job seekers Archives - Fun Job Fairs

Job Search Across Generations

September 30, 2012 by Julie Austin

When a baby boomer friend was searching for a job, his elderly dad said “Look in the newspaper classifieds”. Since I haven’t picked up a newspaper in quite a while, I’m not sure they even still have job listings there.

With so many people unemployed in all age ranges, it made me curious how they each conduct their job searches. I was surprised to hear that Boomers use social networks more than Gen X and Gen Y, who tend to go with Google +.

All generations value job security, which seems to be harder to come by these days. Boomers tend to gravitate towards more meaningful work, while millennials value a higher salary and more flexibility.

Job seekers in all generations spend between 5 and 20 hours a week looking for a job. As a small business owner and freelancer I spend twice that amount of time looking for work, because the minute you finish one job you have to start looking for the next one.

What surprised me the most is that 95% of all job seekers in all generations were searching online, while spending only 5% searching offline. This leads me to think that we’re losing the ability to connect to a real, live human being. People are actually surprised when I call on the phone.

I still believe the best way to get a job is by meeting someone face to face. The one thing you can never get across in a text or email is personality. If I’m hiring someone, that’s the number one thing I want to see.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: hiring, job, job listings, job search, job security, job seekers, unemployed, work

Job Fairs Struggle to Find Employers Who Are Hiring

September 1, 2012 by Julie Austin

The past two job fairs I put together was like pulling teeth. I had no problem at all finding job seekers. In fact, we were at the limit in the number of job seekers we could let into the job fair. It was finding employers who actually had jobs to give them that was the struggle. And it’s the same for other job fair planners. It’s simply like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The first job fair I put on was specifically for the show business industry. We had a decent turnout of industry employers, but many of them were only looking for entry level employers. And the number of calls I had to make to get those employers was staggering.

Job seekers spots were limited, so they were able to spend more quality time with the employers that did show up. And at least several of the job seekers did end up finding work. I hired one of them myself.

It’s an employer’s market and the ones that are actually hiring can choose to be as picky as they want. That’s why it could still be a good idea just to get in the door, even if it’s not exactly the job you want right now. Get in and prove yourself.

Filed Under: Job Fairs Tagged With: employers, entry-level, job, job fair, job fair planners, Job Fairs, job seekers, show business

Taking a Break from the Job Search

August 1, 2012 by Julie Austin

As a business owner I feel like I can never take a vacation because I have to hold down the fort. If I leave town the phone might ring. A customer or distributor might call with a problem. So I can understand when job seekers feel that way.

But everyone needs to take a break from time to time. It doesn’t have to be a long break or even classified as a vacation, but just getting away from it all can put things in a new light. It can give you a new perspective. But most of all it takes some of the pressure off and the stress of looking for a job.

And also, once you do get a job you may not be able to take that vacation for a while. So get the rest while you can.

If you can’t afford to spend a lot of money, do something like camping or even just getting away for the day. Go to the zoo, an amusement park, go hiking. But don’t take your cell phone or computer. Unplug for the day and enjoy!

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: business owners, job, job search, job seekers

Do Job Seekers Need Multiple Skills?

July 6, 2012 by Julie Austin

I was always told that being a Jack, (or Jill) of all trades was a bad thing. You should just focus on one thing and do it well. Seems like times have changed. Some employers are saying they are having a hard time finding people with the right skills because they’re looking for people with multiple skills. And that isn’t always easy to find.

There’s a new trend in hiring. Companies want workers who can handle several different jobs for a number of reasons. For one thing, it cuts down on hiring. Employers say they would rather wait until the right person comes along who has all of the skills they need. Sometimes this means speaking several languages and being proficient at several different jobs. They would rather hire one person to do all of the jobs than hire multiple employees to do each individual job. And they’re willing to wait for that perfect person to come along.

