Not-So-Novel Job Search Strategies

Job search strategies come and job search strategies go. Job seekers move along the age continuum. As they approach and overcome 50 years (of age), they begin to believe the hyperbole that they’re no longer useful and should be focusing on retirement rather than competing with the Gen-whatevers for plum career options. In the alternative, they buy into the notion that the only good they have left is data entry or human online search engine opportunities.

Dearie me. How far from true are these myths. The only thing holding back a mature job seeker is the amount of creativity they use for determining where to look and how much of their experience and stored skills they choose to market.

Being young and eager is an advantage. One of the benefits of youth and inexperience (so we’re still told) is the eagerness to learn and conquer new concepts. It is also the bastion of bringing new concepts to the workplace that are innovations imparted by college and university training. There are few to no bad habits that need to be unlearned in order to do things in the company way.

However, the senior job seeker, that is, the one who is over 50 years (of age) has several advantages that are most desirable to many employers. One of those advantages is having gone through many years of trial and error learn that has accompanied the training in school. That experience also carries the knowledge gained through years in the workforce in various capacities. That knowledge translates laterally to any position that the senior worker presents theirself as qualified to do.

The catch to being seen as qualified for the new position is communicating and demonstrating in the cover letter, the resume, and during the interview what lateral experience is being brought to the table and how it’s applicable to the new situation. It’s important for the senior job seeker to emphasize the things they’ve done during their career to contain costs (with demonstrable, verifiable examples) as well as revenue generating activities that resulted in good profit margins. Coupling those strategies with a few subtle comments about where being a team player turned into a team win is helpful.

Another boost is showing talking about universal concepts that allow the learning curve to be short because the only thing to really learn is the company way of doing things. The result of a short learning curve is lowered cost of hire which in turn results in cost savings and increased profits. Now that we’ve covered that logic, the other thing the senior job seeker can do during the interview phase of marketing theirself is point out how well they understand the economics of hiring compared with turning a business profit.

Since we’re still in the New Millennium economic depression (and will be there for at least another year), there are a lot of issues driving what the job seeker wants in terms of salary and benefits. The distance that must be traveled in order to get to the workplace will color whether an offer is accepted, Hiring Manager. Make certain you confer with your Human Resources professional with regard to the salary range and what factors may sweeten the pot in order to capture the honey bee to your hive.

Sometimes it will be cold, hard dollars and cents that will make the difference. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of flex time. Or there may be some non-monetary perks that are important to your candidate that help you sidestep tax obligations while still compensating your employee (yes, you definitely can get them to accept your offer, if you present something that’s tantalizing) with benefits they will enjoy. You just have to think outside the dots.

The point is, those of you who are in the job market and over 50 (years of age) need not resign yourselves to entry-level positions that only offer minimum wage. You have a lot to offer. Even if your last career or position wasn’t in sales or marketing, you need to think of yourself as a particular product and sell your product based on the benefits that make it (you) the best choice compared with all of your competitor brands.

May all your Entrances be through the doors of Success!

The Word Is “Green”Peace

Irrespective of what I’m attempting to complete of the articles and blog posts started as far back as April and May, Greenpeace representatives are dotting the landscape around downtown L.A. to raise awareness. I’ve been accosted by six of their people in the past two hours and within a distance of two blocks.

The first representative has a clever way of capturing her audience and overcoming “No.” She opens by asking if I have a minute to talk about Greenpeace. The response is “No.” She replies with something on the order of well we’re already talking and that’s part of the minute I’m asking for and proceeds to start speaking about Greenpeace.

Her words are actually quite interesting. There’s something about companies that aren’t being socially responsible with the environment and how Greenpeace is making an effort to encourage them to be more responsible in regard to the way they’re doing business. But I have yet to get to a place where my laptop and I can become symbiotic in order to record this information as it’s delivered. So I simply walk away while saying I don’t have time.

