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Ask The Work Buzz! Full-time mom returning to work

Judi writes:
“I am 54, recently divorced and desperately looking for work. I have a lot of job experience, however, I spent more of my adult years raising my children. I have been diligently applying for work for about 12 weeks and have not been offered one position. I’ve adjusted my resume so I don’t apply for jobs I’m not qualified for. At the same time, jobs I am qualified for don’t pay enough to pay my rent. I have to say this is the most frustrating experience I’ve ever endured, as my credit score dips lower and lower because I’m unable to pay even minimum payments on my credit cards.”

Judi,

What you are going through is not uncommon. Countless people have been faced with this same dilemma.  People returning to the workforce after an absence have multiple worries: “Will I have to prove myself all over again?” “How do I explain the gap in employment?” “What if I lack the required skills or education?”

It sounds like you are driven and motivated, but right now job seekers need all the help they can get. You want make sure you are looking at all your possibilities … including some you might not have though of. Here are several things you can do to get your foot in the door or start earning a paycheck while developing skills to add to your resume:

1. Maximize your cover letter and resume. Your cover letter highlights your key accomplishments and gives you an opportunity to answer any questions about an employment gap. Put your resume into a functional format (click for an example) that highlights your skills instead of a chronologicalone that lists your jobs starting with the most recent.

2. Network. Join professional networking sites like Brightfuse and LinkedIn. Look for groups to join that reflect your background or job interest. (For example, search the term “mom”.) The more you network, the more likely you are to meet people who are in a similar situation … or who have been in your situation and are now hiring.

3. Stay informed. Stay abreast of new trends, technology and developments in your industry by attending seminars and courses to prove your time off doesn’t put you at a disadvantage. Research the company, job or industry BEFORE you apply to a job and incorporate that information into each cover letter.

4. Remain open to all possibilities, even if the job title, salary and benefits may not be exactly what you were seeking. Holiday hiring season is in full swing. Try searching using the terms “seasonal” or “holiday.” Even though there are fewer openings this year and these jobs are typically temporary, there are employers who extend permanent offers to seasonal staff. Or consider direct sales like Avon, Stella and Dot or Wine Shop at Home.

5. Work with a professional. Recruiters at staffing firms like Robert Half and Kelly Services have their fingers on the pulse of the job market and work with employers to fill all types of jobs. They can also provide useful feedback on your resume and interview skills.

Click on these links for some additional articles that might be helpful to you:

It’s been 10 years since my last job search
http://www.primecb.com/its-been-10-years-since-my-last-job-searchwhat-do-i-do/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Worried about gaps on your resume?
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1911-Cover-Letters-Resumes-Worried-About-the-Gaps-on-Your-Résumé/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Dealing with gaps in your resume and cover letter
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1111-Cover-Letters-Resumes-Dealing-With-Gaps-in-Your-Resume-and-Cover-Letter/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Can you relate to Judith’s story? What advice would you give her?

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/featured/full-time-mom-returning-to-work/

Which Halloween Character Is Your Boss Most Like?

Two days until Halloween! I got the finishing touches to my flapper costume last night; my boss got her “Dharma Initiative” suit in the mail yesterday; my co-worker got her Beddazzler  to glam up her “Kim from Real Housewives of Atlanta” costume — it’s all coming together.

Keeping in the Halloween spirit, CareerBuilder thought it would be fun to ask workers about all the scary things we encounter at work — namely, our bosses, our job duties and the workplace itself.

In the survey, 18 percent of workers described their workplace as scary. Some of those people think their workplace is scary because their bosses bear a strong resemblance to famous Halloween characters. When asked which popular characters best reflect their boss’s behavior, workers said the following:

• Glenda the Good Witch, liked and respected by all – 20 percent
• The Wolf Man, is fine one minute, howling the next – 11 percent
• The Invisible Man, never around – 10 percent
• Casper the Friendly Ghost, eager to help, but often misunderstood – 9 percent
• Dracula, constantly sucking the life right out of you – 6 percent
• Wicked Witch of the West, always acting conniving and sending out minions to do his/her dirty work – 5 percent
• The Mummy, slow-moving and has an ancient thought process – 4 percent
• Grim Reaper, constantly delivers bad news and inspires fear among workers – 3 percent
• Frankenstein, green with envy – 1 percent

In addition to spooky bosses, when asked what the scariest part of their job was, workers reported the following fear-inducing activities:

• Workload – 18 percent
• Performance reviews – 9 percent
• Tight deadlines – 9 percent
• Hours worked – 8 percent
• Their boss or supervisor – 7 percent
• Sitting through meetings – 6 percent

What about you? Which Halloween character is your boss like, and why? What’s the scariest part of your job?

