Antidotes for the Poisoned Job Scene

There’s an interesting story in today’s headlines about the best and worst places for shopping according to some shoppers’ polls. The interesting thing that one can glean from this story is the reason why merchandising is facing some challenges right now. It also means some of the easy find jobs in retail are going to start becoming scarce if we’re not careful.

First of all, the survey respondents talk about the prices that are offered and how good they are.

Next is the quality of the goods they can find and at which stores they’re finding these values.

The clincher, though, was when it came to customer service. At several stores, the clerks were compared to glorified cashiers rather than sales people. [http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Best-places-to-shop-for-conreps-2904135702.html?x=0] Best places to shop for everything.

Yvonne LaRose, CAC
Career and Executive Recruiting Advice : http://www.executiventrances.com
Consultant’s Desk : http://consultantdesk.blogspot.com

Direct Dial:310-402-4893

Jobs Market Still Limping

The bad news is that the recovery isn’t doing as well as some prognosticators would have us think. The jobless claims for May were up (not down) and only marginally different from April.

Today’s news held several disturbing headlines. For example, one report said the unemployed are getting hit with a double whammy right now [http://archive.9news.com/money/article.aspx?storyid=134802]. Apparently that story is so popular that it isn’t accessible right now. In a little while, I’ll be able to access it and tell you precisely what the double whammy is. Conjecture says it’s not only the stigma some feel being unemployed carries but also sounding desperate while out interviewing. Still more conjecture indicates going after anything that comes along will be the death of most job seekers because they’re only looking at the short-term solution and not all of those wonderful things we in the employment industry counsel should be evaluated.

More on the double whammy downside [http://newsok.com/cobra-subidys-ending-double-whammy-for-unemployed/article/feed/114321] for unemployed job seekers is that their health insurance through COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) when the nine-month American Recovery and Reinvestment Act subsidy no longer helps offset the whopping premiums due under the COBRA plan.

The good news is that there really are jobs out there. It’s a matter of how you go after them in order to get that plum that keeps you in your home and your bills paid.

Viva

Yvonne LaRose, CAC
Career and Executive Recruiting Advice : http://www.executiventrances.com
Consultant’s Desk : http://consultantdesk.blogspot.com

Direct Dial:310-402-4893

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.”