Volunteering

November 24th, 2009

Volunteering

The Bad news? It doesn’t make you any money.
The Good news? Volunteering “jobs” are sure things and an amazing way to find your “calling!”

Volunteer organizations are always looking for new volunteers. There are volunteer groups in almost every field, for just about anything you can think of.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that volunteer groups need the same skills and knowledge that a wage paying workplace needs – computer skills, customer service, event planning – the list goes on. Just because you are not getting paid a wage doesn’t mean you’re not learning extremely valuable skills and experience to fill in that resume and work history. In fact volunteering is a great way to gain experience because you often have more freedom to make minor mistakes as you learn, and to ask questions then you would in a wage-earning situation.
For example suppose you volunteer to work at and help run a local food bank, or “soup-kitchen”. You are gaining skills for like supply management, public relations, customer service, problem solving skills and crisis management, and more for your resume. Nearly any employer would be ecstatic to gain an employee with these skills…and even more importantly you took it upon yourself to learn them, and that just makes you even that much more of a valuable hire!

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Missing us?

November 17th, 2009

We would like to apologize for being lazy on the Blog writing recently, but we have been busy putting together a new website for the Southern Oregon Coast. http://www.CoosClassifieds.net is up and running and ready for you to post your classifieds ads for free!!

Completely free ads!
Less spam to filter through because we are locally owned and moderated!
Free for Private Party and Commercial Business!
Homes for Sale
Rentals
Cars, Trucks, RV’s
Garage Sales
Events
You Name it!!

CoosClassifieds.net!!!

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Don’t Be Lazy!

October 8th, 2009

Its story time folks….
     There I was at a little meeting with about a dozen or so other businesses in attendance, and as usual, the conversation turns towards employees, employee issues, and hiring issues. Today’s complaint came from a business owner who has a higher hiring demand than most in the area. He was going over applicants from that month and he had less than half the usual number. He wondered why. As this point came up, others chimed in. He wasn’t alone. If unemployment is up, the number of applicants should be up too right? Apparently not.
     So I did some research and found, after talking with several job seekers, what I believe is the answer. It is a two part problem, and they feed each other. The news says the economy is starting to show signs of recovery, so business owners are looking towards the future, and many of them are starting to run help wanted ads, and in anticipation of hiring are trying build a applicant pools. The problem is, it leads to frustration on the part of the job seeker when there is no one calling for interviews, but that are advertising openings.
     The bigger problem is what I am worried about here; laziness! This frustration leads to laziness and the assumption that no one is hiring. This is just not true, people are hiring. You want that new job, laziness is just going to further deepen that pit of wallowing despair you are laying in…get up off the couch, and start beating the streets…you will be surprised to find how many people are still looking for eager candidates who aren’t lazy!

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Ways To Not Write A Resume

September 15th, 2009

The following post is something we found posted on another site.  Since it was written and posted by an employer we thought you all would really like to read what someone who is interviewing you really thinks. 

Ways to Not Write a Resume

Don’t be offended if you see yourself in here, but please do get some professional help. There are people who will do this for you, and you clearly need their assistance.

Cover letters are not optional, people. No, I didn’t ask for one. You know why? Because they’re the default. At the very least, write a paragraph in your e-mail to me so I can see that you aren’t a monkey accidentally forwarding your owner’s resume.

Objectives can be stupid.
Clearly, your objective is to land the job, or else you wouldn’t be applying. But if you have listened to the [people] who’ve written books about its necessity (notice they work for themselves, and haven’t been hired anywhere in a while), at least keep it short, sweet, and related to the actual job for which you’re applying as opposed to the generic tripe that has come through my desk the past four hours. Such as:

“Objective: To obtain a secretarial/receptionist position where I can utilize my skills in customer service while demonstrating a customer first attitude yet utilizing my wide variety of administrative skills by pushing and advancing the office entirely by giving organization and any assistance as needed all still while gaining any and all available knowledge within the office environment”

First of all, the position isn’t for that of a receptionist or secretary; know what you are applying for. You’re already gone down two points. Second of all, if you’re going to throw buzzwords like “utilize” about willy-nilly, at least don’t do it twice in the same sentence. Next, make sense. “…by pushing and advancing the office entirely by giving organization and any assistance as needed…”? Seriously? Is that supposed to make sense or be in English? Lastly, utilize the comma. I’d rather you overuse this little friend of ours than underuse him, especially if you’re going to make a [large] paragraph only one sentence.

