Career Expo Events - April 25-30th

If you're looking for a job in any of these fields or seriously considering switching careers and need some extra training, ECPI College of Technology has a Career Open House coming up spreading over April 25th - 30th. You'll be able to see live demos and presentations to really get a feel for what the job will be like. The expo is also free.

Some of the career fields and industries that they'll cover are:
Technology:

• Network Security
• Electronics Engineering
• Database Programming

Business:

• Business Administration
• Criminal Justice

Health Sciences:

• Medical Administration
• Medical Assisting
• Practical Nursing
• Medical Imaging Technology

Times and locations are:

Saturday, April 25: 10am - 4pm
Charlotte, NC 28208 - 4800 Airport Center Parkway
Columbia, SC 29210 - 250 Berryhill Road, Suite 300
Concord - Charlotte, NC 28262 - 124 Floyd Smith Drive
Greensboro, NC 27409 - 7802 Airport Center Drive
Raleigh, NC 27613 - 4101 Doie Cope Road


Monday, April 27: 9am - 8pm
Charlotte, NC 28208 - 4800 Airport Center Parkway
Concord - Charlotte, NC 28262 - 124 Floyd Smith Drive

Monday, April 27: 2pm - 7pm
Columbia, SC 29210 - 250 Berryhill Road, Suite 300
Greensboro, NC 27409 - 7802 Airport Center Drive

Tuesday, April 28: 9am - 8pm
Charlotte, NC 28208 - 4800 Airport Center Parkway
Concord - Charlotte, NC 28262 - 124 Floyd Smith Drive

Tuesday, April 28: 2pm - 7pm
Columbia, SC 29210 - 250 Berryhill Road, Suite 300
Greensboro, NC 27409 - 7802 Airport Center Drive

Wednesday, April 29: 9am - 8pm
Charlotte, NC 28208 - 4800 Airport Center Parkway
Concord - Charlotte, NC 28262 - 124 Floyd Smith Drive

Thursday, April 30: 9am - 8pm
Charlotte, NC 28208 - 4800 Airport Center Parkway
Concord - Charlotte, NC 28262 - 124 Floyd Smith Drive

You need to RSVP online or call 704-339-1010!

5 Job Search Tips for 60+ Workers

This post was originally posted on Wiser Worker Blog.

It can be difficult being 60+ and applying for a job. How do you contest the age biases that you might come across? First of all, don't panic. The key to getting and having a successful interview is confidence. Besides there is plenty of evidence saying that you may actually have the upperhand in the job search. Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Go to the Niche Sites.
Meaning - use job boards that are targeted to your demographic. This shouldn't be too much a problem - you're right here! WiserWorker.com has jobs that you can search and apply to that are specifically targeted to older workers.

2. Update Your Skills & Consider a New Industry.
How good are you with the computer? What other skills do you think employers are looking for? Check out your local community college for a few classes that might help you brush up on some newer skills and increase your chances of catching an employer's eye. A good example was I received an email from someone in the midst of her job search and while she was searching, she was taking a Spanish class to gain a little more competitive edge. You may also want to look at a new industry. Healthcare, for example, is an industry that can't seem to find enough people to work. If you're going to brush up on your skills, why not learn some new ones. Certification might not take as long as you'd think.

3. Start With People You Know.
Contact all the people you've worked with previously, your friends' kids and anyone you think might be a good person to find out information. Be assertive and tell them you're looking for a job, what industry and some of your qualifications. You never know who they might know. Of course with any networking be careful to not to go too overboard but the people you already know can turn out to be very valuable in your job search.

4. Use the Youth and the Internet.
Good references are a given, but you might want to consider having a younger professional being a reference. Someone who might be able to speak about your management skills or ability to work with all ages. You can also create a LinkedIn profile (which is essentially your resume online) and connect with previous or current co-workers and tap into online social networks. You don't have to rely completely on Internet networking - attending Chamber of Commerce events and other in-person networking is important as well. But this gives you an online presence and shows you're tech savvy and ability to be up to date with what's going on now with the job market and the workplace.

5. Highlight Your Experience.
Use your age to your advantage! No need to be ashamed. You have experience and should say so. This provides a great opening to an interview that will allow you to explain how you can benefit the company you are applying to or interviewing with. Use your experience and present it as a positive rather than a negative.

