Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Tech Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Are you going? The next Tech Thursday Casual Networking event will be from 5-7 PM at the Beavercreek Buffalo Wild Wings. Check out the Greater Dayton IT Alliance page for more details.

Sunday, February 15, 2004

10 things never to say on a business call

These simple rules apply to telephone interviews as well as to all other business calls. Take note of :10 things never to say on a business call

Here's an interesting table, from ACINET - America's Career InfoNet: Fastest Growing Occupations. Are you in a high growth occupation, or is it maybe time to make a change?

Friday, February 13, 2004

General Career News: "ugliness, meanwhile, can cost up to 10 percent off your salary if you're a man, a little less if you're a woman, the researchers reported in 'Beauty and the Labor Market' for the National Bureau "

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Not Your Mother's Support Group

ABCNews profiles a few groups that have sprung up to help their members get back to work:

These aren't traditional outplacement or networking groups where members swap stories and discuss effective interviewing techniques.

Instead, these groups operate like small companies: selling workers, using the Internet, fliers and meetings with business and political leaders to promote themselves.

Read more...
Here are ones whose links I've found so far:Top KC Professionals, also mentioned in the article, did not have a specific website at the time of this post.

So Don't Call It Networking

There's been a lot of discussion about networking, and to some it may conjure up negative connotations. If that's the case for you, then don't call it networking. Try relationship building, or something else.

Whatever you do decide to call it, it is important that you consider it a life skill, not one simply employed for a job search. Read more...

Don't ever stop your networking

[another Marvin Walberg article]

The main point of this article is that you should constantly network instead of relying on "911 Networking," the kind that often occurs when someone loses a job.

Walberg recommends a book by Diane Darling, entitled The Networking Survival Guide: Get the Success You Want By Tapping Into the People You Know. I've added it to my list of favorite books so that I'll know to check it out later (I maintain a list of what I'm currently reading via AllConsuming.net, and you can view the list at my homepage, "Dan's Domain.").

Constant networking may mean that jobs come looking for you.

When You Don't Know Anybody

What if you recently moved to a new city or town and don't know anybody with whom to network? After all, networking is key to getting a job.

Marvin Walberg recommends volunteer work and special interest groups.

I'm not sure whether the link I've referenced above is going to last, so allow me to do some pasting from the article:

Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet new people, demonstrate workplace skills, network like crazy and get the good feeling of helping others. And every community needs volunteers.

How do you find out what's available in the world of volunteering in your city? Go to your main public library, chamber of commerce or any hospital system. You will find a plethora of opportunities, and from a "building your resume" perspective, volunteer work is work and counts in the experience column. It really doesn't matter that you do it for free.

Everyone has interests aside from the workaday world. How about you? Do you like bowling, bird watching, table tennis or wood carving? In most cities you can obtain a listing of special interest groups at your public library.

Understand that networking is universal. Just because someone knows nothing about what you do for a living doesn't mean he or she can't lead you to others who do. Just be prepared to introduce yourself and give a clear, understandable explanation of what you do, or want to do, for a living. Then, show up for meetings and smile. The rest will happen almost automatically.

CNET is Hiring

I subscribe to one of their newsletters, and the most recent one mentioned that they had some openings.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Informational Interviewing (JET-9407-P) N. 8/92

Following are some good REASONS TO CONDUCT INFORMATIONAL INTEVIEWS:


  • to explore careers and clarify your career goal
  • to discover employment opportunities that are not advertised
  • to expand your professional network
  • to build confidence for your job interviews
  • to access the most up-to-date career information
  • to identify your professional strengths and weaknesses


This article covers the How-To's of Informational Interviewing.

Thursday, February 05, 2004

U.S. Newswire - Economic Policy Institute Feb. 9 Capitol Hill Briefing on Jobs and the Economy: Job Growth, Wages and Economic Policies

News Advisory:

With the labor market experiencing the worst job recovery on record, how to best create jobs is a critical issue for all working families. On Monday, Feb. 9, Congressman George Miller and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) will sponsor a briefing to shed much-needed light on this issue.

Two EPI economists will analyze recent trends in jobs and wages, including the Feb. 6 jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and assess the effectiveness of economic policies to address these trends. Among other things, the economists will discuss the extended duration of the job slump, the slowing of wage growth to less than the rate of inflation, the fall of income for the lowest-paid Americans compared to the rise in income for top earners, the "missing labor force" excluded from unemployment counts, and the skewing of President Bush's policies toward higher-income tax relief and high federal deficits.

