a smidgen of hope, comes the day a network source comes through with the direct telephone line of a hiring manager at the company you're dying to work for.

Before making the call, experts advise, take a step back. A large step back.

There's a reason the administrative assistants and human resource professionals surrounding the people who make hiring decisions are called gatekeepers.

Just as there is a reason hiring managers are sometimes displeased when the perimeter is breached.

Aggressive applicants may believe unsolicited contact conveys a take charge attitude to key corporate personnel.

Sometimes that's true, say the experts.

Just as often, particularly when there is a specific advisory not to contact a company by telephone, it's not.

Circumventing specified channels of communication, said Bill Lyke, can tell a hiring manager an applicant is unwilling to play by the rules, a message that could ultimately extend a job-seeker's stay on the unemployment rolls.

"You don't want someone throwing you out of the running because you can't follow instructions," Lyke said.

A retired human resources executive and hiring manager, Lyke now teaches career development courses at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.

John O'Connor says hiring managers in businesses large and small react pretty similarly to unbidden telephone contact.

"It's instant defense," said O'Connor, president of Career Pro of NC, a Raleigh, N.C., outplacement firm. "How can I oblige this person and (quickly) get them off the phone."

Rena Peterson is "acutely aware of the unemployment situation. I realize people are very anxious, working the angles, working the networks."

As a result, she is not put off by occasionally receiving the unbidden telephone call.

Read On >>

[page]

But those contacting the director of staffing for Furniture Brands International in Brentwood - parent company of Broyhill, Thomasville and other leading furniture manufacturers - best be honest.

"You definitely get busted at Furniture Brands if you call me 'REEE-nah' and imply that we know each other. Because if you call me that, you definitely don't know me," Peterson said.

Her first name, for those inclined to contact Furniture Brands, is pronounced "Renee."

"I guess the message is 'don't play us,'" Peterson said. "Trickery is a bad way to start a relationship."

What cold callers often don't understand, Peterson added, is that they run the risk of interfering with the internal corporate responsibilities handled by human resources personnel.

Economic times being what they are, Peterson notes that everyone - including human resources personnel - are doing "double duty."

Lyke discourages candidates making an unwanted call, but says job-seekers can still benefit from ascertaining a hiring manager's name.

He suggests acting on that knowledge by responding to a job posting with two resumes - one to the attention of human resources and the other to the direct attention of the hiring manager.

Even if the hiring manager brushes the resume aside, he says, the technique demonstrates a prospective employee can be "aggressive without intruding."

O'Connor counsels job hopefuls to seek out and draw on cues accordingly prior to picking up the telephone.

The company insider who passed along the contact information, for example, probably has a feel for the hiring manager's sentiments toward the cold call.

Likewise, O'Connor said, it's perfectly acceptable to sound out a gatekeeper about the acceptability of direct communication.

"Ask what is the best etiquette and pay attention to the cues," he said.

And, like a Boy Scout, O'Connor continued, be prepared in the event the hiring manager is amenable to your call.

"If they interact with you, that's your first interview," he said.

---

To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Don't Eat Your Way Out of a Job

Jackie Loohauis-Bennet | Milwaukee Journal Sentinal — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:55:00 -0700

The biggest obstacle to getting a new job may be the plate of spaghetti that falls on your lap.

Even in these days of shrinking expense accounts, prospective employers often take job candidates out to eat as a step in the interview process.

The breakfast/lunch/dinner interview makes sense for employers for several reasons, says Jill Zoromski, senior vice president and director of human resources for Associated Bank in Milwaukee.

"Employers will use a lunch interview as an informal get-to-know- you with a group of peers," she says. "Or there will be a panel of people who are deciders, and they'll slot you into lunch because that's most convenient for all of them. And a lunch lets the decider get a feel for your chemistry. They've already decided your background makes you a good candidate, and it's a last hurdle."

So how do you chow down and make a great impression at the same time? Here are some tips from job-search experts you can use to get through that lunch or dinner interview with a job, not a bellyache.

