Friday, August 17, 2012

Free Job Search Help

Find Free Job Search Help

Here are some other ideas that are helpful to all job seekers, whether they've graduated from college or not.
Check with your local local public library to see what they have in their career research and job search collections. Ask if they offer job search workshops or run a job search club.
Look for regional/local branches of professional associations for the field(s) of interest to you to tap their networking potential.
Go online for advice and job listing links. Some of the best sites include:
  • About.com Job Searching
  • The Riley Guide: Employment Opportunities and Job Resources on the Internet
Check with your local Chamber of Commerce to ask about career/job fairs that may be planned for the near future. Search the Chamber of Commerce International Directory for contact information.
Tap resources and services available through your state's Department of Labor. You’ll find both online resources as well as in-person options. For more in-depth information on this idea, refer to the previously published article, Departments of Labor: Job Referrals, Training and Other Employment Services.
Find Career Counselor
Finally, if you want actual career counseling (rather than just job search advice and resources) and live at too great a distance to make the often-mandatory in-person sessions with career counselors from your alma mater(s) feasible, you may want to engage the services of a private career counselor in your local area. Before doing so, be sure to consult the National Career Development Association's (NCDA) Consumer Guideline for Selecting a Career Counselor. It provides an excellent overview of the roles of a career counselor, training and credentials information, what you should expect and demand as a client, ethical practices, and more.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Linkedin - using "Groups" to connect

Once you set up your Linked in account and complete your  profile ,one of the best ways to begin to connect with others to get information about a field you are interested in is by joining "groups" in your chosen field of interest.

It has been estimated that using the "Groups"  feature  can double or even triple the amount of connections you can make every week in your job search.  LinkedIn is growing fast and is constantly improving the "groups"  feature to make them more accessible to anyone and participation in "groups" via Linkedin is growing in popularity. 

So how do you get started? 

Go into Linkedin and locate the "Groups" feature.  Begin to explore that tab.   A LinkedIn group is just like any social group you would join on the internet. If you are familiar with Facebook groups, they are pretty similar with LinkedIn groups. It's just a bunch of LinkedIn users who share the same interests, hobbies, or causes.

There are two common ways that you can get yourself involved with a group. You can either create a group or you can join one that's been created by another user. There's no limit as to how many groups you can join. No matter what industry you are in, there are likely dozens of groups for it on LinkedIn. Use Linkedin's built-in search functions to look for the groups that are relevant to your interests or field you want to pursue.

 In essence, what you are doing is what is recommended in the book :

Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0: How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap Into the Hidden Job Market using Social Media and 999 other Tactics Today [Paperback]

Jay Conrad Levinson (Author), David E. Perry (Author)

that can be found at:

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-Job-Hunters-3-0/dp/1118019091/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345116832&sr=1-1&keywords=guerilla+job+hunting

For instance, let's say that you are interested in pursuing a job in the construction field.  You can log into your LinkedIn account and search for "groups" related to construction.  You can then join these groups and start connecting with people in the construction industry...reading about and even exchanging information with others directly that will help inform your job search.  This becomes an instant audience for you to begin to network and glean information to advance you job search.

The LinkedIn's "Groups" feature is a valuable tool for making connections. You should look into it to see if it would be a helpful resource to use in your job search.  

Remember to thank God for all he has given you

Remember a very important  principle: If we have something, it means someone gave it to us.   The below is written by Mark Altrogge and taken in it's entirety from a post he did that can be found at:

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2012/08/really-what-do-we-have-to-be-so-stinkin-proud-of.html 

Really, What Do We Have To Be So Stinkin’ Proud Of?

by MARK ALTROGGE on AUGUST 15, 2012
…What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?  1 Corinthians 4:7

It seems like the Corinthians forgot a very important principle: If we have something, it means someone gave it to us.

