Unemployment Contradictions

Unemployment Contradictions This morning I read about my state (Utah), with an unemployment rate 1 point lower than the national unemployment rate, needing to make accommodations for the new workforce in short, it is a job seekers market. And everyone thinks that it is going to stay this way for a while, that this is not a short-term deal. Even recruiters that I talk with tell me about how tight the job market is, and how finding talent is and will be very difficult for years to come. That is the great news. But whats up with this Intel announcement to layoff 1,000 MANAGEMENT jobs?? That is going to be a lot of families impacted. Maybe theyll be absorbed right into the great economy. Maybe? Many wont it may be their first time in a serious job search and they may be as ill-prepared as I was. Here is a site that tracks some of the layoffs it is not comprehensive but it gives you a feel that it is common practice! Moral of the story is you are always vulnerable. If you dont believe that come with me to my network meetings on Monday and Tuesday mornings and Ill introduce you to some extremely high-talent, high earning (well, previously high-earning they are out of work now!) execs and managers that are finding out what its a job seekers market really means. Check out this little summary of articles from today on MSNBC in the business section isnt that a lot of articles on layoff and cuts in such a great economy? My take on this whole thing is HOORAY for the great economy, and all the companies that are looking for top talent. But there are still going to be people that arent picked up right away, and find themselves unemployed for extended periods of time. Have you ever heard of the starfish story? The one where the boy is on a beach, walking amongst tens of thousands of starfish and tossing some in the ocean and old man walks by and basically says you cant make a difference and the boy tossed another one and said I made a difference to that one. I dont care how good the unemployment rate is in my state it is about 3.5%. That means there are 50,000 read fifty thousand people that are unemployed. Sure there are the multi-generation folks but there are some very highly talented folks that are out of work. Imagine yourself as a starfish, on the beach, and there are only 50,000 of you (as is the case in utah). That isnt very many, it could be millions. But it sure does suck to be one of the 50,000, doesnt it? Is it your fault you are here? Was it preventable? What do you do now? If you think it is a job seekers market try out your luck. But if you have ever been seriously out of work you should cringe at the idea of again being unemployed for extended periods of time. So. (shameless plug coming) get an account on JibberJobber and begin to use it. Start to actively manage your own career, and if the pink slip comes you wont be unprepared. Unemployment Contradictions This morning I read about my state (Utah), with an unemployment rate 1 point lower than the national unemployment rate, needing to make accommodations for the new workforce in short, it is a job seekers market. And everyone thinks that it is going to stay this way for a while, that this is not a short-term deal. Even recruiters that I talk with tell me about how tight the job market is, and how finding talent is and will be very difficult for years to come. That is the great news. But whats up with this Intel announcement to layoff 1,000 MANAGEMENT jobs?? That is going to be a lot of families impacted. Maybe theyll be absorbed right into the great economy. Maybe? Many wont it may be their first time in a serious job search and they may be as ill-prepared as I was. Here is a site that tracks some of the layoffs it is not comprehensive but it gives you a feel that it is common practice! Moral of the story is you are always vulnerable. If you dont believe that come with me to my network meetings on Monday and Tuesday mornings and Ill introduce you to some extremely high-talent, high earning (well, previously high-earning they are out of work now!) execs and managers that are finding out what its a job seekers market really means. Check out this little summary of articles from today on MSNBC in the business section isnt that a lot of articles on layoff and cuts in such a great economy? My take on this whole thing is HOORAY for the great economy, and all the companies that are looking for top talent. But there are still going to be people that arent picked up right away, and find themselves unemployed for extended periods of time. Have you ever heard of the starfish story? The one where the boy is on a beach, walking amongst tens of thousands of starfish and tossing some in the ocean and old man walks by and basically says you cant make a difference and the boy tossed another one and said I made a difference to that one. I dont care how good the unemployment rate is in my state it is about 3.5%. That means there are 50,000 read fifty thousand people that are unemployed. Sure there are the multi-generation folks but there are some very highly talented folks that are out of work. Imagine yourself as a starfish, on the beach, and there are only 50,000 of you (as is the case in utah). That isnt very many, it could be millions. But it sure does suck to be one of the 50,000, doesnt it? Is it your fault you are here? Was it preventable? What do you do now? If you think it is a job seekers market try out your luck. But if you have ever been seriously out of work you should cringe at the idea of again being unemployed for extended periods of time. So. (shameless plug coming) get an account on JibberJobber and begin to use it. Start to actively manage your own career, and if the pink slip comes you wont be unprepared.

