Arizona Jobing Community Blogs

You may have seen the movie.  The Bucket List starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two aging men who meet in a hospital while each is dealing with the shock of learning they are terminally ill.  They decide to devote their remaining time before they “kick the bucket” to experiencing a list of dreams—some modest, some not—that they had never found the time or the opportunity to realize while they were raising families and earning a living.

The movie is a poignant treatise on friendship in unlikely places, and perhaps more importantly, a powerful lesson about how best to live our lives (and our careers).  It offers an admittedly old truism, but one worth remembering: we should never put our dreams off because we don’t know how long we will have to see them come true.

With that thought in mind, I offer my bucket list for recruiters—the things we should strive to get to while we can.  It’s an abbreviated list, so is not meant to identify everything that we might hope to accomplish in the course of our careers.  In addition, some of the goals may be beyond our reach—at least without some outside cooperation—while others are much more susceptible to our own efforts.  However, all of the goals—be they large or small—are worthy aspirations.  By reaching for them, we improve our experience as recruiters.

How should you read the list?  Simply insert the following phrase in front of each item: “At some point in my career—and the sooner, the better—I would like .to …”

1.  Work for a CEO who gets it.  We know they can say it—“Our employees are our most important asset” is the siren song of every CEO worth his or her salt in corporate America —what we seldom experience is one who does it.  Indeed, the limit of what many executives seem willing to invest in their workforce (and the recruiting team that brings it in the door) is just that—verbal capital or what you and I call “hot air.”  If they really believe they can’t get by without great talent, they will have to open their wallets in a much bigger way.  And those that do are the organizations for which we should seek to work.

2.  Work with hiring managers who get it.  Too many of today’s managers think that it’s still 1952 and there’s an unlimited supply of top talent just salivating at the chance to work for them.  They are too busy to write a decent requisition, get involved with sourcing candidates or learn how to prepare for and conduct an effective interview, but they always have enough time to wail about what they perceive to be inadequate recruiting support.  If they want to see more high caliber applicants for their openings, however, they will have to get more involved in filling them.  And those that do are the business partners to whom we should devote our best efforts.

3.  Work with coworkers who get it.  While recruiters are formally charged with acquiring talent for the organization, it is clearly in everybody’s best interest to ensure that their coworkers are as capable as possible.  Especially in these days and times, there’s no better form of security than an organization brimming with high caliber workers.  Which begs the question: why is it so difficult to get people involved in their organization’s employee referral program?  If our coworkers want to get more satisfaction and security out of their work, they will have to work harder at searching out and selling top talent.  And those who do are the employees we should celebrate and support.

4.  Work with an applicant tracking system that gets it.  Recruiters may be responsible for processing a lot of information, but that is by no means their most important accountability.  In addition to acquiring top talent, they also have a fiduciary responsibility—they must ensure that they invest their employer’s money wisely.  To do that, they need accurate data on the source of their applicants, and they rely on their ATS to get it.  Unfortunately, however, the rudimentary technology offered by many ATS vendors is simply not up to the task.  If these vendors want to help recruiters get smarter about where to spend their recruitment budget, they will have to upgrade their source identification capability.  And those that do should be the vendors from which we buy our systems.

5. Work with applicants who get it.  Unfortunately, a lot of applicants today think that the question we want them to answer is “What have they done?”  And, of course, the insight for which we’re really looking is “What can they do?”  For us?  Right now and in the future?  The fact that they’ve been in the workforce for twenty or thirty years doesn’t mean a thing if their skills and knowledge are that old, as well.  If they want to get considered by us, therefore, they will have to bring themselves up-to-date.  And those who do are the prospects we should pursue most aggressively.

The notion of a bucket list, I suppose, can be off-putting at first.  It can seem … well, a bit pessimistic.  On the other hand, if we see it as our horizon, as the future toward which we would like to journey, then it is as hopeful an outlook as one can have.  It affirms our ability to better our condition, to reach for the richest and fullest experience we can have in the one-third of our lives that we spend at work.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit my blog at Weddles.com/WorkStrong

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

You may have seen the movie.  The Bucket List starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two aging men who meet in a hospital while each is dealing with the shock of learning they are terminally ill.  They decide to devote their remaining time before they “kick the bucket” to experiencing a list of dreams—some modest, some not—that they had never found the time or the opportunity to realize while they were raising families and earning a living.

The movie is a poignant treatise on friendship in unlikely places, and perhaps more importantly, a powerful lesson about how best to live our lives (and our careers).  It offers an admittedly old truism, but one worth remembering: we should never put our dreams off because we don’t know how long we will have to see them come true.

With that thought in mind, I offer my bucket list for recruiters—the things we should strive to get to while we can.  It’s an abbreviated list, so is not meant to identify everything that we might hope to accomplish in the course of our careers.  In addition, some of the goals may be beyond our reach—at least without some outside cooperation—while others are much more susceptible to our own efforts.  However, all of the goals—be they large or small—are worthy aspirations.  By reaching for them, we improve our experience as recruiters.