“Objective: To work my hardest to achieve goals in the near future.”

*insert buzzer sound here* I’m not even reading the rest of that resume.

“Objective: To obtain a position in a company that will best utilize my skills in data analysis and information technology, as well as expand my knowledge of National Disclosure Policy; a position that challenges my abilities and allows for opportunities to grow with the company.”

Points for the correct use of a semicolon, but if I don’t even know what a national disclosure policy is, then my company isn’t going to be able to help you expand your knowledge of it. Also, we’re not an IT company, nor are you applying for an IT position, so tailor that down for me, will you? Stick it in the skills section. (More on those moronic lists shortly.)

“Objective: To gain the proper skills and knowledge to run a professional business.”

Do we look like an MBA program? And if you want to run a business, why are you applying for part time assistant positions? How about applying to be an assistant manager somewhere?

I don’t care if you were king of the chess team.
How often does it need to be said that if you’ve gone to college, I don’t want to know about your high school? Especially if it was over ten years ago, folks.

“2001-2003 B.A., [named] University”. This may just be me, but even at a pay-for-your-degree school, how do you achieve a B.A. in just two years? And what is it supposedly in? There’s no field of study listed.

“[named] University, Bachelor of Science, Sports Management. GPA: 3.1″ A B.S. in Sports Management (snicker) and you still only had a 3.1 GPA? You’re taking phys ed for college credit. The least you can do is get more than Bs.

That pesky attention to detail.
When I specify that I need someone with attention to detail, that means lots of misspellings and non-words like “a maculate list” are not going to gain you any points. An immaculate list, perhaps?

“During this time I am searching for employment within a company that can help me earn hours and experience within a school setting and to also help build my administrative skills further. I am currently seeking salary in the range of 25k-35k and 40 hours a week.” We specified $10-15 for 20 hours a week. Oh, and we’re not a school. K thx bye.

“In response to your advertised position, Advertising Rep, please find attached a copy of my resume.” While I appreciate the effort that went into changing his subject line to “Memeber Asssistant,” you first gotta spell things correctly and then follow that all the way through, buddy. Also, titling your resume as “August 2006″ isn’t getting me all warm and fuzzy, either. I’m glad you’ve been unable to update your resume since.

“I am a Professional who leverages 10+ years of Executive assistance…” You’d think she’d know when to capitalize and not capitalize words, then.

If you’re claiming a skill, actually have it.
For instance, when your skillset includes “filing/editing” but is followed by “Photo Shop” improperly spaced, that means you’re not very good at the first one, and you probably don’t use the second often enough to know how to spell it. Therefore, you’re probably an exaggerator, meaning I can’t trust anything else on your resume. Bye-bye.

“Telephone Skills”. What does that mean, that you can operate one? Good job. So can a three year old. If you mean one of those multi-line, complicated telephone *systems*, then yes, that is something to put on your resume — if you were applying to be a receptionist in a busy office.

“Office Procedures”. What the hell does that mean? How is that a skill?

When your resume looks like two boring run-on paragraphs and a list, all of which is centered on the page in the most rudimentary fashion, don’t list “graphic design” as one of your skills. Please spare me.

“Treat people with respect.” Shouldn’t that be a given? Also, why is that your third most-important skillset? Did you have to work very hard at it?

Stop throwing in complete crap just to make it sound fancy.
The following is a list of why you should never throw words together if you don’t know what they mean (the long-winded objective from above could also be put in this category).