Leading the presentation will be two EPI economists - nationally recognized experts on the economy and employment:

-- Lee Price, EPI research director and former chief economist and Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Commerce Department

-- Jared Bernstein, EPI senior economist and co-author of the biennial State of Working America

WHAT: Analysis of the recent trends in jobs and wages and the effectiveness of policies to address these trends

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 9, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Room 1539, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

RSVP: Communications Department of EPI, 202-775-8810

The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank founded in 1986. The Institute can found on the web at http://www.epinet.org

Technorati Job Openings

Ingrid let me know that Technorati is hiring.

Greater Dayton IT Alliance - Tech Thursday Casual Networking Event

The next Tech Thursday will be at Buffalo Wild Wings in Beavercreek, Ohio, on February 19, 2004, from 5 to 7 PM. Check out the website for more details.

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Staying Employed While You're Searching for a New Job

Everyone knows it's easier to find a job when you already have one. So, even if your job is a miserable one, plog away as long as you can while you're looking for something better.

Be smart about how you go about looking for a job, unless you really just don't care whether or not your current employer finds out.

  1. If you are searching for jobs on the Internet from your work computer, do yourself a favor and keep your activities private by using a free proxy service like The Cloak.
  2. Don't use your work email account to send resumes from (I know this sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people do this!), and if you must give out a daytime number, use a cell phone or answering service.
  3. Posting your resume online can be tricky, if you don't want your current employer to pull you up in a candidate search. It's much better to not post your resume publicly, and also be careful about sending in resumes to anonymous employers (yes, I've heard of people sending in resumes for their own jobs - it's not pretty!)
  4. Track your job search using portable media, like Jobfiler, or a notebook you can carry with you. That way you don't have records on your work computer which indicate you've been searching.
  5. Whatever else you do, don't publicly broadcast your job search in a Blog or Discussion Board posts, unless you are fully prepared for the consequences. People have been fired over less.
Good luck with your job search!

Monday, February 02, 2004

jobfairy.com - Perseverance and Rejection in the Job Search

Insider Information: Good News! Job Search Expenses Are Deductible in the U.S.

By Harry Collias, H&R Block Tax Specialist

Expenses incurred in the course of searching for a new job can be a deduction against your taxable income.

The Internal Revenue Service has laid down some rules and erected at least one hurdle, but the deduction can make a difference in your final tax bill.

Many job seekers are unaware of this tax benefit; here's how you can take advantage of it.

First, the Rules:

You can deduct certain unreimbursed expenses you incur in looking for a new job, whether or not you are unemployed at the time of the job search, and whether or not you land a new job.

You cannot deduct job search expenses if:

You are looking for a job in a new occupation, or
There has been a substantial break between the ending of your last job and your looking for a new one, or
You are looking for a job for the first time.
If you pass the "cannot" rules, then you can deduct

Employment and outplacement agency fees.
Costs of typing, printing, and mailing copies of your resume.
Phone and fax expenses, including long distance calls to prospects.
Travel and transportation expenses if you have to travel outside your home territory to look for, or interview for, a job. The trip must be primarily to look for a job. The term "primarily" refers to the amount of personal activity on the trip compared to the amount of time you spend in looking for work. Even if you cannot justify deduction of travel expenses you can still deduct the expenses of looking for a job while in the area. If you drive you can deduct the standard mileage rate of 36 cents per mile.

Second, the hurdle:

Job search expenses are classified as "miscellaneous itemized deductions." This class of deductions (which include union dues, work clothes, and tax prep fees) is only deductible from your income if you itemize deductions and only to the extent that the total exceeds two percent of your adjusted gross income.

Third, some advice:

Keep detailed records of your expenses, in case of audit, and never include expenses for which you have been reimbursed by your prospective employer.

© Copyright 2004 Harry Collias. All rights reserved.

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Harry Collias is a tax specialist at H&R Block. His five-year second career at Block has followed a 25-year stint in management at Digital Equipment Corporation.

Sunday, February 01, 2004

Yahoo! News - Self-Employment May Mask U.S. Job Growth

While outsourcing is not new, a rise in self-employed contractors could explain the slow rebound in employment as counted by the payrolls survey, which shows 2.3 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001.