How should you read the list?  Simply insert the following phrase in front of each item: “At some point in my career—and the sooner, the better—I would like .to …”

1.  Work for a CEO who gets it.  We know they can say it—“Our employees are our most important asset” is the siren song of every CEO worth his or her salt in corporate America —what we seldom experience is one who does it.  Indeed, the limit of what many executives seem willing to invest in their workforce (and the recruiting team that brings it in the door) is just that—verbal capital or what you and I call “hot air.”  If they really believe they can’t get by without great talent, they will have to open their wallets in a much bigger way.  And those that do are the organizations for which we should seek to work.

2.  Work with hiring managers who get it.  Too many of today’s managers think that it’s still 1952 and there’s an unlimited supply of top talent just salivating at the chance to work for them.  They are too busy to write a decent requisition, get involved with sourcing candidates or learn how to prepare for and conduct an effective interview, but they always have enough time to wail about what they perceive to be inadequate recruiting support.  If they want to see more high caliber applicants for their openings, however, they will have to get more involved in filling them.  And those that do are the business partners to whom we should devote our best efforts.

3.  Work with coworkers who get it.  While recruiters are formally charged with acquiring talent for the organization, it is clearly in everybody’s best interest to ensure that their coworkers are as capable as possible.  Especially in these days and times, there’s no better form of security than an organization brimming with high caliber workers.  Which begs the question: why is it so difficult to get people involved in their organization’s employee referral program?  If our coworkers want to get more satisfaction and security out of their work, they will have to work harder at searching out and selling top talent.  And those who do are the employees we should celebrate and support.

4.  Work with an applicant tracking system that gets it.  Recruiters may be responsible for processing a lot of information, but that is by no means their most important accountability.  In addition to acquiring top talent, they also have a fiduciary responsibility—they must ensure that they invest their employer’s money wisely.  To do that, they need accurate data on the source of their applicants, and they rely on their ATS to get it.  Unfortunately, however, the rudimentary technology offered by many ATS vendors is simply not up to the task.  If these vendors want to help recruiters get smarter about where to spend their recruitment budget, they will have to upgrade their source identification capability.  And those that do should be the vendors from which we buy our systems.

5.  Work with applicants who get it.  Unfortunately, a lot of applicants today think that the question we want them to answer is “What have they done?”  And, of course, the insight for which we’re really looking is “What can they do?”  For us?  Right now and in the future?  The fact that they’ve been in the workforce for twenty or thirty years doesn’t mean a thing if their skills and knowledge are that old, as well.  If they want to get considered by us, therefore, they will have to bring themselves up-to-date.  And those who do are the prospects we should pursue most aggressively.

The notion of a bucket list, I suppose, can be off-putting at first.  It can seem … well, a bit pessimistic.  On the other hand, if we see it as our horizon, as the future toward which we would like to journey, then it is as hopeful an outlook as one can have.  It affirms our ability to better our condition, to reach for the richest and fullest experience we can have in the one-third of our lives that we spend at work.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit my blog at Weddles.com/WorkStrong

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

The American Dream.  While it is a quintessentially American aspiration, each of us has a unique vision of just what it is.  For some, the dream is a chance to build a successful business.  For others, it’s a home of their own.  And for still others, it’s the opportunity to shop until they drop.  As alluring as all of these visions are, however, I would respectfully suggest that they are outcomes of the dream and not the dream, itself.  The American Dream is actually a state of mind.

We all know, of course, that the American Dream exists because we live in a nation founded on certain extraordinary principles.  Much as we take them for granted, deep down inside, every American knows that they are especially fortunate to live in a land where they are accorded an enduring right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  While most of us are very clear about what Life and Liberty mean, however, there is some confusion about the pursuit of Happiness.  And it’s that misunderstanding which causes us to misperceive the American Dream.

The founding fathers, themselves, inadvertently provoked this situation with their capitalization choices.  They used initial caps on Life, Liberty and Happiness, when what they really meant to enshrine was a commitment to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.  In other words, what the American Dream promises is not a right to happiness, but a right to Achieve it on our own.

What does that mean for those of us in the workforce?

Over the past decade or so, social scientists have been trying to figure out just what happiness is and where it comes from.  While many of us think the answers to such questions are intuitively obvious, it turns out that we may be selling ourselves short.  Humans have the capacity not only to experience happiness, but to experience joy, as well.  And those two states are very different.

Joy is an emotional state.  It is derived from our relationships with family and friends.  When those interactions engage and satisfy us, when they enable us to be the best of ourselves with the others in our Life, we experience joy—one of the human species’ greatest gifts.