If there’s food on your table, it didn’t just magically appear there, it’s because Jesus gave it to you.  ”No you see, Mark, I bought that food with my hard earned money I get paid by going to my job every day.”
But who put you in a nation where you could get that job? And who gave you the talent to do that job?  Who put you in a country where you could be educated for that job?  Keep tracing it back. Ultimately you’ll see that your talents, your job, your money, and yes, the very food on your table is a gift from God.
If you’re saved, it’s because God chose you before the foundation of the earth, then Jesus purchased your salvation with his blood. Then he sent someone to you to share the gospel with you. Then he opened your ears and heart and granted you faith and repentance.
We don’t want to make the same mistake the Corinthians made and forget where our gifts come from. So let’s remember if we have:
  • Spiritual gifts
  • Natural abilities
  • Success
  • Health
  • Strength
  • Intelligence
  • A good church
  • Spiritual knowledge
  • Friends
  • A loving spouse
  • Children
  • A sense of humor
  • Wealth
  • A home or apartment
  • You get the idea…..
We’ve received them.  They didn’t originate with us.  Therefore we have no reason to be proud of our gifts. But we have every reason to glorify God.  So what spiritual gifts do you have?  Thank God for them today.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!  Psalm 115:1

Sunday, August 12, 2012

What is your purpose in the work you do?

Provoking thought on our work is to be worship to God and  is to reflect Christ in and through our lives:

>>>taken in it's entirely from:
http://tgifmail.marketplaceleaders.org/servlet/Pv?c=703d6d6c6d26733d313534303733266d3d3539373926743d4826723d4e2664613d30267469643d30

Business as Ministry
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
08-12-2012

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24
The Bible is very clear that the purpose for our work life is to reflect Christ in and through our lives. It is an attitude that says our work is to have an overriding "ministry" objective to it. Our work is our worship to God. These two words even originate from the same Hebrew word, avodah.
Robert Laidlaw was born in Scotland in 1885 but grew up in New Zealand. Born to Christian parents, he committed his life fully to the Lord when he was 17. Laidlaw began working in a hardware merchant company as a traveling sales representative when he was 19. Later he had the idea for a mail-order catalogue business that sold everything imaginable including underwear, groceries, cosmetics, and farm equipment, all at bargain-basement prices. His concept proved successful and his business later merged with the Farmer's Union Trading Company. He became general manager and held that position for 50 years.
But this is not the most significant thing that can be said about Robert Laidlaw. He understood that his work life was a tool to affect others for Jesus Christ. He began giving ten percent of his income early in his business life. Later, however, he entered this into his journal: "September 1919, age twenty-five. I have decided to change my earlier graduated scale, and start now giving half (fifty percent) of all my earnings." This he continued for the next 60 years. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 351.]
The result of that commitment was countless numbers affected for Jesus Christ through the resources he gave to mission groups and other worthy Christian causes. He was personally involved in ministry. He wrote a small book that gave a thoughtful answer to basic questions about life and faith. It was titled "The Reason Why." Many hundreds of thousands came to faith in Christ because of this 46-page booklet. He publicly spoke to many of his faith in Christ and became very involved in the Soldier's and Airmen's Association when World War II broke out. Robert Laidlaw understood what it meant to view business with an overriding ministry objective.
Does the Lord have complete control of your life? If so, you will be able to see your work life as an extension of His life in you. Let the Lord live in and through your work life today. 
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Don't underestimated the power of your prayers


Excerpt taken from 

http://www. theblazingcenter.com/2012/08/god-doesnt-need-our-prayers-but-he-uses-them-mightily.html

God Doesn’t Need Our Prayers But He Uses Them Mightily

by MARK ALTROGGE on AUGUST 9, 2012

Photo by Pete Hunt
Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of men? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it. But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate.
He could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers, or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaries. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to cooperate in the execution of His will.
It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so. They have not advised or changed God’s mind — that is, His overall purpose. But that purpose will be realized in different ways according to the actions, including the prayers, of His creatures.  – C. S. Lewis, on The Efficacy of Prayer.
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  James 5:16

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Are you feeling resistance - prayer and preparedness

Sometime in our job searches we feel like we are being resisted.  We are doing everything we know to do to look for our next job but there are no results as months go by.  As the devotional post below reminds us,  prayer and preparedness helps us in the battle of change in our life.

Read on below for a post in its entirety taken from www.RaySteadman.org or click on the link:  http://www.raystedman.org/daily-devotions/nehemiah/prayer-and-preparedness: to see how relying on God through acknowledged dependence...prayer and preparedness (posting a guard) is a helpful means of grace to move through difficult times in a job search and working in a job when you take stands for righteousness and integrity against the accepted practices of those in the world.