Give A Little At KIVA - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Give A Little At KIVA - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Philanthropy is good for your soul and your personal brand. Where you give, how you give and why you give can be a huge window into who you are. As a personal branding coach, I recommend all my clients consider making a donation through kiva.org. Through this site, you can spend as little as $25 and rock someone’s world, including your own. Impossible to believe, but for the cost of a movie ticket or two in LA or any big US city, you can buy a business for someone in Africa or another emerging place (including part of the US). That’s right. A cow, craft materials or seed money for seed can cost you no more than a latte for five weeks. Or more, if you are able and so inclined. Good and smart Not only is philanthropy a good thing to do for your karma, it’s smart when you do it on Kiva. They have a better than 90% repayment record. Yes, you get repaid, albeit without interest. You can take your money back, or put it back into the next venture you want to help lift off the ground. Because Kiva does such a great job of vetting the people seeking these microloans â€" and such a great job of helping you understand where in the world your money is â€" you get a lot by giving relatively little. It’s brought to you by some of the PayPal genius runaways who definitely understand the power of small amounts of money. They perfected the simple for people to spend. In this case, they also help you get it back, with a large dose of good feelings in between. It’s all good Something good happens when you learn by investing yourself, your money and your attention in a serious way. I remember buying a few shares in toy companies when my parents were teaching me about the stock market. I remember looking at ads in the paper to see how far my afterschool earnings would go if I had to buy a car. And, I remember the shock and awe of my first mortgage on a house in Southern California. Now you and I have the power beyond meeting our own needs. We have the power to be venture capitalists either at home or abroad. So, why is this good for your personal brand? It’s good because it gives you something meaningful to talk about. It gives you something positive to say about your endeavors â€" especially important if you are not in the job of your dreams. It makes you a world citizen because you participate â€" in fact on KIVA you can compete â€" with groups all over the place. Go see it â€" it’s just uplifting to be on the site. It will change your point of view about where we are all headed, if you’ve been as saddened and worried as I have about the 99% of people who share less than half of the wealth on this planet (much less). Then, post, tweet, update, upload photos and otherwise brag about the success of the person or organization you support. Give us a reason to see your status on a social network, and put the one thing between us that always connects us: a smile. Author: Nance Rosen is the author of Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name: nancerosen

Lumene Awesome Product - But You Better Love Roses!