Happiness, on the other hand, is a cognitive state.  It occurs when we are tested by meaningful challenges that stimulate us to express and experience our fullest natural potential, our talent.  These challenges can occur anywhere, but they are most prevalent in the workplace.  In other words, our best shot at Achieving happiness occurs when we put ourselves in a position to excel at what we love to do.

That is the essence of the American Dream.  It is a personal commitment, a determination to devote our Life and exercise our Liberty to the accomplishment of two tasks:

·         To discovering our natural talent or what we love to do and do best.

and

·         To working only where we can use that talent to achieve satisfying goals.

The outcome of those tasks will be unique to each of us, but the tasks themselves are the same for all of us.  They represent our right to the Pursuit of happiness.

Those two tasks are also the key to a successful job search and a rewarding career.  Whether we’re in transition or currently employed, they enable and empower us to control our destiny, to shape it to an end that is important and fulfilling to us.  It is our right, to be sure, but it is also our responsibility.  For only we can take the first step, only we can decide to set off on our own personal Pursuit of happiness.

Why should we bother?  Because as wonderful as the joy is in our relationships, we deserve more.  We spend at least one-third of our lives at work, and that experience should offer more than frustration, anxiety and despair.  It should be, it can be a source of profound fulfillment.  Or what the founding fathers called Happiness.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit my blog at Weddles.com/WorkStrong

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

The Arizona Mature Workforce Initiative presents the following Blog
 by our “Guest Blogger”

Ms. Christine Bryson-Lazo, CSA, is a Certified Senior Advisor & a Mature Marketing specialist, president of the Northern Arizona Seniors in Action Coalition (dba the Verde Valley Seniors in Action Coalition), chair of the Seniors in Action Business Alliance, member of the Mature Workforce Committee of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging.  

Arizona Mature Workers – Learn About Job & Education Opportunities through Local Organizations by Christine Bryson-Lazo CSA

Jobing.com is a great resource to locate job opportunities locally, regionally and nationally. In addition to this resource, the current limited job market also beckons one to be creative and even more resourceful. Perhaps looking within your community for organizations addressing employment, work skills training, and even business opportunities may be just the answer you are searching for to provide a sustainable income.  For example, here is how the greater Sedona area created a business alliance to do just that.  

When the State of Arizona launched the Arizona Mature Workforce Initiative (http://www.azgovernor.gov/gaca/MWI.asp) in February 2005, a cluster of senior service providers, senior citizens and senior advocates were putting the finishing touches on a Commission on Aging Feasibility Study (http://www.sedonaaz.gov/egov/sidePage.aspx?dID=Aging%20Feasibility%20Study) for the City of Sedona.  A section of this study, “Economic Development Implication of Senior in Sedona,” addresses the situation how the senior populace was not being fully considered pertinent to job and business creation.  

The Verde Valley Seniors in Action Coalition decided to move forward partnering with the City and the Chamber of Commerce to encourage economic development in senior-related industries. As a result, the Seniors in Action Business Alliance (SABA) was formed in 2006 with meetings commencing in January 2007.  SABA’s mission is to unite organizations, businesses and individuals of all ages through an ongoing dialogue in order to understand and support a senior-friendly business environment, promote the creation of businesses and services serving seniors’ needs, and to be a catalyst for promoting the mature workforce in Sedona and the Verde Valley.  

First order of SABA ’s activities requested by the businesses and employers was to create a survey to determine what goods, services, education and activities seniors desire, what kind of work they seek, what workplace skills they have and need, and how they acquire information. This survey was circulated in 2007 and 2008 achieving a point of reference for businesses. However, due to recent economic events, personal finances have drastically changed for boomers and seniors, thus another survey is planned for distribution in 2010.  

Additional SABA activities educated employers and job seekers to the Arizona Mature Workforce Initiative and the programs being developed by the Mature Workforce Committee of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging.  The Arizona Mature Worker Website, hosted by Jobing.com, was developed to provide resources and information to both mature workers seeking employment, as well as employers wishing to attract or retain mature workers.  The Mature Worker Friendly Employer’s Certification program was also designed to recognize Arizona employers that have worked to develop a mature worker friendly environment within their organizations.  Knowledgeable speakers from the Governor’s Office on Aging, AARP, Yavapai and GateWay Community Colleges have attended SABA meetings, sharing programs and resources imparting employment databases, career training, mature workforce job fairs and other business opportunities.  

It isn’t difficult to start a similar program in your area enabling a concerted effort among community associates.  Begin by checking the list of employers located in your community who have earned the Mature Worker Friendly Employer’s Certification, by visiting www.azmatureworkers.com .  Talk to the financial officer in your municipality, the local Chamber of Commerce, your elected officials, and perhaps your regional Economic Development Council to become strategic partners in creating your local senior business alliance.

We invite you to visit the Arizona Mature Worker Website, hosted by Jobing.com, at www.azmatureworkers.com   Check it out today!