The representative has been effective in persuasive speaking. She has put an issue before me and caused me to think about it. As I make my way to the next bus stop, I peruse the concept of how many companies have indeed gone green, to what degree, in what ways, and how much more effort is required to satisfy such organizations as Greenpeace. I’m already quite aware that the new marketplace for jobs is in the “Green” industry. Thus, answers to these and other questions begin to develop predictors of tye number and types of jobs that will grow out of this effort.

Will getting people more involved in being socially responsible as it relates to the environment actually make a meaningful difference in our quality of life? Will this renewed effort actually create jobs for our slagging economy?

I finally reach a Starbucks and put out of my mind that this is one corporation that is making “green” efforts by supporting ethos water and fair trade coffees which are independent coffee grower cooperatives that develop and sell at a guaranteed fair market market price.

It’s possible to learn more about becoming responsible and “green” by going to the Green America Business Network. In perusing the many facets of being green, you can literally be knocked off your feet as you see the simple, short list of suggestions for becoming “green” and responsible. Is it any wonder that this is the new burst of energy and burgeoning industry of the New Millennium?

We may think that jobs are shrinking and being cut out but that is not true. What we need is a good crop of these New Millennium babies who can be creative with the ways we do things. The ones who enjoy the earth and appreciate the give and take relationship that needs to be maintained in order for us to retain the essential balance between industrial progress and using the most responsible means to achieve progress.

I’m accosted by the Greenpeace workers a second time as I step out of Starbucks’ frigid house so that I can rewarm my body to it’s normal temperature. This time, it is I who wants information from Greenpeace and they are the ones who are backpedaling. Which corporations are being responsible, is what I ask. The response contains easily recognized names such as Apple [Green], HP, Microsoft. But I press the issue. In what ways are they being responsible? There’s some hmm’ing and hawing and one of the three comes up with an excuse to not speak with me any longer because they’re not allowed.

In order to overcome the objection, I reveal my identity as a journalist in the recruiting industry and that I’m very interested in the new “green” industry that holds so much promise for employers and recruiters. But the cluster of representatives say they are not allowed to talk while they are in uniform. I overcome the objection by telling them that I’m working inside the Starbucks and I would like to interview them, to record what they have to tell me about the corporations that are being responsible and what other methods can be used to do even more. But the objection comes up again that they are not allowed to do that.

“That” is quite nebulous. I assure them that I would not be having them do any solicitation. I merely want to interview them in order to capture their words about the green policy. Again, they say they’ll have to check but they’re not allowed to do interviews while in uniform.

Well, it seems to me that as long as I was a mere ant in the ant trail of Life I was fair game for being captured and pulled into the hyperbole about being green and the benefits of supporting Greenpeace. But when I became a person who would listen attentively and then report what I learned, they could no longer speak to me. In fact, the cluster of three or four representatives disappeared about five to ten minutes after I returned to my table at the Starbucks.

Let me leave you with these thoughts. The Green Industry is very definitely here. There are many types of jobs available in this new industry. Take a look at the Greenpeace home page to see the many inroads that have already taken place and what they have to say about what can still be done to open up new ways to save the environment and the economies of both this and other countries. Just considering those last five words makes me feel we don’t have to be in the economic depression if we use the Green initiative to pry open those doors.

Oh, that’s right. There are all those other considerations that also get in the way of hiring the best. But this is at least a start.

Grass Is Greener Syndrome

Back in the ’90s, my news producer friend and colleague and I talked about how we admired the status of the other. Kevin said I had a choice situation with being freelance because I could pick and choose what type of content I wanted to work. I admired Kevin because of the stability of his job. He always knew where the work was coming from, it was regular, the pay was established and paid at a regular (survivable) rate, he got to be among others in his profession and be a team member when necessary or a solo as required.

I look back on that conversation now as I reflect on situations that involved The Press in recent times. Now I have more appreciation of his words. It was quite an experience to watch The Press crowd the Board of Supervisors hearing room on the day they discussed the closure of King Hospital and the brouhaha regarding Sheriff Baca’s actions not too many days before. The corps was quite professional and caught all of the content.