“My ability to learn quickly is key essentials.”
“Being so detailed and goal oriented provides me with the ability to have outstanding organizational skills which enthusiastically allows me to succeed well within all goals set.”
“My background and my education are the met qualifications in this job description.”
“Enclosed you will find my resume for your viewing and review purposes.”
“I am a very talented part-time college student…” (Do I want to know what you’re talents are? Because this sounds like the start of a different sort of ad, the kind that end with “looking for a sugar daddy to help me pay for books.”)
“Enabling to multi-task with different projects in an amount of time.”
“Assisted to Customers needs and questions.”
“Having customers leave with a wonderful experience and quality insurance.” (And no, he wasn’t selling insurance, either.)
“I saw your Job posting and was interested in the position if it is currently available.” (What kind of stupid question is that?)

Other miscellaneous details
“(301) xxx-xxxx (Phone)” Really? That’s a phone number? I’d never have guessed.

There is absolutely no reason that someone who graduated high school less than four years ago needs a three page resume. None. I graduated seven years ago and worked in two completely different fields, and mine’s still under a page.

“2001 - 2001″, then later “2006 - 2006″, no months listed. Man, those were some great eras.

A friend had the unprofessional e-mail address issue with the “get high with me @” guy a couple months ago. Today’s is a l33t-speak “sky’s the limit,” but spelled “skiis,” which took me three minutes to figure out wasn’t some reference to cocaine. And compared to these other [um…applicants?], she’s actually got one of the better resumes, so it’s a shame her e-mail address shows she’s a moron.

If you are claiming the management of operations for a home office as a previous position, you need to a) add a cover letter, and b) explain in your cover letter why you want to now work part-time for little money at a low-level job.

“Very hard working even when no one is.”
Just because your previous job had lots of slackers doesn’t mean that we are, so cut out the holier-than-thou attitude, ‘kay?

Do you hate my eyes? Because why else would you put your resume in 8pt. font? The blocks of unbroken texts are not helping you, either. You know what? I’m tossing this one already, and I’m only three lines into it.

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Write a Better Resume than Paris Hilton

August 17th, 2009

        So to start this article on résumé writing: I scoured the Internet to compare a few notes from different regions around the country, and guess what I found? Résumé writing is not all that much fun! A Google search on “résumé writing” produced 32,300,000 results, whereas a search for Paris Hilton came out to over 51,000,000! I guess this goes to show that following someone famous (and what exactly is she famous for?) can be more fun than suffering through the headache of preparing your résumé.
        In the interest of not boring you to death, I am leaving the technical crap alone, and just putting together as a list of tips to help you put together your next résumé.

Have a little OCD: Many experts give many different tips for the formatting, so there is no perfect format. Getting the format “right” means getting bullet points lined up and eliminate wacky spacing. Crazy and uneven formatting will get you questioned about skills that have nothing to do with what you can do on the job. Tip: If you copy and paste your Word (or similar program) formatted résumé into most online sites, the formatting will go all screwy. Don’t be lazy, just fix it.

When did you do that? If you’ve got a bad gap, explain it in your cover letter (we will look at cover letters in another blog). So, unless you were a super secret spy and it’s one of those “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you” situations go ahead and put in the dates of past jobs and degrees. The truth is, when you don’t put dates employers start thinking you are being sneaky and/or exaggerating your true experience and education.

1993 – 1995 Bad Burger Barn: You shouldn’t have more information for the job you had 10 years ago at the local fast food joint, than you do for your last position as an accounting clerk, especially when you are applying for a job in accounting. The information you put on the older positions should only be what pertains to the particular job you are submitting it for.

Gobbledygook: Experts say buzzwords or industry jargon is bad and in some ways it is – you can easily over use it. However, you want this job right? Then use the terminology that they put in their job description. Exploit the vocabulary they are acquainted with and are requesting from you…(Use the terms they know and are asking for…but don’t go overboard!). It’ll show you were paying attention rather than just ramming a bunch of crap together to sound nifty.

Save the trees: Let’s be honest with each other shall we? Why do you need a four-page resume to get an entry-level position at Wal-Mart? The answer — You don’t. Employers really do prefer shorter and to the point. If you are applying for an upper level or management position, then maybe (if you actually have experience in those positions) you might be justified in a multi-page resume.