 

 

Looking for a job-hunting advantage? One tip for better success is to apply at companies where people know you. If you’re a graduate of Arizona State University, the best place to do that is on the ASU Alumni Association’s Sun Devil-centric job portal. Many postings are posted exclusively to the portal, which is powered by Jobing.com, and many of the potential employers are looking specifically for applicants trained in ASU degree programs.

 

Here are the week’s top jobs:

 

Insurance Agent

Data Visualization and Infographics Manager

Education Coordinator

Registered Nurse/Home Health

Visitors to the portal can post their resume to the site, and employers can post jobs online at the site, as well, tapping into ASU’s talent pool for very reasonable prices.

 

You never know what you’ll find until you visit http://asu.jobing.com!

 

December is a both a wonderful and stressful month in one.  At work, there is that last push to produce before the year ends and the same is true at home, where we scurry around in holiday activity.  So that you don’t fall victim to a race-to-the-finish-line mentality where everything goes by in a blur, here is a simple technique you can use to have more peace and calm. 

In the moment of feeling stressed or agitated, briefly stop and ask yourself:  What channel am I on?  Note your answer and then, when you’re ready, consciously change channels. 
 
Two weeks ago I was out running for what I hoped would be a quick errand at lunch and was anxious to get back to my office to wrap up work before heading into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The parking lot was a congested obstacle course and as I trekked to the grocery store from the spot I found in Timbuktu, I noticed my neck muscles were hard as rock.  Knowing I was planning to write an article on this topic and wanting to practice what I preach, I asked myself: What channel am I on?  Answer: The rushing-around channel.  I surfed to see “what else was on” and found the feeling-the-sun-on-my-face channel.  I took a deep breath of fresh air and changed my afternoon. 
  
It sounds incredibly simple, and it is.  Like my neck muscles did in the parking lot, your body gives you signals.  You need only pause long enough to ask what channel you’re on and then consciously choose to switch from dwelling on one aspect of your reality to another one.
 
This channel-changer technique is an abbreviated version of an OASIS in the Overwhelm strategy called Cue-2-Do.  The strategy helps you connect cues from your body to the emotions they signal.  From there, you can acknowledge what’s going on and select the best course of action to take. 

This Month: Remember, the remote is in your hand.

To hear ideas for how you can create more peace on a regular basis, tune in to the WOW Zone Radio Show tomorrow, December 8, at 9:00 AM Arizona Time (8:00 AM Pacific, 11:00 AM Eastern) when I’ll be interviewed on what it means to “live in the current” and we’ll also discuss tips for reducing overwhelm during the holiday season. Listen live here. Call in questions are welcome: 866-472-5788.

© 2009, Virginia M. Kravitz

VIRGINIA KRAVITZ, Career and Life Coach, founded In the Current® to serve accomplished professionals who want to move boldy in new directions and start living with a greater sense of joy and abandon.  Ginny’s e-zine, published every other Tuesday, is entitled Current of Life.  Visit at: www.inthecurrent.com 
 
Note:  
OASIS in the Overwhelm is a coaching program based on a book written by my friend and colleague, Millie Grenough. In the book, Millie introduces you to four simple strategies to rewire yourself towards health/happiness and away from stress/disease.   

Photos are powerful.  They capture moments, engage people, and for the purposes of this blog post, can be a way to drive traffic to your website.

A couple weeks ago, a photo of a funny looking turkey drove over 1,000 people to the website http://www.pursuethepassion.com.  98% of the people who visited had never been to the site.  Many of them stuck around to view more pages.   

This spike in traffic peaked my curiosity around the power of using images to drive traffic.  I spent some time looking through the Google Analytics of http://www.pursuethepassion.com and found that over 20% of the site's traffic had come as a result of images we posted to flickr.com/photos/pursuethepassion and embedded in our blogs.  That's pretty powerful stuff. 

This morning I sat in on a presentation done by our very own Joel Cheesman, who provided some helpful tips on how to optimize photos on Flickr.  If you're using Flickr, please use Joel's bullet points below as your checklist whenever uploading photos to Flickr.  You never know when 1,000 people are going to search for a term that fits perfectly with an image you took. 

Here are Joel's tips:

• When you upload your photos, ALWAYS add tags. The “tags” or keywords that you associate with your photo will make it findable to users when they are searching, and lend keyword weight to the photo’s page. Enter as many tags that accurately should be keywords associated with your photo as possible. Note! When entering multi-word tags you must put them within quotation marks. Ex: “pickup truck”

• This should be obvious, but have your photos publicly viewable — not just restricted to viewing by your friends and family.

• Create a descriptive title for the image. This adds yet more keyword weight to the photo’s page within Flickr. "HRSW_2009_1STDAY8," for example, isn't very descriptive for search engines. Instead, "HR Southwest Conference 2009" is more descriptive.

• Enter a description under the photo, or write something about the picture.

• Names. Many pictures include people. Don't be afraid to add names of those people, because there are lots of Google searches around a person's name.