But a trigger event changed everything that was happening in the auditorium. The Press was compelled to react because of the advertising dollars that would fund their air time for coverage of the “sexy” news. The more appealing (and on that day, compelling) story was the fact that Paris Hilton’s hearing was about to take place. The Press needed to go to the story and capture the footage so they would have the more timely content.

So when word came down that Paris was ready for her hearing, the corps consumed approximately 10 to 15 minutes while literally all of them filed out of the hearing room to their vehicles in order to make their way two blocks away to the Criminal Courts building.

Is the news what is important to the populace or is the news what the media determines is most compelling in order to maintain a well-informed and knowledgeable public? The call goes to which of the stories will get the most viewer eyes and therefore the higher ratings for the station. That then spells viability for the station and its business.

Kevin didn’t spell out the subtle nuances of his statement and admiration of my position as a freelancer. Discretion dictated his being quiet about the implied message and allow me to figure it out as time passed. So maybe it has been a good thing that I’ve never formally worked in broadcasting although I have as an independent.

Choices are replete when we’re trying to determine the career path that’s right for us. Unfortunately, we get stuck on those job titles that are the main headings and forget about the subtitles and related situations that could have a lot more appeal and more openings. It would be wise for us to look at the main heading and then do a free form analysis of related titles.

The longer I do this, the more I hear others offering the same counsel that I have in the past (as well as currently). One of the things I keep hammering at is check the Occupational Outlook Handbook to review not only the main job titles listed but also the related occupations under that title. It isn’t necessary to get stuck in a hopeless job search for something you ultimately discover is not what you want to do. There are quite a number of related things (or ways of doing them) that offer the exhilaration we all seek in our work lives.

Related Content:

• Identity and Selflessness
• Fortuitous Rejections

All It Takes

As if I don’t have enough to do, I have a series of meetings with government agencies the rest of this week. It seems they’ve stopped doing something very vital (paying me) and it’s causing a compromise in my agenda (paying my bills). Today’s meeting was striking because of the couple of questions that were asked asked. It was as though some angel were listening and watching and giving signals on what the job seeker should be doing during their interviews.

The precipitating questions were, “What is the highest grade you’ve completed in school?” and “Do you have any special education or training?”

In response to the first question, I answered two years of law school. In the back of my mind I was screaming and saying, “It wasn’t a grade as in high school. It was actual advanced studies.” But I just mildly responded without commentary. Commentary wasn’t necessary.

Things blossomed when I answered the second question. The litany went something on the order of:

• Mediation. In response to when, I said 1994.

• Tutoring. Literacy tutoring as well as youth tutoring. I wasn’t asked for the years in which these activities occurred and did not volunteer them.
• Disability accommodations for the visually impaired and through the Arthritis Foundation, learning disabilities, and several others that I can’t remember right now.
• Domestic violence. I’m a domestic violence advocate as well as a legal domestic violence advocate.

By that time, it was difficult to remember whether there was any additional “special training or education.” But that list that rolled off the top of my head begged the question,

“So do I get the job?”

The interviewer and I both laughed. With all of those qualifications, it was more than appropriate to ask. Yet how many job seekers do so? Scant to none is the answer I’d venture. Why so few who will ask for the job after more than qualifying theirselves for it? Perhaps modesty is the answer. Then again, perhaps it’s due to fear. But there’s nothing to fear. Fear of failure? No. With that list, there were only successes and those under one’s control who would sneak to be reunited with you in order to stay with the program and keep growing. There were not litanies of failure.

Job seekers need to rethink their interviewing strategies. Maybe all it takes to get the job is to ask for it.

Job Search Effectiveness

There are so many in the media who are more than enthusiastic about jumping on the “tight labor market” bandwagon. It seems like everyone and his neighbor is harping about how hard it is to find a job and the extraordinary lengths to which people need to go in order to find one.

Are you having trouble finding candidates who are qualified to fill your reqs?

