My new years resolution is to make my blog posts shorter -- not. Nonetheless, I want this post to be shorter to save room for the list below.
When I recently checked these companies had multiple job openings:
1. PBSJ
2. METROPCS
3. CBS Corporation
4. GE
5. Kimpton, hotels and restaurants
6. ExxonMobil
7. Beckman Coulter
8. Apple
9. BAE
10. Nestle
11. Piedmont Natural Gas
12. Kimberly-Clark
13. Palm (*)
15. BJ's
16. KPMG
17. Public Storage
18. Abbott
19. Abercrombie & Fitch
20. Capital One
21. NETFLIX (*)
22. MTV Networks
23. Western Digital (*)
24. Chevron (*)
25. Kinder Morgan
25. Costco
26. Kohl's
27. Pfizer
28. Sears Holdings Corporation
29. Accenture
30. P&G (Procter & Gamble)
31. Nike (Nikebiz)
32. AGCO
33. Amazon
34. Nestle Purina
35. Sprint
It is a good idea to review the company's site to find out more information and determine if the organization seems right for you. If you are familiar with a company on the list and only want to view the career pages go to Google, type in the company name and the word careers. For example, XYZ Careers.
Also, no matter how you find out about employment opportunities it is important to keep a record of the companies and jobs that you apply for in a journal, a file or some type of database. It can take anywhere from a few days to several months for an employer to call after you've submitted a resume. During that time you may have sent out resumes to several other companies or you may have changed your resume. If you are like most job hunters, you're probably constantly modifying or updating your resume to match keywords in ads.
Therefore, each time that you apply for a position, make sure to keep a paper or electronic copy of the job description together with a copy of the resume that you submitted to the employer. You do not want the employer to have to remind you of what the job description said nor do you want to bring copies of the wrong resume with you to your job interview.
Be prepared for possible phone interviews as well as meetings with potential employers by creating notes, talking point and/or an elevator pitch on how your experience complements the tasks outlined in the job description and what you have to offer the company. You may also want to take time to jot down a few questions that you have about the company or the position.
Good luck with your job search and Happy New Year!
(*)Some openings in other states but several positions in California
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tread Carefully there could be Land Mines on the Road to a New Job
I am the first person to tell you I am not a professional career coach or recruiter. What I am is a person who went through an extend job search during this recession before finally landing a job. And like many people caught on the unemployment side of the financial downturn, I can say that I am a person who believes I learned a couple of things during my time on the dole.
Keep going full steam ahead until you are hired
Early in my job search I came across a job that I crowned, My Dream Job. The thing that made this job my dream job was it was close to where I live. I mean close enough to go home for lunch, close enough for a tank of gas to last a month. So what did I do? I hate to admit it, but after interviewing with the company, I slowed down my job search while the company considered who they were going to hire. I knew that the interview had gone well and I felt that my chance of landing this job was pretty much in the bag. The hiring process took about two weeks and during this time, I only used the job boards for my job search.
While you are waiting to hear from your dream job, which you may or may not land don’t allow a perfectly good opportunity to pass you by. Keep networking, go to open interviews where legitimate companies ask candidates can come in on a certain day, attend career fairs. Just keep going as if you never interviewed for your dream job. The worse thing that can happen is you find yourself in situation where you have to choose between employers, which is not really a bad situation.
You don’t actually have the job until you collect a pay check
At another point during my job search, I was extended and accepted a job offer. After a few days of feeling relieved and happy that my search was over, I was notified that the job had been created for residents living in a nearby city. Being that I did not live in the designated city, the offer had to be rescinded. The lesson here, do not think that because you have accepted an offer that you have a job. You don’t have a job until you have actually worked and collected a paycheck.
Your most recent job may not be in demand or the competition may be too stiff
Like a lot of job seekers I tried to build my resume around my most recent position, while demonstrating steady career growth. I honestly, believe that had I stuck with that formula, I would still be looking for a job. While there were hundreds of jobs that matched my skills available on job boards and elsewhere, I soon realized that there were literally thousands of people with the same skill-set or better going after the very same jobs. After about three months of searching, I refocused my job search to highlight my extensive experience in business and community research. There were fewer ads for these skills but on the other hand there was also less competition.
