Give a Gift to your Career this Season!

'Tis the season to be jolly. As you prepare to head into the new year, have you decided what you "giving" to your career this holiday season?

Below are 4 "gifts" to give to your career this season:

1. Enhance your skills. Participate in webinars or attend a seminar or class. Expand your knowledge and learn from the experts in your industry! Get a leading edge and maximize your personal value by updating your skills. This is also a great way to network and meet other professionals in your industry. Expand your mind and your network at the same time!

2. Read. Stay current by investing time in reading the latest industry news, whether it be national or international. Know how these events will impact your company and this will help put you ahead of the game.

3. Social media. Social media is a great tool to network with other professionals in your field. Just spend a few mintues each day interacting with others by posting interesting links or asking other professionals questions. Maintaining these connections is critical to creating a strong professional network. Join Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and others today and hop on the social media bandwagon!

4. Find a mentor Looking for a boost in your job search or career? Find yourself a mentor. This should be someone you feel comfortable asking for feedback or advice. It is reassuring to know that you can turn to that one person who can give you fresh ideas or offer a different prospective. This can be as simple and going to lunch and asking your mentor what they think or what ideas/suggestions they may have.


Lets bring a strong close to 2009 and a more powerful start to the new year!

2010 Resolutions

Make these 4 easy tips your resolution to set yourself up for a successful job search in 2010!

1. Take 15 minutes and update your Linked In profile so that it's 100 percent complete. If you have a Linked In account, go ahead and type your name into google. Most likely your Linked In account will be found. This is very important because recruiters and HR professionals are using search engines to type in a few words that is specific to their open position to find candidates. An updated Linked In profile means that you can be found easily on the Internet, which will increase your chances in landing a job!

2. Make sure recruiters can reach you. You won't get an interview if a recruiter has a hard time contacting you. Make sure you have an updated phone number and email address on your resume. Another important, and often overlooked, tip is to make certain that your voice mail message is professional. Make sure you do not have a song in the background that has profanity, or say "Wassup" on your voice message.

3. Set up job alerts. Instead of checking every job search engine or company website for new postings every single day, sign up for job alerts. This way, the site will automatically send you new job postings straight to your email when a job that matches your profile is posted. I recommend checking out Indeed.com. Indeed searches jobs listed on job boards, newspaper sites and niche sites.

4. One of the most effective ways to finding a job is to Network. Sick of hearing this? Have you spread the word to everyone you know that you are in job search mode? Once you have exhausted your personal connections, consider the following to expand your career network:
*Start volunteering
*Join former school alumni groups
*Participate in professional associations that relate to your field
*Take a class relevant to your career
*Create a professional account on Twitter: visit the search function and type in a job title and your location. Start a conversation if it seems like a good fit and ask to submit a resume.

Happy job hunting!

Staffing Solutions, Inc. would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays!!!

Stay Afloat with Temporary Jobs!

In this day and age, temping is an option for almost every type of professional. Even though these contract jobs may pay less than what an IT, medical or other professionals would earn in salaried jobs, they still help make ends meet for those who are unemployed or underemployed.

In addition, temporary assignments can provide flexibility to those who need to work around a specific schedule. Temporary assignments also offer candidates an opportunity to gain experience or exposure, sharpen existing skills, and again, maintain an income while searching for full-time work.

Here at Staffing Solutions, Inc. we believe temp hiring will be on the rise in 2010 as we come out of the recession. If you are interested in temporary work, please feel free to submit your resume via our website www.staffingsolutionsinc.com.

Here are the most critical areas that we are looking for:

- HR support: HR Coordinators, Recruiters, HR Generalists, Benefits Specialists
- Accounting support: A/P and A/R Clerks, Bookkeepers, Accounting Clerical
- Administrative support: Administrative Assistants, Office Assistants, Executive Assistants

Remember: Whenever you start a temporary assignment, the trick is not to think of it as "just a temporary job." Give it every bit of enthusiasm and effort as you would a full-time position. After all, you never know where it might lead!





Some information obtained from: "Contract Jobs Are a Viable Way to Stay Afloat" from Workforce Management online.

