Another Sweet Note from an Applicant

Here is a very sweet note from an applicant that we received today:

"Pam,
I just wanted to thank you and all at Staffing Solutions, Inc. for helping me find a job. You found a position which is prefect for me and I couldn't be happier. I am so grateful for your company.

You handled my particular situation with such professionalism. You truly advocate for your clients and made me feel that you had my best interest in mind. I cannot express to you how thankful I am for all your help. I will always speak so highly of staffing solutions!

Best,
Molly M."

Thank you from a SSI Applicant

We received a nice note from an applicant:

"Hi Bonny,

Thank you very much for your encouragement and follow up.

Staffing Solutions, Inc. is a great company and I have already suggested to friends and family that they contact you if they are in need of employment.

Jessie O."

Resume Facial

In the time it takes you to read this paragraph, the average recruiter will have plowed through three resumes. Surveys show that an experienced recruiter only needs about 8 SECONDS to visually scan a resume before deciding “Yea” or “Nay”! Want to increase the chances of your resume making it to the next round? Then avoid doing any of the following listed below or your resume will end up in the "NO" pile:

1. Apply for a job for which you are not remotely qualified
2. Use one generic resume for every job listing
3. Assume the reader has time to absorb more than the essentials
4. Stretch small and incomplete things into more than they are
5. Try to impress with big words or philosophical statements
6. Fill every inch of paper with type
7. Get too carried away with fonts/graphics that can be distracting
8. Volunteer a photograph or unexpected “extras”
9. Include inaccurate information
10. Do not include SSN, DOB, race, sex, family stats, religion, ect
11. Have an unprofessional email address (such as partyanimal@domain.com)

With a 6-to-1 ratio of jobseekers-to-jobs, you can’t afford to make mistakes with your resume! A second pair of eyes may be able to catch mistakes you missed and could provide a fresh perspective on how to improve your resume.Writing an effective resume requires practice and good feedback. Once you get the basics down, interviews will be soon to follow!

Also, visit http://bit.ly/8wRuKV and see a real life resume make over.

Words Every Resume Should Include

I understand how difficult a long, drawn out job hunt can be. I speak to many job seekers everyday who say they feel like they have sent out over a hundred resumes and do not receive any response. One person told me today that it seems her resumes are falling into some black hole since she is not receiving any callbacks from potential employers!

Every word on a resume counts in today's market, but some mean more than others. Your resume should be action oriented in order to catch the reader's eye. Use these key action verbs to describe your accomplishments, skills, and experiences. Below are a few words to help you get started on writing action oriented statements.


Administer
Accomplish
Enhance
Execute
Generate
Increase
Lead
Organize
Oversee
Prepare
Provide
Support
Assist
Adapt
Attend
Build
Communicate
Complete
Coordinate
Define
Develop
Drive

These words will help increase the strength of your writing and make employers take notice of your accomplishments and skills. No job seeker should be without action verbs on their resume!

How is SSI different than the rest?

I have been receiving a lot of calls lately asking how Staffing Solutions, Inc. can help them with their job search. So, thought it was important to share and show why SSI is such a great agency:

Our Philosophy
Why is a career management firm different?

At Staffing Solutions, Inc. we:

•Assess skills, work history; explore needs, "satisfiers" and candidates values for consideration in pursuing particular career opportunities

•Assist candidates in “processing” prior employment history to identify and clarify patterns, both positive and negative

•Offer strategies to discuss negative/unpleasant issues or partings in work history

•Provide professional assistance with preparing resumes

•Conduct a thorough skills analysis and offer training to address skill deficiencies

•Inform our candidates about workplace/market conditions, (i.e., current trends regarding compensation, benefits, and perks)

•Suggest search strategies for different economic cycles

•Prepare candidates for interviews, including role-playing, mock interviews and discussion of both standard and behavioral interviews

•Perform post-interview debriefings

•Offer analysis and negotiation strategies

A PERSON AND A JOB ARE NOT SEPARATE. WE WORK WITH THE TOTAL INDIVIDUAL.

Nearly Half of Employers use Social Media to Research Candidates

According to a CareerBuilder survey, 45% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. This percentage has doubled since last year, when 22% of companies said they did this! Another 11% plan to start using social networking sites for screening.


Which sites do employers use to research candidates?
29% of employers use Facebook
26% of employers use LinkedIn
21% of employers use MySpace
11% of employers search blogs
7% of employers search Twitter


The survey found that Information Technology (63%) and Professional & Business Services (53%) are the top industries most likely to screen job candidates via social networking sites or online search engines.

Job seekers must be mindful of the information they choose to post online. A whopping 35% percent of employers reported that content posted on the candidate's social networking sites has caused them not to hire that particular person.

Content that caused employers not to hire a candidate:
1. Provocative or inappropriate photographs
2. Content about a candidate drinking or taking drugs
3. Bad mouthing a previous employers or co-workers
4. Candidate made discriminatory comments
5. Poor communication skills


A few tips to keep in mind when in job search mode:
Remove any photos, content, or links that can work against you from a professional stand point. Make sure your content is positive and highlight accomplishments, whether it be outside or inside of work. Make sure to monitor comments from friends
on your social networking site as well.