When looking for a position, perform an analysis of your skills and consider everything in your toolbox. If you possess a unique tool, now may be a good time to put it to use.
Follow-up after submitting an online application
You may receive a computer generated email confirmation regarding your resume, but do not trust your fate to a machine. Get some stationary and mail your resume and cover letter in to the company as well. Then follow-up with a phone call.
During my job search I learned that not all online applications are equal. As a result of the recession, many of these systems are operating over capacity. Others appear to flat-out misread resumes. For example, during my job search I completed an online application for a position as a marketing coordinator. Months afterwards, I received several messages from the system’s “search agent” suggesting that my skills were a match for an available position as a vice president with the company. This left me wondering if the hiring manager seeking the marketing coordinator had ever seen my resume, considering that my resume appeared to be organized in a category for potential vice presidents.
Proclaiming your ambition to be the boss may backfire
No matter what the experts say, as far as jobs are concerned we are still in recovery mode. People are still nervous about their jobs. Many fear being replaced by a less expensive worker, their position being eliminate, their salary being cut or jobs being sent offshore. Telling an interviewer that your goal is to have their job might seem cute and clever, but it may not sit too well if you are being interviewed by a tired, overworked employee who is not feeling too secure about their position.
Do not bring luggage with you to the interview
People will tell you a job interview is similar to a first date and a job can be like a relationship. As a job seeker you are leaving one relationship and attempting to enter in to a new one and just like dating you can unconsciously bring along baggage to your interview. Before you fall in to this trap, remember all relationships are subjective and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
If the experience with your former employer fell below your expectations, don’t vent about it to potential employers
Don’t appear desperate, one would think that desperation leads to people wanting to help, but the opposite is true people who appear desperate make others uncomfortable
Remember your manners by introducing yourself, offering the interviewer a firm shake, thanking the interviewer for seeing you and remembering to say thank you if the interviewer pays you a compliment.
Sit-up straight and make eye contact frequently.
Keep going full steam ahead until you are hired
Early in my job search I came across a job that I crowned, My Dream Job. The thing that made this job my dream job was it was close to where I live. I mean close enough to go home for lunch, close enough for a tank of gas to last a month. So what did I do? I hate to admit it, but after interviewing with the company, I slowed down my job search while the company considered who they were going to hire. I knew that the interview had gone well and I felt that my chance of landing this job was pretty much in the bag. The hiring process took about two weeks and during this time, I only used the job boards for my job search.
While you are waiting to hear from your dream job, which you may or may not land don’t allow a perfectly good opportunity to pass you by. Keep networking, go to open interviews where legitimate companies ask candidates can come in on a certain day, attend career fairs. Just keep going as if you never interviewed for your dream job. The worse thing that can happen is you find yourself in situation where you have to choose between employers, which is not really a bad situation.
You don’t actually have the job until you collect a pay check
At another point during my job search, I was extended and accepted a job offer. After a few days of feeling relieved and happy that my search was over, I was notified that the job had been created for residents living in a nearby city. Being that I did not live in the designated city, the offer had to be rescinded. The lesson here, do not think that because you have accepted an offer that you have a job. You don’t have a job until you have actually worked and collected a paycheck.
Your most recent job may not be in demand or the competition may be too stiff
Like a lot of job seekers I tried to build my resume around my most recent position, while demonstrating steady career growth. I honestly, believe that had I stuck with that formula, I would still be looking for a job. While there were hundreds of jobs that matched my skills available on job boards and elsewhere, I soon realized that there were literally thousands of people with the same skill-set or better going after the very same jobs. After about three months of searching, I refocused my job search to highlight my extensive experience in business and community research. There were fewer ads for these skills but on the other hand there was also less competition.
When looking for a position, perform an analysis of your skills and consider everything in your toolbox. If you possess a unique tool, now may be a good time to put it to use.
Follow-up after submitting an online application
You may receive a computer generated email confirmation regarding your resume, but do not trust your fate to a machine. Get some stationary and mail your resume and cover letter in to the company as well. Then follow-up with a phone call.