• Create thematic sets for your photos, and add each pic to the set(s) appropriate for it. This provides yet more contextual clues to search engines about the content of the photo’s page, and it will allow a user arriving at the page a way to easily look at other similar pix you’ve taken.

• Add your photos to a Flickr group. The more links to your photo page, the more important your photo will be considered, so add it to a number of groups. Ideally, add it to groups which have a lot of members — the number of members indicates the popularity and traffic of the group.

• Link each of your Flickr photo pages to your website, or to related pages on your website. You can add hyperlinks into the Description field below the photo. Use link text that has a call to action, or which tells the user what to expect if they click on the link. Ex: “We sell this product at our website.”, “This view from tables at our Restaurant.”, “This room is available at our Bed & Breakfast“. It’s best to link to specific pages of related content as a richer indicator for pagerank transfer.

• Link to your Flickr photo pages from your website. You could use text links back to Flickr, but even better, post the Flickr photos directly on your site’s pages, using the HTML code Flickr provides under the “All Sizes” tool. The HTML code they provide hyperlinks the photo back to it’s Flickr page. Why is this important? It provides a bit more link weight to the photo’s page, and allows users of your site to go through and browse your other related photos easily.

• Finally, post as many optimized pix as possible. This is mostly a game of many small fractions adding up to large, cumulative results. The many pages of pix, linking back to your site will help build your overall PageRank. The more pages you have, the more likely it is that other Flickr users will find your content, and link to your content. It also expands your chances of having a lucky picture or two find its way onto a viral popularity wave which spurs many users to send links of your pic to their friends, or a reporter might find that one of your pix is ideal for their news story and give credit where credit is due.

Brett Farmiloe is one of two social media managers for Jobing.com and the founder of PursuethePassion.com.  The above points were written by Joel Cheesman, Senior Vice President of Jobing.com. 

Exiting news coming from Casino Arizona. . . We are happy to announce that the completion of our new resort is in its final stages. Talking Stick Resort will be a premier resort in the Valley of the Sun.

We are beginning to prescreen and interview applicants for our 4 diamond resort. We offer a wide variety of positions fulltime & part-time. We have competitive Wages, excellent Benefits, 401K, Medical, Dental & Vision. You also get 22 days of PTO your first year.

Our Dream Resort, Your Dream Job

If you have a positive attitude and want to work in fun, energetic, and great team environment come on down to our Career Center.

We will be doing several Career Events, stop by and visit us at:

Location    Pavilions Shopping Center
                   9011 E Indian Bend Road
                   Scottsdale, AZ 85250

From:          11am – 7pm

Food and Beverage interviews:

• Tuesday, December 08
• Thursday, December 10

Housekeeping / Maintenance / Warehouse & Security interviews:

• Tuesday, December 15
• Thursday, December 17

Cage Cashier / Count Team / Finance / Keno / Slots / Poker & Blackjack:

• Tuesday, January 05
• Thursday, January 07

Hotel & Spa interviews:

• Tuesday, January 12
• Thursday, January 14
• Saturday, January 16

Remaining position:

• Tuesday, January 19
• Thursday, January 21
• Tuesday, January 26
• Thursday, January 28
• Saturday, January 30

You can also visit us at www.talkingstickresort.com

With 2009 winding down, it's the perfect time to  reflect on all you have accomplished this past year and turn your focus on your goals for 2010. While you are enjoying time with your friends and family this season resist the urge to postpone your job search until after the new year. Many job seekers will be easing up on their job hunting strategy during this time, which means less competition for you! The new year also tends to bring new training classes and new hire orientations, so employers will be focused on filling those seats before year's end. So, here are a few tips we have gathered to help make your holiday job search even better:

• Create a Holiday Plan - Set specific goals for what you would like to accomplish. How many resumes do you want to send out per week? How many networking events will you attend? How many hours are you going to dedicate to online research? Having a plan will help keep you motivated and moving in the right direction.

• Take Advantage of Holiday Events - There seems to be no shortage of holiday parties and events this time of year, which means more opportunities for you to expand you professional network. Keep in mind that holiday events are much more casual than regular networking events, so a more casual approach will yield better results.

• Reach out to Your Network - The holiday season is a great time to reach out to you professional network. Sending a short note thanking your contacts for thinking of you when opportunities arise, is a good way to stay top of mind and send a little holiday cheer!

• Review, Refresh, Recharge - Don't forget to celebrate! You have worked hard this year, take the time to review all of your accomplishments. The end of the year is the perfect time to update your resume to include any skills or training you have gained. Explore new resumes styles and templates or work on a new 30 second pitch. Refreshing you job search materials will help keep you engaged and motivated.

The positive growth turned in by the American economy in the third quarter of this year suggests that maybe, just maybe this Great Recession is now in our rear view mirror.  As it fades away, of course, the tales will begin about what we did during this terrible time.  While recounting those legends is surely important, so too is sharing the insights we’ve acquired from our experience.

