July 2009
Monthly Archive
Did you ever have a friend who simply could NOT get a date no matter what? Let me guess… the harder they tried the worse things got. And the more desperate your friend got, the faster he was rejected. It seemed like potential dates could “smell” your friend’s desperation.
Well, in a way they could. The same principle applies to job hunting too.
If you are desperate for a job, there are likely two types of employers you will see…
1. The predatory employer looking to take advantage of you.
2. Employers who can “smell” your desperation and turn the other way.
The first type is easy to see because they will offer you some trash job at little or no pay. The second type may simply be afraid to give you a chance. Why?
Because they’ve been burned before. And they know from experience desperate applicants will say or do almost anything to get hired. Simply put, they don’t believe you will stick around no matter how good your application looks. As a matter of fact the better your resume looks, the more suspicious they are likely to be.
So how can you avoid looking desperate?
1) Take a realistic look at what you have to offer potential employers.
If you really want to work – this is a plus. Most employers are happy to find applicants who really want to work. But why do you really want this job?
More importantly how can you put those skills you worked so hard to develop to work for this employer? In other words…
What’s in it for him?
Will it cost him less to train you because you already possess pertinent skills?
Can this employer benefit from your skills in ways they never considered?
Can you produce short term results that may make taking a chance on you a better risk?
Changing your perspective may mean the difference between begging for a bone and bringing some real value to the table.
2) Build your confidence
Remember your friend who couldn’t get a date to save his (or her) life? Chances are they felt like they had little to offer in a relationship i.e. they had low self-esteem. Recognize how much you have to offer in addition to your direct job skills.
Do people like you in the workplace? Why?
Are you able to pick up new things fast?
Start building a list of work-related things you are good at. Review it often. Keep adding to it as you think of new things.
Chances are you have a lot more to offer than you give yourself credit for.
When you start getting down on yourself, think of your friend. Why was he your friend? What did he have to offer? Sure maybe he had bad skin, or an overbearing personality but once you got past those, there was a great person behind the facade.
Once you find a way past your “bad points”, you’ll also uncover some great “selling points”. Also keep in mind, unless you have a major problem in your employment profile – like a prison record – then you’re “blemishes” may not be as bad as you think.
3) Reinvent yourself.
Once you’ve got a list of your marketable skills and pluses, apply these to how they may benefit an employer. Think in terms of what the employers have told you about what they were looking for in the past. If you look at past interviews you may now see where you could have presented yourself better than you did.
4) Improve your skill set.
If the job market is looking for skills you just don’t have – get them! It doesn’t matter if you’re one of the best “buggywhip makers” on the planet, the planet needs only so many these days. If you are not getting offers because you lack skills in your field you either need to get the skills or find a different occupation.
5) Keep going back. Again, employers worth working for really want people who are eager to work. If you are persistent in your desire to work in a certain field, keep plugging away. Develop a relationship with the folks where you want to work.
- Let them know you really want to work for their company and why.
- Make sure you stay positive and upbeat.
Eventually someone will decide you aren’t going away and will either hire you or take you aside and tell you why you will never get a shot there.
Overall you need to walk into each interview with an “attitude”.
If you’re feeling desperate because you haven’t worked for a long time and the bills are piling up, maybe it’s time to consider a “stopgap” job. Many people look for temporary or part-time employment to make ends meet in tough times.
The downside is in tough times like this many of those who once were more willing to give you a shot can be a lot choosier nowadays. One strategy you could use is applying for jobs you are overqualified for with employers in your field – with this added twist…
Negotiate an understanding with the empoyer up front that you will get first crack at any opportunities more in line with your qualifications. This may downplay the employer’s fears that they will train you only to have you jump ship when the economy improves.
It might be worth suggesting (if true) you’d be willing to fill in once you are promoted. They may like having someone else available with no need to train them.
One type of place where this might work is a hospital. Let’s say you’re trained as a surgical technician. You could apply for a registration desk position. You will almost always an opening in hospital registration.
