Support Your Spouse in a Job Search

Supporting a spouse during unemployment can be stressful. There are a lot of questions going through your head: How will you support your family financially? How can you help find a new job? If you are not already working, should you seek employment yourself? How should you adjust your budget? If you have children at home, how are they going to take the news?

At the same time, you are dealing with your spouse’s discouragement and your own personal worries. How can you alleviate your fears, find answers to your questions, 
and offer the support needed? As soon as possible, you should both sit down together and make a plan.

Here are a few tips to help.

Surviving Unemployment

As companies continue to downsize or close, even ideal employees may find themselves needing to find new employment.

While some of the following points may be seen as hind sight, we need to begin where we are.

• Prepare for the future
• Increase your faith
• Ask for help
• Live within your means
• Seek additional training
• Maintain health and well being

For details on these points, see the complete article here.

Returned Missionary Career Steps

Home from a mission begins a new and exciting chapter in life. The next steps might include finding employment or seeking further education and make this a dynamic time of career exploration. While there may be a feeling of uncertainty, know that your experiences and your missionary service have prepared you for the decisions ahead. 

As you start on your path to building a career, consider the following tips.

• Keep Your Momentum
• Develop a Career Plan
• Plan for Education and Finances
• Communicate the Skills Gained from Your Mission
• Use Additional Resources
• Move Forward with Trust in the Lord

If these topics sound interesting, see the full article here.

50 Best Job Search Sites

There’s a lot that goes into searching for a job. From crafting the perfect cover letter and resume, to finding the best-fit niche jobs to apply for, to acing the big interview, to using social media to your advantage,

Fortunately, you can use a number of job search websites, tools, and apps to make the hunt for your perfect job easier.

See 50 of the best job search sites, apps, and tools here.

Job-Hunting Do's and Don'ts for Job-Seekers

Learning the do's and don'ts (rules) that job-seekers must know regarding the key strategies and tactics of successful job-hunting is essential. Presented in this article are 25 keys to successful job-hunting. Job-seekers who follow these rules and guidelines -- the do's and don'ts of job-hunting -- should have much more success in the job-search.

For more insight, click here.

Overcome Age in Your Resume

Older workers have an uphill battle when it comes to changing jobs. Although employers are not supposed to discriminate against older workers, some hiring managers do favor younger employees. If overcoming age bias is a concern, there are several things you should do when updating your resume.

There's no rule that you have to list every position you've ever held.  Overcome age bias early in the hiring process by listing only your most recent jobs on your resume. If you have been in the same industry for 25 years, eliminate information about jobs you held more than 15 years ago.

Click here the full article on Age and Resumes.

Overcome Procrastination

Procrastination is detrimental to efforts in gaining employment and in career change. Many procrastinate, even fewer recognize it.

 Many have forgotten the negative consequences of procrastinating such as feelings of anxiety and stress, fatigue, and disappointment from falling below their own standards . Leaving things to the end dramatically increases the chances something will go wrong – like getting sick or a computer problem . So, procrastination can be hard on us and actually increase our chances of failing and falling behind.

If this is a problem you may have acquired in school, see a discussion here.

When it pays to work for free

Some people will tell you it’s never, ever worth it to work for free.  But it’s perfectly acceptable to do career-related work without pay – IF you derive some other career-related benefit from it.

It could be keeping up a skill, or having the opportunity to work for your potential dream client, or flexing a creative muscle you haven’t been able to use in a while.

Working for free is something to consider, especially if you’re out of the workforce, looking to go back after a long break, or contemplating switching careers. It could benefit anyone else who lacks the relevant experience or current skills they need for the job they want. For further ideas, see the article here.

Job Search #6: Fast Track Your Job Search

What can you do when you have to find a job fast? It's not easy, but there are steps you can take to expedite your job search.

Spending some time to get your job search in order, keeping it organized, focused, and on the fast track will help you find a job faster than if you don't have a plan in place.

Rather than missing your job search targets, you'll be spending your time job searching in an effective manner if you take it one step at a time - and stay on top of managing job search process.  See the full article here.

  

Here are some suggestions.

• Plan and Organize Your Search
• Write Your Resume
• Create a Personal Cover Letter Template
• Create/Update Your Professional Profilles
• Select Job Search Websites
• Use Your Words

For more insight, click here.

Job Search #5: Finding Job Listings

Here are the best sites to find job listings including job search engine sites, job boards, company websites, niche job sites, social media and professional networking sites, jobs listed by type of job seeker and location, and more top job listing sites.

Here is a valuable outline of finding best sites for particular job listings.

1. Top 5 Best Job Sites for Students
2. Best Job Search Engines
3. More Good Job Sites
4. Best Local Job Sites
5. Jobs Listed by Career Field/Industry
6. Jobs Listed by Location

For more info, click here.

Job Search #1: When to start a search

When it comes to starting your job search, there’s no time like the present—except, maybe, if the present happens to be during a major life change, a big project at work, or the summertime.

Career experts say job seekers should always be actively looking. The stars will never align perfectly in your job search and if you wait for them to do so, a great opportunity could be missed. 

The best time to look for a new job is when you don’t need one; you just want one. For the complete discussion see the article here.