Thank You from Applicant

We just received a very sweet thank you note:

"Bonny & Pam,

I just received the flowers that Staffing Solutions sent! Thank you so much! What a sweet gesture! I always tell everyone what a great company you are and what wonderful people you are to work with - thanks so much for all you do!
Happy holidays & best wishes!

Jessica"

A Few Things that Make You Stand Out......

In today's job market, every candidate wants to stand out from the crowd.

Currently on average there are about 6 unemployed workers competing for each job opening, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking these figures nine years ago.

You want to attract an employer's attention, but be careful to not do this in a negative way.

There have been many ways that a candidate will try and separate themselves from others, and that includes going as far as singing a song in an interview! Instead of singing, try these simple tactics below which will help leave a positive impression.

1. Ask Questions Most candidates will research a company before they go on an interview, which is great! Also make sure to do farther research in the interview. Ask questions in order to gain a deeper understanding of the actual position and also the company. Make sure to think of some questions beforehand in case you freeze up and can't think of any once you are in the interview. It is also appropriate to ask the hiring manager how did they start with the company, and what their career progression has been.

2. Dress to Impress Do not show up to an interview sloppy. The employer may question your professionalism and also may think you lack interest in the position. Wear a clean suit and minimum accessories. Choose neutral colors so you're not remembered as the candidate who wore bright orange.


3. Dont' be Late Arrive early to the interview but not TOO early. Allow plenty of time for traffic, delays, etc. However, if you arrive more than 15 minutes early, find something else to do in the area before going to the interview, or just wait in your car.


4. Say Thank You Following up with a well written thank you note is another way to stick out. According to many, an email thank you is fine, but a hand-written note is even better. Make sure to customized your note. Maybe reiterate something you two spoke about in the interview or a mutual hobby or interest you had.


The job market is fierce right now and you have to make sure you stand out from you competitors. These small tactics can help you do that! You want to be sure and leave a positive impression on those you meet in hopes to move on past the interview process and land the job.








Some information obtained from "Subtle Tactics That Help Job Seekers Stand Out"
by Clea Badion

What Job Seekers Must Do in this Tough Job Market

Found this great article today that has some useful tips for job seekers. Take a look!

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-resolutions_for_getting_a_job_in_2010-1061

"Looking for a Job is a Full Time Job..."

Looking for a job is a challenge. I know someone who was recently laid off and she told me, "Gosh, looking for a job is basically a full time job!" I couldn't agree with her more. It is tough to look for a job in this environment and it does take up a lot of time, so look at searching for a new job as a "full time job." You have to take that one extra step everyday in order to get ahead of the other candidates you are up against.

First, decide what hours of the day you will devote to your job search and commit to that schedule as if it were your "real" job. Everyday, organize how you will network, where you will be sending you resume, which companies to research, and who you need to follow up with. Networking is very important! Everybody knows somebody, and you never know when that somebody knows someone that you should connect with and talk to about a job opportunity.

I would also suggest keeping a list or creating some sort of system for you to track of all your leads and jobs that you have applied to. When a recruiter calls, you will know what position they are referring to and how to respond.

Make sure to set weekly goals for yourself. An example of a weekly goal may be to send out a certain number of resumes, make 3 to 5 follow up phone calls, and try to set up one interview per week.

Poor time management leads to an unsuccessful job search. Remember: you only will get out of your job search what you put into it. Best of luck to all the Job Seekers out there!

Twitter and LinkedIn Team Up!

Two dominant social networking sites announced their partnership recently! Twitter has linked with LinkedIn which will allow users to share information between the two sites.

How does this work one asks? According to LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue, "The idea is simple: When you set your status on LinkedIn you can now tweet it as well, amplifying it to your followers and real time search services like Twitter Search and Bing. And when you tweet, you can send that message to your LinkedIn connections as well......"

To do this, join your LinkedIn account with your Twitter account in just a few steps. Just check the Twitter icon under your Network Updates box featured on the home page of your LinkedIn account. This will then take you through a quick set up process.

Now, if you come across articles or ideas that would be useful to both your LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers- you can do that! This will add new dimensions to your conversations!