Cataclysmic events often alter our perceptions of the world around us.  That was true during the Great Depression, and it will be true as we emerge from this Great Recession, as well.  Some of these new views are opinions about what happened and why, but others are actually lessons that we’ve learned about how best to survive and prosper.  They’re the things we wish we had known before the event occurred because that knowledge would have undoubtedly enabled us to fare better than we did.

I think the sharing of this wisdom is good for us—it’s cathartic to acknowledge that we’ve earned an advanced degree in the school of hard knocks—but it’s even more helpful for our kids and grandkids.  In a very real sense, we are giving them a gift, a roadmap for the future that may help them avoid the dead ends and dangerous potholes they are sure to encounter.

Each of us has our own view of the lessons we should pass along.  For me, the following four insights are among the most important.  They are realizations everyone must have in order to chart a successful and fulfilling career in the 21 st Century world of work.

Seeking job security makes you vulnerable.  In today’s turbulent economy, employers have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the day after.  They may promise you job security, but they can’t deliver it.  So, counting on it is likely to put you out for the count.  A far better objective is career security—the ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the condition of any single employer or the economy as a whole.  Unlike job security, career security is a state you create for yourself.  You don’t have to rely on the good will of some employer.  You anticipate the changes in your career—the timing of a move from one boss or organization to another, the refocusing or reskilling that’s necessary to accommodate shifts in your industry or profession—and then you plan and execute those changes so they benefit you.

Recognition is something you give yourself.  Most managers and supervisors mean well, but if you wait for them to recognize your accomplishments at work, you’re likely to be disappointed.  Some have the social skills of a brick and others are too worried about their own security to take care of yours.  That’s why it’s important for you to keep track of your own “career victories.”  Sure, it takes a little effort to maintain a contemporaneous record of what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it, but that account will give you more satisfaction than most managers ever will.  Don’t just write it out, however; also review it regularly.  Take the time to remember what you’ve done and pat yourself on the back when you deserve it or give yourself a little counseling if you’ve let yourself down.

Working tirelessly is a sure way to get tired.  Sadly, many people in today’s world of work find themselves wired up with no place to go.  They’ve learned the hard way that staying continuously in contact with the office doesn’t protect you.  It exhausts you.  We’re all worried about the H1N1 flu becoming a pandemic, but workaholism already is.  If you have any doubt about that, look left and right the next time you’re lying on the beach.  Every other person will be glued to their Blackberry or iPhone checking their email.  The impact of such behavior on both individual performance and wellbeing is already acute and likely to get worse.  In a knowledge-based economy, your worth is measured not by your connectivity, but by your contribution.  And, your contribution suffers when you don’t give your mind and body a chance to rest.

Taking care of your career is the best way to take care of you.  The conventional approach to career self-management has been to get an annual checkup and leave it at that.  Historically, we paid attention to our career just once each year—during our performance appraisal and salary review.  That approach was dangerous then; today, it’s a sure-fire way to induce career cardiac arrest or what most of us call unemployment.  The only safe course in a workplace as turbulent as the one we now have is to develop career fitness the same way you develop physical fitness.  You have to commit yourself to building up the strength, endurance and reach of your career every single day.  Yes, that’s a lot of work, but it’s also a smart investment.  You spend one-third or more of your day in your profession, craft or trade, and you deserve an experience during that time that is every bit as good as the rest of your life.

We have acquired many insights from our experience over the past two years, but these four maxims are the key lessons we have learned.  They are the things we wish we had known so they are now the things we want others to know.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

For many job seekers this is a bitter/sweet time of year. There are so many festivities, pretty things, big sales and plenty of hustle and bustle. However, without a job and little or no income, how can this be a happy time of year?

Well, let’s look at that. Keep things in perspective. What does this holiday season mean to you? Some might say, “It’s the season for giving.”  Does giving only require you to have disposable income in order to give? No, I’m not talking about going into debt, or further into debt, in order to give.  What do you have that you could give this year? Most job seekers have extra time this year. How will you spend it? How can you make this year memorable?

I’ve been talking to many job seekers about some creative ideas they are planning this year.  Here are a few of them:

1. One woman is reviewing her favorite recipes and passing them on to her kids or grandkids. Not only do they get the recipe, but also the story behind a favorite tradition or event that made this recipe so special. She is doing a different recipe for each cook or baker in the family. (Priceless!)

2. One man has his snow shovel ready to go and will be shoveling his neighbors’ sidewalks and/or driveways when the winter snows comes along. No, he’s not waiting until Christmas; he is giving the gift now! (Perfect timing!)

3. One couple has volunteered to keep their friend’s children while Mom and Dad take care of last minute duties. (Really helps reduce that stress so many parents feel.)

4.   Another person is starting a family tradition of volunteering at the local homeless shelter or food bank. They always need help or extra supplies.  (True giving!)