(Sources: How to Get a Job When You're 60 Plus, U.S. News & World Report; How An Older Worker Can Get the Interview, U.S. News & World Report. Photo by welsh boy)

- Rosie Reilman

HealthCareerWeb: Traveling Nurses - Choosing an Agency & Questions to Ask

One of my good friends from way back in elementary school recently took a job as a Traveling Nurse. She has worked in hospitals and doctors offices and really felt tied down. She's a huge traveler - I think she's been to just about every continent except maybe Africa and Austraila. Anyways she just started a job as a traveling nurse. In her position she found she could temporarily live in a new city for 6 months (or whatever the agency terms are) and see more of the United States, still work and experience a new place.

Her sister recently visited me and I've talked with her on the phone just about what it's like and how she's really been happy with the way things have turned out. Apparently she makes a pretty good salary and doesn't have to pay living expenses.

Upon doing some research on traveling nursing for this job blog, I found a great resource - a checklist of questions to ask a recruiter about your housing situation when trying to decide on a traveling nurse assignment.

Here are a few:

• What kind of housing is being offered, private or shared?
• If shared, can I request a nonsmoking roommate or a roommate that works the same shift as I do?
• Where is the housing located and when can I move in?
• Can I get a housing stipend if I live in a home I have purchased in my new assignment area, live out of town with friends or relatives, or rent a home on my own while on assignment?
• If the travel agency offers a stipend to pay for utilities, when is it paid and is it taxed?

There are more so definitely read the full post.

Another great resource is Highway Hypodermics. It's a travel nursing blog that highlights every month another agency. This could be really helpful in trying to decide what agency is right for you. Some of the ones already highlighted were: MedStaff Oklahoma, Nursing Options, Nationwide Nurses, Intelistaff. You can go through their archives for more but those are just a few.

When selecting an agency don't be afraid to ask questions and find a company that is going to keep your goals and ambitions in mind when placing you in different assignments. One article had good advice and suggested asking for traveling nurses who have worked with the agency as a reference. You can call up this nurse who has already worked for the agency and get an idea of what working with them is really like.

GoTravelNursing suggests to ask some what-if questions to get an idea of what all is involved in your contract:

What If: you call in sick during your assignment, or What If: you had to leave for an emergency? Know in advance what the contract stipulates. You may owe some of your housing allotment back.

What If: the hospital takes you off the schedule due to a low census; will you be required to make up that time at the end of the contract? Now is the time to ask.

What If: you fall in love with your dream assignment and the facility wants to offer you full time employment?

What If: during your assignment you find a great opportunity with a different travel agency? Will you be prohibited from switching agencies? Know in advance what your contract will and won’t allow.

Hopefully if you're considering being a traveling nurse that this is helpful in helping you figure out what to do next. Of course if you're looking for a long term career, or not sure where to start, you can always search for nursing jobs anywhere in the U.S. on HealthCareerWeb.com as well as connect and network with other medical professionals.

Career Specific Dieting Advice

Have you seen them? The bathing suits are already out in the stores. Yikes! All the new spring fashions are upon us already and as the weather warms up, people start thinking about health and fitness. There is a pretty great forum for health and fitness support and motivation at Big Huge Minds, through which there is a career specific forum that allows you to talk with other folks in your profession and come up with creative ideas on overcoming the setbacks that you might face.

For example, recruiters are often desk-bound, police officers are often on the beat and see only fast foods available, store clerks are often on their feet, etc. Sometimes maintaining motivation can be difficult in these situations.

Bill Vick from Employment Digest has an awesome review about this forum in which he has a couple of interview questions from the creator of Big Huge Minds. Definitely worth checking out. It's also good way to find out what kind of limitations lie ahead of you if, say, you're trying to get into a specific career.

Finding the right exercises and diets for your career is good for not your well being but your overall productivity and company morale!

Bring on the warm weather and the beaches!

- Rosie Reilman, Photo by gailf548

New Year, New Career. Countdown to 2008!

The blogs are full of advice on setting goals and finding success in the New Year (including finding a job). So here is a link list of the articles that I've seen:

Charleston Job Spot: 5 Tips for Achieving Your Goals
Columbia Job Spot: New Year's Resolution: Get a New Job
Greenville Job Spot: Ring in the New Year with a Laugh
Sarasota Job Spot: New Year's Resolution
Job Spot: New Year's Job Hunting: It's About Time

Happy New Year, Everyone!
-Rosie Reilman

Personal Branding for the Job Search

What is Personal Branding or a Personal Brand? From Wikipedia:

Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marketed as brands. It has been noted that while previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging.

