Thursday, October 29, 2009

Should You Pay To Get a Job?

Simply put, NO!

You have two important factors to consider.

First, what exactly are you getting for your money?

Second, can you get it for less or perhaps even for free?

There are people out there in the wide, wide world who want your money, are not concerned about how they get it, and not interested in providing you anything of value, anything that would help you.

You may be confused. You may be discouraged. You might be desperate. You certainly are vulnerable. And there are predators who will take advantage of you.

What exactly are you getting for your money? Is it possible for someone to GIVE you a job? Of course, that is what employers/companies do. But why would some one or some company charge you for the job? They might charge you for expenses such as tools or licenses but be clear about the employment arrangement or contract before agreeing to anything.

Recently, an alledged employment service advertised immediate hiring for delivery and customer service jobs for anyone. Anyone who showed up at their office and paid $30 for a "uniform" which happened to be an oversized T-shirt with their company name on it. The job was delivering the same flyers that brought the people in to pay the $30 in the first place!! And many of these new employees never earned a penny.

Other employment services claim to provide jobs or leads for a fee, but none of these jobs or leads are exclusive to them. You can find these leads advertised all over the Internet or by simply contacting the companies directly.

What exactly are you paying for?

There are employment and career services that will teach you how to create a resume or create one for you for a fee. Even if they create one for you, you still have to provide all your background information. What exactly are you paying for?

And can you get these things for less or for free?

There are many ways to get a resume and look for jobs that cost only the time and effort you put into it. No fee.

Just get in touch with me and JVS at wtarrow@jvsdet.org, on LinkedIn, at 248.233.4231 or check out our job bank at www.parnossahworksdetroit.org.

And it's free!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Is Time Off Really Time Off?

Taking it easy can be really, really hard!

I just returned to the office after a two week vacation.

My outgoing voice mail message said I was out of the office and although I extended the option to leave a message, I also directed callers to contact the main office number for immediate assistance.

I had three messages left over the two week period.

BUT, even though I had set my Outlook Out of the Office Assistant to say I was not available for two weeks, and not counting blocked spam messages, I had 897 emails in my inbox...

A friend has said that you really pay for your vacation with way more work once you return to your job.

How much time and effort are you investing in your job search right now?

Every day that you take time off when you could be working on finding leads, following up and through with your applications and resumes, and making contacts and forging connections is time added to your job search.

Little bits of work every day are solid investments in your job and career future.

Schedule regular daily tasks that are simple and doable instead of saving them up for big frantic flurries of activity.

When it comes to job search success, slow and steady does win the race.

Meet and mix with hundreds of business contacts! Join us at the JVS Business Connnections event on Wednesday, October 21st. Register by clicking on the event flyer at http://www.jvsdet.org/pdf%20files/business%20connections%20flyer.pdf.