Lumene Awesome Product - But You Better Love Roses! Lumene Review I love these products!  But I won’t buy them.  Ouch, I know.  And when I say I love them, I mean, I love them.   I’ve been using the whole line- cleanser, toner, night cream, day cream, eye cream.  My skin hasn’t been this clear and smooth in years.  When I find a product or brand that I like, I am loyal.  Like, I’ll use it for as long as the company keeps making it, loyal.  I’ve been using the same brand of facial products for over 10 years.  I like it okay, I’ve been happy with it.  My skin hasn’t been perfect- blackheads, occasional zits, whatever, but I just figured that was my skin and it is what it is.  Then I started using Lumene’s Klassikko line.   What a difference!  Within a week, my skin was clearer, my pores smaller, and for the entire month or so I used it I didn’t get a single zit.  I’m SO impressed!  BUT..  Right off the bat, I wasn’t particularly fond of the scent.  It’s not bad, but it’s too flowery for me.  I wanted to give the products a fair chance so I kept using it.  Maybe I’d be able to get used to the smell, and I at least wanted to see how well they worked, especially compared to my (what I thought was) tried and true brand I’ve used for years.  I tried to convince myself that the scent wore off pretty quickly because within a few minutes I couldn’t smell it anymore.  After all, no one has said anything so I must not stink…      Then the other night, my guy cuddled up to me as I was drifting off to sleep.  Sniff…  Sniff sniff…    sssssnifffffff…  â€œWhat is that smell..?” “Ehrm..  uh… I’m trying out this new face stuff.”  â€œIt smells like….  sniff…(pause). roses.”   Oh.  Shit.    â€œLike fresh roses or old lady roses??”   “Old lady roses.” Nnnnnnnnnooooooooooo! I was about ready to toss it all and immediately wash my face with my old stuff.  I’ve had numerous conversations in my head to try to rationalize keeping it all.  It’s a good product and.. Nope! Old lady roses.  I have these big bottles and I could just use it for a couple mo.. Old lady roses!  The labels are nice and it’s probably some fancy expensive brand, I don’t want to waste it… Old Lady Roses!!  Maybe I could just use half of my old stuff and half of…  OLD LADY ROSES!!     Ugh.  Fiiiine.  Geez, I really love this stuff.  I wonder if they have an unscented version?   Okay, where can I buy this stuff?..  Much to my surprise, places like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Ulta.  Wait. Ulta??  My inner snob was very confused.  Ulta is fancy, why is this stuff being sold at drugstores?  Nevermind that, there’s a CVS down the street!  I marched my happy ass over there to see cuz maybe they have it and maybe it’ll be in a package that I can just peek open and see if they have any.. non old lady.. products. Funny enough, I ran into an acquaintance who is a store clerk there and we started chatting.  He asked if he could help me and I told him I was looking for Lumene products.  â€œOh, yeah.. We’ve got a couple of those but we’re phasing them out.. they smell like old lady roses.” Oh for the love of…! I give up! Lumene, I do love your stuff.  But I just can’t bring myself to smell like grandma.   Editors note: Yes, Lumene does have fragrance-free versions of their products.   You can find the entire line here.

Tips For A Great Look At Your Next Meeting To Impress Clients!

Tips For A Great Look At Your Next Meeting To Impress Clients! When you get told by your employer that you need to attend a meeting, it’s easy to start panicking. You need to start preparing so that you are ready to meet the clients. You should also be considering how you will look when you start planning your meeting. Here are some tips for how to pull off a great look at your next meeting to impress clients. Make sure you choose an appropriate outfit One of the first things you should do when trying to pull off a great look at your next meeting to impress clients is to choose an appropriate outfit. You don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable as your skirt is too short or your blouse is too low. You want to look productive so you should be choosing a blouse, a blazer, and a skirt if you want to impress. Make sure that you iron all your clothes before you go. It won’t look good if you go in there with a creased skirt. Make sure that the clothes fit properly so you feel comfortable while sitting in the meeting. You don’t want something that’s too tight and will stop you concentrating on the meeting. Go for natural makeup Another thing you should do if you want to pull off a great look at your next meeting is to go for natural makeup. If you turn up at the meeting with a face full of makeup, the clients might not take you that seriously as a career woman. Therefore, choose natural makeup and make sure you use a primer so that it stays on for the duration of the meeting. You don’t want to smear part of your makeup and then feel embarrassed when you talk to the clients. Style your hair away from your face You should also style your hair so that it’s away from your face if you want to look great at your next meeting. You don’t want to keep pushing your hair away from your face if you have left it down. Style your hair into a ponytail or a bun so that you don’t have to worry about how it looks during the meeting. Just make sure your eyebrows are looking up to scratch if they are going to be on display during the interview. You can check online to see these tweezers to help create natural looking shaped eyebrows. Go for high heels Another tip you need to pull off a great look for your next meeting is to pick a glam pair of shoes. You should consider getting some high heels as they may make you feel more confident in front of the clients. Just don’t go for a pair too high as you don’t want to fall on your face! And don’t be afraid of wearing brightly colored heels for your meeting as long as they match your outfit. Remember to wear a great perfume so you smell nice during the meeting. Don’t go for something to overbearing; it should be light and refreshing. And once you have got your look sorted, you can concentrate on how to tackle the interview so that the clients will want your business! Image Source; Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