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/fun-stuff/boss-halloween-character/

10 Spooky Jobs

Happy Halloween Week!

I know, I know — most people don’t devote a whole week to celebrating one holiday — except for me. In my book, big occasions just can’t be celebrated in one day.  Every September, I have a “birthday week.” When my friends get married, it’s their “wedding week.” And now that Halloween is just 5 short days away, it is most certainly “halloween week.”

To get all of you as excited about Halloween as I am, I thought we could start this week with “spooky jobs” for other Halloween fanatics. The following jobs deal with matters from corpses to violence to death to the supernatural. Fellow Halloween Lovers, consider one of the following 10 spooky jobs:

Coroner
Why it’s spooky: Coroners observe corpses and investigate the cause, time and manner of death, mostly when it happens under unusual circumstances.
Scary salary: $41,123

Ghost hunter
Why it’s spooky: Ghost hunters use scientific tools to measure and collect evidence of paranormal activity in areas that are said to be haunted. Teams of these people are called paranormal investigation teams.
Scary salary: N/A

Mystery fiction writer
Why it’s spooky: Mystery writers need the creative mind to develop scary plots, suspenseful story lines and twisted characters to comprise compelling novels for their readers.
Scary salary: $57,335

Mortician
Why it’s spooky: Morticians (also known as undertakers or funeral directors) oversee all funeral arrangements for the deceased, including details of body preparation for viewing and preparing the body itself.
Scary salary: $57,247

Witch doctor
Why it’s spooky: Witch doctors are healers through magic and witchcraft. They believe illnesses and injuries are caused by magic and witchcraft and so they are best treated that way.
Scary salary: N/A

Embalmer
Why it’s spooky: Embalmers prepare corpses for burial or cremation by washing, drying and disinfecting the body; releasing excess air from the lungs; draining blood from the circulatory system and replacing it with embalming fluid and applying cosmetics to create a more lifelike appearance.
Scary salary: $46,564

Crime scene cleanup
Why it’s spooky: Crime scene cleaning crews sanitize and clean the aftermaths of crimes on all levels, from murders to domestic violence.
Scary salary: N/A

Grave digger/Cemetery worker
Why it’s spooky: Grave diggers work in cemeteries digging graves before funerals, often times working late into the night or early morning hours. Cemetery workers assist in the upkeep of grave and memorial sites.
Scary salary: $37,505 for grave diggers

Obituary writer
Why it’s spooky: Obituary writers are responsible for writing summaries of the lives of the deceased for such publications as newspapers, magazines and Web sites.
Scary salary: $41,516 for newspaper writers

Crematorium technician
Why it’s spooky: These technicians incinerate corpses and collect the ashes to give to family and loved ones.
Scary salary: $70,294 for managers

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/job-descriptions/10-spooky-jobs/

Video: Keeping your image positive online

How many social networking profiles do you have? I have five … I think …. but maybe more. The two I use the most are FaceBook (personal) and Twitter (professional). I also have profiles on MySpace, BrightFuse, LinkedIn, Yammer … so that’s six … but I don’t visit them every day and can’t tell you the last time I’ve reviewed my public profiles on those sites.

If you’re job hunting and have a social networking profile (or two, or six), be warned: 45% of hiring managers are looking for you online. Watch this video for tips on how to make sure you are portrayed in the best possible light across the Web.

Tell us: Have you ever had a hiring manager or boss ask you about something he or she found on your online profile? (No registration needed to comment below. )

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/job-search/keeping-your-image-positive-online/

Holiday season hiring outlook

If you are hoping to snag a seasonal job during this year’s holidays, it’s time to start looking now. Like the rest of the job market, competition will be fierce.  What you might not think about, though, is that a seasonal job can be your ticket to full-time employment.

“Competition for seasonal positions will be intense as the job market is flooded with qualified candidates vying for a smaller number of open positions,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. “Employers tell us they are accepting the majority of their seasonal applications during October and November, meaning job seekers need to identify and apply for those opportunities now.”