No matter what, once you face your fears and take whatever pressure you feel now off – you’ll be a lot more relaxed in your interviews. For more tips on getting a great job even in a bad economy visit Find and Land a GREAT Job to download my special report “7 Steps to Landing the Best Job of Your Life – Even in a Recession”
To Your Next GREAT Job!
John Hundley
There’s no reason you should be embarrassed about job hunting failures anymore. Get the information you need to find the job you want. If you want to read more about effective job hunting techniques visit Find and Land a GREAT Job now. and download my free Report “7 Steps to Landing the Best Job of Your Life – Even in a Recession”. Join the thousands landing great jobs with these methods every day – visit Find and Land a GREAT Job now
Starting out your career takes a lot of motivation and energy and starting over on a new career path can be just as difficult. It’s easier when you are a naturally confident person and know what you want, however it’s more complicated when you don’t know where to begin or when you dread making that initial move.
To get energized, try one or all of the following:
Cut and style – this applies to both your hair and your wardrobe. Everyone agrees that good grooming is essential to making a good first impression. You may find that looking good makes you feel good and gives you confidence. Visist sites like Hair Updos where you’ll find the best professional updo style images so you can find the perfect style for you. Next, you will need appropriate clothing for your interviews – investing in the right outfit is just another way to gain a professional edge.
When you think of vocational choices look through the career section of large bookstores or trawl the web for ideas. You will find books on emerging jobs in various fields and others on the latest management skills, techniques and tips. Whether you want to return to your old vocation after a prolonged absence or start afresh in a new field, look for publications that will help you bring you up to date with current views and methods. You will find that the Net offers invaluable support and a wealth of information.
If you are returning to a past occupation, you would be wise to join a professional or trade association as this is a great way to find information on your field and keep abreast of trends and salaries. To be a member of your profession’s official body means that you are connected and gain support from people who share your ideas and values. Make a point of browsing the employment pages of your local newspapers to see which vacancies are advertised in your intended field and the salaries offered. If you find that certain computer skills requested by the advertisers are unfamiliar, you may need to update your proficiency in these areas.
Perhaps you are not conversant with Excel or need to brush up on your Autocad knowledge, for these and many more software packages there are courses you can take to bring you up to date.
A good resume is the primary tool needed to find a good job – it is brief yet comprehensive and requires much thought, planning and proofreading. To discover what the latest trends in resumes are, visit one of the many websites that offer such advice and templates too. Once you have your professional life in a nutshell on paper and when you feel confident not only in your appearance, but also in your knowledge, skills and perhaps in the past experience that you can bring to an employer, then you can apply for the jobs that you have been merely browsing.
Once a ball starts rolling it gains momentum and so does a job search. Once you start the process, it develops a life of its own. As you begin, you will find opportunities and in due course receive offers. Good luck!
In the last two years, finding a job has become a very difficult proposition. Most people who have jobs are staying with them rather than face the insecurity of changing jobs in a slow economy. Many companies are downsizing and are not hiring new employees. Even in the public sector, there are very few job opportunities. Anyone seeking a job in this climate has to be both tenacious and adaptable. Conducting a job search must be viewed as a job in itself. Job seekers should make a plan and set schedules for completing the different aspects of their job search.
Even though it may not seem like it, an international job search is usually something that goes a lot easier for people versus trying to find the perfect job in one particular city where you live. When the areas you are willing to explore in your job search are wider, you are giving yourself more of a chance to find the perfect job. All you have to do is keep looking and never give up so that you will finally make a success of yourself. In the end you will see that all of your time spent on the job search has paid off.
Job Search Resources
The first place many people begin their job search is with the local newspaper’s classified ads. Even in good times this is not an especially effective method. Many employers will not go to the expense of listing a classified ad. In poor economic times, this search will not even give you a starting point. A better alternative for a job search, is to look for a job online. You can go to the websites of potential employers and check the employment opportunities. Most medium and large companies have websites. Even many small companies have websites. If the company has no openings, don’t bother to send a resume.