Custom Tailored Fit: Do you really want a job? If the answer is yes, then put in the effort to rewrite your résumé for each job position. Besides, if you’re claiming you can type 80 words per minute, then it shouldn’t take you very long anyways! Look at what we said above, and consider making adjustments for each employer that you send it to. Think about it from his or her point of view – Would you hire someone who puts in only a minimal effort?

Spel thngs ryte! I read something, somewhere that said your résumé is like the restroom in a restaurant; it is the one room everyone will see. And, hey, if you can’t keep that clean, what’s it like in the kitchen? What do you think a résumé filled with grammar and typing errors says about yourself? Computers have spell check for a reason…go ahead! Give it a whirl!

Playing Dress Up: I know all the books say to use heavy bond white or off-white resume paper but I have talked to numerous employers in our area, and the paper choice is a lot like the number of pages choice. Employers looking at many one-page résumés are more concerned about it being easy to read, without errors, and that the job seeker is actually paying attention to detail. Let’s face it; pink scented résumés are only going to work for Reese Witherspoon. Fancy colors can really hurt you, and heavy bond paper only becomes important when looking at those higher-level positions. It doesn’t hurt to use that better paper, but it doesn’t help as much as you might think.

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I got a Job at the County Fair

July 31st, 2009

          So here we sit at the county fair, talking to people about CoosJobs.net and showing them our website and explaining how we do things, and it got me thinking (I do that occasionally, even if it hurts) – Thinking about networking.
          Networking is so much more important than most people realize in a job search. Have you been networking? Networking is not a process of cold calling a bunch of people you don’t really know. Networking is talking to those you do know, letting them know that you are looking and what you are looking for. It’s talking to them about what they know, who’s hiring and who isn’t.
          Networking is an art of building alliances. It’s not contacting everyone you know and saying “Hey, I need you to help find a job!.” Networking starts long before a job search, and you probably don’t even realize you are doing it.
          Friends, acquaintances, your buddy that serves you that latte every morning, your neighbors, and those former co-workers are the best networking resources especially in a market where there are more people out of work than job openings.
          So when you’re out here, visiting at the fair, look around, talk to people you know, talk to friends, and co-workers, stop by and check out the trade show booths (like ours!), don’t force it on them, but make it a part of your answer when they ask “Hey, what have you been up to?” It never hurts to see what someone else knows!

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MYSPACE, FACEBOOK…FRIEND OR FOE?

July 31st, 2009

 

            So here it is.  The great advance in social networking, the Internet.  It all started with “IM-ing” and now it has grown to full networking sites.  I know you are all familiar with them; Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  The real question is did you realize just how quickly they can derail that job-seeking train? 

            More and more companies everyday are moving themselves into social networking and more and more of them are using it as a way to look into the habits and personality of the potential employees they are looking at.  So I thought we should look at a few ways to prevent your Facebook or Myspace from keeping you standing in the unemployment lines.

            First lets look at last weekend.  Did you go out with your friends?  Have a few drinks maybe?  Did anyone have a camera in hand?  How many of those pictures with that little umbrella drink in your hand made onto Facebook?  Did your best friend send you a comment talking about how stupid you looked when you fell down the stairs and got kicked out of the bar?

            What about those silly surveys?  Take any of those lately?  The questions can be deadly in their apparent innocence.  When was the last time you called in sick cause you were drunk?  How many times have you lied to your boss?  Remember those questions?

            How about your layouts on Myspace?  How many half naked people are in the background?  What about drug or violent images?  And lets not forget about the apps that appear to promote drinking, gang warfare, or those cool little joke bumper stickers.

            “Ok, Ok…. I get it,” you say “now what do I do about it?”

            Fix it!  There are many things that these sites allow you to do to help from getting too much of your personal life out there.  Try typing into a Google search “Myspace hide your friends code”.  You will find a very simple cut and paste code to make your friends invisible.  Look at your account settings.  Maybe those pictures, which are meant to be shared with family and friends, should be set to only be viewable by friends.  Most social networking sites have these controls.  You can even go as far as setting the entire profile private, which you should definitely do if you have ANY concern about it.