On yesterday’s news, a guy was interviewed. He stands on a street corner everyday at 5:30 AM with a sheaf of his resume under his arm. He passes out his resume until 7:30 AM and then goes elsewhere to do other job search activities. He said he highlights a few things here and there in his resume and relies on the person who’s reading it to do some intuitive, active reading to draw lineals from one experience to another.

There’s a flaw in that thinking. Recruiters who review resumes only have about one minute, at best two, to see the matches for the job req they have on their desk. If it doesn’t jump out at them within that time, it goes into the slush pile until the next time they’re looking for that same generic job title.

The other thing this guy who stands on the street corner does is yet another of the sins he’s committing against himself. In the discussions, we’ve shared about the one-minute impressionand how that boils down into the 15- or 30-second elevator pitch. Apparently the resume distributor has those first three elements of the positive impression down pat.

But when it came to talking about what he wants, he dismally failed. The reporter was adept at asking what he’d done before. We got a vague answer about management here and supervision there but nothing we could sink our teeth into. (Maybe I wanted to go see this guy. I may have something to offer him.)

The reporter pressed on. The next question was what type of job the resume distributor wants. This was the moment. He was asking for the world and the world was at his feet. His answer was, “well, I’ll take whatever is out there at this point in time.” After going through all of the efforts, he had no specific job he is angling to get.

I have to wonder how his resume points anyone to the precise thing they want let alone what he wants. No matter what shape our economy is in, there are certain things that are just basics. They have to be there in order for us to get started on a good job search. The resume distributor has put together a job history on paper and made thousands of copies of it which he diligently gives away to every passerby. But he hasn’t done any type of evaluation of this document nor attempted to tailor it to his search. In fact, he hasn’t even shaped his search!

Resume Distributor had the opportunity of a lifetime dropped into his lap. The reporter for statewide radio news asked him what type of job he wanted. His 10 seconds of fame and opportunity were there. All he could come up with was “I’m open to anything right now.”

Maybe he should have said, “. . . anything related to XYZ industry.”

I’ll bet I could have gone to the Occupational Outlook Handbook and found at least a dozen job titles that are related to this guy’s last job. From there, we could have worked on finding some things that are good matches for his personality and background and started a job search for him.

Since Resume Distributor didn’t give any clues about his background, let’s choose a generic job title and see if we can brainstorm some related job titles.

Accountant
bookkeeper
tax preparer
auditor
financial analyst
financial advisor
IRS agent
inventory taker
stock clerk

It might be fun to try some other job titles and see what alternates come up. At least we’d have some things to think about in case, during these times of change, some categories are simply being phased out.

Options for Good-Paying Jobs

PayScale puts out a monthly newsletter that has some good, relevant articles. The reason I point this out is not for the sake of promoting their newsletter. The reason I point this out is because they’re featuring several articles that provide food for thought and encouragement in this seeming shrinking employment world.

First, you need to know that it isn’t necessary to get an advanced degree in order to earn big bucks. In “Best Jobs with 2-year Degrees,” ten different occupations are highlighted. What I want you to do is take into consideration the different industries that are represented by those ten occupations. They are

• health
• entertainment
• construction
• IT
• medicine – for animals
• electronics

Stop and consider that these industries represent something I spoken of several times in the past as enduring places for employment opportunities. They are in industries that are necessary for daily life. It’s surprising that food and food handling isn’t among these titles but veterinary medicine is pretty close.

Another thing I recommend as you pore over this list is to get a copy of the Occupational Outlook Handbook in sight so that as you look at these occupations, you can get a good idea of some job titles and occupations that are very closely related to them. In that way, you’re not stuck in yet another glutted market and nowhere to turn. With alternatives, the options can be limitless.

The Women Focus

PayScale’s focus is pretty savvy. They are fully aware that women have been striving for decades to achieve income parity in high paying occupations.  So it shouldn’t be surprising that in this month’s newsletter they feature the “Best-Paying Careers for Women.”