Mailbag Divorce, and Later-in-Life Job Search Questions [Podcast] - Career Pivot

Mailbag â€" Divorce, and Later-in-Life Job Search Questions [Podcast] - Career Pivot Episode 38 â€" Marc and Elizabeth answer some of your career questions about getting a master’s degree later in life, stress, and using weak ties to find new employment. Description: In this episode, Marc answers questions with his trusty sidekick, Elizabeth Rabaey. You can learn about her career pivots in Episode 020. Listen in to this episode for ideas on planning a path to the end goal, harvesting contacts in similar and adjacent industries, coping with stress before searching for a job, and pivoting to a new industry using your core value proposition! Key Takeaways: [2:44] Elizabeth introduces herself. After pivoting, she is the marketing coordinator for an international company. Elizabeth invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn to share experiences. She enjoys working with Marc, and helping on the Mailbag episode! Download Link |iTunes|Stitcher Radio|Google Podcast|Podbean|TuneIn|Overcast [3:27] Q1: I am 49 and am going through a divorce. I’ve been a housewife since 1992. I’m going to college for an MBA. I have eight years ahead of me. I am hoping to support myself by a job in Hawaii after I get my MBA. I will have no debt. Any ideas what to do? [4:06] A1: Marc notes she will be in her late 50s, with no experience, after getting her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Rather than looking at an MBA, she should look at her actual goal. Marc connected her with contacts in Hawaii, to understand that economy. Marc suggests buying a franchise or business, learning trade skills, or something else. [6:49] Marc says many of the best jobs today didn’t exist five years ago. What will exist in eight years? Divorce later in life often leads to poverty. This client doesn’t want to leave Hawaii. Marc put her in touch with a Hawaiian workforce specialist to help her. [7:33] Q2: I am a 56-year-old account manager. I was just laid off from a position that I held for 18 years in the moving industry. I’m getting depressed, as I have been unsuccessful in my job search. I have been applying to jobs every day, but never hear back. What should I do? [7:51] A2: Account managers are becoming rare in B2B sales. The need for account managers has been greatly decreased. Marc helped someone very similar to this. See the: Introverted Sales Guy Job Search” blog on Marc’s website. The key piece is, your next job will only come from somebody you’ve worked with over the last 10-15 years. [8:43] You’re going to have to go back and carefully harvest all of your contacts, people you have worked with, reach out to them where they work now, and see if they are willing to help. The answer is most account managers are really nice guys. Usually, they’re very good at relationships. Very often people will remember them positively. [9:25] As Marc did with the Account Manager who came out of the equipment manufacturing business, he had the client very carefully go on LinkedIn to find his previous employer’s page, look for similar companies, and adjacent industries, who need the same skills, and look for weak ties at those companies. [10:27] This is a long process. Look for connections every day. You don’t know when you will find the right contact who can help you, who has a job, in an industry where you fit. Start taking really good care of yourself, eating right, exercising, and getting up at the same time, and managing your own health. Your mental attitude is absolutely critical. [11:26] Q3: I am a 52-year-old traffic manager. My job has gotten toxic after I was transferred and I uncovered fraud. I cleaned up the mess, but it has taken quite a toll on me emotionally, and after everything was cleaned up, the owner brought in someone over me who has ethical flaws. I have been looking for a year. What should I do? [11:57] A3: This is a family-owned business. The challenge with working for a family owned business, not being family, is that it can get ugly. He’s an emotional guy. When he was getting rid of people, and getting his tires slashed, it really took a toll on him. If you’re stressed out, no one is going to hire you. First, chill out. [13:14] In this situation, he will need to stop caring about doing a great job. He needs to work on his own emotional health, and get rid of stress. Marc suggests the book Positive Intelligence to get out of stress. The point is to stay in the positive mind three times longer than in the negative mind. Find your emotional saboteurs. Name them. [15:20] Then you need to find your core value proposition. This gentleman’s core value proposition was recruiting drivers. We don’t have enough drivers in this country. Build a brand that sells your core value proposition, in your LinkedIn profile, your resume, and more importantly, when you talk to people. That is your primary selling point. [16:04] He needs to look at himself as a product, understand what his core value proposition is, and go sell that ‘product.’ He’s getting offers that are not local, but his wife has a good job, and he doesn’t want to move. He can move into a different niche because his recruiting skill is transferable. He should think of himself as a consultant. [17:57] When Marc left corporate America, he was completely stressed out. It took him six-to-nine months to distress before he was useful again. [19:30] Marc has started recording the audio version of his book. He is also working on the Career Pivot Community website. This will be a membership area of the current CareerPivot.com website. An initial cohort of members is helping develop the content. Look for more on this, in the coming months. Mentioned in This Episode: Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. When you get done reading the book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. Careerpivot.com Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me Episode 020 Elizabeth Rabaey Elizabeth Rabaey on LinkedIn CareerPivot.com Introverted Sales Guy Job Search Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential AND HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOURS, by Shirzad Chamine CareerPivot.com Episode-38 Take a moment â€" go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Please give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Summary Sunday Build an Online Presence of Excellence