            After you do this, there are two things left for you to do; 1- go look at your profile while not logged in (maybe even ask a trusted friend to do the same) and see if there is anything left viewable by the general public that could be of concern.  2- Do a Google search of yourself.  Type in your name and location (city and state) and see what comes up on the Internet.  See if there are other things out there you may have forgotten.

          The Internet is a great tool, and when it comes to job searching, don’t let it become your nightmare.  Be vigilant…be smart…don’t let you be the reason you don’t get a job!

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Cover Letters….From the Horse’s Mouth

July 21st, 2009

A Word on Cover Letters:
From the Horse’s Mouth

                       Writing a cover letter can be a daunting task, and it is a task that I am asked to speak on frequently. I can go on and on about writing a great cover letter (I can go on and on about a great many things, ask my wife!) …but today I am going to keep it short and sweet. I am going to address only the biggest area that makes or breaks you on your cover letters. The most important part of what I am about to tell you is, that it is NOT my words (although I agree strongly), this came straight from several employers who have had this discussion with me.
                     Many recruiters have told me that the first thing they do when sorting through cover letters is to glance at them briefly to see if the person writing it refers to any of the specific skills listed in the original help wanted ad. Many say they find ones that people are nicely spotlighting many things, but those things have nothing to do with the position being offered.
                     If an employer has taken the time to write in that they need someone with knowledge of a particular accounting or software program, then you should be taking the time to write your cover letter to highlight your past working knowledge of those things – not how well you did in school, or how many dogs you have.
                      That last thing leads me to an extra point I will throw in here. It is the other thing recruiters are telling me that they use to sort through cover letters. If the opening talks about family members or martial status…they are getting read last, if at all! Use the cover letter to highlight skills not listed on your resume, or to expand on them. Never, never, never, and I mean never even think about putting the number of kids, cars, dogs, cats or spouses you have (or have had) in there.
                Simply put, according to employers, straight from the horse’s mouth, the tiny percent who take the time to craft their cover letter to look like they are answering what was described in the job listing are the ones getting called for the interview.

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What NOT to Wear!

July 16th, 2009

What Not to Wear

 

 

So there I was, leaning back watching What Not To Wear (It was my wife’s fault honest!), and I started thinking about our first blog – Top Ten ways to make sure you don’t get Hired.  Many people commented to me about this blog – I am going to have to explain to them about how to make comments on the web so I quit getting phone calls at 6am on Sunday – it was repeatedly the same comment; “was appearance at interviews really that bad?” My answer, no wait, the answer of nearly EVERY single employer I talk to about this is YES!

When I was growing up I remember my father, school, my grandmother even, explaining to me about how I should look when trying to get a job.  What has happened to us?  I though back to the last 5 people I have interviewed – Here, let me share with you:

The first was a guy wearing 1986 acid washed jeans with a hole in the knee, and a T-shirt that was 2.7 sizes to small.  Number 2 was a lady somewhere around 40-45 years of age in a short skirt, and tube top (Did I step back in time here?), I am also pretty sure she was on something, and I don’t mean Prilosec either. 

Number 3 at least re-entered this century with the clothing, but I really had no need to know that he wore Fruit of Loom boxers, and maybe he should have washed the shirt (it was a nice shirt, kind of wished I had one like it, you know LIKE it, a cleaner version). For number four, I was whisked away with my time machine again, going all the way back to 1969 with the tye-dye T-shirt and fringe leather jacket – they had the best application (and they appeared to be showered) however, so I was forced to consider this one. 

Finally the fifth one made me cry.  Tears of joy came streaming down my face when a young lady walked in wearing something akin to a pantsuit.  Not really sure if that was what it was supposed to be, I’m not a big fashion guy – I don’t care what I said at the beginning, I don’t mean to watch What not to Wear, but it was clean.  She didn’t have strange undergarments hanging out.  Her application was second best, but she put forth the most effort – ding, ding, ding – Tell her what she’s won Johnny!  She was hired!