During my job search I learned that not all online applications are equal. As a result of the recession, many of these systems are operating over capacity. Others appear to flat-out misread resumes. For example, during my job search I completed an online application for a position as a marketing coordinator. Months afterwards, I received several messages from the system’s “search agent” suggesting that my skills were a match for an available position as a vice president with the company. This left me wondering if the hiring manager seeking the marketing coordinator had ever seen my resume, considering that my resume appeared to be organized in a category for potential vice presidents.
Proclaiming your ambition to be the boss may backfire
No matter what the experts say, as far as jobs are concerned we are still in recovery mode. People are still nervous about their jobs. Many fear being replaced by a less expensive worker, their position being eliminate, their salary being cut or jobs being sent offshore. Telling an interviewer that your goal is to have their job might seem cute and clever, but it may not sit too well if you are being interviewed by a tired, overworked employee who is not feeling too secure about their position.
Do not bring luggage with you to the interview
People will tell you a job interview is similar to a first date and a job can be like a relationship. As a job seeker you are leaving one relationship and attempting to enter in to a new one and just like dating you can unconsciously bring along baggage to your interview. Before you fall in to this trap, remember all relationships are subjective and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
If the experience with your former employer fell below your expectations, don’t vent about it to potential employers
Don’t appear desperate, one would think that desperation leads to people wanting to help, but the opposite is true people who appear desperate make others uncomfortable
Remember your manners by introducing yourself, offering the interviewer a firm shake, thanking the interviewer for seeing you and remembering to say thank you if the interviewer pays you a compliment.
Sit-up straight and make eye contact frequently.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
@Obama, WHERE'S MY STIMULUS JOB??!!!!!
I have to make a confession… I didn’t always know how to use twitter. I got the account because I though twitter might be helpful in finding a much needed job. However, I didn’t have a clue about who to follow or how to find people that could help with my job search. I got the account and clicked the tab saying, “suggested users” and followed a few celebrities, some news organizations, and a few others. I also found and followed one of my friends who was also unemployed and looking for work. Sadly and surprisingly none of them -- not even my friend followed me back. I sent an email to my friend asking what’s up, after all she actually knows me. She emailed back that she had abandoned the account several weeks before because it was a waste of time. I soon abandoned my account too.
Nonetheless, I kept hearing about Twitter everyone on television was saying tweet us or follow us. Instinctively, as a research professional there were times when I wanted to tweet responses to poll questions and see what others were saying but I just did not see how it would be worth the effort. Finally, one day I gave in and started another account. However, this time I unknowingly followed a person who became my twitter evangelist. A tweeter evangelist is someone who realizes that a user is struggling, follows them back and provides the new user with tips and information on using twitter. However, even with the added help, I was still not getting the results that I wanted and I abandoned that account too.
Then one day after a miserable morning on the job boards, I decided to give twitter one more shot. I went back to my first account and made some changes. I took my name off and replaced it with @onejobhunter because I wanted people to know right off that I was looking for work. I used a mock-up of a resume as my avatar and I changed the email address allowing me to keep my twitter job search efforts separate from the traditional methods.
Well as they say, the third time was the charm. This time armed with the knowledge that I had gained from my evangelist and my knowledge of basic research, I set out with a goal to find people who could help me to find a job. Using the search function I searched for words associated with working such as careers, jobs, employment, HR, human resources, networking, seeking, recruitment, recruit and so forth. I weeded people out by reading their profile, looking at their website and reviewing past tweets to make sure that they were offering the type of information that I believed would be useful to my job search. After all, I did not want a work from home opportunity nor did I want to be a secret shopper. It was a time consuming exercise but if the person or company passed the sniff-test then I would follow them.
Pretty soon I had more information than one person could use and I wanted to share my findings with others who were looking for work. I went to back to the search function to look for other job seekers. No surprise here, I found tons of people and I started following them to share information. What was unexpected, is how it was nearly impossible to get many of them to follow me back. In some cases, I would follow their friends and their friends would follow me back and pass along the information that I was tweeting to their unemployed friend.
One of the things that was both amazing and sad to see was how many unemployed people were desperately following and tweeting to celebrities about their plight. They would have been better off yelling out of their kitchen window because no one was listening. Almost none of the celebrities were following them back.
In the meantime, I was making contact with companies who were interested in finding out more about me and my work background. I was applying for jobs. Even though I did not get my job through Twitter , the fact that I was getting results helped me to stay optimistic during my job search. I was also getting valuable advice from experienced recruiters and hiring managers that was helpful in preparing me to meet with potential employers.