Summary Sunday Build an Online Presence of Excellence This is my summary of great posts from the week.   If you arent following me on Twitter, @careersherpa, please do so and say hello, by all means! If you arent ready for Twitter, you can still see everything Im sharing there (and other social networks) by checking out my Paper.li page (FYI, this is a great opportunity  for you to demonstrate your thought-leadership!) Your Message: aka Brand Miriam Salpeter and I realized that the term personal brand can be off-putting to many. We coined the term VIV-id as defined here, and we think it is more relevant to todays career enthusiasts. Dan Schawbels Personal Branding Blog consistently provides great content on the topic of personal branding (please add his site to your regular reading list, if you havent already). 9 Lesser-Known Strategies for Building Your Brands Credibility A MUST-READ! The advice comes from the Young Entrepreneur Council and the advice comes from those who have successfully implemented these 9 strategies. If they can do it, so can you! Would You Go This Far? Standing out in todays world often seems impossible. Yet, there are always those who seem to do it! With great risk comes great reward. When you think about your strategy, are you playing it too safe? Read how Jacob Share stood out! The Best Personal Branding Story   You Havent Heard About from JobMob You Have 10 Minutes or Less to Impress. What Will You Do? In Miriam Salpeters post, she provides suggestions for ways you can make the best of the critical first 10 minutes of an interview! How to get the job: Make a good first impression from Keppie Careers.

How to improve your job hunt Meet and influence people you dont know heres how -

How to improve your job hunt Meet and influence people you dont know heres how - One of the most important factors you probably arent considering in your job hunt is how important it is to influence what people you do not know think of you. What? You need to worry about people you dont know? Absolutelyâ€"its probably the most overlooked job-search step you arent doing anything about. Of course, there is a catch: your goal is to increase the number of people who know, like and trust you. You should identify people who do not know you and make a concerted effort to change that. Who should be your first targets? People who work for companies where you would like to work. Identify people who have the chance to influence hiring decisions at those organizations. First, list five to 10 companies where you dont seem to have many contacts, and make it your mission to create lists of five to 10 people in each organization who are accessible enough to reach. Luckily, social media tools make it very easy to hone in on exactly the right contacts. Be clear about why you want to meet the person in question. Think about compelling reasons he or she should want to know you. How can you be a resource for him or her? While LinkedIn can provide a plethora of easy contacts, other social networks are especially useful when you dont have a lot of great intermediaries to connect you with people you want to know. On LinkedIn, be sure to check out the Groups feature to connect with new people in your field of interest. Using Twitter, you can find people, follow them, and engage with them directly without any pressure. Once you find new people youd like to meet, follow them and make a point to keep a close eye on their updates. On Twitter, retweet (forward information to your followers) from people you want to know better. If they write blogs or are active on different social media tools, be sure to find and connect there as well. That said, be sure you dont cross the line between interested networking contact and stalker. Be considerate and interested; do not tweet your contacts every hour, obsessively comment on their blog posts, or respond to their every Facebook post the minute they appear on the screen. Make a point to influence and connect with people who dont know youâ€"yetâ€"and you may find it is the most important thing you do to land a job. Read the entire post at U.S. News World Report image via aafromaa, artist is Bruce Dupree