Unemployment rising, Who's hiring? 2009 job outlook

Unemployed people are the busiest people I know!

This statement came from one of my customers, We had two office personnel lined up to start, and both after getting the offers, had other plans scheduled.

So, your not working and this is a good time to take care of personal items in your life. Also as a employer, I understand you have items that need to be taken care of. but ask yourself is it something that really needs to be done or do I need a new job so let us look at a list:

Get car fixed or have a new job
Get eyes examined or have a new job
Dentist appointment or have a new job
Emissions test or have a new job
Hair cut or have a new job
Pick up dry cleaning or have a new job
Take friend to airport or have a new job
Cut grass or have a new job
Clean house or have a new job
Plan a long weekend or have a new job
Wedding (not yours) or have a new job


Go on an interview, this is one of my favorites. I offer you work, you have been looking for some time , you get what you want WORK and you still want to know from me your employer if you can have the third day your supposed to work off, so you can go on an interview with another company.

So you have things that are scheduled. Maybe it is your wedding, how do you approach your potentially new employer?

I like when people tell me in advance. They let me know the dates, what the occasion is, and let me know why its important that they have that time off. Also that they will do what ever it takes to get the position, maybe put some extra time in.

You need to consider changing your schedule, so you can keep the job. As far as the office people I was going to place, we found someone else that could work.

Staying positive in hard times

Desperation, doesn’t sell.

I have received a variety of calls this week of people looking for work. They use terms like I will take anything, I don’t care what it pays. I will drive anywhere. I feel for these people. It is the holiday season and people want work. I want to give you some advice because the desperation plea doesn’t help me, help you.

If you have the opportunity to contact staffing firms, like I have, start by contacting them with curiosity. I would ask them if you might be considered for one or more openings if you changed some of your parameters, like pay or level of work. This approach is much more acceptable then the cry of desperation.

If your applying to new openings, and are looking to work at something less then you had, make sure you state it with positive intent and objective. Let them know that you want to be part of their company, offer all the skills you have, earn a position. You need to offer value.

Be very cautious of just “taking” or “doing” work. From a hiring point of view, that behavior comes across shallow, with no investment.

Keep your head up, know that you have skills. You need to offer a great service for better value.

Dennis

Clarify your ability to work

I was just reviewing some resumes of students that are going to school away from home. The person I just reviewed lives in the Chicago area but is in school out of town. From the resume, I could not tell if they are back in Chicago, or if still away at school. I couldn’t tell if they are ready for work, full time? Part time? Or looking just for the Christmas vacation.

By defining your ability to work in the beginning of your resume, hiring managers will clearly understand what you are looking for. If your going to be back home from school, list only the home address, if you need work at your school, make a separate resume with that location. If your looking for part time or seasonal work, make that clear on the resume.

Our applicant tracking systems keys the zip codes of your resume. If you list both addresses you might be getting keyed as your school location vs. your home location.

So as hiring people are looking for candidates. You want to be found and found with clear intent.

Take this first step to clarify your ability to work and you will start to find more opportunities.

Dennis

How far is too far?

Ask yourself this simple question how far is to far.

Maybe it is the excitement that you are getting a call for an interview. Maybe it is the thought that you can get back into the workforce. Or maybe it is that you have been sitting on the couch long enough that when you get a call for work you figure you might as well check it out.

So you get a call, and you discover the company is over 40 miles away. You look up that it will take you over an hour to get there. At this point do you call them and let them know its to far, or do you just continue through the process? Also, keep in mind you were the one that started this exchange by sending them a resume

I have had many applicants continue through the process. The process of multiple interviews, driving to the company more then once, getting an offer.

I just had happen here at our staffing firm. A candidate accepted the offer, completed all the drug and background tests (which costs me money), then call on the day they were to start and tell me it is to far.

My question is why would you want to take your time to go through all of the travel, cost, paperwork, and time wasted when you should realize in advance that this is to far?

You might have missed out on other opportunities! You just have made yourself look bad in front of that company or firm that is trying to get you work.

You’re not helping anyone by interviewing; knowing in advance that you can’t make it to work daily!

Do yourself a favor and map out how far you can work, what hours you can work, in advance. This will help you build a focus on positions that are favorable for you. And stop applying for jobs you can work at. It’s a waste of everyones time and you need to focus your time and energy on presenting your best to companies that you can truly work for.

Dennis

Jobless claims at 26-year high

Number of people filing for initial unemployment insurance surges to 573,000 in latest week. By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing new unemployment insurance claims jumped last week to a 26-year high, surpassing the number of filings economists had predicted.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits surged to 573,000 for the week ended Dec. 6. That was an increase of 58,000 from a revised 515,000 claims in the previous week.

It was the highest number of jobless claims since Nov. 27, 1982 when initial filings hit 612,000. Economists were expecting jobless claims increase to 525,000, according to a consensus compiled by Briefing.com.