Not only do they discuss the options that are family amenable for those who have not yet started raising families, they also talk about things to consider as you make those choices. It’s no longer an “all or nothing” or a “his options or nothing” consideration. It is now possible for women to have a good sounding trumpet in the choices available.

Additional Topics

There are a couple of other related articles in the newsletter that talk about high-paying green jobs and how to choose a career path. Unfortunately, the green jobs they discuss are all C-level titles such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Information Officer, and so on. And there’s not a lot of detail provided about being a greenie. I’d recommend you pass on that article.

Likewise, the piece that discusses choosing a career path is done in broad (but useful) brushstrokes. There are no recommendations for evaluative tests to identify interests and strengths. Instead, they rely on personal history for failure and success. These do have some merit and for that reason I would say take a glance at “Expert Tips for Choosing a Career Path.”

New Job Search Strategies and Venues

I’m guilty and admit it. I’ve been publishing information you’re seeking but not here. It’s being published inconsistently in the places where it is appearing. All of these scatterings are becoming confusing. Time to regroup, be organized, and become consistent. (You can help me on that last one. Which of these three locations is the one you consider the place for me to provide this information?)

We already know that the economy is abysmal. Although economists won’t admit it, we are in an economic depression. Carefully study and compare our current situation to the 1930s and you’ll see the tick marks starting to add up to nearly equal numbers.

What’s interesting is how much we’ve grown in complexities in just barely a century. During the Depression of the last century, getting a job consisted of seeing a “Help wanted” sign in the store window, having a willing mind and able body and limbs, then handing the sign over to the owner with some positive conversation and the statement, “I’m willing if you’ll have me.” The owner did their on-the-spot screening and decision making and you either started or went along the sidewalk to the next place. These days, there’s personality screening, skills testing, physical and substance evaluation. There’s examination of whether you can get along with the staff as well as whether staff can get along with you. You examine the premises to determine whether it suits your tastes and whether the hours and shift are to your liking. It’s become very complex.

Some things we used to just suck up in order to stay focused and centered on getting the job done so the business could be a success (and we could keep working) become the focus to the exclusion of what the business is about. Maybe that’s one of the reasons our layoff and outplacement rates are as high as they are.

Whatever the issues, we’ve got jobs that are being cut from payrolls so that businesses can stay afloat. And we’ve got industries that are struggling to stay alive. Which means the time has come for us to rethink how we go about doing our work, where the work is located, and how to get the work. We need to consider what’s involved in staying on the payroll or getting called back. And those are the things I’ve been talking about in all three venues as well as some new ways of thinking about networking.

Entertainment

People in the entertainment industry have said it each time an awards ceremony is approaching. We need to think short term and contract. There’s too much work in the short run in all the areas that need to be covered. Those of you who are good in production and have Mac skills (not to mention graphics abilities) should be looking for and finding some tantatlizing opportunities that are contract in nature. That means they have price tags that can probably be negotiated. A two-hour project can easily turn into that plus a one or two day engagement if your work is good enough.

The key is to think short term and contract when looking for work. It’s no longer necessary to pledge your last dying breath to the company. Businesses are looking for ways to cut costs, not increase them. So to the extent you’re amenable to a hit and run relationship, where hit is each time the company needs the remote help throughout the year, you’re in business.

Other Industries

This contract and short-term work situation isn’t limited to the entertainment industry. Something that’s related to entertainment is makeup. And there’s word in the news that affordable makeup is quite a lucrative move — even for $60 per hour psychologists.

Speaking of psychologists, the other point that’s being made is that there is a growing need for people in all phases of health care in the public health care domain. This is because more people are losing their jobs along with their company-supplied health care insurance. The fallback is public health care and state-provided care.

A word to the wise is that you be sharp and stay sharp if you go into public health care at any level. Here in California we have facilities that are being closed rather than risk having inept personnel delivering poor to negligent care to the unsuspecting, consuming and in-need public. Lackadaisical attitudes and work habits are not the lasting qualities for these sites. Communication skills are imperative, that is, being able to talk with people in order to make them feel not only comfortable in distressful situations but also that they are being respected and receiving all the type and quality of care being given to mainstream denizens.

