Job Search Guy Blog

CareerBuilder Going Green?

With all the buzz around "green this" and "green that" these days, it was only a matter of time before someone dedicated a job board to a green JOBS category.

CareerBuilder has just launched a new site dedicated to green, or environmentally friendly jobs. Now job seekers can search for jobs within companies that apply sustainable energy practices. Even the salary calculator from ERI is slanted towards the green jobs with their custom drop down box.

The site doesn't appear completely fleshed out yet, but it appears that one can look up specific jobs, employers and check out resources, primarily articles and recent news items pertaining to green jobs and green industry in general.

This could be a real growth area as, according to Cheezhead, more than $98Billion has been earmarked by the Obama administration to fund energy and environmental projects. Many of these projects will spur the creation of future green jobs.

Do you qualify for a green job?

If you've ever thought about green jobs, you might want to listen in to my recent green jobs podcast interview with Jim Cassio.  Jim is a man who should know about green jobs. He has extensive experience in the green industry and has lots of answers. He is also author of the recently published Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future.

It remains to be seen whether this idea has wings, but $98Billion could fund an awful lot of jobs.

Job Search Guy Radio Show #11

Are you working with a recruiter?  Are you thinking about working with a recruiter?  If so, listen in as I talk with Bill Gaffney, senior recruiter with the Amaxa Group.  Bill shares several specific questions recruiters will ask you.  He'll address why and how you should answer them so you get the biggest possible benefit from any recruiter you work with. 

We also talk about the recent Supreme Court Ruling on Age Bias in the employment area and how that affects you.

Lastly, we talk about how more hiring managers are hanging out on LinkedIn and what that should tell you as a job seeker.

Job Search Guy Radio Show#11
Length 23:30

Are You an Expert or a Job Seeker?

I speak with candidates every week in my resume writing workshops. Too often I encounter a defensive, apologetic attitude among my listeners. Many spend too much time worrying about finding a job and not enough about their true place in this newly evolving economy.

To become relevant in today's job market, adopt this single most important behavior modification:

Stop acting like a job SEEKER and start acting like an EXPERT in your niche or field.

Stop waiting with your hat-in-hand selling your skills to anyone who'll buy. Embrace a new approach and sell the one thing the employer really needs today- your EXPERTISE.

Whatever your role is, you have a bottom line impact on the hiring manager. Your job is to communicate your true value clearly and specifically to your next employer. Your major task is to change your thinking and your behavior from that of a job seeker to that of an expert.

Take some time to develop specific ways to show your expertise in your job or profession. Demonstrate how you help solve a problem or produce a specific positive result for your employer or client.

Sit down with a legal pad and list all of your achievements from current or past jobs. If you're stumped, list your job roles and duties. Then ask the question, "So What?" after each one. What you're after is the ACHIEVEMENT. When I say "achievement", I don't mean the role you played or the duties you fulfilled. What we need here is the end result, the benefit to the client or employer as a result of something that you did or contributed.

How did your employer or your client benefit? How was their life made better?

For example, let's say you're a front office manager. One of your achievements was that you decreased file retrieval time by at least 70% by auditing admissions. This resulted in a much more efficiently streamlined filing system.

Here, your expertise is producing time-savings for the front office staff. Now identify other examples of similar accomplishments in your previous work. By describing several examples, you are building a case that proves you are an expert in saving time for the front office.

Here's another example. Let's say you're an operations manager for a medical clinic. One of your past achievements was to reduce your employer's payroll cost by $1,125 per week by the reduction of supervising doctor hours from 5 nights a week to only 2 nights.

Here, your expertise might be reduction of payroll and expenses. Now identify other similar cost reduction examples that prove your expertise in this area.

Promote Your Expertise

When you analyze your achievements, you'll find a pattern emerging around some key areas where you have contributed in your job. This will most likely be your area of expertise. You now have something employers will want. Knowing your areas of expertise, develop a new summary statement on your resume - your USP or Unique Selling Proposition. Your USP incorporates your expertise in plain, return-on-investment language.

For example, the operations manager above might have a USP summary on his resume that reads something like this:

"Innovative Medical Operations Manager whose strengths in cost-cutting and department realignment have saved my employer $300K in 12 months."

Once you've identified your primary expertise, you can position yourself as an expert in that niche on your resume by incorporating this statement. It becomes your verbal "elevator pitch" to use at any in-person meeting as well as during your phone screen and interview.

When you back this up with several examples, you stop looking like a job seeker who's merely peddling skills and begin to look like the professional you are - an expert at solving problems in your niche.

Job Search Guy Radio Show #10

The number of self-employed Americans rose by over 200,000 in March 2009, from an estimated 8.96 million to 9.18 million.

But, is self-employment for YOU?

Today we talk with Bill Gluth, a Sales Process Strategist who sees small business as the future of the American economy. He teaches small business owners how to use their talent in business as their greatest, competitive advantage.

In today's show, learn some of the "why's" and "how's" of self-employment. Discover that it's NOT money that you need to start your own business. It's something much more important. Also, learn about "Human Touch Marketing" and how this strategy can work wonders for you.

Job Search Guy Radio Show#10
Length 23:30

Job Search Guy Radio Show - #9

$800 Billion in government stimulus dollars is earmarked to create new jobs in this country and a good percentage of that may be going to "green jobs" creation. 

 

In fact, you may have all the skillsets you need for a green job right now. 

 

But, what exactly are green jobs?

 

How do you find them and how can you qualify for one? 

 

On this show I interview Jim Cassio, the man who should know.  Jim has extensive experience in the green industry and has lots of answers.  He is also author of the recently published Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future.  

 

In this show, I also answer a listener's question on how far to rely on a recruiter once you're deep in the interview process. 

 

Also, discover a new online resource that lets you find out who is actually opening and reading the resumes you're sending out. 

Job Search Guy Radio Show#9
Length 21:45