In addition to job listing websites, sign up with an employment agency. The agents will work with you and employers to help you find a job. Another resource is social networking sites, like My Space, Facebook and Twitter.. Visit forums and chat rooms on these sites that are related to you career and interests. Talk to other people in your field. These contacts may be able to help you in your job search. Let people in your field know that you are looking for a job. If they hear of an opening they can contact you. In today’s job market it is vital that you use every available resource in your job search.
It is indisputable that every President of the United States has in their own way helped to shape the world of the era that they lived in, and Bill Clinton is certainly no exception. Much of his legacy still related directly to current events, and future students of political history will certainly need to consider many points of Bill Clinton trivia as important parts of their education. For instance, did you know that Bill Clinton is certainly not the name on his birth certificate? He was born as William Jefferson Blythe III in 1946, and was in fact the third youngest president to ever be sworn into office. He became president in 1993 and held office until 2001 when George W. Bush would take the office,.
Any Bill Clinton Quiz is going to contain some trivia about his early life, such as the fact that he briefly considered becoming a professional musician, (and many of us have images in our heads of Clinton playing his saxophone), but it is his political career which has helped shape history. His first official political position was while he was attending Yale in the year of 1972 when he took part in the presidential campaign of McGovern.
He would begin actively running himself for public office in 1974, with a failed run at the House of representatives, but would then be elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976. Next he would become the Governor of that State in 1978. He was the youngest governor in the country at only 32 years old. He practiced law for a brief period after losing the position in 1980, but became reelected later and would stay as Governor for ten more years. It was during this period that he began to become an important figure in the Democratic Party at large. It was thought he might run for president in 1988, but he decided to instead support Michael Dukasis.
Bill Clinton trivia is of course going to have to include information on his presidency, which began in 1992 after his defeat of the first President Bush and Ross Perot. This was the end to a long period of Republican Rule in the White House.
His presidency is well remembered, but the recent life of Bill Clinton after his terms is also of interest. He was a firm supporter of his wife, Hilary Rodham Clinton’s own bid for the presidency, and then worked for the eventually successful election of the chosen democratic candidate, Barak Obama
There is a short list of the most legendary leading ladies in the history of Hollywood, and one of those which will always be remmebered is that of Greta Garbo. Greta Garbo trivia is an important part of the early age of Hollywood, as she was one of those original stars who made the transition from the early silent films into the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in 1905, Garbo was a Swedish actress and would become not only renowned for her beauty, but also for her talent which would be recognized with various honors throughout her lifetime. A first good bit of trivia for any Greta Garbo quiz: her real name wasn’t Garbo at all, but was Greta Lovisa Gustafsson.
Garbo was one of those tremendously talented actresses of the period who actually had studied acting professionally, as opposed to many film stars who simply seemed to burst into the profession. She studied in her native Sweden at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, (which is where she would also start to go by the name Greta Garbo.) This is where she would meet the director who would give her the first starring role in her film career, in the silent film Gosta Berlings Saga.
It was this role which would catch the eye of legendary Hollywood Mogul Louis B. Mayer, one of the biggest star-makers of the period. It was her performance which caught his eye in the film, and from there he would sign her to MGM.
Could you name any of Garbo’s silent films? This would be a great piece of Greta Garbo trivia and would include films like Flesh and the Devil, Love, and The Mysterious Lady. She survived the transition to the era of talking movies, but she loved the silent films, and even appeared in the last silent film ever made by MGM.
The transition to talking movies would prove that Garbo was the real thing, and her performances in all those movies which followed would in fact earn her four Acadamy Award nominations. Do you know what pictures those were for? She was nominated for Anna Christie, Romance, Camille, and Ninotchka,
Greta Garbo essentially was finished acting by the end of World War II. She never appeared in any feature films after that time, although she would always be remembered as one of the greatest of her time. Her honors later in life included an Honorary Academy Award, as well as being listed on the American Film Institutes list of the best actresses of all time.