5.   Another person said they are going through their closets and setting aside usable clothing and household items to take to shelters or other facilities. (Giving what you can!)

6.   A job seeker I talked to is writing a heart-felt letter to each of his family members or friends and sharing some stories about a past event they shared together and how that experience has impacted his life today.  (Why I love you, man!)

7.   One is baking goodies and taking them to the Police or Fire station to say ‘thank you’ to the folks who risk their lives for us each day. (Many of them will be working on Christmas Day.)

8.   Several have said they are doing more at their church, since so many others need extra help. (WWJD?)

9.   One has been helping their neighbors decorate for the holidays, inside or outside. He will also help them take the decorations down later. (It has worked out very well!)

10. The local paper printed several Christmas carols in the paper this month, so a group of carolers are going to some of the senior homes/apartments to sing carols. (What a perfect gift for this group of people!)

What ideas do you have? What suggestions do you have for additional ideas to bring out the best of the season?  May you have your best holiday season ever!  God Bless You.

Jane Emberty is a certified life/career coach and owner of Moving Thru Transition. More than 20 years of human resources management experience she brings recruiting strategies to the table to help job seekers discover their passion and land their ideal job. She is currently serving as the VP of Professional Development for the ICF-Phoenix Chapter focusing on the New Coaches Collaborative that meets from Sept through May 2010. For more information contact her at www.MovingThruTransition.com

 

By Ted Olsen

Companies often believe that, by contracting out human resources functions, they may immunize themselves against potential employment discrimination claims.  This belief is not justified.  For instance, if an employer hires an agency to screen, interview and select among applicants for employment with the employer, the employer may be liable if the agency performs these functions in a discriminatory fashion.  One recent court decision, Halpert v. Manhattan Apartments, Inc., 107 FEP Cases 459 (2d Cir. Sept. 10, 2009), illustrates this.  

In Halpert, the plaintiff alleged that when he interviewed for a position in which he would show rental apartments, his interviewer told him he was "too old" for the position.  When he pursued an age discrimination case against the employer, the employer contended that it could not be responsible for an allegedly discriminatory act by the interviewer, who was an independent contractor.  The district court granted the employer summary judgment on this ground.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that there were sufficient facts from which a jury could find that the interviewer (despite being an independent contractor) was not acting in anticipation of hiring a candidate for the interviewer's own business, but rather, was acting on Manhattan Apartments' behalf.  If Manhattan Apartments hired the interviewer to perform this employment function for the company, Manhattan Apartments was responsible for the interviewer's discrimination.  "If a company gives an individual authority to interview job applicants and make hiring decisions on the company's behalf, then the company may be held liable if that individual improperly discriminates against applicants on the basis of age."

Please contact William A. Wright, wwright@shermanhoward.com, with questions.

Sherman & Howard has prepared this advisory to provide general information on recent legal developments that may be of interest. This advisory does not provide legal advice for any specific situation. This does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and the Firm. If you want legal advice on a specific situation, you must speak with one of our lawyers and reach an express agreement for legal representation.

See www.shermanhoward.com for additional advisories.© 2009 Sherman & Howard L.L.C.   

New Revisions to FMLA Military Leave Enacted

By Vance Knapp

On October 28, 2009, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84 (H.R. 2647), which includes revisions to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act's military family leave provisions.  The revisions extend military caregiver leave to family members of veterans and expand exigency leave available under the FMLA to eligible family members of active duty servicemembers.

Previously, military caregiver leave was only available to the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of current members of the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves.  The revised law extends military caregiver leave to those family members of veterans, provided that (1) the veteran was a member of the Armed Forces (including the Reserves or National Guard) within five years of the veteran's medical treatment; and (2) the serious illness or injury occurred while the veteran was on active duty (an illustration of these conditions is set forth below). The revised law also provides for caregiver leave if the covered servicemember's serious injury or illness existed before the beginning of the servicemember's active duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty in the Armed Forces (the example below will illustrate this).  Dishonorably discharged servicemembers are not covered.

For example, suppose that a veteran of the first Gulf War had asthma that she developed as an adolescent and was subsequently exposed to biological weaponry during the war, which aggravated her asthma.  After the war she joined the Reserves and retired in 2004.  Thereafter, she commenced treatment for the aggravating condition within five years of her retirement from the Reserves.  Under these circumstances, her spouse can take FMLA military caregiver leave.  Once her husband exhausts his leave, her son may take military caregiver leave for his mother, even if his leave were more than five years after she retired from the Reserves, because she began treatment for the aggravated condition within five years of her retirement from the Reserves.

With respect to exigency leave, the revisions to the FMLA military family leave provision extend to family members of covered active duty servicemembers to help family members manage the servicemembers' affairs while servicemembers are on active duty in a foreign country.  Before this change was made, only family members of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers were entitled to exigency leave under the FMLA.  Now it applies to family members of active duty personnel who are currently serving in a foreign country, as well as the family members of National Guard or Reservists who receive notice of a call to duty in a foreign country.