Reminiscing this way made me think, maybe I should try a do and don’t picture blog to help those out who are unsure about their personal wardrobe choices when heading out to that interview.  A picture speaks a thousand words, and since we all know how much I like words, I thought  “Hey! I can say like ten-thousand words without typing!”

So here are your examples…. please note that the left column (the examples with the big crossed out red circles) is What Not to Wear, and the ones on the right side, not crossed out, are good choices for your next interview!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not even sure what to say about this…

 

We are running a contest to see if you can guess what color is under the censor spot….. Seriously, is that what a recruiter should be seeing??

Both outfits you can be seen at the Mall in, that would be ok, but only one should ever make it into the interview room…and hey don’t wear that hoody out to fill in applications either, you won’t make it to the interview.

There are only 2 places you should see the one on the left, singles bars that border on strip clubs, or Sunset Blvd.

           

And Just in case you didn’t get the hint…this is never acceptable, anywhere, ever, please don’t, and have your crazy Uncle committed if he does it!

 

            I would like to thank the various places on the Internet that these pictures were found.  They have provided some great examples, I tried to get people off the street here, but no one was really willing once I told them why I wanted to take a picture of what they were wearing – Maybe that should be a hint to them! 

 

 

 

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Paranoid or Employed?

July 13th, 2009

Don’t Let Paranoia stop you from getting that new Job!

 

            Is someone going to see my private information?  Am I at risk for identity theft if I post a resume on the Internet?  The Internet has created a haven for the more unscrupulous to find way to victimize us…but some simple forethought can prevent everything.  Beside we are talking about finding a new job, bettering ourselves and our lifestyles…are we really going to let paranoia beat us? NO!

 

            Why would I even post a resume on a website that doesn’t currently have a position advertised I like?  Well, because the Internet moves at a nearly instant speed.  Let’s pretend for a moment…

 

            It is 9:37am Monday and you check CoosJobs.net for new positions.  You just checked late last night, and nothing you like is there.  You haven’t created a resume profile yet; you haven’t seen anything that fits your career desire.  You go away, check another website, then you check another; it is now 9:58am and an employer just logged in to CoosJobs.net to post a job.  You turn off your computer at 9:59am.  At 10:04am, that new employer (who just happens to have that dream job for you) is done creating a new listing and moves over to the resume search feature.  They are browsing through some resumes that are posted.  By 11:00am they found two they liked and have put out contacts for them to set up interviews.  Both of them will be interviewed the following morning.

            You decide to wait a day or two before checking back.  On Thursday morning at 8:57am you come back to our website, and look there is the job you want.  What you don’t know is there is a person right now shaking hands with the person who just accepted the job offer.  They never even applied for the job, at least not directly, and by the time you get your resume to them, they have already pulled the listing and there is no opening available.

 

            While this seems like a bit of an exaggerated example, but it has, and will happen again.  I even spent some time explaining this once to a jobseeker who could just not believe that it had happened to them.  That darned ol’ Murphy’s Law will get you every time if you let it. 

            Now let’s look at the protection aspect.  Resumes are not just randomly thrown out for anyone to see.  Job-posting sites have created this feature to assist employers in their job search – They are the ones who have access to view it.  It is these people that you not only want to know about you, but you want them to be able to get in contact with you.  Your name, contact number, e-mail, these are things you want to put in their hands.  As for the fear of these getting “into the wrong hands”, well folks, there are much easier ways for someone to get this info about you then trying to pull restricted information from a Job-listing website.  All jobseekers should (if they don’t already) have a specific e-mail just for their job search.  Most of your personal information, such as birthdays, social security numbers and family information, shouldn’t be in a resume anyway (this is a topic we will tackle another day). 

            Remember being successful in a job search means making sure that anyone who has a job for you can find you.  Using the Internet and posting your resume for Employers to view means you are job seeking even while you sleep…and that’s making your resume work!

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