As the construction, banking, and real estate industries are floundering and people are wondering whether this is the prime time to dive in and start from the floor and move up or not, there is word that new jobs are coming out of this flattening. Green and energy is the way. Jobs in sustainable energy and renewable resources are becoming the alternatives. Look into what is transferable and what it takes to become a specialist in this area. You’re standing in the threshold of becoming tomorrow’s specialist and expert.

Tangential Services

The pressures from these new employment opportunities and ways of searching are creating new ways of doing things. This blog post is not for just job seekers. Nor is this blog. It is for all participants of the employment game.

For example, around 2004 we talked a lot about whether it was ethical to poach employees from a current client’s workforce in order to fill a requisition for another client with similar types of workers. Now the poaching issue has ramped up several degrees. The poaching is happening on an interstate basis and the cry of “no foul” is still that “we’ll do anything we want to do.” In order for that one to fly, we’ll just overlook the fact that there’s some form of interference with doing business happening in these situations so that we can still look ourselves in the mirror tomorrow.

Never fear. Some report that layoffs in the HR department are increasing. However, the HR network of experts says there’s a growing trend toward outsourcing HR needs with a network of experts. Some are available through state governed networks where the State certifies and maintains a list of experts in certain specialties.

Look for new ways to network, even at the office. We’ve had Fegen suites since the early 1970s that turned shared office space and virtual offices in the ’80s and ’90s. What’s now happening is space is becoming more a members office environment, at least here in the Los Anageles area. You can use an individual work station, with Internet access, for a few hours or all day. Other options available are weekly or monthly access for either a work station or actual office space. There’s mail and other support services in addition to conference room availability for meetings, presentations, and so on.

This may be an option for up and coming entrepreneurs who need to keep a cap on expenses while allowing their business endeavors to thrive. One of the questions you need to ask of yourself is whether the mix of tenants (as well as in the neighborhood) is right for your business and services. If they complement, it should be optimal. If it’s just a hodge podge without rhyme or reason, it may take too much work to make it work and all the services to be as cost effective as they could be.

Finally, there’s still another new service that should be useful to all three sides of the hiring desk. Indeed.com has a new service that I think I remember will be on a monthly basis. It provides a summary of the number of job postings that have been made in 12 industries and the amount of increase or decline in each. Very helpful information to have for all three sides of the hiring desk. Whether job seeker, recruiter, or hiring manager, it helps to know what the trends are in your industry and therefore get a better view of the dynamics that are driving answers to your advertising and not. If they’re not answering, you need to look at what elements are impacting you and take measures to do something about it.

Busy Times

Yes, these are busy times. These are compelling times. And it’s all exciting because we’re yet again on the verge of watching new ways of doing business and job search being taken in a new direction. Whether they’re better and less complicated is still something to be evaluated. But it’s definitely exciting.

When’s the Right Time?

When’s the right time to make a profound disclosure?

We all have self-created images of another person based on their writing(s), their phone voice, the content of their resume. These are all innocuous media that are EEOC approved because they tend to not disclose the race, gender, age, physical disabilities that the other person has (or does not have).

Sometimes things will be given away in small ways. They are not that consequential and we accept that the matter will be disclosed. Essentially, it’s a time saver for people to realize “Wallace” is a man, not a woman; that Chin means the person with whom we’re corresponding is Chinese.

Most things become very obvious when we finally meet in person. But some things are still obscure, even in person. So when’s the right time to reveal that you have a disability and will need an accommodation? Some employers (and HR folk) get very nervous when they learn that their candidate or applicant has a disability and will require an accommodation. Or you tell a recruiter that the applicant will need a special keyboard and their voice begins to quaver as it becomes distant. They’re visualizing front office appearance and the negative of that. Then they either say they’ll get back to you about the applicant or tell you the position has been pulled. They’re loss. But did they really need to know about the disability at that early juncture?

