 August
15th, 2005
Welcome again from
Career Bites, formerly the Alternative Futures LETTER,
a career management newsletter published by the Alternative
Futures Press in Berkeley, California. We hope you
enjoyed the last issue with the article entitled What
is a Successful Career? BookMobile Driver,
Teacher & Architect. This
issue of CareerBites offers lots of additional information
and commentary plus a timely article entitled What
to do When Nothing Works, How to Get Your Job Search
Back on Track.
A special
thank you to Charles Kroupa for his skillful and
insightful internet research and for his valuable
contributions to this newsletter.
Please print and post copies
of this newsletter and pass on copies to your colleagues,
friends and relatives.
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News from The Front Line
Job
Search Engines
Time,
NY
When looking for a job it's
always best to cast a very broad net. So it's very
rewarding when you find three new search engines that
do just that. Each one, which has it's own look and
feel, trawl the web for relevant job listings based
on your search parameters. When I tried them each one
generated a different set of leads, culled from a variety
of different sources including big job boards like
Monster, Hotjobs and Craigs' List.
They include:
www.indeed.com
www.simplyhired.com
www.workzoo.com
Doing Good in Retirement
San Francisco Chronicle, SF
Half of people in their
50s and 60s want to do work that helps others, according
to a recent survey. The trend was even more pronounced
among people aged 51-59,
as 58 percent of those so called leading edge Baby
Boomers said that they want to take jobs that serve
their communities.
Previous surveys have established that Baby Boomers
and others nearing retirement expect to continue working,
both for economic reasons and mental stimulation. But
this survey is unique in identifying a trend of older
people hoping to use their later years for social good,
albeit in the context of work rather than volunteerism.
Jobs in education and social services were two of the
three types of work mentioned most often by people surveyed.
Among the 53 percent who said they want to work in retirement,
more than three quarters expressed interest in working
to help the poor, the elderly and others in need, while
56 percent were interested in dealing with health issues
and 55 percent in teaching.
Offshore Abuse!
Observer, London, UK
Abuse from British and
American customers is driving increasing numbers
of Indian call center workers from their jobs, defeated
by the strain of handling persistent rudeness. Some
organizations have begun employing psychiatrists
and counselors to help employees cope.
Workers face a spectrum of
rudeness – from sexual harassment to fury at unsolicited
sales calls, to open racism. Industry analysts have seen
the phenomenon of racist clients grow in recent years,
as customers in the UK and the US become increasingly
sensitive to the political issue of jobs outsourced to
India.
What, me Worry?
New York Times, NY
One of America's most important
entrepreneurs recently gave a speech at the summit
meeting of our nation's Governors. Bill Gates did not
mince words. "American
high schools are obsolete. By obsolete I don't just
mean that our high schools are broken, flawed or underfunded.
By obsolete I mean that our high schools, even when
they are working exactly as designed – cannot teach
our kids what they need to know today." "Training the work
force of tomorrow with the high schools of today is
like trying to teach kids about today's computers on
a fifty year old main frame! Our schools were designed
50 years ago to meet the needs of another age. Until
we redesign them to meet the needs of the 21 st century
we will keep limiting, even ruining the lives of millions
of Americans each year."
Let me translate Mr. Gates's
words. "If we don't
fix American education, I will not be able to hire
your kids."
Employment Strategies for Fifty Somethings
If you are
over fifty and looking to jump into the job market
for one
reason or another, check out these thirteen tips for getting back into
the game.
- Take on Temporary Consulting
Work
- Volunteer
- Think Outside
the Box
- Keep a Positive
Attitude
- Stay Fit
- Don't Try to Hide
Your Age
- Be Flexible
- Highlight Your
Empty Nest
- Keep Your Skills
Up-to-Date
- Network, Network, Network
- Open Your Own Business
- Seek Out Older Worker-Friendly
Companies
- Stay in Touch With Youth
I could write an entire
article on the value of each one of these suggestions.
Taken together they can insure that you keep busy,
prosperous and happy if you want to continue working
in your retirement.
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Inspiration
Change is not merely necessary for life, IT
IS LIFE !
~ Alvin Toffler
Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask
yourself what makes you come alive. And then go out
and do that. Because what the world needs more than
anything is people who have come alive
~ H. Whitman
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New Career MileStones
Examples of what Clay's
clients at Alternative Futures' are doing.
Fred C. has been hired as a senior
business process consultant by a contractor to the US
Department of Defense. His role will be to assess the
management of military facilities throughout the US
and around the world and recommend ways to improve
efficiency. Before his current assignment Fred was
a sales and marketing specialist in the high tech industry.
Benjamin P. has
founded a new company which specializes in the design,
development and construction of modular residential
and commercial building systems. Ben has a Masters
degree in architecture and has worked for many years
as a design architect for large consulting firms.
------------------------------------------- Feature
Article
What
to do When Nothing Works
How to Get Your Job Search Back on Track
By Clay Parsons
You have been looking
for a job for almost a year. The last time someone
responded to a resume and cover letter you sent
out was over two months ago. You are doing everything
the 'How To' books tell you
to do. Nothing is working. You are frustrated
and angry and it is starting to rub off on everyone
around you. You need a job.
What do you do to get your job search back on track?
First of all, unless
the current economy has gone south, and we are
all out of work, there is a specific reason that
you have been unsuccessful. There is not something
'wrong' with you and it is not a question of bad
luck. Your task is to find out why.
Your first step is to get
some professional advice. You are too close to the
problem, and your friends and relatives, despite their
genuine concern cannot be objective...
Click
here to read the article (pdf)
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Until next time,
Clay Parsons, MA, MLA
Alternative FUTURES Press
2034 Blake Street
Suite 6
Berkeley, CA 94704
Tel: (510) 287-5664
Fax: (510) 548-9921
www.alternativefutures.com
Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask
yourself what makes you come alive. And
then go out and do that. Because what the
world needs more than anything is people
who have come alive. ~ H. Whitman
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