The Lucky 13 -- Websites for Job Finders

Here is a quick list of helpful websites for job search and job acquisition. Actually, you really do not need to do much more on the Internet outside of these Lucky 13.

1. www.google.com – Search the Internet and much more

2. www.YouTube.com - the most widely used search engine where one video is worth a billion words

3. www.jvsdet.org – main website for JVS where you click on Find a Job to see what jobs we know about personally. Also, click on Seminars & Events to find and register for upcoming job seeker activities.

4. www.mitalent.org – Pure Michigan Talent Connect; the State of Michigan online job and resume banks; also explore the site to access much more career and job resources

5. www.careerinfonet.org – the CareerOneStop for the US; anything and everything related to jobs, careers, employment

6. www.indeed.com – a gatherer of job leads from other job boards and company websites. Gathers job leads and ideas for other companies to contact from just about everywhere on the Internet which frees you up from wasting countless hours online applying over and over and over again when you should be making those leads into personal contacts using resources like

7. www.linkedin.com – social media for business and jobs; create your online profile and more, connect with others in your target areas and with companies of interest, find the right people and, in turn, be found by them

8. www.facebook.com – the world’s largest online social community

9. www.twitter.com – texting the world, listening in on what other people and companies of interest to you are saying including available jobs

10. www.socialnomics.net – the wellspring of all things social media

11. www.wikipedia.org – encyclopedia of the Internet

12. www.jobhuntersbible.com – a relaxing place to learn about job search, resources, etc.; the website of Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?

Lucky 13. Use your local library website to access ReferenceUSA to learn more about companies and find key people within. One way to find the website of your local library in Southeast Michigan is through The Library Network at www.tln.lib.mi.us.

Consider limiting your online hours to less than four per day.

Every online contact represents the potential for real life connections that need to be forged.

Get out there! Jobs have never gone door to door. You have to do that.

And we at JVS can help you get it done. Visit our websites listed above for more information and to connect.

And you can always contact me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Let's get started!

Walt

Ten Smart Interviewing Tips

1. Prepare for the interview
Over two thirds of employers surveyed say that the number one reason a job applicant lost the interview was evident lack of preparation.

2. Dress appropriately for the special occasion that is an interview.
When you put your best foot forward, make sure your shoes are shined.

3. Listen to be heard.
If you are not listening, neither are they.

4. Wear a smile.
Never leave home without it.

5. Show interest to be interesting.
Lean in and reflect on, talk about, what they are saying.

6. Express enthusiasm and excitement.
Anxiety and nervousness leave when positive energy shows up.

7. Create a conversation with good questions.
An interrogation is one sided; an interview should be a win-win.

8. Lead and keep returning to your strengths.
Your assets, and how they can help the interviewer/company succeed, are all that matter.

9. Act as if...
Your behavior drowns out your words.

10. Take the responsibilty for follow up.
Show that you care by staying in touch.

Today, and every month, I conduct an interviewing seminar with these tips and many more plus a chance for you to practice interviewing. And come join me on September 28 I will be at the J Seekers group meeting, Oak Park JCC, 9:30am, sharing more interviewing tips and tricks.

For a private interviewing session, email me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Walt

Choosing the Right Job or Career

Very often I am assisting job seekers who are having a difficult time deciding which career direction to take or which jobs to target. And most often the consequence of that struggle is inactivity, passivity and paralysis.

Without deciding upon a goal, an objective or just a direction, movement becomes more difficult, perhaps even close to impossible.

A job search has to be active and in motion most of all. Waiting and hoping for something to happen without taking action sows seeds of discouragement, disappointment and depression.

Not taking action because you have not yet come to the best decision about how to proceed can, and often does, lead you nowhere.

Taking steps, taking action, regardless of whether or not those steps are the best to take is far better than doing nothing.

To paraphrase George S. Patton, "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

Inactivity leads nowhere. Activity of any kind at least has a chance of being productive. And as long as you are active, you are on the go. And you need to be going in order to get to where you want to be. You won't get there by waiting for something to happen.

JVS offers career counseling services to help you make career decisions. Armed with good information about yourself, and your options, will increase greatly your job and career success. However, exploration and implementation both require you take action in order to be successful.

Start by acting on, heading toward, one of your choices, without it having to be a sure bet. There are too many unknowns in the world of work and careers to be able to proceed with absolute certainty.

Once you have made a choice, once you are in motion, once you are active, it will become much easier to change course, to improve on the decisions you make. Your car can't turn if it isn't moving.

So start with making a choice, a good choice, but it does not have to be the best choice. It is not all about making the right choice to start, but it is all about making a move.

Once you are in motion, those who can help you, your navigators, will be able to help you much better. Navigators help you steer, but you are the pilot. And you need to help one another to reach your destination.

Let JVS help you make your career choices and navigate your way to job search success. Contact us at 248.559.5000 or www.jvsdet.org.

You can reach me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Walt

Staying Happy During Your Job Search

"Remember happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think." Dale Carnegie

Colleen Oakley, www.colleenoakley.com, had a quiz, Sunny Side Up, in the July 31st issue of Parade magazine about being happy.

I would like to share her ten points, with an additional comment from me, which may be of help in keeping that happy face while you look for that dream job.

1. Cheerful people generally don't give happiness much thought. My thought is that happiness happens most when you are not looking for it. Remember the old axiom "ignorance is bliss."

