September Unemployment Report

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend.

Mike and I have a friend who has just moved into a new home. He told us that he's been watching a lot of HGTV recently to learn all about home improvement. I've been a Food Network junkie for a pretty long time but I decided to see what this home-improvement hoopla was all about - and now I'm hooked. This past three-day weekend was like a do-it-yourself (or do it with really awesomely trained professionals) marathon.

Anyway, Mike and I were doing errands and talking about professions - what we thought we would do when we were younger, what paths we wish we'd taken. I said, "Hey, maybe I could go intern with a contractor and learn how to build stuff and make houses". Mike replied, "You know there's not much of a market for that kind of labor right now".

My terribly witty response: That's true. Right now the demand is really highest for public health professionals.

Don't I wish.

With that delightful anecdote, I bring you a discussion on the September, 2011 U.S. Employment Outlook from Simply Hired so we can so who is right, Mike or me.

The U.S. Employment Outlook is a monthly analysis and forecast of employment trends in the United States. These findings are based on monthly job seeker activity on SimplyHired.com, which aggregates millions of listings from over 30,000 employment sites, and data obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are some interesting tidbits:

August was the second consecutive month of positive hiring. That's good - but the unemployment rate in August was 9.1% according to LBS. 

Hmmm? Maybe I should pick up a hammer and nails. Ok, probably not but outlook is not so positive in non-profit land and I'm a little restless. 

How is your profession/field doing? Do you feel optimistic? Have you thought at all about changing professions? 

Hires, Fires & Bears

Very cool infographic from Mango Blog.

Taking Steps

I spent today really embracing the lessons learned from last night's informational interview.

Here were some steps I took:

- Followed local organizations I love on LinkedIn and try to find people who worked there who are 2nd or even 3rd degree connections. Coming up: I will try to use my connections to get in touch with these people and set up even more informational interviews.

- Filled out a volunteer application for organization nearby that I really like. They contacted me almost immediately and I'll be following up in a meeting next week. This is a great opportunity for me to keep busy, give back to the community, and hopefully make some new connections.

-Wrote a cover letter in 30 minutes; the goal was 20 but I couldn't stop myself. I spent more time agonizing over the writing sample and my resume to be truthful.

Yay Motivation!!

No Really...Informational Interviews

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of informational interviews, and then I had one.

And it was AWESOME. 

I feel like the woman I spoke with gave me everything I needed: confidence, encouragement, and a big ol' reality check.

We began our conversation trying to get to know a little bit more about each other, our goals, and our paths. One of the most important things we talked about was networking. She brought up a statistic that I've seen as well and talked about over here. Roughly 80% of new hires come from people's networks, not responding to a job post. This is really hard to stomach when you read about it on the internets because let's be honest, it's much easier to sit at home & respond to a job post than to get yourself out there! However, when you hear the statistic and you're in the process of networking (having an informational interview in my case) it doesn't seem so scary.

One important reality for me is that I am a closet introvert. I don't think that's how my friends would describe me but I am often terrified when meeting new people at a social event or conference or whatever. I'm no good at going up to people and selling myself, it scares me. Well one thing we talked about last night was changing my perception of networking. I was networking with her and it was fun! FUN! All you have to do is have a conversation with someone, not shmooz about and sell yourself. When you realize that networking isn't a chore and it's not negative, it makes that 80% statistic seem positive, not a hurdle.

Also, wouldn't you rather have a conversation with someone than write a cover letter? Absolutely.

Speaking of cover letters, she gave me a fantastic tip,

The clock

I found a fun stop watch online that I downloaded this morning to monitor how much time I spend working on the job search.

Here's how I did on day 1:

Okay! Obviously not a full-time day there.

But it included my morning search, two cover letters, two application submissions, and one custom resume.

I did not include blog writing time (which is in my mind a bit about professional development & making connections) or a few other social networking activities. I think I'm still feeling a bit uncertain about whether or not that should "count".

While I fully understand that all day everyday cannot be filled with all job search all the time, I think I can do better.

Time Management & The Job Search

At the end of the day, it can often feel like you spend SO MUCH TIME searching for work and didn't get much out of it at the end of the day.

One of the reasons I think this might be is: Maybe I'm not spending as much time as I think on the job search. People say that looking for a job is a full-time job, but I am not convinced that we're all treating it that way. 

I'm going to start making a record of the time I spend each day that is directly related to my job search. This includes cover letter writing, attending professional development events, updating professional networks, corresponding with people about jobs. 

I'm curious to see how much time I actually spend on the prowl for work. This might be a great way for me to assess what changes I need to make in how I'm spending my time in order to find a great job.

Does anyone know any good software or apps that can help with tracking this?

Finding Balance

I recently read a post on Glass Door's blog called Get to Work on Getting to Work and it got me thinking about how I manage my job-searching time and whether or not I am getting the most out of it.

