Archive for November, 2009

BlogBreak contributor and and e-resume.net vice president Chandra Fox talks about what’s important to be thankful for, despite the difficult job market that many of us have faced this year:

Go back to the basics for this Thanksgiving. Be grateful for the things we take for granted.

1. Your health as well as the health of your family and friends.
2. That you can afford a Thanksgiving dinner, many cannot.
3. Be glad you have a home as many people do not have that luxury.
4. You live in America, many die trying.
5. You have transportation in your own car, not a public transportation system only.

This Thanksgiving, look at the things you are happy to have. Most of us have running water, electricity, transportation and a home we love. Be grateful for the things you have.

It’s been a tough year for job seekers. What are you thankful for this season?

Continue reading Top five things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving »

So much of our national conversation about job placement focuses on training these days. We’ve spent an awful lot of time – and money – on the question of which degree or certificate is better, and much less attention on the fundamental question underpinning the training issue: Which skills should workers have?

In an ideal world, training would equal skills development; but the fact is, school-based training programs can only approximate the skills any particular employer needs in its workers. Sadly, the best-case scenario, workplace-based training, may be a thing of the past as employers eliminate expenses.

Working Strategies by Amy Lindgren

The ever-present question, “Which is the right training program?” really needs to be replaced by a better, more productive question: “Which employers am I targeting and which skills do they need?”

Let’s start over with some basic information and the questions you will need to bring to employers. First, remember my …

Continue reading Working Strategies: Know skills you need and how to get them »

By Laura Raines, for the AJC

Three years ago JoAnne Nelson was a real estate agent who saw many beautiful custom-made draperies and upholsteries in clients’ homes and decorated model houses.

But having custom drapes made for her own home proved to be a tedious process. Locating a shop, communicating her needs and wondering about the quality of the workmanship made her think there had to be a better way. She bought an established upholstery workshop in an old house in Smyrna and revamped it into Atlanta Custom Interiors.

JoAnne Nelson (left) owner of Atlanta Custom Interiors, talks with Marsha Peterson, owner of Trade Secrets Interiors, about window treatment designs. Photo by Leita Cowart, for the AJC.

“Friends thought it a bit extreme — to buy a business because I wanted drapes made my way, but I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I could make a profit,” said Nelson, owner and operating manager.

Last year she knocked down the old house to rebuild the …

Continue reading Small businesses find target audiences »

With so many job seekers losing unemployment benefits this fall, it’s a good time to review the principles of career development and job search — particularly for those in transition to a new field.

Last week’s column discussed the fundamentals of developing a career plan. Today’s looks at choosing a job target. The following weeks will explore steps for building skills, revising your resume and conducting a job search outreach.

If you feel as if you’ve been hitting your head against the wall in your job search, you may be right.

Job searches that rely on online postings are doomed almost from the beginning by one of these two failings: Either you know exactly what you want and you’re being very selective, or you’re very open and you’re responding to everything.

Working Strategies by Amy Lindgren

In the first situation, you probably won’t find enough jobs to beat the odds and get chosen from among all the candidates for an interview. And in the second, …

Continue reading Working Strategies: Choosing a job target and getting started »

By Laura Raines, for the AJC

With small but distinct signs of life in the economy, companies are plotting their recovery strategies for 2010.

“Recovery will not be restoration of the pre-recession market. Trying to get back to where we were will be like chasing a red herring,” said Jean Martin, executive director of the Corporate Leadership Council of the Corporate Executive Board, a global business research network.
It’s a whole new ballgame.

Dana R. Hermanson is a professor of accounting at the Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business. Photo by Leita Cowart, for the AJC.

“Sixty-seven percent of the employees we surveyed [in more than 5,100 leading companies] said that they had seen significant organizational reconstruction and changes during the recession that had thrown the normal drivers of companies off balance,” Martin said.

In its “Executive Guidance 2010” report, the Corporate Executive Board identifies six hidden enemies that could …

Continue reading Companies need a recovery game plan »