Tag Archives: skills

Sell Yourself In That Interview!!!

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Every job interview is different — but some general principles can guide you in just about any interview, for any job. When you’re talking about yourself and your experience, keep the following six points in mind.

1. Be the Solution
Companies fill or create positions because they have problems they want to solve — for instance, ineffective advertising or long customer-service lines. So prepare for an interview by identifying the problems hinted at in the job ad. (If there’s no job ad, research the company and industry.) Then, prepare examples detailing how you’ll solve those problems — and how you’ve solved similar problems in the past. Practice telling stories about specific results you’ve achieved.

And if you’re interviewing for a career change, keep in mind that many problems — such as a lack of effective project management or a breakdown of teamwork — are not industry-specific. Offering solutions to these problems is a great way to overcome a lack of directly applicable experience.

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Get Unemployment Benefits While You Work ???

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The following article was posted today (11/28/11) by Claire Gordon on www.jobs.aol.com ….What do you think about it? Are we setting people up to double dip or is this a genius plan to keep unemployed people accountable for their time off? 

Many unemployed Americans would love to get new skills, but can’t afford to lose their unemployment benefits. Many employers want to hire new people, but can’t afford to spend months training a new employee. The New Jersey Assembly is set to reconsider a bill that would kill these two birds with one stone.

The proposal would allow employers who have a job vacancy to train individuals for up to 24 hours a week for six weeks without paying them, and with no obligation to hire, reports The Associated Press. The trainees could continue collecting unemployment benefits during this time, as well as up to a $100 per week stipend for transportation, child care and other job-related costs.

The plan was vetoed back in February by Gov. Chris Christie, because it came as part of legislation that had a combined estimated cost of $600 million. By itself, the job training bill has a much more modest projected cost to New Jersey taxpayers of $3 million per year.

The program is modeled off of a plan in Georgia, “Georgia Works,” which has existed since 2003 and garnered bipartisan support. President Obama spotlighted the plan in his September jobs speech and integrated the idea into his proposed jobs bill.

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Career Change? You Better Know What You’re Changing Into…

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Throughout my work week, I receive many emails and phone calls from people interested in making a career move or looking for work. Most of these people know what they want, at least, vaguely… because of where they’ve been. Occasionally, however, I run into someone that needs a little coaching to direct them on what they’re looking for. This is fine with me.  I really enjoy coaching people and helping them develop a career path.

Every once in a while though… I run along someone that will drive me crazy. Lucky for me, this happened Friday. I received a phone call from a woman interested in chatting with me to plot her next career jump. She had heard of me through word of mouth and had some interesting expectations of me. For the sake of my story and her privacy, we will call this woman Joan.

Joan called my office and stated that she had been in the insurance business for the last 30 years. She was still working with an insurance firm but knew that her time was limited as they were experiencing grave financial issues. She was interested in making a change. She went on to say that she had heard the best candidates are those that are still employed and seeking. I’d like to pause with Joan for a second and say… THIS IS CORRECT! The most sought after candidates are those still working. If you’re thinking that a ride on the unemployment check wagon is going to be good for you…a sabbatical of sorts, you’re committing suicide on your career. Don’t understand? Click here for the skinny.

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