• Be Respectfully Visible (but don’t overdo). Though your job search should incorporate a strategic campaign to boost your visibility, be measured versus overenthusiastic in your approach to social media exposure.
• Quash Content “Hurling.”  Akin to talking someone’s ear off in a conversation, constantly flopping thoughts or links to articles and blog posts into the social stream will just add to the traffic noise. Stay on topic, speak when it’s your turn, listen to others, respond to their needs, and even, be still some of the time. Constant chattering and talking is not a strong career move.
• Continue Contributing Value If Unemployed. This may mean volunteering your time at a local not-for-profit, joining a professional association in your target industry and becoming active on a committee, taking on consulting or part-time work or freelancing from your home computer. Do something to include on your resume as productive, performance-related activity. Despite unemployment reports, there is no shortage of opportunity to which to contribute your valuable mind. Seek it out. Be open and flexible to options. And some of these will pay. Working for free isn’t your only option.
• After Investing In The Proper Career Resume and Plan. Schedule chunks of time to implement your plan, and then step away. Get out of the house. Visit your local aquarium; take a walk on a nature trail; plan a movie with your friends; schedule a weekend trip. Do something—anything—unrelated to your job search. 
• Unplugging Is Vital. Incessantly plugging into the Twitter stream, inviting hundreds of LinkedIn members into your network and posting hourly Facebook updates will only serve to exhaust you … and your readers. I’ve seen reputations, and opportunities, wither as people escaped purely into virtual life instead of producing, contributing and doing. Find a happy medium.
• All That Said, Maintain a Connection To The Internet (your iPhone or Android is fine when you are out and about), and regularly check your telephone messages. Be available, as they say, for when opportunity knocks.

It's really hard to find internet balance while you're on the job prowl. I mean, isn't the internet where all of the jobs are?? 

Unfortunately, no. Another post by GlassDoor said the following, "According to recent studies, 50% of new hires come from referral, and 25% come from employees' social networks. That means that over 75% of new hires come from networking or a direct recommendation and introduction. If this is true, then it is time for you to put those social (on and off-line) networks to work for you and get yourself out there. 

Bah! Okay. Well as a blogger, twitterer, facebooker, linkedin-er, this is difficult. Why? Well....lots of reasons. 

1. Networking opportunities aren't always free. Conferences, Classes, Professional Development, etc. can often carry a price.

2. If you've just moved to a new place, like me, you may not have your foot in many doors.

3. The internet feels safe - you can create profiles for yourself and say what you want from the comfort of your home (and orange chair). 

However, I think we need to break out of this comfort zone and do what we can to get ourselves out there, bite the bullet on some of those networking prices, introduce yourself, hand out business cards.   

Not only is it a good idea to get out of the house to hike, go to an aquarium, and meet friends - it's also a good idea to get out of the house to do some of that job searching too. 

Staying Afloat

"…I am not unemployed, I'm on sabbatical."
"Hey, don't get religious on me, okay?"

Simply Blog had a good post about 8 Great Ways to Stay Afloat in Between Jobs .


Check out this video for tips during unemployment:

If you don't want to watch the video, here are the tips for you:

1. Tell everyone you know that you're unemployed.
I know this one might be really hard at first. I definitely wasn't very open in the first few months of unemployment. But to my surprise, I've met people, told them I was unemployed, and they've done everything they could to help. People have offered to get me in touch with their contacts, and even to try to create a position for me in their company. You never know what could happen.

2. Apply for unemployment benefits.
This is a sticky wicket for those recent grads. who have only had the opportunity to work part-time or do internships. You aren't eligible for unemployment unless you've worked at least 26 weeks full-time. While I understand the policy, what can struggling recent grads do? No really, I'm asking you.

3. Create a budget and stick to it!
I love staying on top of my financials. In my relationship with my fiance, I'm definitely the one who is most up-to-date on where we are and what we can do. One of my favorite tools is Mint. You can import your information from all of your banks, investments, and debts. Mint will make a budget for you or you can customize one for yourself. Get Rich Slowly has also helped me figure out how to create and stick to a budget that works for me.

4. Keep your mind open to all opportunities.
I think this is particularly difficult for recent masters level graduates who have had their heart set on one particular kind of job. It's difficult to apply for a job that's not exactly in your line of training or where your heart is set.

5. Pick up odd jobs to make extra cash.
In college I graduated with a degree in music. I always thought I would use my degree and training to teach piano lessons for extra cash but during my unemployment I hadn't really made any moves to make this happen. That changed yesterday though when I put an ad up on craigslist for my services. I've already gotten a response and I'm thrilled that I put myself out there. Why not?

6. Use this time to develop entrepreneurial talents.
*Ehem* Like blogging! Case in point.

7. Take care of yourself to avoid medical expenses.
All I have to say is, thank goodness I've been able to stay on my parents' insurance!

8. Consider applying for short-term health insurance.

There have been some negative comments, especially regarding the childishness of the video. I can see how those who have been unemployed for a long time and those who are older might not find these tips particularly useful or relevant BUT I can see how it applies to youth.