Moms’ jobs can make a difference …

The Church surveys and research make some projections for the sisters of the Church. Two thirds of all sisters will at one point be the principal breadwinner for their family. This comes about with the husband’s loss of employment, unexpected death or divorce, or a sister remaining single.

There is little opportunity for a mom with the responsibility of a child to move beyond minimum wage work. To make a shift is almost impossible for a family without help. They have to work hard to make the day-to-day.

The biggest motivator for moms is the financial security that a "non-traditional" job can offer. For more details on this topic, see the full article on a Wyoming program here.

Display Your Career Passion!

Ever wonder what employers look for when they recruit candidates? Well now you can stop wondering because we're going to tell you. 

We recently conducted a survey in conjunction with Millennial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm, to learn what hiring managers are looking for when they search for candidates, the disconnects between employers, job candidates, and the generations that currently make up the workforce. To check out the infographic presented, click here

Job Search Site List

The internet provides a vast resource of information relating to job searching. In order to make effective use of these resources an organized and disciplined approach to your job search is appropriate.  While job leads are necessary, the fact remains that networking and personal contacts are the most effective path to a job interview and ultimately an offer. Using the internet to identify available job openings and then using networking to get an inside track can provide a powerful search strategy.

The following compilation of sites was prepared by Karla Nuzman, an employment Specialist.  It presents an extensive set of site addresses broken into useful career categories.

COMPANIES	CONSTRUCTION	ENERGY
ENGINEERING	FELONS	FINANCE – BANKING
GENERAL	GOVERNMENT JOBS	HEALTHCARE
HOSPITALITY	IT– TECHNOLOGY	JOURNALISM – BROADCASTING
	REGIONS – LOCATIONS

For multiple web sites for Job Searches by career, click here.

Top 10 Best Job Sites

 Looking for a good position is never easy, especially in tough employment markets. But even so, there are hundreds of thousands of jobs available at any given time, if one knows where to look. Many of them are posted on job boards.

A job board’s primary function is to connect companies with potential employees. And as recent studies show, companies find nearly 25% of their external new hires through these sites. Surveys have also found that up to 32% of job seekers found their jobs by either responding to an ad or posting a resume on a job board.

To see the top sites click here.

Smart career moves to make by 30

For people in their twenties, life can be a rich time for personal self-discovery—a period when you’re more willing to take risks and maybe even make mistakes along the way. These can also be some of the most formative years for your career.

When you graduate, you may have an idea of what you want to be when you “grow up,” but may not have an idea of just how to get there. You don’t want to leave everything to chance - especially if it affects your future earning power.

Career experts and coaches have their opinions on the top dos—and don’ts—for the younger generation of career builders. For those past ‘twenty something’ look to see what you did right, or not so. Here are 30 savvy moves to make at each stage of your career before you hit 30, or might be able to catch up on after. See the complete article here.

Tips for how to find a job

If someone started looking for a job today, there is no way of knowing how long it will take. You have to make looking for a job a job in itself. It needs to be a 24-hours-a-day, seven-day-a-week, 365-days-a-year job.

There's always the opportunity of working in the temporary arena. People should be calling temporary employment firms to find light industrial jobs, or jobs that will make a minimum wage or maybe a little more. For example, if you've been an accountant your whole life, there are opportunities out there, and you might be able to find some temporary jobs.

Develop a system of looking for a job. This way, you focus on the process without having to worry about the results. Keep track of the calls you make and the interviews you get. That way you can follow up on the interviews.

For a comprehensive outline see the full article here.

Strategies for job seekers over 40

The recent recession battered all segments of the U.S. economy, erasing 8 million private sector jobs in the process.  For every job opening, there are at least five out-of-work Americans.

Middle-aged professionals have been hit particularly hard.  There are inherent difficulties that older workers face when having to compete against younger applicants in the new economic environment.

If you are 40 or older and looking to re-join the workplace or move up in your career, there are several extra strategies that need to be part of your job-hunting process. That’s because age discrimination still exists in subtle forms.

You need to be aware of the stereotypes that pervade the marketplace concerning older workers and learn how to overcome the barriers that hiring managers may put in your way because of your age. See the complete article here.

Job Searching at 50: stress your experience

As an older worker, it’s easy to go off recalling the “old days” and how things have – or haven’t — changed.  In searching for an IT job at 50, however, it’s important to stay focused on the employer’s present and future needs – and how the company will benefit from your experience.
That doesn’t mean leaving dates off your resume to appear less old, according to Shelley Radinsky of T & S Recruiting near Philadelphia.  She relates:  “I think you should be proud of every bit of experience you have and “If you go in there confident, that will come across.”

Here are important concepts to incorporate in your job hunting profile.

1. Focus on Your Value
2. Find the Right Fit
3. Staying Current

For more specific strategies to incorporate in your job hunting techniques regardless of your field of endeavor, click here.

35 Most Influential Career Sites for 2014

Looking for a job or seeking to hire employees in 2014?  The Internet is full of advice, though separating the reputable and informative sites from the misleading sources often takes time and extensive effort.

To save you the trouble, below, you'll find a comprehensive list of some of best career, interviewing, job search and recruiting websites.  These are long standing sources that are consistently updated, have shown significant expertise in the field and can be readily accessed through a multitude of social media channels.

For more info, click here.