Because of the weaker economy and expected soft holiday retail sales, employers do not anticipate a robust seasonal hiring period this year. The outlook for seasonal hiring in the fourth quarter of 2009 is projected to be similar to 2008, according to CareerBuilder’s “Seasonal Hiring 2009″ survey of more than 2,900 hiring managers. Eighteen percent of hiring managers plan to take on seasonal workers to meet business needs associated with the holidays and end-of-the-year wrap-ups, on par with 17 percent in 2008.

According to the National Retail Federation, retailers hired an additional 231,000 workers during the 2008 holiday season, a substantial drop from the 618,000 they hired in 2007. During the holidays, while some retailers were hiring seasonal workers, others were shedding full- and part-time jobs from stores and corporate offices. Since January 1, 2008, the retail industry has lost 770,000 jobs.

Here are some of the other results from the CareerBuilder survey:

• 12% of employed workers plan to take on a seasonal job to help make ends meet.
• 44% of hiring managers expect to pay $10 or more per hour and 12 percent expect to pay $16 or more per hour; 34 % of hiring managers plan to pay between $8 and $10 per hour and 20% expect to pay between $6 and $8.
• The most popular positions identified for seasonal recruitment include customer service, retail sales, administrative/clerical, hospitality, shipping/delivery, inventory, technology and accounting/finance.

What’s the good news long-term job seekers? Seasonal positions may prove to be the break job seekers are looking for as 31% of hiring managers indicate they are likely to hire a seasonal worker for a full-time position. Here are some tips if you are seeking seasonal employment:

• Start applying early – 77% of hiring managers do not plan to accept applications for seasonal workers beyond November. Especially in a competitive job market, getting your resume in early will help your chances of securing a position.
• Do your homework – Nearly a quarter of hiring managers say that having no knowledge of the company or products deterred them from hiring a seasonal candidate in the past. Check out the company’s Web site before the interview and familiarize yourself with products, services, press announcements, etc so the hiring manager knows you’re serious about the opportunity.  
• Show enthusiasm – Nearly half of employers say they were turned off by a candidate who lacked enthusiasm during their interview. Convey that you’re excited about the opportunity to contribute to the success of the organization and stay away from saying the primary reason you want the position is for the employee discount.
• Dress the part – If you are interviewing for a job in a retail clothing store, it’s a good idea to show up dressed in an outfit from that store. One-in-ten (11 percent) hiring managers said candidates who interviewed for a job in a competitor’s ensemble were ultimately not considered for the open position.
• Be flexible regarding your schedule – Forty-seven percent of hiring managers said they were turned off by a candidate who refused to work certain hours. Seasonal hours tend to fluctuate; you need to be open and flexible to alternative schedules.
• Use specific keywords – To find the most relevant jobs, search online using the following terms: seasonal, holiday, part-time, temporary and Christmas.

Want to know more? Check out this article on companies hiring this holiday season.

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/job-surveys/holiday-hiring/

Could the imminent nursing shortage be a career opportunity?

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a debate about health care going on in this country right now. I don’t imagine any of you are unaware because you can’t read or watch anything without hearing about the debate. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, we’re all going to face a predicament: People are living longer than they did generations ago, the amount of baby boomers who will need medical care is huge, and the amount of nurses is inadequate. And if the show Scrubs is to be believed, there will be even less time for zany antics during this shortage!

This past weekend PBS reran the episode “Nurses Needed” of its documentary program Now. Although it originally aired last fall, the facts remain the same. (At the end of the segment, producers do catch up with a featured patient to see how she’s doing one year later.) By 2020, the country could have a shortage of nurses nearing 500,000 or even 1 million.

Look at this study on nursing from the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2000, the amount of full-time equivalent (FTE) licensed nurses was 1,891,000. The demand for FTE licensed nurses was 2,001,500. By 2020, there will be fewer FTE licensed nurses at just 1,808,000. Yet the demand will rise to 2,824,900.

 A lack of nurses can translate into less attention spent with each patient, the program points out, and studies have proven that too many patients per nurse can negatively affect medical care. With fewer nurses in hospitals and other health-care facilities, the amount of patients per nurse will continue to grow. The program also  explains that fewer nurses are choosing to teach due to low salaries, therefore adversely affecting the number of new nurses. And many nurses are choosing to work for pharmaceutical companies because the pay can be substantially higher than hospitals, emergency rooms, clinics and many other health care facilities.