The PowerPrayer And Preparedness
Daily Devotion for August 9
From the Writings of Ray Stedman
of His PresenceFrom your friends at
www.RayStedman.org
Read the Scripture: Nehemiah 4:7-23
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat (Nehemiah 4:9).
The enemy mobilizes its forces, escalating the attack, and begins to plan direct violence. When you begin to move with God to change things in your life for the better, you will find that you are met first with derision, and if you keep persisting, someone is going to get very upset with you and attack you in a vicious, perhaps physical, way.
But see how Nehemiah reacts, He still relies on prayer (Nehemiah 4:9). But he does more than pray. He posts a guard as well. Prayer and preparedness! This blending of the resources of the spiritual life with those of the material world is a marvelous picture of how believers ought to face threats, recognizing that we need action on both levels.
Still the enemy persists, and he launches a propaganda campaign. There was an enormous amount of debris and broken stones that had to be cleared away before they could get to the walls. It must have been very discouraging.
The enemy immediately takes advantage of that weakness and discouragement (Nehemiah 4:11). Have you ever faced something like that? Were you ever threatened at work when you tried to correct an immoral or illegal practice that was being carried on around you? Perhaps someone said to you, Keep that up, and you may lose your job here. You may have been threatened with demotion or with eviction from your apartment. You may even have been invited out in the parking lot to face a physical attack. These kinds of things are possible when we begin to right wrongs.
Nehemiah's response is very deliberate. First, he carefully looks over the situation and evaluates what is needed. This approach is necessary if we are going to improve our own lives. We must observe exactly where we are under attack. What are we addicted to? A wrong habit, a drug, an attitude of mind? Bitterness of spirit? When we have identified the source of attack, we must post a guard at that point.
Then, second, Nehemiah reviews the spiritual resources available to them. They had a power at work in their lives that their enemies knew nothing about. The great and awesome God who was with them would stand with them in their peril. When they remembered this, they became reassured and renewed in courage. The enemy saw that they could achieve nothing with their attacks.
One of my favorite passages of the New Testament is found in Paul's second letter to Timothy. Paul is a prisoner in Rome, and Timothy, a rather timid young man, is all alone and feeling discouraged in the great pagan city of Ephesus. The great apostle writes to him this word of advice: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead (2 Timothy 2:8). Timothy was not alone. God was with him. Jesus is risen! He is awesome. He is strong. He is powerful. Reckon upon Him, and you will be able to stand against the most subtle temptation and the most dangerous threats that come against you.
Thank You, Father, for how practical and helpful the Scriptures are. Teach me to rely on You both in prayer and preparedness.

Life Application: What are two necessary responses when we are under attack? When we feel a bitterness of spirit, what spiritual resources are available to be victorious?
Related Message: This daily devotion was inspired by one of Ray's messages. Please read "Don't Back Down -- Build Up" or listen to Ray for more on this portion of scripture

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

If you must find a job fast...period...try these tips.

 There are times when it’s not a matter of finding the best job, but finding a job period, and finding it fast. If that type of time is upon you, read on for tips of things to try if you must find a job fast....for financial reasons in a very difficult market...that requires lowering expectations in order to survive until things turn around.   Read on below from a post taken from:

 http://searchtargetjobs.com/how-to-find-a-job-fast/?goback=.gde_122794_member_143538829 

 How to Find a Job Fast!