This puts a huge burden on those job seekers sending out resumes. Call center workers no longer just answer the phones. Now they also need to be able to sell when customers call in. For example, if customers are calling in to buy a kitchen appliance, the call center operators must be able to convince them to buy a warranty or utensils too. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Job Seekers Tagged With: employees, employers, entrepreneurs, hire, hiring, job, job seekers, jobs, multi-tasker, multiple skills, resume, workers

Job Competition Can Be a Good Thing

June 17, 2012 by Julie Austin

In today’s competitive job market a few things have changed. Gone are the days when a job seekers could sit around passively waiting for an employer or recruiter to call. Gone are the days when you could just show up and get a check. With 4-6 people competing for every available job, job seekers can’t afford to be passive in their job search anymore.

If there’s one thing to be learned from the Great Recession it’s that you have to up your game on every front. It’s just a simple matter of supply and demand. These days employers can afford to be picky. They can afford to pick and choose from the cream of the crop. If you read the job descriptions it seems like you have to have a master’s degree and ten year’s of experience in your field for the simplest of jobs. It sounds pretty depressing.

As an employer and small business owner myself I can tell you that I’m just not willing or able to hire employees that just want to show up and get a check. Hiring employees is costly and a big responsibility, especially for a small business owner. I have to know that I’m making the right decision and that the person I’ll be hiring is the best one for the job. I want to know that they really want the job. That means someone who has done their homework and knows as much about my company as I do. I want an employee that really understands the market and will go the extra mile to make my business the best it can be.

I think competition is a good thing because it forces you to be a better employee. This is something you should do anyway, but when times are good economically we all tend to get a little complacent. We take it for granted that things are going to be easy and when they’re not we’re not prepared. Competition keeps you on your toes.

As the world in general becomes more competitive, job seekers have to learn to adapt to it. When you’re competing with several other job seekers who all want the same job, how can you stand out from the rest? How can you go the extra mile and prove to an employer that you’re the best one for the job?

Learning how to be competitive puts you ahead of other job seekers and makes it easier for you to find a job no matter how good or bad the economy is.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: competition, employee, employer, hiring, job, job description, job market, job search, job seekers

An Inside Look at a Job Interview

June 11, 2012 by Julie Austin

I guess you learn something new every day. I didn’t know about the site GlassDoor.com, which is a free jobs and career site that gives job seekers an inside peek into the jobs and companies that they will be applying for. Content is posted by job seekers, employees, and sometimes the companies themselves.

The site has about 3 million reviews on how the companies conduct their interviews, how they treat employees, and about the salaries for a particular job. This is a good way to save you time and energy as a job seeker by avoiding the places you really don’t want to work at. Or if you do want to work there, at least you have a good idea of what to expect.

Job seekers spend enough time searching for work. Glass Door takes some of the guesswork out of trying to figure out just what the company is looking for. This way you can know in advance what kind of questions they are likely to ask you in the interview and what the salary will likely be before wasting time with jobs you’re not really interested in. Sounds good to me!

Filed Under: Job Interviews Tagged With: career site, companies, employees, job interview, job seekers, jobs, searching for work

Summer Job Search

May 27, 2012 by Julie Austin

The Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial end of spring and the beginning of summer. Many job seekers think the summer is a bad time to look for work, but it’s actually a perfect time to network, which is probably how you’re more likely to get a job anyway.

Though hiring may slow down in the summer, the amount of social activities goes up. This is a great opportunity for you to get out and start networking now. Of course, there is a right and wrong way to do that. People attend social functions to get away from work. They want to relax and spend time with family and friends. And that’s how you should approach it too. Use this time to get to know people without constantly bringing up the fact that you need a job. I know it’s hard to do, especially if you’ve been unemployed for a long time. But don’t seem desperate. Instead, think about ways you could help that person. How can you bring value to their life?

Another good way to network at social events is to put on on yourself. Or find a way to work a job where you will be in contact with a lot of people. One of the best ways I used to meet important people was by working as a bartender at events. Everyone comes up to the bar. And I was in a different position than just someone walking around the party. Suddenly I was at the center of the party and everyone came over and talked to me. I made a lot of new contacts AND I got paid to do it. You can just as easily volunteer your time to help out the host of the party. In fact, you should do that anyway.

