Get ready for the job hunt

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot

Welcome to our new reality. You are laid off and not sure what to do. You probably have transferable skills that could help you land a job in a new field. Here are some sites for self assessment-

www.humanmetrics.com

www.online.onetcenter.org

www.careerkey.org-this one can help you decide what career would suit you and if you are thinking about going back to school offers help on choosing a college major or training program -this one has a fee of $9.95 and will take about 15 minutes.

You need to make your resume stand out. Customize your resume and cover letter for each position. Do research on the company before you apply and make notes that you save in a spread sheet. Check out these web site for company information-

www.refdesk.com

www.learnwebskills.com/company/- a free tutorial for finding free company and industry information on the web.

Job hunting is like a full time job and when you do it right it takes 40 hours a week.
I have found a lot of great info on the internet for job hunting. The following is an article about protecting your identity on the internet-

One primary source of revenue for many job sites is the revenue generated by selling employers access to the database of resumes registered by job seekers. For some job sites, anyone who can afford the cost gains access, with minimal screening done to ensure that the purchasers actually have jobs to fill.

And you should also know that there bogus job sites collecting information from job seekers.

So, your complete work history, education, and contact information are available to anyone who can pay the access fee -- employers and recruiters, hopefully, but also sales people, scammers, identity thieves, etc.

What are the risks of not protecting your privacy?

1. If you have a job and your employer finds your resume online, you could be fired.

Employers have always viewed job-seeking employees as "disloyal" - potential risks for taking clients and/or confidential information to a competitor. In most cases, firing you for job hunting is perfectly legal in the United States.

This problem has a dangerous corollary: after you've landed your new job, your new employer finds your old resume online, and calls you on the carpet (or fires you) for your supposedly continued job search efforts.

2. Someone could steal your identity.

Identity theft is the #1 online fraud in the United States, according to the FBI. Your resume has almost everything necessary to take over your identity and your credit. If your Social Security Number ("SSN") is on your resume in the U.S., an identity thief has everything they need - so don't put your SSN on your resume!

3. You may be buried with "spam" (bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail) as well as direct marketing to your home or business.

So even if you don't have a job to protect, you probably don't want your e-mail inbox filled with junk mail, your phone ringing in the middle of dinner, etc.

4. Someone interested in harming you can find you easily.

Your resume, with completed contact and employment information provides vital information for them to find you. This is why you should use a cyber-safe version.

5. Ethically-challenged, commission-based recruiters may ruin job opportunities for you. (Commission-based recruiters get paid their commission - typically a percentage of the annual salary - if a candidate they referred is hired.)

Without your knowledge or permission, the recruiter may "shop" your resume around to employers. Why is this NOT good?

* Because you and your experience may be misrepresented, giving the employer a bad impression of YOU.

* If you have sent that employer a resume yourself, you could lose out on a job because the employer may not want to hassle with the recruiter over a commission payment that may, or may not, be due to the recruiter.

* You will be more expensive to hire than someone else with the same salary, because of the commission due to the recruiter.

* Your resume may be so widely distributed that it becomes "junk mail," reducing your market value.

Note: All recruiters are not bad. A good recruiter, one who knows you and works with you to find appropriate opportunities, can be a big help. In some fields, and at some levels (like executive and senior management), recruiters paid by retainer (vs. commission) are THE source of job opportunities. (See John Lucht's RiteSite.com for a list of true executive recruiters.)

That all folks. I will try and keep up with this better and share what I find with everyone.

Cheers!

The Job Search!!!!

I used to go on 6 interviews and get offered 5 of the jobs. Oh, I forgot, that was in the past.

Welcome to the new world of Job Hunting. It is a lot different now.
At least I am able to draw unemployment. Here in Florida the maximum is $275 a week. The state also allows us to get an additional $25 a week from the Economic Stimulius Plan. That is not much, but as I am frugal and my wonderful daughter helps me, I am keeping my head above water. I am thankful for these things.
Each day I am going to talk about job search tips.
Today's tip is about a web site to check out to find valid work at home jobs. This web site is a valid site for job postings. They screen each job lead they post.
www.ratracerebellion.com
You can google them and check them out. They have new job leads every day.

Quote of the day-
Lou Holtz: I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it. Are all of the job leads on your site screened?

Yes. We screen each job lead we list on the Rat Race Rebellion web site. We do not screen Google Ads, however, as Google itself determines those. (Our site and research efforts are ad-supported to remain free to the

Are all of the job leads on your site screened?

Yes. We screen each job lead we list on the Rat Race Rebellion web site. We do not screen Google Ads, however, as Google itself determines those. (Our site and research efforts are ad-supported to remain free to the public.)

Hello all,
I am laid off for the second time in two years. I am trying to make the best of a bad situation. Thank god for unemployment. I almost feel quilty drawing it but I am very thankful that I have it.

Where to begin,
Let me tell you about this cool web site I found. It will help you keep track of your job search, send reminders, notes to yourself about which companies you want to research, resumes, etc.



http://becomed.com/dashboard.php

I am looking forward to utilizing this in my job search to keep myself organized. Even though I have all the time in the world right now, remember I'm not working, I still need help with my job search organization.

What I like about being Laid Off-

Sleeping in late-every day!!!
Not having to put on mascara
Wearing my hair in a ponytail every day-no curling iron burns on my neck.
Not having to worry if my outfit matches.
Not wearing heels-in fact I live in Florida and have been wearing my go-with-everything basic black flip flops every day.

I

Now that's so lewd.