If nursing appeals to you–and it’s not an easy job, so it’s definitely not for everyone–this could be the right time to look into it. The demand for nurses will only increase in the coming decades, so you’ll be in demand. Depending on where you decide to work, wages can vary. Here are some median annual salary figures from CBSalary.com to give you an idea:

• Registered nurse: $66,427
• Intensive care unit (ICU) nurse: $67,548
• Head nurse: $85,967
• Critical care unit (CCU) nurse: $67,016
• Nurse midwife: $98,008
• Home-care nurse: $65,507

(Salaries vary by location, of course. And there are many other nursing options available.)

To watch the episode of Now, click here.

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/employment-trends/the-imminent-nursing-shortage/

Missing open enrollment can cost you

If you’re fortunate enough to have a job that offers benefits, you should make sure you’re taking full advantage of everything at your disposal. I’m the first to admit that I get inundated with so much junk mail at home and so many e-mails at work that I often find myself only reading the items that look urgent. For anyone else who does the same, make sure you don’t toss out a message from your HR department letting you know that open enrollment season has arrived. Open enrollment is the period when you can adjust your benefits or enroll in new ones for the following year. You only have a few days (often about a week) to do so, and then once the window closes, it’s done for the year.

This might not mean much to you, but if you need to add a new benefit (such as vision) or adjust how much you’re setting aside for your flex spending, you’ve only got this one shot. And a lot of you are doing just that. A new CareerBuilder survey finds that 25 percent of workers reported that they don’t pay attention to benefit changes, figuring the same benefits would roll over from the previous year or feeling that the whole process is too confusing. And 15 percent of hiring managers estimate more than 10 percent of their employees miss annual open enrollment deadlines each year on average. Eek!

Why is this such a big deal? Take it from the words of hiring managers: Missing open enrollment costs you cash. Lots of cash. I don’t think anyone in today’s economy has the luxury of saying, “Eh, save money? Who needs to do that?” According to 34 percent of HR managers, missing open enrollment costs employees, on average, at least $500 in out-of-pocket expenses. Twenty percent report that it costs employees more than $1,000, while 10 percent report it costs employees more than $2,500. And some companies have strict policies on when you can make adjustments for major events, such as births or weddings. If you miss the deadline to add your newborn son or daughter to your policy, you might end up paying for his or her first year of bills out of your own pocket.

One of the ways employees are missing out is by not realizing they have a wealth of options available to them. Many available benefits options go unnoticed by too many employees who could use them. HR managers were asked which benefit programs were the most commonly unnoticed by workers, they gave the following list:

• Flexible health-care spending –- 43 percent
• Wellness benefits – 45 percent
• Tuition reimbursement – 38 percent
• Banking programs – 25 percent
• Discounts on personal entertainment – 24 percent
• Discounts on technology for personal use – 22 percent
• Discounts on travel for personal use (rental cars, airplane tickets) – 20 percent
• Transit programs – 10 percent
• Help with childcare – 10 percent

If any of those sound appealing to you, double check with your HR representative to see if they’re available to you. (Or check any HR and benefits documents you have first, ’cause I’m sure  your HR rep is being inundanted with questions right now. If you don’t find the answer, contact him or her. They’ll be glad to help you.)

You can read more from the survey here. After you’re done reading, go mark open enrollment on your calendar and make sure you’ve got all the info you need. You can’t afford to miss out!

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/career-advice/missing-open-enrollment-can-cost-you/

How to wish your boss, “Happy Boss’s Day”

I think “The Office’s” Michael Scott best described the role of a boss when he said: “I’m a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.” Whatever kind of boss you have, today is National Boss Day (and annual review time is just around the corner).

If you haven’t gotten the chance to send wishes to your boss here are a few easy ways to do so that go beyond that boring old e-card.

Someecards
Sometimes irreverent and always funny, these greetings are probably best suited for the boss who you can joke with. One is featured as the pic above.
http://www.someecards.com/boss-day-cards/newest

America’s Best Boss
This customizable video comes from the folks at Adecco. It lets you create a “news report” on your boss who’s been named America’s Best Boss.
http://www.americasbestboss.com/

Boss’s Day video 
Worried about that fine line between sucking up and showing your appreciation? This short video featuring Yoyo from Hallmark’s animated characters Hoops & Yoyo does just the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQtUOESSfs

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/fun-stuff/bosses-day-wishes/

Do Mistakes on Résumés and Cover Letters Matter?