Perhaps the disability doesn’t need to be revealed at all. No accommodations are required. To bring up the disability is to gild the lily and call unnecessary attention to something that’s a non-issue. But when there are unnecessarily burdensome requests and demands made that go beyond the necessities of the job being performed, it’s more than appropriate to put the other person on notice that they are being obtuse and a more reasonable and efficient way of doing the job (in addition to more cost effective) is available. Did I say anything about revealing the disability that’s being tolled? Why would it be necessary? Maybe to get sympathy; but that isn’t the goal here.

Normally, I give advice through these blog posts or merely express my opinion or vocalize my stance. There are times when I actually leave the final call up to the reader and wait for the conversation to start. This is one of those instances.

You are smart people. You have valuable thoughts that deserve being communicated so that others can know you and consider your perspective as they formulate their own opinions.

Back to our subject — when to talk about a disability. What about when the subject of favorite activities comes up? Do you say, “Boy, I just love reading my braille notes during a dark and stormy night.” Or when the topic turns to outdoors activities, do you talk about things you used to do but only partake as a spectator now? Maybe an explanation (more or less an apology) isn’t necessary; just saying that it’s a fav spectator sport. Another option is explaining that you were merely curious about the other’s activities and interests and whether there are any matches.

Actually, I don’t think it’s necessary to walk around with a placard saying “Feel sorry for me, I’m disabled.” It might if you have a tin cup, but that isn’t what you want in the workplace nor in the social world. Pity and handouts always come up short. You have an identity. It may not be as attractive to you as you would like it to be. But then, we’re always our own worst critic. Be proud of who and what you are (if there’s integrity) and don’t apologize for your own perceived shortcomings. You just may be a lot more attractive and desirable than you give yourself credit for being.

As to when is the right time to disclose the disability. How about when it’s absolutely necessary — “I never learned to swim” — and everyone is required to dive into the water on “Survivor.”

Next Career Option – Environmentalism

Green and the many aspects it presents may be the direction in which we will find fertile grounds for careers and talent shortages.

The many aspects of creating energy, renewable sources of energy, cost-effective and efficient uses, and many other creative dimensions of the Green Movement remind us that resources are limited.  The more we can focus on creating sensible approaches to sustainable energy as ways to bring power to places that are laboring without it.

Kimberly Samaha has brought our attention to The Bordeaux Energy Colloquium whose site features eight videos of projects creating a positive move forward for areas as diverse as China (biomass), Ghana (rural solar power), Peru and Nepal (micro hydropower), Canada (solar heaters),  and South Africa (bio gas).

In order to spur awareness of this initiative, there will be an online competition in two categories:

• Best case study and technology ($5,000 prize)
• Best recruiter ($500 prize)

The virtual tradeshow and competition will be on Facebook from May 1 – 7. How do you get directions to the tradeshow? Try the link to Bordeaux Energy Colloquium on Facebook.

Why Is It Important to the Job Seeker?

It was probably the 23rd or 24th of March and I was having another bout of apathy in regard to interminable waits for unreliable buses that take me on two-hour rides to the next destination. On that day, I was contemplating the mania job seekers have about having the perfect resume. It was astounding how many articles can be found on how to email a resume (even in 2008)!

It was one of those days when the redundancy of the questions from job seekers was wearing. No matter who or where, the questions were essentially the same, repeatedly. Perhaps it’s because each job seeker graduates from high school and university every year and because new or returning job seekers hit the market on a daily basis. They are either starting out with absolutely no clue about what they’re doing at any level. Or they’re restarting and trying to do things in the most up-to-date, modern style possible without tripping themselves out of the running.

They need someone to guide them and show them the ropes. And there are so many ropes! Then there are others who have the rudimentary information but still need some fine tuning. And finally, there are those who’re short-selling themselves and would benefit from some type of coaching.

