Beach Safety

This isn't a job search post today - it's a public service notice.

I grew up a block from the beach in New Jersey. It was a wonderful place to grow up but we learned early to respect the ocean and the beach. Our moms went to the beach with us as we were growing up and even though the parent's "hung out" together, they all watched out for all of us.

Lately there have been a run of beach tragedies. There have been several drownings and this week there was also a suffocation from the sand collapsing on a young boy as he was digging a tunnel. The drownings all occurred after the lifeguards left for the day and most of the kids were from out of town. The suffocation happened to a local boy who dug a tunnel behind the life guard stand.

My dad taught us about spotting a rip tide and what to do if we ever got caught in one. He also told us that we must never, ever swim on an unattended beach. I've carried that message with me to this day and have drilled it into the heads of my kids. If you want to learn more about rip tides and how to handle them, please watch the 60 second video on this page.

Years ago I read of a college fraternity initiation where they buried the boys in the sand on Hell Night. One of the boys died when the sand collapsed and trapped him. That horrific story taught that while it's fine to dig small holes and tunnels at the beach, never make them deep or crawl into them and always fill them in once you or the kids have finished playing.

If you are a parent, you are responsible for your children; the lifeguards aren't baby sitters.

There is nothing better than going to the beach on a hot summer day and a little common sense and knowledge can save a life.

Times Continue to be Tough for the Older Applicant

Every day I hear of another older job seeker feeling as if he or she has been pushed aside for a much younger applicant. It’s a common occurrence and because of the times, it’s happening everywhere. We all know why but is there anything that we can do to change the perception that many companies have about job seekers? I don’t think that we can change a perception but perhaps once we start talking, we can start turning things around.

Businesses are interested in money. Everything revolves around “youth” including profit, salaries, tenacity, branding/marketing and company face. We live in a youth-focused world and frankly, anyone over the age of 40 is viewed as out of touch. What can older job seekers do to possibly be considered for an opportunity? Well, unfortunately, one thing we have to do is lower our expectations.

1. Many businesses may not consider you because they are afraid that once they have invested in you, you will leave for something better. Will you? Can you articulate why you will stay?
2. Expect a lower salary. Younger applicants are cheaper. Do you want a position badly enough to accept the salary that comes with it?
3. Technology is changing as quickly as ever. Identify your strengths and your skill gaps. Learn something new. Look for opportunities for free or low cost training.
4. Don’t expect that your experience speaks for itself because if you do you are going to bruise your ego.
5. Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you need to refresh your appearance. Get a new interviewing outfit (even if you have to borrow it) and make sure your hair/makeup is current. Haircuts are pricy but the local vocational schools or community college students offer very good rates.

These steps won’t guarantee you a job. They can however allow you to feel a little bit better about yourself and know that you are doing something to keep up with these very turbulent times.

Job Search Statistics

This week I learned an astonishing fact about the amount of time NJ job seekers spend on their personal job search activities. As a whole, people in NJ spend 70 minutes a day looking for work. I’m sure that 70 minutes is time spent doing what may feel like productive activities such as applying for positions on line or applying directly to a company website. I’m also thinking that once this is done, the person feels a sense of accomplishment. But really, 70 minutes? What happens during the rest of the day? The study goes on to say that job seekers spend a larger amount of time eating and watching television. What can a job seeker, especially a long-term job seeker do to be more productive?

I read an article in Women’s World magazine recently that stated that while hiring managers are more understanding of employment gaps, they would prefer to see the job seeker fill the gap with other activities including:

Temporary Jobs (79%)
Taking a class (61%)
Volunteering (60%)
Starting a Business (28%)

I know that it is comfortable to look for work using the internet. It’s not really as effective as networking though. According to the 10th Annual Sources of Hire (SOH) Study conducted by CareerXRoads:

Nearly 65% of all openings are filled through internal movement and referrals.
Job boards are not dead. Collectively, companies attribute 24.9% of external hires to job boards.
Social media’s impact is growing

So what do all of these statistics mean in to the daily 70 minutes that the average job seeker in NJ spends on his or her job search? I’m not a statistician but I’d say that getting out of the house volunteering, taking a temporary job and networking will up your odds of finding a job.

What Happens During an Interview

I've been doing a lot of interviewing coaching and training lately so this is so timely. These pictorials are excellent! Click the picture to make it larger. If that doesn't help. here is the link to the site where I found it (Career Geek).

The credits are listed on the bottom of the poster.

Chase Grant

I entered the CHASE Mission Small Business contest so that I can offer free job search training to NJ’s many unemployed and underemployed.

If I get 250 votes by June 25th, I will be in the running for the contest. Please follow the below instructions to vote for Blackbird Learning Associates by:

1) Go to: www.missionsmallbusiness.com
2) Go to "Log in with Facebook to support your community." (The link is in the middle of the page on the right side.)
3) Enter Business Name: Blackbird Learning Associates, to vote.

Thank you.

Reinvention at Amore Journey

In his book The 11th Hour, James Patterson writes, “These days, no one left work early. Everyone wanted to be sure of a chair if the music stopped." That's a perfect statement about the way things are these days.

Many times when we lose our "chairs", we regroup and consider our options. One woman who has done that so well is Claudia Drummond, owner of Amore Journey (amorejourney) whose purpose is "celebrating reinvention and rejuvenation every day".

Claudia recently featured me in her blog. Please take a look at my story and those of the other women who are reinventing and rejuvenating. The stories are pretty amazing.

Blackbird Learning Associates: Who We Are and What We Do

Nancy Range Anderson is the President and CEO of Blackbird Learning Associates, LLC a learning and development consulting company located in Somerset County, NJ. Ms. Anderson primarily presents job search training and coaching to individuals and organizations throughout New Jersey. Her courses include, Career Assessment, Writing a Winning Resume and Cover Letter, Interviewing for Success, Networking to Get Hired, Job Search for the Age 40+ Job Seeker, Job Search for Moms, Job Search for Teens, and Identifying Your Purposeful Career. All classes are interactive, lively and participative and each participant leaves with a defined action plan of the steps needed to accomplish his or her job search mission. Nancy is also a highly sought after resume writer. Her clients have said:

“I am really inspired by your focus and support of others.”

“Thank you, Nancy, for an insightful seminar. Your coming out to volunteer and assist the unemployed is probably one that struck me as the most meaningful of all matters discussed in the 2-hour long seminar. None of the many how-to and self-help books on job search would have communicated it any better. ”

“Nancy, your workshop last night was extremely worthwhile. I appreciate your sharing of knowledge, your down-to-earth delivery, your generosity and this wonderful follow-up email.”

“I am now a Nancy Anderson groupie!”

“The resume is a piece of art!!! I went from a stick figure drawing resume to artwork from Picasso!”

“Thank you Nancy. If it weren’t for you practicing the STAR questions with me, I don’t think I would have gotten that job.”

With over twenty five years of experience in learning and development, human resources, and organization development, Ms. Anderson conveys a well rounded view of the pharmaceutical, consumer and financial organizations in all of her training initiatives. Her professional experience includes employment with a number of Fortune 500 companies including Johnson & Johnson, The Bank of NY, The CIT Group and The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Ms. Anderson has won numerous awards in training design and facilitation skills and is the author of the book, Job Search for Moms. She is writing a second book and expects a fall, 2012 release.

Telephone: 732 309-2795

Website: http://blackbirdlearningassociates.com/

Blog: http://blackbirdlearningassociates.blogspot.com/