Did you think I would say anything but  “YES”? Of course mistakes on résumés and cover letters matter — isn’t that what we’ve been telling you, and what you’ve heard for the past — forever?

If an employer is only looking over your résumé for about 30 seconds, you can bet that if what catches his eye in that time period is an error, your résumé is going in the trash. Same with your cover letter — why waste time reading something that you can barely understand?

To shed some light on this important topic, we have a guest blogger today. Nanci Lamborn is a 20-year veteran of human resources and recruiting, and a writer and blogger for BrightMove. BrightMove is a  leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applicant tracking and talent management solutions for staffing, enterprise, mid-market and outsourcing areas of recruiting software. As a recruiter who has seen it all, her blogs are always insightful, informative and make me chuckle a time or two.

Here’s what she says about  the importance of résumé and cover letter accuracy:

Do Mistakes on Résumés and Cover Letters Really Matter?

By Nanci Lamborn, BrightMove Team Blogger/Writer

I am unashamed to admit it; I am a grammar freak. Maybe it can be blamed upon genetics (my mother used to diagram complex sentences for fun) or upon my authoritarian yet somehow endearing English professor, Mrs. Stolpe (may she rest in peace). I am also, rather proudly, always able to properly distinguish between there, they’re, and their,  and I will not be affected by the effect of an improper homonym selection. I can spot a typo a mile away.

My own quirkiness aside, it seems I am certainly not alone in my bid for the Grammar Police Deputy of the Year award. The fervently like-minded Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson have taken their correction quest nationwide http://bit.ly/144CzC , and MSN has joined in reporting on the trend, with mixed feedback http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28900351/.

If my cringes were limited to the lovely hand-addressed letters from my sweet Aunt Mary who fails to remember I’ve remarried and have a new last name (for six years now), the muscles that control my high and mighty eye-rolls would not be so well developed. But how can I not find myself reacting with a vigorous eye-roll head-shake combo move when I receive the following opening line from a candidate? “I seen you’re add on line heres my résumé.”

You just rolled your eyes too.

Please allow me to share a few more noteworthy errors observed on real applicant résumés. Space does not permit me to even scratch the surface of the number of these grammar bombs that I see in one weeks’ time. And since my italicized editorial garnered such feedback in last week’s posting, my snide comments are provided herein.

Experrienced clerrical proffesional (Iss yourr keyyboarrd sstickkinngg?)
I am bright and maybe valuable to the workspace. (Maybe I am a desk lamp.)
Researches And resolves Customer needs For the Area (I Like random Capitals.)
Cashing handling (I’m thinking you’re liking adding ing to wording.)
Assisting manager in creating promoting. (Are you copying from Cashing Handling guy?)

All humor aside, receiving administrative candidate correspondence such as this really does put me in a quandary. Do I overlook the seven separate typos and horrid cover letter grammar to get to the meat of the relevant work experience, giving the poor candidate and my own peeves a break? What if by doing so, I uncover the precise job history that I’ve been unable to find in any candidate so far? How important are spelling and grammar really? If they did not matter, this question may have appeared as “How impotent are spelling and grammar really?”  Important / Impotent… both are grammatically correct, and ironically even the sentence with the mistake poses a valid question.

The worst offenders may chalk it up to nervous haste, or they may claim that grammar and spelling are not their strengths. Perhaps. But the fact that some candidates apparently have not learned how to use the “Spellchecker” function or taken the effort to have colleagues proofread their résumé sends me the message that these candidates are either grossly lacking in basic skills or they are simply lazy. I have even seen candidates misspell their own names. Can my company overlook the results of these traits?

It also makes it very difficult for me to provide honest feedback when one of these applicants inquires as to why they were not considered. I am unsure if it is more heartless to just ignore their inquiry altogether, to generalize about better qualified candidates, or to point out all of their mistakes. Heartless as it may seem to screen out administrative candidates who fail in the basics, if it means that the written communication produced out of my office to the public has a much better chance of being professional and correct, then I must believe I have made the right decision.

Nanci Lamborn is a 20-year veteran of human resources and recruiting. She   currently recruits in the Atlanta area for the insurance industry and recently obtained her SPHR designation.

What do you think?

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Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/employment/mistakes-on-resumes/