Job Talk

Cameo Career & Corporate Consulting LLC (www.cameocareer.com) is taking a survey on job satisfaction.

If you like your job, tell us what you do and the main reason you like your work. Thank you.

by Susan K. Maciak, www.cameocareer.com

The long lost art of knocking on doors should be revived. It could be your best bet for finding employment in a tough job market.

Over 70 percent of jobs are in small businesses today. Many are start-ups that need help, but aren’t even sure yet what kind of help is needed. You might be just what they want.

A few tips for making door-to-door drop-ins while you’re out searching for work:

1. Dress as you would for an interview.

2. Stand up straight, smile and look confident.

3. Bring along plenty of resumes — leave one at every place you stop.

4. Tell the person in the front office that you’re interested in the business and would like to meet someone in charge to take you on a tour.

5. Show interest, ask questions.

6. Ask if the company will need someone with your skills.

Leave your resume whether or not there’s an instant job possibility. Follow up later with each contact you make.

by Susan K. Maciak, www.cameocareer.com

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Many job-seekers miss opportunities because they fail to compile a reference list before they begin a job search.

You may be asked for references (people who will vouch for you) on a job application, during an interview or on an online application. If you can’t provide them, you’ll lose your opportunity to the person who can.

A reference list is a type-written page of three - five people who can speak highly of you. On your list, should be professional persons who can say good things about you and your work ethic.

Past supervisors make the best references, along with business associates, other professional people, professors, teachers or school counselors. Friends and family members should never be used as references.

Be sure to let people on your list know that you are naming them as references. Include each person’s name, place of employment, address, city/state/zip, phone number and email address.

by Susan K. Maciak, Career Consultant, www.cameocareer.com

Even if you have to forfeit some of your unemployment check, you’re wise to work as much as you can while you’re looking for another full-time job. Employers hesitate to hire someone who hasn’t worked at all for many months.

There are several things you can do to fill the gap on top of your resume and show that you’ve been doing something from the time you lost your job “to present.”

1. Become a volunteer. Find an agency or charity where you can do regular volunteer work. Even if you only volunteer a few hours a week, put it on your resume. Example:

Volunteer               Red Cross / United Way           July 2009 - Present

2. Start a business in an area of your expertise. Even if you don’t make a lot of money as a self-starting cake maker, seamstress, gardener, landscaper, etc., you can list your efforts on the top line of your resume. Example:

Self-Employed       Dog Groomer                              July 2009-Present

3. Take a part-time job. It may turn into a full-time job! Even if it doesn’t, it will put you ahead in the job-seeking hunt. You may have to turn down a portion of your unemployment payments for money you make working part-time, but it will pay off in the end.

You’ll get a job a lot faster if you show employers that you were willing to work rather than just sit back and collect a check from the government. Here’s how your resume will look once you add your part-time job to the mix. Example:

Substitute Teacher           Zenia Public Schools                July 2009-Present

or

Part-Time Clerk                 Beth’s Boutique                           July 2009-Present

If you work part-time, try to find a position somewhat related to the type of full-time work you are seeking — or do work that really interests you. You could end up with a whole new career!

by Susan K. Maciak, Career Consultant, www.cameocareer.com

If you’re having a hard time finding job openings, think small–not big! Nearly 80 percent of new jobs today are in small companies with fewer than 50 employees. Most bigger companies are downsizing rather than hiring.

Why is that? Business upstarts are, for the most part, the companies with new ideas, new products and new services for the 21st Century. Bigger companies are remnants of the old Industrial Age which is in decline.

New kinds of work revolves around technology, communications and service, rather than primarily products. Smaller companies provide innovative or previously non-existent products and services. Instead of auto parts, new companies make body parts, for example. Knees for knee replacements or hips for hip replacements are in greater demand today than appliances, autos or arm chairs.

New services, such as security monitoring, senior living or smoking cessation centers are more common now than factories. Technology providers, such as web-page design firms or memory storage facilities, can be found on nearly every corner today. Wireless products are sold and serviced everywhere.

Times change and so does the work we do.

by Susan K. Maciak, Consultant, www.cameocareer.com

After an interview, is it best to send a hand-written note–or does an email thank-you do the job? If you want to be remembered as a great job candidate, do both!

Be sure to ask interviewer(s) for business card(s) after each interview. Email your gratitude to each interviewer immediately. Don’t send a group thank-you. Individualize each email, use good grammar and spell check.

Your emailed thank-you will be more timely, but your hand-written thank-you note shows more class–even though it will take a few days to arrive on your interviewers’ desk via regular mail. So why not do  both?

Interviewing for a job is all about making a good impression on potential employers. If you can do that twice, rather than just once, all the better!

by Susan K. Maciak, Career Consultant, www.cameocareer.com

Seven sentences you should never utter in a job interview:

1. I left my last job because I didn’t get along with my supervisor.

2. I was treated unfairly there, because . . .

3. I never work second shift (overtime, weekends, holidays, etc).

4. I’m always at work–unless I have family issues (or car problems).

5. I’m not interested in taking classes, as I already went to school.

6. I don’t have any weaknesses - except I can’t get up in the morning.

7. I want this job because I need the money.

by Susan K. Maciak, Author-Educator-Consultant, www.cameocareer.com

While you’re out knocking on doors trying to find work, don’t forget to visit all the temporary agencies in your area. Employment agencies, such as Manpower or Kelly Services, can be stepping stones to your next job.

More than a few companies count on local agencies to find job candidates for them. It’s not uncommon for a temporary employee to be offered a job after 90 days or even six months working for a company.

Many companies hire through temporary agencies today to see first-hand how well people sent to them can handle the work. The company is also paying copious attention to other details, such as punctuality and attendance.

Once a temporary employee proves himself or herself, the company is more likely to make them a permanent offer.

Look in the Yellow Pages of your local phone book. Experts say that approximately 70 percent of new employment opportunities are found in small businesses–the kind that advertise in the Yellow Pages.

If a company is health-related, it’s even more likely to be furtile ground for job-seekers. Over 40 percent of new jobs today lie in health care services.

by Susan K. Maciak, www.cameocareer.com

For many folks, it feels like they’re out of the job market–unless they win the Gold Medal in their career field at this year’s Olympics. It’s true that a person needs to be competitive to find work these days, but not necessarily a champion in their field.

There’s room for all types if you know where to look. Over 65 percent of jobs today are in small businesses, even start-ups, not in the big old corporations that used to employ people by the thousands.

So start knocking on doors at the ‘Mom and Pop’ shops in your neighborhood–or look for them online. The pay and benefits may be less than you’d like, but the opportunities for advancement are wide open.

Match your skills to those you know will help grow a new business. Then, go out and sell yourself as just the person ABC Company needs to get to Z.