I was also able to get information on networking opportunities through Twitter. I found organizations such as Pink Slip Networking in my area where I met with employers and was provided with insight on making a positive impression when meeting with potential employers. I also found out about PinkslipMixers which is pretty much based in California but has a job board that list jobs from around the country. I was also introduced to tweet-ups and Meetup which are good places to meet new people and grow your network.
Okay, I did not find my job on twitter but I do feel that twitter was instrumental to keeping me plugged into people, which helped me to keep my spirits up and kept those feelings of desperation at bay. When I finally met with my future employer, I was able to engage, converse, listen and learn instead of feeling and appearing worried out of my mind and beside myself about getting a job. I honestly believe that had I been tweeting Help Shaq, where’s my stimulus job Obama or Oprah Jobs the result would have not been the same.
I don’t know how long twitter will be around or what it will eventually morph into but I do know is that currently it can be a valuable tool for job seekers, when used correctly.
Nonetheless, I kept hearing about Twitter everyone on television was saying tweet us or follow us. Instinctively, as a research professional there were times when I wanted to tweet responses to poll questions and see what others were saying but I just did not see how it would be worth the effort. Finally, one day I gave in and started another account. However, this time I unknowingly followed a person who became my twitter evangelist. A tweeter evangelist is someone who realizes that a user is struggling, follows them back and provides the new user with tips and information on using twitter. However, even with the added help, I was still not getting the results that I wanted and I abandoned that account too.
Then one day after a miserable morning on the job boards, I decided to give twitter one more shot. I went back to my first account and made some changes. I took my name off and replaced it with @onejobhunter because I wanted people to know right off that I was looking for work. I used a mock-up of a resume as my avatar and I changed the email address allowing me to keep my twitter job search efforts separate from the traditional methods.
Well as they say, the third time was the charm. This time armed with the knowledge that I had gained from my evangelist and my knowledge of basic research, I set out with a goal to find people who could help me to find a job. Using the search function I searched for words associated with working such as careers, jobs, employment, HR, human resources, networking, seeking, recruitment, recruit and so forth. I weeded people out by reading their profile, looking at their website and reviewing past tweets to make sure that they were offering the type of information that I believed would be useful to my job search. After all, I did not want a work from home opportunity nor did I want to be a secret shopper. It was a time consuming exercise but if the person or company passed the sniff-test then I would follow them.
Pretty soon I had more information than one person could use and I wanted to share my findings with others who were looking for work. I went to back to the search function to look for other job seekers. No surprise here, I found tons of people and I started following them to share information. What was unexpected, is how it was nearly impossible to get many of them to follow me back. In some cases, I would follow their friends and their friends would follow me back and pass along the information that I was tweeting to their unemployed friend.
One of the things that was both amazing and sad to see was how many unemployed people were desperately following and tweeting to celebrities about their plight. They would have been better off yelling out of their kitchen window because no one was listening. Almost none of the celebrities were following them back.
In the meantime, I was making contact with companies who were interested in finding out more about me and my work background. I was applying for jobs. Even though I did not get my job through Twitter , the fact that I was getting results helped me to stay optimistic during my job search. I was also getting valuable advice from experienced recruiters and hiring managers that was helpful in preparing me to meet with potential employers.
I was also able to get information on networking opportunities through Twitter. I found organizations such as Pink Slip Networking in my area where I met with employers and was provided with insight on making a positive impression when meeting with potential employers. I also found out about PinkslipMixers which is pretty much based in California but has a job board that list jobs from around the country. I was also introduced to tweet-ups and Meetup which are good places to meet new people and grow your network.
Okay, I did not find my job on twitter but I do feel that twitter was instrumental to keeping me plugged into people, which helped me to keep my spirits up and kept those feelings of desperation at bay. When I finally met with my future employer, I was able to engage, converse, listen and learn instead of feeling and appearing worried out of my mind and beside myself about getting a job. I honestly believe that had I been tweeting Help Shaq, where’s my stimulus job Obama or Oprah Jobs the result would have not been the same.
I don’t know how long twitter will be around or what it will eventually morph into but I do know is that currently it can be a valuable tool for job seekers, when used correctly.
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