There are times when it’s not a matter of finding the best job, but finding a job period, and finding it fast. Those types of times are upon us, and using the usual means of sending your cover letter and resume out don’t work if you need something quickly. So here are some tips on what you can do when you need to land a job like yesterday.
The first secret to finding a job quickly is to understand that starting at the beginning doesn’t work, we need to tap into already existing circumstances in order to do it quickly.
One way that works is to look at the networks you already have; whether professional or personal. Many times these networks aren’t really tapped that often or even thought of as networks because they may be people you just hang out with in general, or professional ties you connect with to let of some steam, etc.
But when it comes to finding a job quickly, forget about anything but letting people know you’re looking for a job and that you’re willing to work at just about anything to get it.
Remember, you’re trying to get a job in a very difficult market. That requires lowering expectations in order to survive until things turn around.
The key point it to identify networks you already have and don’t assume they don’t have any value in job hunting. Anyone has the potential to know about a job available somewhere. Just start asking and you’ll be surprised at how many opportunities start to turn up.
If you’re too fussy at a time like this, then in reality, you’re really not trying to get hired quickly, you’re acting like we’re in a normal hiring environment, which we’re not. So you must be flexible in this type of economic situation, and if you’re not, you’re going to end up having to be one way or the other. Better to do it right away than be brought to the place of having absolutely no option but to take the first thing that comes your way.
How about your neighbors
If you have had some contact with neighbors, they can make an excellent source of information for possible job openings. They also talk to one another a lot, so if you ask one about it, they can spread the word around the neighborhood and you’re sure to get a hit quickly.
Local pals
We tend to put our net way too far at times we’re looking for jobs, and if we have the time to do that, it works great, but when we need a job quick, local is probably the best place to spread the word.
So any of your friends can be sources for job opportunities, and don’t fail to let them know you’re looking. Almost all of this is about communication, and the more you communicate locally, the better chances at getting a job quick.
Organizational Ties
Most of us belong to some type of organization or another; whether church or what have you, and there are a lot of people you can let know that you are job hunting, and that can very quickly generate legitimate job possibilities in a hurry.
Just get the word of mouth going and get out of the way.
Former managers or supervisors
Assuming you’re on good terms with former bosses, they are a great source for job openings; not only for where they work, but they are always in contact with other businesses and managers that are looking for people. You never know, if you left on good terms with them, they offer you a job then and there.
Let your fingers do the walking
Yes, the yellow pages are still around, and they offer up plenty ideas of jobs you can look for. Remember, local will provide you a job much quicker than national searches, so look through the businesses to find places you can contact immediately.
This one almost always works
I’ve had to apply this strategy to my job searches in the past when I was getting desperate, and that’s to go to a local mall and start applying.
Many times you don’t have to go store to store, but can find an answer desk where any store in the mall that is looking for workers has that information available.
While that’s what I would try first, I would still try individual stores if there’s not much there, as many stores don’t immediately post job opportunities, and so you could walk into one without any competition to battle for the job.
This can be one of the fastest ways to get a job if you are getting right down to it.
Online job searches
You would have thought I would have listed this first, but with needing a job quickly, the Internet, in many cases, is much slower to respond, and you may have to go through many hoops to get something.
So because the parameters we’re talking about is securing a job quickly, we can’t rely on the Internet for that.

Now having said that, I would still put out my application, but I would it in conjunction with my local networks and searches. If you don’t you’ll find yourself getting deeper in financial trouble waiting for an online opening or response, which probably is the most competitive and time consuming out there.
Follow these numerous strategies and you should be able to get a job quickly and start bringing in some much needed income.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2726922

Testimony - Rejoicing with Eshetu!

Do you remember the story of Nelson running into Eshetu and his wife after a BTN meeting? They had taken 3 buses to get there and arrived after the meeting was over.  Compelled by their tenacity, Nelson immediately began to reach out to his trusted group of advisors.  Jim Muir forwarded Eshetu's resume to someone who could review his qualifications and this led to an interview. Others worked to connect Eshetu with folks they knew in companies he was applying to.

A very long story short, Eshetu has been hired by Robert Rashford at Genesis for a position that was just vacated, and we all could not be more thrilled or excited!
This is a wonderful opportunity, and we rejoice with him and his family.

On the heels of that email, I received notification that another individual who had been unemployed for 9 months had accepted a position that utilizes her skills/abilities, and had just started Week 2.

God knows how to give good gifts to His children!



Jo
Facilitator
Business Transition Network

We need one another

One of the wonderful aspects of the Workshops is that we share what we know and are learning with one another to help one another in our time of transition.  

As you pray for your job transition, also pray for others in the Workshop - 

Lord, thank You for those You have placed around me for support and encouragement. Teach me that not only do I need You, but I need others in my time of transition...to give to and receive from as we seek you for the next assignments you have for us in the workplace.  

Read on for more reminders of the the need we have for one another taken  in it's entirety from Ray Stedman's devotional found at:

http://www.raystedman.org/daily-devotions/nehemiah/the-need-for-each-other.  