Some Positives
Employers also have had positive results with social networking sites. This includes content that provides a good feel for a candidate's personality and good communication skills. Another example is a candidate's involvement in professional groups and/or organizations. This shows that the candidate is active and up to date in their industry.

Remember: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, ect. are public forums, which means the public, including potential employers, can view these profiles.

Volunteering Opens New Doors

If you are currently job searching, have you considered volunteer work? Even though seeking employment is your number one priority, spending a few hours a week volunteering will help break up the often frustrating job search process. Volunteering can enhance your professional experience and increase your career network which is critical while in job search mode; you also feel accomplished at the end of the day! Visit www.staffingsolutionsinc.com and click on Volunteer Opportunities to see what is currently available.


One applicant of Staffing Solutions, Inc. shares her rewarding volunteer experience and how it lead her to start her own business:

"Staffing Solutions has always strongly recommended volunteering while one conducts a job search. I took this advice to heart and decided to volunteer two days a week for just a few hours a day at an assisted living facility in my area. It turns out that I really enjoy this population and have made several good friends among the residents and the staff. I've been assisting the residents with setting up email accounts, providing them with an alternate mode with which they can reach out to their family and friends. Volunteering in this environment has helped me identify a need for the type of conversation and stimulation this demographic requires. My experiences at the facility led me to investigate further how I could help make a day more interesting for this group of people, and I am now starting my own business providing musical entertainment for seniors. I made my living as a professional entertainer in the past and got sidetracked by employment in executive assistant roles in the intervening 25 years. I am so pleased to finally be pursuing something that is truly my passion!"

Roberta M.


Thanks Roberta for sharing your volunteer experience with us!

Future Hot Jobs

Want to know what the future hot jobs are? Found a great article by Carol Tice that will help answer that question.

Tomorrow's New Hottest Jobs
by Carol Tice, PayScale.com

Wouldn't it be great to know which jobs will be in demand in the future? It sure would help with planning a career change, or even with picking a college major.
Turns out, you don't need a crystal ball to find out. Every two years, researchers at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics create a new 10-year forecast detailing the specific occupations the government expects will grow and shrink over the coming decade. The 2008-2018 projections came out in December.

The new data is especially valuable because it includes the first year of the current economic downturn (2008). The new Occupational Outlook Handbook, which went up on the BLS Web site in mid-December, provides a first look at how specific jobs may recover -- or not -- over the next eight years.

Job-seekers may find the new report comforting, as BLS economists generally do expect us to pull out of our current job slump. Some broad job categories see big job growth over the next decade because they're projected from the recession-era low in 2008. An example is construction laborers, projected to add 256,000 new jobs by 2018 as the sector recovers from its current slowdown, says Dixie Sommers, assistant commissioner of occupational statistics and employment projections.

One particularly heartening piece of news involves wages: the previous fastest-growing jobs forecast showed just four of the 10 jobs had high wages. The 2018 forecast, by contrast, lists six jobs that pay more than $70,000 per year. If you're interested in health care, there's lots of opportunity for you ahead -- eight of the top 10 occupy some niche in the field.

Only three occupations appear on both the '06 and '08 top-10 fastest-growing lists -- networks systems and data communications analysts, home health aides, and personal-care aides. The other seven of the top 10 are new for '08. See these jobs listed below. Some are fairly small employment niches, but all are seeing exploding growth:

Biomedical engineer
This field's expected growth through '18 -- a whopping 72 percent -- far outstrips any other occupation. As health-care technology becomes ever more complex, demand will explode for more engineers who can combine medical knowledge with engineering principles to develop needed new medical devices and equipment. The BLS reports most have a background in another engineering specialty and additional medical training.

Financial examiner
Part of a broader trend of growth in supervisory positions, BLS foresees a 41 percent increase in demand for financial professionals who can analyze and enforce laws governing the financial and securities industries. The field is expected to add 38,000 jobs in the next decade. Most have a bachelor's degree.

Medical scientist (excluding epidemiologists)
As technology makes it possible to delve deeply into the causes of diseases, demand for medical scientists is expected to rise 40 percent. Most have a Ph.D. in a biological science.

Physician assistant
Physician assistants work under a doctor's supervision in big cities, or may be primary care providers in rural areas where doctors are in short supply. Apparently, more shortages are forecast as demand is set to increase 39 percent by 2018. Most physician assistants have a two-year degree on top of a bachelor's degree.

Biochemist/biophysicist
Biochemists study living things and their chemical composition, while biophysicists study how electrical and mechanical energy impact living things. Growth is expected to exceed 37 percent. Some in this field start with a bachelor's degree, while a Ph.D. may be needed for independent research work.

Skin-care specialist
Also known as aestheticians, skin-care specialists were No. 11 last year and made it to the top 10 at No. 8 in the 2018 projections. With expected 38 percent growth, this field is one of the quickest to get into in the top 10 -- a high-school diploma or G.E.D. and a cosmetology-school certificate are all that's required.

Athletic trainer
America's love affair with sports is forecast to grow in the future, spurring a projected 37 percent increase in the need for athletic trainers to keep our athletes fit and help them recover from injuries. Trainers usually work under a doctor's supervision or in cooperation with other healthcare providers. Most have a bachelor's degree, and more than half have an advanced degree, the National Athletic Trainers Association reports.

Business writer Carol Tice is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur, The Seattle Times and other major publications. She can be reached at caroltice.com.