HotJobs 2002 Year in Review

This Overview provides a look into the most popular Industries searched by job hunters, fastest growing industries, US states with the lowest unemployment rates, and US states with the highest unemployment rates.

USA Today - Entertainment | Resolution No. 1: Start with a workable plan

Karen S. Peterson reports that we shouldn't "dismiss New Year's resolutions as trivial." According to psychologist John Norcross, a pioneering change researcher at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, the key is that "You need to know how to execute a plan, how to form the specific skills to keep you there."

William Knaus of the Center for Creative Change in Longmeadow, Mass., and co-author of Overcoming Procrastination, offers suggestions for a plan for change. Read more...

Setting Goals, New Year's Resolutions: How to measure success

I almost forgot to encourage you to consider this...

Rapping with Small Talk

"Rapport is present when two people speak easily with each other, with a natural rhythm and flow of conversation..." more...

HotJobs.com's Top Five Job Tips of 2002

Effectiveness Tip of the Week from a weekly email from the folks at FranklinCovey:

Me, Myself, and I

It's time to get a little selfish and focus on you for a moment. When was the last time you did something to make yourself feel good? (And we're not talking about that pint of Chocolate Dream ice cream.) A few tips to treat yourself and your body:

• Physical: Get a good night's sleep, play your favorite outdoor sport or activity, and enjoy a well-balanced meal.
• Social/Emotional: Call a friend you haven't seen in a while, volunteer time to charity, or do something nice for someone--anonymously.
• Mental: Visit a library or museum, solve a brainteaser, puzzle or riddle, or watch an educational show on TV.
• Spiritual: Spend some time in nature, research your genealogy, or go on a personal "retreat" (like a spa) to rejuvenate yourself.

Benefiting your mind and body - a solo act!

BusinessWeek Online | What Will Revive IT Spending

According to tech expert David Moschella, "Simple applications for everyday things that everyone uses are key to getting the industry going again." Read more...

Some Good Reading

I was going through my planner, doing some end-of-year cleaning out, and I uncovered a list of books that I thought were worthy to be read at some time:

• Business Beyond the Box - Applying Your Mind for Breakthrough Results by John O'Keefe
• Competing on the Edge - Strategy as Structured Chaos by Shona L. Brown & Kathleen Eisenhardt
• Leadership and the Art of Conversation - Conversation as a Management Tool by Kim Krisco
• The Leadership Engine - How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level by Noel M. Tichy with Eli B. Cohen
• The Last Word on Power - Executive Re-Invention for Leaders Who Must Make the Impossible Happen by Tracy Goss
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko

Six Steps to Conquering -- OK, Managing -- Procrastination

Follow Marty Nemko's model and you may procrastinate much less. Read more...

Yahoo! Dailytips - Uncovering a Cover Letter Myth

Your cover letter summarizes your resume, right? Wrong! Some people think that a summary of the resume attached to the resume seems a little repetitive. The purpose of your cover letter, then, is to add a warm handshake to your resume and zero in on why the employer should be interested in you. Your cover letter should put your resume in context, drawing attention to your strengths and present nonresume material that can make a difference between you and your next closest competitor when the interviewing decision is made.

Effectiveness Tip of the Week from a weekly email I receive from the folks at FranklinCovey

First... some relevant quotes, from QuotesBlog:

• "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." -- Henry David Thoreau
• "Awaken your sense, your intuition, your desires. Awaken the parts of yourself that have been sleeping. Life is a dream, and to live it, you must be awake." -- Rachel Snyder
• "True life is lived when tiny changes occur." -- Leo Tolstoy

Mission Possible

Ever feel like a double agent, living one life and dreaming of another? Be the leader of your life! Sound impossible? It's not, when you have a Personal Mission Statement. Here are some clues:

• Unique: It's different for everyone. It can be a sentence, paragraph or poem.
• Focus: It's a clear guide based on your values -- what you want to be and do. Ask yourself this question: "What can I imagine myself doing if time and money were not obstacles?"
• Passion: It's what excites you most in the world and lifts you up on your soapbox.

Take 5 minutes RIGHT NOW and write as much as you can about your personal mission in life. It doesn't have to be perfect. You can revise this first draft later. Keep it in your planning device and read it morning and evening for the next week. Decide what things you can do during the day to live your mission. (Warning! This message will "self-construct" in 5 minutes...)

Don't Catch the Negativity Virus

I need this one myself. Read on!

Encarta eLearning Center | Prepare for a career in
writing

"In today's information age, work for the nation's 340,000 writers and editors abounds. And, whether to fulfill old dreams or to satisfy practical needs, many Americans are moving into editorial roles... The outlook for writers is good. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that by 2008, editorial opportunities will have increased 21 to 35 percent over 1998, assuming moderate economic growth. Many of the available jobs will be in high-technology and electronics fields and in journalistic outlets in small markets..." read more...

Interesting(?) Jobs I've Had

• Computer programmer
• Test analyst
• Business analyst
• Newspaper carrier
• Environmental Engineer
• Civil Engineering Co-Op
• Laboratory assistant
• City Highway Department Co-op
• Santa Claus
• Salvation Army Bell Ringer
• Telephone Surveyor
• Facilities Engineering Co-Op
• Program Planning Co-Op
• McDonald's Crew Member
• Wendy's Crew Member
• Taco Bell Crew Member
• Lumber Associate for a Hardware Company
• Pizza Delivery driver
• Pizza maker

IT Makes the FBI Most-Wanted List

Tischelle George reports that "Amid the slump in IT jobs, the FBI has been hiring, and it plans to pick up the pace. It's even changing some of its hiring practices to get techies in the door... It's also using the Internet for the first time to find the right candidates, posting its agent application at http://www.fbijobs.com...More people are interested in government IT jobs, says Robert Lyons, president of GovITjobs.com, a new online job board specifically for IT consultants looking for government contract work. The amount of data 'the government tries to manage using advanced systems presents a lot of opportunity for IT professionals,' he says."

• Read more from the article
• View the agent application
• Check out the new online job board specifically for IT consultants looking for government contract work

Wall Street & Technology Online Home Page | IT Career Center

I'm beginning to wonder if all these different career web portals all lead to the same stuff. Eventually we'll find out that McDonald's has their own IT Career Center. Well, maybe not.

Yahoo! Financial News | For Some Professionals, A Brand New Career Is the Best Way to Ring in the New Year

"Whether you use a New Year's resolution for an excuse or just a long-time desire to try out something new, a professional sabbatical may open the door to a new career and a new start in life..." read more...

Yahoo! DailyTips Cool Career: Broadcast Technician or
Engineer

"Broadcast engineering is the back door to a field whose front entrance is mobbed -- and you don't even need performing talent..."

Wetfeet.com > Weblog

Have I mentioned this before? Well, in the spirit of overcommunication, check out Wetfeet.com's weblog for some good career management advice.

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