Employment Digest

Keep up to date on articles and news and subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

More seniors want work; more employers want seniors

Al Benezra, 81, barely knew a washing machine from a dishwasher a year ago, but today he’s one of the top appliance sales specialists at Home Depot in San Leandro, Calif.

When a customer came by earlier this week to discuss her kitchen remodel, he spent a good 20 or 30 minutes walking her through all the options for microwaves, stoves, dishwashers and refrigerators. “Sit down, relax,” he urged her as he looked up specifications on the computer.

“He’s wonderful. He’s patient and really hears what you’re saying, which is not that common,” said the customer, Genny Lynn.

Benezra, who had worked most of his life as a produce buyer for a wholesaler, came to Home Depot last year as part of a wave of older people eager to return to the workforce.
Read the rest of this entry »

Wireless workers upbeat about job

The signals are clear: It’s a good time to be a worker in the wireless-communications field.

That’s the conclusion of a report released Monday showing that more than 74 percent of 619 wireless-industry professionals rated the current job market as “strong” or “growing.”

TelecomCareers.net, the job site that conducted the survey, said its job postings echo the upbeat sentiment. The site has nearly doubled the number of job openings posted in the wireless arena during the same period last year, and it has 40 percent more telecommunications jobs–now 5,000–offered overall than a year ago.
Read the rest of this entry »

Is going gray an asset in the workplace?

Gray hair may seem like a good career move to some, especially men, but not for Aliza Sherman Risdahl, 40, who has felt unspoken pressure for years to color her prematurely gray hair. ”No one takes women more seriously because we have gray hairs on our head,” she said. ADVERTISEMENT Adblock

Opinions about the impact of gray hair in business remain conflicted as the workforce gets collectively older, with the first baby boomers set to turn 60 next year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly Half of Executives Plan to Work Past Age 64

Nearly half (44 percent) of almost 2,000 global executives surveyed plan to continue working past the age of 64, with 15 percent planning to work past 70, according to the latest Executive Quiz from Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), the premier provider of executive search, outsourced recruiting and leadership development solutions.
Read the rest of this entry »

Hiring the overqualified creates problems

Unless the position has changed, the work can lead to boredom, a poor performance. Here’s a new twist on “Overqualified.”

Jan, a hiring manager, has an opportunity to hire a person with a master’s in business administration. He’s getting resistance from human resources because the job description says the position requires a bachelor’s degree.

He writes: “Why wouldn’t HR want the MBA? More schooling and the same price. It doesn’t make sense.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Be careful with whom you network.

Make sure you know at which companies your new networking contacts are employed before you spill the beans, in case their companies are subsidiaries, partners, clients, etc. of your current employer. One or more of your new contacts might even work for your current employer in a different department or division, especially if you visit networking hotspots near your office.

Also make sure that your new and old networking contacts haven’t applied for jobs at your current employer and don’t have the intention. One of them might end up being your coworker or boss, like tomorrow. Worse, armed with the dagger of your secret job search, one of them might try backstabbing his or her way into your job.
Read the rest of this entry »

Shut out by recovery

Until November 2003, Steve Bruns made $75,000 a year at Wilsonville-based Mentor Graphics, helping customers navigate sophisticated software used to design semiconductors.

These days, he’s pushing a vacuum at Southwest Christian School in Beaverton, grateful for the $15 an hour he’s paid for custodial work and managing a rudimentary computer lab.

Mark Sawin isn’t feeling so fortunate. The Southeast Portland resident was accustomed to making $12 to $18 an hour as a factory maintenance technician before the recession. Today, he says he’s lucky to find a temporary job that pays $8 an hour.
Read the rest of this entry »

Keys Worth Tapping for Better Resumes & Cover Letters

Resume writing is probably less a science than an art. A resume is ultimately a positive, visual presentation of your unique blend of talents, skills, experience and perspectives. Although creating one is not easy, a good resume - even in this age of the Internet - is still a critical part of a successful job search.

Be a Spin Doctor - A resume is not your life story, nor is it a chronicle of all your achievements. It is a marketing tool that expertly summarizes key accomplishments illustrating your qualifications for a particular job. No matter how proud you may be that your high school football team won the state championship, omit it from your resume unless it relates to the position you seek.
Read the rest of this entry »

What Recruiters Hate About Resumes And Cover Letters

I’m going to share with you the awful truth about resumes and cover letters: Most of them stink.

That’s not just my opinion, although I have read nearly 15,000 resumes and cover letters over the years and found glaring mistakes in about 85 to 90 percent of them. It’s also the opinion of most of the hiring professionals I’ve spoken to over the years.

Where do most resumes and cover letters go wrong? And how can you avoid the typical mistakes that most job seekers make? To find answers, I spoke with two experienced recruiters. Their candid advice can help you avoid typical pitfalls, and get hired faster
Read the rest of this entry »

Tips for the CEO Candidate

You’ve been laying the groundwork for yearsacquiring a broad array of skills and proving your executive mettle at multiple levels in your company. You’ve got your eye on a top job, and you know that’s where you belong.

But you’re also fully aware that competition for the C suite is stiffand that readiness, enthusiasm, and an admirable track record aren’t enough to guarantee anyone a senior leadership position. So how do you improve your chances? Gerry Roche, senior chairman of Chicago-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, offers potent guidelines that often are overlooked by leaders bent on occupying a top rung on the corporate ladder.
Read the rest of this entry »