These “reasons” were not comforting. There’s got to be more to this than just learning how to present yourself. There are professionals, C-level officers of companies, people in their 40s and 50s, who are striving to know the answers to questions about how to write an effective cover letter, how to interview. Some of these people have no clue about how to start researching a company or even that it is reasonable to do so for a job search.

These sorts of ruminations don’t go away easily. These are the type that linger. So I decided not to rely on my own apathetic perspective. Instead, it was time to ask two well-known friends and trusted colleagues. On March 25, I sent a message that said:

Okay you two. I trust your judgment and discernment. Your words are usually reliable. So I ask you — both of you — Why is any of this recruiting, job search, resume writing, networking, social media, world’s best candidate stuff important?

Yep, the date and time that message was sent was 7:06 pm, Mar 25th. To date, neither colleague has responded. Maybe because the question stumped them as well; maybe because they’ve been too busy to pay attention to it. (It really does happen!) And as I continue to compose this piece, I find little pieces of this and that which indicate others (including my colleagues) are also ruminating about these matters. For example, on April 22, one of my two friends Twittered, “Getting to focus on the part of my job that I love the next few days, all brainstorming and defining the candidate / job seeker experience.”

But I’ve heard nothing.

There must be a more meaningful answer than the pitiful ruminations that wedged their way into my brain.

Aha! As I said, there are pieces of this and that which indicate others in the industry are also considering this question. On April 29, an advertising bit reached my Inbox. It was from Legal Authority, the legal recruiting agency that specializes in attorney placements. (You see? Even lawyers need help with finding a job!)

Time Is the Essential Factor

Legal Authority reveals why the job seeker experience, and all of the elements involved in it, is important by reading between the lines. The first thing they point out is the time factor in relation to doing research.

It’s one thing to broadcast your well-crafted resume and static cover letter to any and every company that has an ad running. It’s quite another to have some idea of what you want to do and where. The “plus” is knowing what “Where” has to offer and which among the thousands are offering something even remotely close to that overall picture.

Legal Authority continues by talking about how they’ll help you craft the perfect resume and cover letter through collaboration with their certified resume writers. In my jaded opinion, there is no “perfect resume” because everyone has their own concept of how it can be done better. The perfect cover letter is the one that conveys your personality as well as your qualifications and causes the reviewer to want to talk with you more than any of the others. But having someone who is expert at getting the right descriptions into those brief documents is oh so tricky.

Here, crafting the best resume and cover letter possible is a bit like coming up with the one right thing to say in order to get that special person to pay attention to you and say “Yes.”

Tools for Optimization

Social networking and Web 2.0 are tools that are supposedly designed to optimize our ability to meet the right people, like-minded and like-motivated people (or else complements) who are parts of a greater whole in which we want to be involved. If they’re not part of the place, they at least know about its insides and even a few people there who can provide greater insights.

To a job seeker, that means finally connecting with the person who knows about the holy grail – the right company, the right position, the right contact name and information. It’s about cutting down the amount of scant time doing the search and getting into the nitty gritty of determining whether this is the situation that will really work. It dispenses with the blind alleys and cul de sacs.

But we’re getting so bogged down with social network entrepreneurs who’re trying to make a fast buck on the social networks with their handy-dandy tools that the duplicative nature of the vast number of them available on all of the networks boggles the mind. How one can make meaningful connections while also trying to determine which tool will deliver the optimal connection opportunities is overwhelming; it deadens the quality time for actually doing the search and coming up with the right connections.

This subject goes much deeper. But it’s starting to become clear that this “recruiting, job search, resume writing, networking, social media, world’s best candidate stuff” is important. It’s important to the job seeker not only for the sake of time and cost containment but also for maximizing one’s return on investment in the advanced education and training and the just plain old “F” word – fulfillment.

Business Perspective

From a business perspective, financial sustainability, the importance of the job search goes back to time efficiency in completing business endeavor goals, putting to use the skills gained through all channels of training and experience, and keeping the “treasury” measurably above breakeven point.