So it's a way you portray yourself to others. Obviously this is important to your job search because how a company or recruiter sees you can determine whether or not you get the job. If you are perceived as a well-rounded, knowledgeable and qualified candidate, then you'll more than likely get the job you're applying for. With the rise of social networking and increased time people spend online, your presence online is really your personal brand and it encompasses everything down to your email address.

Statistically 47% of people Google themselves to see what the search results yield.

About 60 percent of Internet users said they aren't worried about the extent of information about themselves online, despite increasing concern over how that data can be used.

So what do you see when you Google your name? Employers might be seeing the same results. How do you think this portrays you as an individual?

These are really important things to ask yourself. There are tons of great blogs dedicated to this very topic of how to better your Google search results (hat tip.) and cultivating and maintaining a positive personal brand that will ultimately help your career. CareerHub is one of my favorite sites for personal branding advice but there are others. These resources can ultimately help you develop an online presence whether it's on LinkedIn or Facebook, starting a blog and participating in discussions online via blogs or other online forums in your industry.

Here's a great quote from Lyn Chamberlin about figuring out your Personal Brand:

1. Figure out who you are, what you stand for, and why you are different than anyone or anything else.

2. Create a story that communicates your value and your market differentiation.

3. Pull the key words that you have used to create that story and weave them into everything that you say, do and publish about yourself and your business.

4. Tell your story relentlessly, passionately and unapologetically to anyone who will listen. You will refine and improve it as you go along, figuring out which parts work nd which don’t.

Of course it's important to remember that your online presence or personal brand can only take you so far. Once your brand helps you to establish yourself as an expert in your field and a great hire, you have to prove yourself in the interview. Because what good is a personal brand if you can't back it up in person.

-Rosie Reilman
Photo by mattkeefe

Resources:
NCJobs Podcast: Using Web 2.0 Sites in Your Job Search
Personal Branding Magazine
How Social Networking Can Help Your Job Search
Social Media for the Job Seeker

10 Year Employment Outlook - Employment Projections for 2006-2016

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? It's a tough question to answer because who really knows? But there is some good news for the hourly workers! The U.S. Department of Labor released today 10 year outlook or predictions of what they think the job market is going to look like in the next 10 years. Part of that they project on the top occupations that are expected to grow the most, here are the top 10:

1. Registered Nurse jobs
2. Retail sales jobs
3. Customer service jobs
4. Food preparation and service jobs (includes fast food)
5. Office and clerical jobs
6. Home and personal care jobs
7. Post secondary teacher jobs
8. Janitors and cleaner jobs
9. Nurses aide jobs
10. Accounting and bookkeeping jobs

The next decade looks as if it will be the decade for the hourly service worker. At least according to the Department of Labor. What this means for you if you're already in one of these jobs? Possible advancement. With the increase of jobs, they'll be more management openings. Since you've got the experience you'll be able to swoop in for a promotion to management.

-Rosie Reilman

Tips on Attending a Conference or Trade Show

Depending on what your job duties entail, you may be asked to attend a training conference or trade show. I went to an unconference back in August. These events are great for networking, getting new ideas and learning new tricks of the trade. So how do you get the most out of these events?

Plan Ahead
This can be difficult. For me, I went on a Friday which meant I had to get everything done before and Friday usually is our busiest day. But pick out a goal or two that you want to accomplish. Maybe it's making 2-3 key contacts, maybe it's to find a cheaper product or solution for your business, or a specific topic you'd like to learn more about. Think about any vendors or customers that you might want to make an appointment with during the event and set those up as well.

The Logistics
Usually trade shows offer discounts for hotels via the event website or other media. You'll probably want to book your reservations early and close to where the conference or event is being held. If you have contacts who live near where you're going, ask them to help you with the best places to stay for cost efficiency and quality. Wear comfortable shoes (some events you do a lot of walking), wear casual business attire, bring a paper and pen or your laptop to keep notes from talks or to keep track of purchases. Don't forget business cards either! Gather information about the city you're staying in! During your down time, take advantage of exploring a new city.