The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which works to eliminate fluctuations in data was 540,500 last week, an increase of 14,250 from the previous week's revised average of 526,250.

One economist said the number of initial claims decreased in the previous report because the data from that report represented the week of Thanksgiving. Some of the surge in initial filings in this current report could be a bounce from that week.

However, "the underlying trend in the labor market is that it continues to weaken," said Jay Bryson, global economist with Wachovia Economics, and that is evident in the 4-week moving averages of initial claims.

The number of people continuing to collect unemployment rose to 4,429,000 in the week ended Nov. 29, the most recent week available, which was also a 26-year high. The measure was an increase of 338,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,091,000.

The last time continuing claims was at such an elevated level was Dec. 4, 1982, when continuing claims hit 4,509,000.

Meanwhile, the 4-week moving average of continuing claims was 4,133,500, an increase of 130,750 from the previous week's revised average of 4,002,750.

With the U.S. economy officially in a recession, unemployment has been on the rise. The economy shed 533,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose to 6.7% from 6.5% in October, according to a government report released last week.

So far this year, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs.

The economy has fallen into a recession, and the nation's gross domestic product - the largest measure of the economy's health - contracted by 0.5% in the three months ended Sept. 30. Bryson said that he expects the GDP to contract even further in the coming quarter.

When companies see their orders decrease, they simply don't keep as many workers on the payroll.

As workers lose their jobs, that hits states particularly hard.

"Not only, when people get laid off do income taxes go down, but they start drawing unemployment compensation," said Bryson. "So whenever you are in a recession, you see the deficit widen."

According to a report from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 43 states are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this year, and as people continue to lose their jobs, states are pinched further.

The largest increases in initial jobless claims for week ended Nov. 29 - the week before last - were in Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Dakota. The largest decreases in initial filings were in California, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, and Texas.

First Published: December 11, 2008: 8:39 AM ET

Are you ready to compete?

Dennis

What is your Resume saying about you?

I was coaching someone who was looking for a Marketing position. Verbally, he had all the skills, but according to the resume it had a feel of a sales person, or an account manager.

I asked, "Where is the marketing skills in this resume?" We found one word that said marketing. Eight words that said sales.

So, from a quick glance the resume reflected a sales person.

Try this exercise. Take 6-10 seconds, and take a look at your resume, you can even have someone else do it. Off of this quick glance what do you see? What stands out? What is your initial reaction? If it is not what you are looking for then you need to change some of the wording you use.

I was mentoring at a local school. As I was thumbing through their resumes, one of the students asked me “Are you looking at our resumes? Because you don’t seem to be spending much time on them." I told them on average I take about five to ten seconds to skim key words and experience on a resume to see if has some of the things I am looking for. Then I might read further.

The class was floored. They thought as recruiters we sit and read each resume all the way through and that we have the time to figure out what they did, how they did it and how it might apply to the position we have available.

So the student that asked me the question wanted to know what feed back I had on their resumes. Most of these students were looking for technology positions. So when I read through their resumes, with a six second glance, I got pictures of warehouse people, stay at home moms, students, carpenters, firefighters. Their resumes were not reflecting what they wanted.

Working with them after to change, not only the focus of the resume, we also changed where the information on the resume went.

Your resume is your marketing material , market your past in a direction that leads to your future.

Self Discrimination via Voice Mail

“Hello me, the wife, the kids and the dog are not home now, please leave a message and we will call you back”.

Seems harmless, other then the fact is that I know your married, have children. If their voices were on the voice mail, I can guess their ages approximately.

I also know you like dogs, or at least have one.

If it happens to be your voice on the recorder, I know how you communicate. Do you use slang? Do you have an accent? Are you upbeat? Are you funny?

Or have you taken your job search seriously and designated a separate phone line or voicemail for finding new work.

Flexibility

So you are looking for work. There is a reason you are looking. Either you are not working, or you know things are getting to a point you might not have a position. Or are concerned for your future. Whatever the reason, in these economic times you are going to be the one that needs to be flexible.

There is more and more people available and less and less available positions. Companies are going to look for people that are flexible and meet the companies goals and needs.

What are some of the areas to be flexible?

Travel – You might have to travel farther to get your next position.

Hours – You might have to put in different hours, or you might have to work flex or even less hours. I have seen people earn more hours by taking less. The person that shows flexibility also shows a sense of wanting to work.

Pay – What you were making before might not be what you are going to make today. If this a company that you have wanted to work for, you might want to consider that the alternatives might not be so positive.

Dress – You might need to change your wardrobe to match the new environment.

Duties – In a down economy, companies expect more for less. If you are looking for a new position you might have to down grade your position wants and needs to get that new position.

** Something to note regarding looking for a lesser skilled position; Companies are still looking for the right person, not just someone to show up and “take” the job. Its not yours to “take”, it is their position to give, you need to earn and want it, even if it is not at your skill level. They might pass on you if they feel your not truly interested, and your just taking the position till you find something else.

Dennis