A comprehensive film buff would always have at least some Mae West trivia lurking in their back pocket. Mae West is an iconic film star and actress from the early days of American film, and was a dynamic and controversial figure during her time in Hollywood. Born in 1893 and passing in 1980, Mae West enjoyed spent decades as one of the most important members of the legendary elite of Hollywood’s golden age.
Did you know that Mae West started performing at the tender age of five? She was one of many in the early days of Hollywood to come from the authentic performing pedigree that was associated with the Vaudeville stages. Her first professional job was with a Vaudevillian company called the Hal Clarendon Stock Company which began in 1907, when West was fourteen. She performed under many different stage names, including Baby Mae and Sis Hopkins. She graduated from the Vaudeville company to begin performing in Broadway shows in 1911. And her big break came in 1918 in a show called Sometime.
Any Mae West quiz would likely want to know if you knew that West was arrested and on what charge? She was arrested in 1927 for “corrupting the morals of youth” based on the show “Sex” which she had written and was performing in .
Mae West Trivia should also recall the fact that she is credited by many as the savior of the Paramount movie studio. After years on broadway, in 1932 she signed with Paramount studios and starred in She Done Him Wrong which won the Best Picture Oscar and single handedly saved the studio. She would co-star in her career with such icons as Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, and W.C. Fields among others.
Mae West was a writer, actress, director, producer, and appeared in television, film, broadway, Radio and performed on several recording albums. She was one of the most multi-talented stars of her generation and continued to perform in a variety of different ways throughout her career.
Right from her early arrest, West had troubles with moral judges and censors taking exception to her work. She was frequently forced to see the scripts she was starring in become judiciously edited by those who wanted to ensure that there was less opportunity for her to exude her steaming sensuality on the big screen, something the establishment at large was quite uncomfortable with.
Alfred Hitchcock trivia is something that is surely of interest to anyone with an interest in the history of the cinema, as he is one of those iconic filmmakers whose work has helped shape the entire direction of the industry since his time. Did you know that his full name was Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, or that he was born on the 13th of August 1899? He made over fifty films throughout his career, many of which are considered to be among the masterpieces of cinema which all film students study and debate even to this day.
Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock was a dual citizen of both England and the United States? Any Alfred Hitchcock quiz might contain a question about this subject, as it was his passion for moviemaking and for Hollywood which would lead him away from England where he started his careers to the United States and Hollywood, even then the center of the movie making world.
Did you know that Hitchcock had connection to Germany as well? He made a film with Graham Cutts in 1924 which they produced in Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. He also was influenced by early German filmmakers such as Fritz Lang. His first directing credit would be for Gainsborough Pictures, the film was “The Pleasure Garden” and it was made in UFA studios in Germany. His first thriller, something he would of course become very well known for, came out in 1927 and was a large success back at home in the UK. That film would be called “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog”.
Did you know that one of films most famous terms comes from something done by Alfred Hitchcock? This is an important piece of Alfred Hitchcock trivia sure to come up in any film class. The term is “Macguffin” and it is a device used by many filmmakers. Essentially, the Macguffin is the item which drives the story, but ultimately has very little to do with the ultimate point of the movie. Hitchcock’s first use of this, and the one that would most commonly be modeled was in the movie “39 Steps”.
Some of his other most famous films include “Dial M for Murder”, “Vertigo”, and “Rear Window” and perhaps his most well known film “Psycho.” Many of the elements in that film have been copied by horror films in the decade since its release, and it is often considered one of the most perfect examples of the genre.
William Shatner was Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek and Denny Crane on Boston Legal. What else do we know about the actor? A night of trivia complete with a William Shatner quiz is a great way to have an evening filled with inexpensive entertainment. Little things such as where he worked as a teenager could be included. The answer is as a pre-teen at the Canadian Broadcasting Company or (CBC).
William Shatner trivia will obviously include questions about Star Trek but what else would it include? Where is William Shatner from? Montreal; this little realized fact could easily stump someone when included as trivia. What were the date and reason for his return? The date was the 21st of July in 2007 and the reason was to host the William Shatner Gala during the 25th Annual Just for Laughs festival.