The PowerThe Need For Each Other
Daily Devotion for August 7
From the Writings of Ray Stedman
of His PresenceFrom your friends at
www.RayStedman.org
Read the Scripture: Nehemiah 3:28-32
Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs (Nehemiah 3:29).
One commentator has said, God is a great believer in putting names down. That is true. There are many chapters like this in the Scriptures. But that should really encourage us. It means that God has not forgotten our names either. He loves to record the names of obscure people.
The central teaching of a chapter like this is that in putting lives back together, we need and must seek help from each other. This is a great chapter about cooperation. It illustrates the New Testament truth concerning the body of Christ. First Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and other chapters teach that believers in Christ are part of a worldwide body made up of many members. We belong to each other, and so we are to help one another and bear one another's burdens. This is portrayed in a very dramatic way throughout this chapter.
We learn from the New Testament that there are two things you cannot say any longer when you become a Christian. The first is, You do not need me. Everyone in the body of Christ needs everyone else. The second thing is, I do not need you. You do need others! It is the awareness of that truth that makes a church a living, warm, vital, loving fellowship.
In the summoning of the people of Jerusalem to rebuild their walls and their gates, we learn that all the people were involved in the project. That portrays for us an important principle of the New Testament: that the ministry of the church belongs to everyone in the congregation. Often people think that only the pastor and the hired staff are to do the work of evangelizing, teaching, counseling, healing the hurts of others, and serving the needy. Because we have followed that practice far too long, the church is in trouble all over the world. But the ministry belongs to the whole congregation. I do not know any truth more important for the accomplishing of God's work than that. Yet in church after church, it is difficult to get people to understand that. You have the great privilege of reaching out in your own neighborhood and doing the work of the ministry there. Where churches do not understand that, one finds a very distorted condition. People have no ministry of their own and, therefore, little excitement or interest in life.
Lord, thank You for those You have placed around me for support and encouragement. Teach me that not only do I need You, but I need others if I am to have the impact You want me to have.

Life Application: Where is it wonderful to seek help from others instead of trying to be independent of them? Which people does the ministry of the Church belong to?
Related Message: This daily devotion was inspired by one of Ray's messages. Please read "Don't be Paralyzed -- Get Organized!" or listen to Ray for more on this portion of scripture.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Two are better than one

Excellent post at:

http://msg1svc.net/servlet/Pv?c=703d6d6c6d26733d3734343631266d3d3133313026743d4826723d4e2664613d30

...asking who has God place in your life to be a joint of supply...someone who God has given to speak into your life...as we are incomplete without ongoing input from others who know us well. 
Two by Two
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
08-05-2012

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work." Ecclesiastes 4:9
Have you discovered yet that you are incomplete by yourself? During my "warrior" stage of life you would have been hard-pressed to convince me that I needed you or anyone else. I know few people willing to admit their need for others, but many who live according to this principle. However, sooner or later we discover God's truth regarding our need for others.
God made us to need others. We may not discover this until we fail - fail in a business, a marriage, a close friendship, or in a client relationship. We are incomplete without the ongoing input from others into our lives. An independent spirit is one of the most detestable sins from God's viewpoint. It is the highest form of pride. "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice" (Prov. 13:10).
God has made each of us so that we have only so many gifts. He did not give any of us all the available gifts. Hence, we learn to depend on others and to humbly trust others to complete us where we are deficient.
David had Jonathan. Paul had Silas. John Wesley had George Whitefield. Martin Luther had Philip Melanchthon, who was 14 years younger. Martin Luther learned that he needed someone in his life to complete the work God called him to do. Luther had the greatest respect for this friend who helped him reform the Church of their day, and the Church as we know it at present. Luther learned a great deal from Melanchthon, who was a great scholar at a young age. He could speak several languages, and he became Professor of Greek at the new University of Wittenberg at 21 years of age. This was ten months after Luther posted his famous theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Melanchthon helped shape the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century through his research, writings, moral purpose, and religious conscience. Luther and Melanchthon became inseparable, and when they died, they were buried next to each other.
Who has God placed in your life to complete you? Perhaps it is a mate. Perhaps it is a close friend. Perhaps it is a business partner. If you lack this in your life, I encourage you to seek someone out who can speak into your life. If you have someone like this, tell him or her how much you appreciate the role he or she plays in your life. 
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
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