It's not about eating. It's a job interview

Forgetting what the meal is really about is the most common mistake people make, says Alison Doyle, About.com guide to job searching.

"People have a tendency to relax and be more casual than they are in a formal job interview," she says. "It's important to remember that regardless of the venue, it is a job interview, and you shouldn't let your guard down and share more personal information than you would in another setting."

Be on Time

Doyle suggests: "Do a trial run the day before, so you know where the restaurant is and where to park."

Turn Off the Cell Phone

This is perhaps the worst mistake employers see. "Unless you're waiting for a call from the governor on a stay of execution or you have a relative in surgery, don't take phone calls," Zoromski says. "Once I had a candidate watch the phone the whole time, and when it rang he got up and left me alone for 10 minutes. It was a deal- buster."

Don't Drink Alcohol

"If the prospective employer orders wine, don't you do it!" says Anne Zizzo, president and CEO of Zizzo Group Advertising + Public Relations.

SalesHQ Editors' Note: In our experience, this is often bad advice, particularly in the private sector where drinking alcohol is a convivial activity expected of employees. A better rule of thumb, we think, is to order alcohol only if the employer does and then make sure you drink in a controlled, responsible manner.

Do Order Something to Eat

"It's horribly uncomfortable for the interviewer to eat alone. Even if you're not hungry, eat something," Zoromski says.

Order Wisely

Don't order the most expensive item on the menu, or something sloppy like ribs or spaghetti. And stick with the menu. "If you ask for a special order, it's disruptive, and the meal takes longer," Zoromski says.

Be Polite to Everyone

Employers will be watching your people skills, including how you treat your server. And if your server offers you a black napkin, take it. "White napkins can leave your lap full of lint," Zoromski says.

Remember What Your Mother Told You

Keep your elbows off the table. Use utensils starting from the outside in: salad fork on the far left, entree fork next to it, etc. "Have the proper manners," Zizzo says. "The employer will watch how you handle your flatware. Don't talk with your mouth full."

Reach for the Check

"Be the one to grab for it. Make the gesture. Accommodate the employer," Zizzo says.

MORE INFORMATION

Other lunch interview resources include:

- "The Little Book of Etiquette," by Dorothea Johnson

- About.com's job search site at jobsearch.about.com

- WiseGeek.com at www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-handle-a-job- interview-over-lunch.htm

- The Cluewagon.com blog at www.cluewagon.com

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5 Interview Wrong Turns

Zac Frank | SalesHQ — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:14:00 -0700

When you think of psychology, do asylums and psychopaths come to mind? Well, so should job interviewers…and not because some may seem like sadistic psychopaths. A recent study from two psychologists, Thomas Hillard and Therese McCan, in The Journal of Psychology reveals a lot about what goes through interviewers' minds and how job seekers can use that to their advantage.

An interviewer's assessment of a candidate is partly based on personality. Two key traits that most are looking for are helpfulness and obedience. A more helpful candidate is someone who will work harder, take initiative, and deal well with customers. "Obedience" shows them that you will follow instructions and can be easily trained.

How do you convey to an interviewer that you have these qualities? How much should you focus on conveying personality instead of intelligence or qualifications for a job?

Your interviewers (sometimes you will face several at once) will be different people who judge you differently. So how do you judge them?

These five principles can help guide you through an interview, figure out what your interviewers are looking for and adjust your strategy in real time. Unlike other interview guides that tell you the obvious (think, "Be Friendly!" Duh.), we'll give you more sophisticated and subtle strategies that your competition won't know.

FIRST WRONG TURN

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Found the perfect job through an ad? Before you whisk off your resume and cover letter, study the ad and determine how your qualifications match the employer's requirements. Armed with this information, you can craft a cover letter positioning yourself as the ideal candidate.

Your Cover Letter Needs Work

Feeling overwhelmed by the cover letter feedback you've received? Not sure where to begin to make improvements? If you’ve had a cover letter critique and are now faced with harsh criticism, here's help from career professionals on what to do next.

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