Sunday, February 27, 2011

Job Fair in Oklahoma

I just wanted to give you a heads up if you live in Oklahoma. There is to be March Job Fair held in Oklahoma City, by Employment Services.

Location:  Oklahoma City Community College
               College Union Dining Area  
When:      Wednesday March 2, 2011
Times:      General Employment opportunities from 10AM to 2PM
                Health Care Professions from 12PM to 6PM

for additional information you can call 405-682-7519
or email: employmentservices@occc.edu

Local job fairs are an excellent opportunity for you to get out and mingle with other applicants and get a feel for your competition and also to visit with prospective employers to learn what is out there. The employers will let you know what types of positions they are looking to fill and the approximate salary ranges for those positions.

It is important that you stay current on what is being offered and how much companies are willing to pay for your expertise. In today's job market, it is not unusual to see salaries less than what you might anticipate them being.

Be sure to go to a job fair dressed as if you were at a regular interview. This is not the time to be wearing that faded tee shirt and your holey jeans!  Be sure that your personal grooming and your attire speaks well of you and that you indeed are seriously looking for work. 

Get a briefcase or a nice portfolio case in which to put plenty of your resumes. Put together several different types of resumes, targeting your various skills, to fit into the many varieties of positions that you can qualify for.  Not one type of resume will fill the bill!


If you do not live in Oklahoma, or want to live here, check your local area for upcoming events. They are often held at various colleges and sponsored by your state's employment services division.


Happy job hunting!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Need A Little Help From My Friends

Just like those of you who are out there looking for work, it is always nice to get a little help from your friends.It is called networking and each and every one of you who is looking for work should be using this very valuable tool in your job hunt.

You are one of many who are out there looking for work. Let your friends know, don't suffer in silence!  Let your friends, your church family, and any other acquaintances you might have know that you are looking. You might be surprised at the leads you generate. They may know someone or someone they know who knows someone who is looking for a person with your expertise!

If you keep interviewing with companies and don't get an offer, go ahead and contact that person who interviewed you. Tell them that you really appreciated interviewing with them and even though you were not hired, would they happen to know anyone else who might be looking for someone with your background. You might not have been a good match for their company, but you might be perfect for someone else that they happen to know who is hiring.

Now I am going to ask for some help from those of you who are following this blog or even if this is your first visit here. I want to know if the information I have been giving you has been beneficial to you?  Have I provided you with some good ideas of how to find work in some new areas that you have not considered before?  Have I been able to give you some encouragement?  Are there any areas of employment or helping you prepare resumes or for interviews that you would like me to cover? 

This blog is written to help you find employment, be it something temporary to hold you over and put food on the table and a roof over your head until you find that perfect job, or to encourage you to look at some new avenues for a career path. The best way for me to serve you is to have some feedback from you on how I am meeting those needs.

So come on, give me a shout and let me know your opinions. I would love to hear from you.

Monday, February 21, 2011

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel

From what I have been seeing in the news, hearing from others who are still unemployed and looking for work, the present employment picture is continuing to look very bleak!

Over the Christmas holidays some workers were hired in anticipation of more people in the stores, letting loose of their hard earned cash buying gifts for loved ones. The sad thing is, not as many people were hired for this time period and few were retained afterward and were thus put back into the unemployment line.

Unemployment figures are deceiving as to the number of people who are currently unemployed as many who were once able to collect their benefits have now fallen off the rolls and are no longer counted in that figure, even though they are not working. Some people have totally given up looking for a job and are now in total despair as to what they are going to do next to keep body and soul together. The two sections of our population who are being most affected by our current economic situation are young college graduates who are anxious to get out into the working world so that they are able to begin paying on their student loans which they encumbered and are now coming due and the older sector of laid off workers who are over forty years of age! Yes folks that is what I said, anyone over forty is having an extremely difficult time finding a job. 

A disturbing article I read the other day, stated that many companies who are in a position to be adding on new employees are not even looking at anyone who has been unemployed for over six months!  Their reasoning according to one executive recruiter, who happened to spill the beans, is that they feel anyone who has been out of work for over six months now has "outdated skills" especially if they are in the hi-tech industry.

Some career positions I am afraid will never come back after this recession is over. Many duties and responsibilities were incorporated into existing positions when companies laid off personnel and I don't see those positions being recreated later on. If you haven't been reading and keeping up with the times about what career positions are hot and will continue to be hot hiring areas, I would suggest you start boning up now.

I can not stress this enough, any position that deals with elder care will be in high demand.  I don't care if it is a community that is geared to just elder living facilities, to in-home care for those who are preferring to "age in place" in their own homes, special medical facilities that deal with care and rehabilitation for the aging population will all be requiring employees now or in the near future.

Lets look at some examples and perhaps this might even give you some ideas about starting your own business:

Senior living apartment complexes often have shuttle bus drivers to take residents to doctor appointments, to the beauty shop, the bank and the shopping mall.


Senior communities, where there is a club house and lawns to be maintained hire yard workers Some of these communities also have a Registered Nurse on staff to help with minor medical problems and to help residents with their medications to be sure they are taking them correctly.

So gyms have special instructors who work with their elderly clientele to be sure that they are exercising properly.

 Nursing homes and assisted living facilities use a variety of nursing staff, kitchen help, a dietitian for creating balance meals, as well as a housekeeping staff  and grounds keeping staff to keep the facilities clean and inviting for both the residents and their guests.

Some seniors are no longer able to drive and might appreciate having some type of service that would either take them to the stores so they can do their own shopping or be willing to pay someone to do it for them.

Home Remodeling businesses are now looking at concentrating on doing nothing but making existing homes safer for the elderly to live in. From widening doorways to make wheelchairs and walkers easy to maneuver through openings, to lowering cabinets and cooking prep areas in kitchens so someone in a wheelchair can prepare their own meals to installing safety bars in bathrooms and redoing showers and tubs so that they are easily accessible.

Lawn care services for the elderly are going to be needed as more an more live in their own homes but are no longer able to care for their property properly.

Are you a bookkeeper or an accountant? How many elderly people do you know that need assistance in making sure that their bills are paid every month and their stock portfolios (if they are lucky enough to still have any) are up to date and in order.

I hope these give you some ideas on places that you might look for work or perhaps venture into business for yourself.