During the Event
Introduce yourself to others, pass out business cards and network! It's amazing what the power of networking can do. Don’t worry about excusing yourself from a conversation if you're not interested in doing business with a vendor or someone you meet. Keep in mind your goals! If you can, attend a session that's a little off topic. This might help get you thinking differently about a topic. Stay realistic and ask questions. Sometimes speakers can hype up a topic so think practically and relate it to your job. Most sessions have a question and answer period. If you're confused about something or want to ask about your situation do so. Others in the room might approach you later with similar situations or offer help. If you'd rather not ask your question within a larger group, approach the speaker and ask them after the session or make an appointment to discuss your issue later. Take notes on vendors or talks you hear.

Afterwards
Look at a few things you learned and try and apply them to your workplace. Right after the conference write out and/or organize your notes. If you're like me and take very random notes, 3 months later I have no idea what I was writing the note about. So right after the conference, you'll want to organize what you learned. Evaluate the benefit of attending and follow up with people you made contact with.

In Terms of Your Job Search
If you're a job seeker or looking to get into the industry, trade shows or conferences can be a great way to not only increase your knowledge of a particular field but also gain contacts that can help you find employment! While sometimes these events can be costly, sometimes there are grants or scholorships that attendees can apply for. Ask the event organizers about scholorship opportunities.

Resources
About.com: Maximize Your Trade Show Time
5 Gen-Y Tips for Going to a Work Conference

- Rosie Reilman

New on Endangered Species List: The Lunch Hour

How many of you take lunch? One article on MSNBC talks about the extinction of the lunch break.

"We’re all too busy these days to take a leisurely lunch and we also want to get out of work at a reasonable hour so we can have some quality time with our families and friends. If you work through lunch, the thought goes, you can get out of the office before the witching hour."

Sometimes I guess you can feel like that. I know I have, when there's a lot going on and I feel like I don't have enough time to do it all, I will eat at my desk while I work. I've read this before and I think it is pretty true with myself that:

"… giving up your lunch break could actually diminish your productivity, causing you to end up putting in more hours in the long run, not to mention what it does for your health and well being."

Just do a search on productivity and taking breaks and you'll find a plethora of articles and blog posts about how taking short breaks helps increase productivity. It seems contradictory, but it's true. How many times have you been stuck on a problem and stepped away and finally the answer came to you? Same kind of concept.

One thing that I found interesting is that there are no federal regulations for lunch or coffee breaks, but some states do have regulations. Neither of the Carolinas are not among these. But the article does provide some tips on convincing your boss to be able to break to eat and relax your brain, including a rather humorous suggestion to just make a "low blood sugar scene of dramatic proportions." Hahaa.. Hopefully you won't have to go these lengths to have a meal midday.

Everyone is busy and hopefully you can find a way to fit in some refreshment for both your stomach and brain and increase your productivity and success in whatever you do! Take a moment to answer our poll! And as for me? I think I'm going to go get something to eat!

Do you take lunch?

Read: MSNBC Why the Lunch Break Is Going Extinct

-Rosie Reilman

The Secret to Happiness at Your Job: Know Thyself

Are you happy at your work? According to Kathryn Britton, it might be because you aren't using your strengths at work to their fullest. She writes that when you do work that utilizes your strengths, you're happier while doing tasks that require use of where we are weaker drains us.

"Strengths come from talent combined with knowledge gained from study and skill gained from practice… You are the best judge of what your strengths are because you experience yourself working. When you use strengths, you feel invigorated. When you use weaknesses, you feel drained. You look forward to activities that use your strengths and dread ones that use your weaknesses. You are more likely to be successful and to feel satisfied after using your strengths than after doing something that uses weaknesses."

She cites a few online tests that can help you find out what exactly your strengths are.

"Once you have your strength and weakness statements, work to change your job or
your life at home incrementally. Each week make plans to increase the time you spend doing activities that use your strengths and decrease the time spent on activities that use your weaknesses. Plan just a few changes to your schedule each week. Build on the changes you made last week. Swap tasks with another person if you can reach a better strengths alignment for both of you."

Essentially, knowing yourself will help you to not only succeed but be happier in what you do. Makes sense. If you enjoy what you do and have confidence that you will do it well, you'll be more likely to tackle tasks, take on projects, etc. Reading this, you may even realize that your current career or job is not even closely aligned to your strengths! Maybe that's why you're dreading work everyday?

I would agree that we need to find fulfilling work that utilizes our strengths for the majority of the time. But I also think that completely closing out our weaknesses and refusing to do anything that makes us uncomfortable will make us miss out on opportunities for growth. You might surprise yourself and you'll feel all the more accomplished having conquered that task.

Read Kathryn's full article here.

(Hat tip.)

Posted by Rosie Reilman.