2. Research shows that vacation-goers feel happiest a month before they take off for their destination. Nothing beats the fun of anticipation. Use the positive power of visualization to keep your spirits up.

3. How happy you are is 50% genetic, 40% influenced by how you think and act every day and only 10% influenced by life circumstances. Happy people tend to be happy even when life would seem ready to get them down.

4. To get the most enjoyment out of your work life, you should make friends with your coworkers. And to get the most productivity out of your job search, make friends with your fellow job seekers.

5. If you're sad, reading a novel is more likely to cheer you up than watching reruns of your favorite sitcom or tuning in to the news. Reading works your mind in a way that watching TV never can. An active mind is more likely to be a happy mind.

6. If you have a little free time, the activity which will bring you the most pleasure is spending time with nature outdoors. Physical activity outside has continually been shown to have positive effects, even biochemically.

7. Optimists are not necessarily happier than pessimists. Realistic expectations may prove to keep disappointment at bay.

8. Music, any kind of music, is an instant mood booster. Enough said...

9. Taking fish oil every day can actually help battle depression. Proper diet and daily exercise are essential basic steps toward success and well being.

10. Disney's Peter Pan was right in saying "think happy thoughts." And back to Dale at the top.

Share your tips for keeping positive with me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org and help us help you by visiting www.jvsdet.org and www.parnossahworksdetroit.org.

Walt

Best Interview Advice

A common, possibly tough, interview question often asked, in one way or another, is

"Can you describe how you handled a difficult problem?"

How would you rate the following answers? Which answer do you think is the best?

Answer #1
"As a member of research team, after we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure, expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed to find out anything. I cheerily assured him that we had learned something. For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn't be done that way, and that we would have to try some other way. He was encouraged by my attitude and went back to work with renewed enthusiasm. Ultimately we discovered the best material to use and increased the longevity of the product from 13 hours to over 1200 hours."

Answer #2
"Once I had to work as part of a research team. The other members of the team did not seem to know what they were doing and kept on asking me questions. They complained a lot and were not very helpful. I kept on trying different things to see what would work best, but everyone else, including my bosses, were not very supportive. After I put in a lot of long hours, I got the project done okay."

Answer #3
"We had to make this thing. It was hard, and took a lot of time, and a lot of work, but we did a really, really good job of it."

Answer #4
"As an inventor, I and my co-workers created many products and devices that involved extensive experimentation and often did not have easy solutions. And my over twenty years of that kind of experience makes me ideally qualified, the best candidate and a perfect fit for your open position. I am confident that I can handle any difficult situation that might occur."

My money is on Answer #1.

Because it is not so much what story you tell, but all about HOW you tell it. The words you use and how you deliver the story are most important.

If you disagree, I want to know. Please comment below and/or email me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

By the way, I wrote all four answers with Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb in mind. And most of Answer #1 is directly quoted from Edison himself.

The Best Way to Hunt for a Job

According to the 2012 edition of Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?, the best way to hunt for a job is Doing An Inventory of Yourself.

That way is successful about 86% of the time!

Another way to put it is if 100 job seekers used this approach, 86 of them would find their next job.

This inventory of yourself is thinking about WHAT you enjoy doing most, WHERE you would enjoy doing what you enjoy doing most and HOW to get there.

First, find the particular jobs that fit this bill.

Second, find the specific places where you can do those jobs.

Third, find the person(s) who have the power or influence over hiring.

This way works because, accordingly to Bolles, you more precisely identify your true target(s); you can help others help you with clear, direct and doable requests; you are better prepared than the competition because you can present to an employer your unique features and benefits.

However, one factor about this approach discourages most job seekers.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" Thomas A. Edison

Having to think about who you are, what you want, where you want to go and how you plan to get there takes some effort. Most job seekers just want the job and do not see the need to do the work.

Another reason why this method has an 86% success rate is probably because those who choose to do it are, by definition, hard workers.

"The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work." Harry Golden

Helping hands to make this hard work doable and success possible are here at JVS.

Visit us at www.jvsdet.org.

And you can always email me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Walt

What's the Problem?

How you behave in your job search often is seen by others as an indicator of how you will behave on the job.

For example, how someone deals with problems during unemployment or a job change might indicate how that person handles problems at work.

Of course, employers do not want to hire people who create problems. But what about people who may not create the problem, but make problems into bigger problems? Or people who dwell on the problem without offering any help in solving it?

Companies seek employees who minimize or eliminate problems. Problem solving is a highly valued skill in the work world.

How would you rate your problem solving skills?

Do you appreciate, maybe even seek out, problems or challenges as opportunities to apply your problem solving skills?

Do you approach problems as experiences to learn new ways of doing things?

If you get frustrated or angry with a problem, maybe even quit trying, is that how you are going to handle problems on the job?

Do you fixate, obsess about the problem without moving forward, without seeking a solution? Do you complain about the problem repeatedly to anyone and everyone you meet?

Does the problem become so much a part of you that others start to see you as the problem?

"We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." John W. Gardner

If you show that you can deal with, can seek solutions to the problems that come with unemployment and job change, you send a message to prospective employers about how you will handle problems on the job before you make them the employer's problems.

And that's a good thing.

We at JVS can help you with your problems.

Check us out at www.jvsdet.org.

And you can email me with your problems, questions, concerns and needs at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Walt