Employers should revise their FMLA military leave policies to ensure that they are in compliance with these new revisions.  In the meantime, if you have any questions concerning these new revisions, please contact William A. Wright, wwright@shermanhoward.com.

Sherman & Howard has prepared this advisory to provide general information on recent legal developments that may be of interest. This advisory does not provide legal advice for any specific situation. This does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and the Firm. If you want legal advice on a specific situation, you must speak with one of our lawyers and reach an express agreement for legal representation.

See www.shermanhoward.com for additional advisories.© 2009 Sherman & Howard L.L.C.   

 

The positive growth turned in by the American economy in the third quarter of this year suggests that maybe, just maybe this Great Recession is now in our rear view mirror.  As it fades away, of course, the tales will begin about what we did during this terrible time.  While recounting those legends is surely important, so too is sharing the insights we’ve acquired from our experience. 

Cataclysmic events often alter our perceptions of the world around us.  That was true during the Great Depression, and it will be true as we emerge from this Great Recession, as well.  Some of these new views are opinions about what happened and why, but others are actually lessons that we’ve learned about how best to survive and prosper.  They’re the things we wish we had known before the event occurred because that knowledge would have undoubtedly enabled us to fare better than we did. 

I think the sharing of this wisdom is good for us—it’s cathartic to acknowledge that we’ve earned an advanced degree in the school of hard knocks—but it’s even more helpful for our kids and grandkids.  In a very real sense, we are giving them a gift, a roadmap for the future that may help them avoid the dead ends and dangerous potholes they are sure to encounter. 

Each of us has our own view of the lessons we should pass along.  For me, the following four insights are among the most important.  They are realizations everyone must have in order to chart a successful and fulfilling career in the 21 st Century world of work. 

Seeking job security makes you vulnerable.  In today’s turbulent economy, employers have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the day after.  They may promise you job security, but they can’t deliver it.  So, counting on it is likely to put you out for the count.  A far better objective is career security—the ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the condition of any single employer or the economy as a whole.  Unlike job security, career security is a state you create for yourself.  You don’t have to rely on the good will of some employer.  You anticipate the changes in your career—the timing of a move from one boss or organization to another, the refocusing or reskilling that’s necessary to accommodate shifts in your industry or profession—and then you plan and execute those changes so they benefit you. 

Recognition is something you give yourself.  Most managers and supervisors mean well, but if you wait for them to recognize your accomplishments at work, you’re likely to be disappointed.  Some have the social skills of a brick and others are too worried about their own security to take care of yours.  That’s why it’s important for you to keep track of your own “career victories.”  Sure, it takes a little effort to maintain a contemporaneous record of what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it, but that account will give you more satisfaction than most managers ever will.  Don’t just write it out, however; also review it regularly.  Take the time to remember what you’ve done and pat yourself on the back when you deserve it or give yourself a little counseling if you’ve let yourself down. 

Working tirelessly is a sure way to get tired.  Sadly, many people in today’s world of work find themselves wired up with no place to go.  They’ve learned the hard way that staying continuously in contact with the office doesn’t protect you.  It exhausts you.  We’re all worried about the H1N1 flu becoming a pandemic, but workaholism already is.  If you have any doubt about that, look left and right the next time you’re lying on the beach.  Every other person will be glued to their Blackberry or iPhone checking their email.  The impact of such behavior on both individual performance and wellbeing is already acute and likely to get worse.  In a knowledge-based economy, your worth is measured not by your connectivity, but by your contribution.  And, your contribution suffers when you don’t give your mind and body a chance to rest. 

Taking care of your career is the best way to take care of you.  The conventional approach to career self-management has been to get an annual checkup and leave it at that.  Historically, we paid attention to our career just once each year—during our performance appraisal and salary review.  That approach was dangerous then; today, it’s a sure-fire way to induce career cardiac arrest or what most of us call unemployment.  The only safe course in a workplace as turbulent as the one we now have is to develop career fitness the same way you develop physical fitness.  You have to commit yourself to building up the strength, endurance and reach of your career every single day.  Yes, that’s a lot of work, but it’s also a smart investment.  You spend one-third or more of your day in your profession, craft or trade, and you deserve an experience during that time that is every bit as good as the rest of your life. 

We have acquired many insights from our experience over the past two years, but these four maxims are the key lessons we have learned.  They are the things we wish we had known so they are now the things we want others to know. 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com 

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System. 

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

The national unemployment rate shrunk last month to 10%, down from 10.2% the month prior.  The nation shed only 11,000 jobs last month.  Losses in contruction and manufacturing were offset by strong gains in healthcare and temporary services.  This news is much better than we expected and I'm doing the happy dance on the inside!  Check out the video for more info.  Stay tuned to Jobing.com for more local market info just like this.