Another way to insure you will meet everyone at an event is to be the person checking people in at the door. It’s much easier to be in a fixed position where others come to you than it is to have to walk around and introduce yourself. If you’re shy to being with, this is a great way to get over it and meet a lot of important contacts.

Summer is also a great time to brush up on your skills, spruce up your resume, and do some research on the companies you want to target.

Since your job search right now should be your full time job, don’t even think about taking time off until you get your first vacation under your new job. Just remember, your competition may not be taking time off and neither should you. You can always rest later.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: companies, job search, job seekers, look for work, need a job, network, resume, summer job search, unemployed

Personality Job Tests

May 23, 2012 by Julie Austin

You’ve got a great resume, which includes the right education from a good school, and you have the experience for the job you’re applying for. But do you have the right personality for the job? Do you have the right personality for the company? You may think you do, but the person hiring you has a huge pool of talent to choose from these days and a wrong hiring decision can be very costly. So they really want to make sure.

And one of the ways companies are testing job seekers is with a personality test. Certain jobs, like customer service require a certain type of personality. Even if you think you can handle it, you might not be the best applicant for the position. It’s a better use of a company’s time and money to find out before they actually start working.

Jobs that require complex problem solving and decision making may also be subject to a personality test. They help to uncover your attitude and temperament. The first part of the tests often just weed out the extremes and the people that are clearly not suited for the job. I frankly think this is a good idea, whether I’m on the job seeker side or the employer side. It’s hard to know for sure exactly what a company is looking for. What you think it is might be something very different. And they might expect certain things out of you as an employee that you wouldn’t like down the road.

The first things employers want to weed out are dishonesty and a tendency towards violence. Then they want to make sure you can work in a team and will be persistent on the job. For some jobs being an extrovert is more desirable than being an introvert. Jobs like sales and customer service rely on having employees that are more extroverted.

As a business owner, I have never hired anyone solely based on their resume. I hire people I know very well, so I can tell if they are the right ones for the job and if we would get along in a small office space. I tend to hire people who are more entrepreneurial and don’t need to have a lot of hand holding. I can give them the work to do and I can trust them to do much of the problem solving on their own. I can trust that they will make the best decisions.

Filed Under: Job Interviews Tagged With: applicant, employees, employer, entrepreneur, hiring, hiring decision, job seekers, job tests, personality job tests, resume

Job Seekers Prefer Small Job Fairs

May 10, 2012 by Julie Austin

A recent small job fair that featured Goodwill and the Georgia Department of Labor was a success. When the local news polled the job seekers they said they appreciated the fact that it was a smaller job fair that allowed more time to be spent between the job seekers and the recruiters.

This is what I’ve been saying for years. The fun job fairs I’ve put on have always been a success and I know that some of the job seekers got jobs out of them. I have hired some of them myself.

It’s a much better way to get to know your future employees in a more intimate setting. This gives the job seekers a chance to really show their personality and it’s a more relaxing atmosphere to do it in.

Filed Under: Job Fairs Tagged With: employees, fun job fairs, hired, Job Fairs, job seekers, recruiters, small job fair

How Do You Sound in a Job Interview?

April 5, 2012 by Julie Austin

After working at job fairs for the past few years I’ve been paying attention to how job seekers sound in their brief interviews with recruiters. Just a few slight changes can make a big difference in how a recruiter views you. The way we sound to others speaks volumes about who we are and how we will represent a company.

The first thing to take out of your vocabulary are the phrases “Like” and “You know”. Both make you seem too immature and unprofessional. Same with slang.

Ask a friend to help you evaluate whether you speak too quickly or too slowly. Speak at a normal speed and try not to interrupt the recruiter. Make sure you are an active listener and not planning what you’re going to say next. You might miss critical information.

Monitor the pitch of your voice. Men seem more authoritative if they have lower voices. Women need to stay in a neutral range. Not too high (immature) and not too low. Try taping yourself to see how you sound. Listening to newscasters and emulating them is good practice. This is how I got rid of my accent and prepared for a career in TV hosting.

Pay attention to how you sound and fix any problems before your job interview. It might make all the difference.

Filed Under: Job Interviews Tagged With: Job Fairs, job interview, job seekers, recruiter