William Shatner trivia would also include a question about the SAG Award he and the rest of the cast for Boston Legal was nominated for. The year was 2008 and the category was Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. While this may be an easy question for fans of the show, how many of you know what nomination Shatner received in December of 2007? The answer is a Golden Globe Award nomination, if asked what it was for the answer would be “Actor in a supporting role-series, mini-series or Television Movie. The nomination was due to his work on Boston Legal.
Another question in William Shatner trivia is sure to cover the numerous commercials that he has done. Such as, what online role playing game did he star in an ad for beginning in November of 2007? World of Warcraft is the answer to this tiny bit of trivia. What video game did he do the voice over for in 2006? Star Trek: Legacy as the voice of Captain Kirk. The game was released on both the Xbox 360 and the PC.
There are more questions about commercials possible when it comes to trivia about William Shatner. For instance who does he star as in a commercial for DIRECTV satellite? Once again he is seen as the unforgettable Captain Kirk of the Star Trek Enterprise. The commercial has him on the bridge of the ship addressing the audience as the rest of the scene shows the way it was originally scene in the episode.
Taking a quiz about William Shatner will show you just how much you know about the actor and the roles that he played.
Children need to begin learning from reliable sources. Your child should be around as many good influences as possible. Daycare is a great place for your child to start learning. It is hard to decide between the many daycares that exist today?
Putting your child in daycare center could also mean putting them at risk. You have no idea who the people running the daycare center are until you obtain more information about them. If your child's daycare center is not picky about who they hire, your child could be at risk. These businesses do not necessarily do criminal background checks on their staff since many of them are volunteers and they are willing to take as much help as they can get. This leaves much room for error in hiring reliable and safe employees to take care of your children.
Knowing as much about your daycare as possible will keep your child safe. Get information about all employees and ask the owners whether or not they conduct criminal background checks. Also make sure that they have personal references from previous employers or previous volunteer organizations to make sure that they are credible.
You may even want to insist that the daycare center of your choosing has conducted criminal background checks on their employees. Any educational establishments will ensure you of your child's safety but wouldn’t it be better if you had the facts about the people who are watching your children? If you know that the staff is reliable and safe, you can leave your child there without worry.
As long as you take the necessary precautions and make sure that your child’s daycare conducts criminal background checks, then you can have some peace of mind when leaving them in the care of another. Dont risk your child's safety by leaving them with people that may not be safe.
In case you have always pictured yourself as a person who wants to travel all around the globe, then, the jobs that require travel conditions could seem a dream come true. Even if business is the focus of most trips, you still get some time to sight-see and experience a little bit of the foreign country atmosphere. Sales positions are usually the most frequent jobs that require travel making since they are territory-based. They depend on the visits paid to potential clients in the same geographical area, somewhere else in the country or abroad. A practice put into practice by many companies these days is to hire representatives from a certain area for the very purpose of addressing the business necessities of the clients in the neighboring cities.
Individuals with jobs that require travel making to not very distant locations are usually given a company car; all the expenses for the trips as well as the eventual lodging if the travels involve staying over night, are covered by the company. Regional management positions are other jobs that require travel availability: this is the case with the managing stuff of restaurants, retail chains and other kinds of business that extend over several states. The reporting scheme is pyramidal, meaning that the store or restaurant manager reports to the regional manager who in turn files a report to the next executive level.
Some jobs that require travel availability are not stately, such assignments are usually given at the national or even the international scale. This is the case with trainers, personnel recruiters, software installers, public speakers, reporters, and other professional categories who need to target various types of clients that are not defined by a geographical area. Before you start looking for jobs that require traveling, you should think well and self-evaluate your situation: are you suitable for such a position?
Some people have had the surprise to discover that life on the road was not what they expected from their occupation, but they didn’t imagine all the implications when they sought for such a form of employment. In other cases, traveling for business purposes could be perceived as a very invigorating experience even if the reality of the business deals is less exciting and glamorous than expected. Informative materials, training courses and all sorts of professional assessment guides could help one figure out if jobs that require travel or business traveling are the thing they are looking for. Good luck!
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