On the Hunt for a Job? Build Professional ResourcesWritten by Steve Hall
Searching for a Job? Use Your Time to Build Professional Resources.by Elizabeth Kirwin With unemployment figures at 6.1% in August, there is great concern among jobless about their financial future. Though internet job posting seems convenient and opens up new possibilities, competition is so fierce, it is not unusual for an employer to receive 300-600 resumes for one posting. Since most companies do not have staffing or time to answer these inquiries, job seekers tend to feel like they are casting their resumes into a great void. Steve Hall, a 14 year Certified Personal Consultant with Find Great People in Greenville, South Carolina, has witnessed disappointment in internet job hunters. “When job seekers spend a great deal of time applying for jobs and receiving no word, it tends to weaken their self-worth,” said Mr. Hall. Spending five to eight hours per day on-line searching creates a sense of isolationism, too. “Most job seekers would be better served to balance their time behind computer with an effort to meet with people and build a network of professional resources,” said Mr. Hall. He suggests volunteer work geared toward job seeker’s profession with a charitable organization. “For example, an accountant could visit Red Cross, a state boy’s home, or a church and offer to do bookkeeping,” Mr. Hall suggested. “This would have professional benefits. It will keep professional skills sharp and enable job seeker to build a soft skill -- which is interacting with people. By volunteering skills and expertise, person may meet somebody that will lead to employment,” added Mr. Hall. Another activity that could stimulate job leads is participation in a weekly network group. “If you want to start a group in your area, rally a support group through professional associations,” recommends Mr. Hall. It’s important to find people of like minds, with similar passions, and in close proximity for weekly lunch or coffee meetings. “This interaction with colleagues and peer groups will allow job seeker to hear about positions that may not be posted.” said Mr. Hall.
| | Learning How To Fall ... You have to learn to fall before you can ride with confidence! Written by Edward B. Toupin
About a month ago, I was hit by a car while riding my motorcycle. The car side-swiped me and took off. My bike bounced off car, shot out from under me, and I rolled under car. Amazingly enough, I stood up, picked up my bike, and got to side of street without any problems. All I had was a small bit of road rash on my elbow. I was lucky!However, I'm not writing this to acquire oohs and ahhs, but to discuss one important lesson I learned from this incident that applies very well to life in general. The basic lesson I learned here was that, now that I am confident in hitting ground and surviving, I have actually become a much better rider. Of course, they do say that there are only two types of motorcycle riders --- those who have gone down, and those who have not. --- Change and Balance --- At beginning of many of my coaching sessions, my clients ask me why things fall apart, out of blue, once they get moving along in their lives. Believe it or not, there is an answer. It has to do with balance, lessons, and traversing new and unknown paths. In all cases, only time we encounter challenges is when we decide to move forward toward a new goal. In our movement, we throw our environment into an imbalance causing a chain reaction of events around us to push balance back into situation. We usually see this surge for balance as a problem, challenge, or issue and then back off to fall back into safety of original situation. But, realize, that such surges are merely in response to your own desire to change. When you initiate change, your environment creates an equal and opposite force against change. It is called "nature". --- Crash and Burn --- Once we are able to overcome initial inertia of change and move forward, we inevitably encounter challenges that will cause us to stumble and fall. Such challenges are not in place to cause us to quit, but are there to wake us up and make us realize that we can endure much more than we thought we could and still continue along our path. Falling enables us to see our own character and abilities to prepare us for future challenges. This is a stair-step approach to bettering ourselves and becoming stronger in our resolve.
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