| | The Other Cause of Long Term Unemployment  |
A lot of us have been unemployed for a very long time. The conventional explanation for this situation is that layoffs have forced more workers to compete for fewer positions. While that's true, it is not the only reason-nor the most important one-that so many people remain out of work for so long.The other and primary cause of long term unemployment is a change in employers' expectations. They are no longer content to hire qualified workers. That's the reason so many job seekers get no response, no interview, no call back, nada even when their application clearly indicates they meet one hundred percent of an opening's stated requirements. Employers may say that's what they're looking for in a new hire, but in reality, they expect more. Employers today are battered by turbulence. They face new and escalating competition in both their local and overseas markets. They must satisfy an increasingly cost-conscious consumer who is also becoming more fickle about products and services. And, they are continuously pressured to keep up with the unceasing introduction of new technology and better practices. To survive let alone prosper in such an unsettled environment, employers need workers who have two traits:
they must be expert in their profession, craft or trade
and
they must be committed to maintaining that expertise.
The first trait defines a qualified person. The second indicates they are also a "career activist."A career activist is a person who recognizes the fleeting nature of their ability to contribute on-the-job and therefore takes proactive steps to ensure their qualifications are always at the state-of-the-art. Why is that important? Because a qualified person can do a job today, but may and probably will not be able to do so tomorrow. In the unsettled environment of the global economy, every job is constantly in flux, and only a career activist has the capacity to adapt. How do you become a career activist and, no less important, how do you prove to employers that you have? Transforming Yourself Becoming a career activist begins with acceptance. You must acknowledge that the "come as you are" workplace of the 20th Century no longer exists. The turbulence of the 21st Century economy means that nothing is settled any more. In effect, you must get comfortable with the one thing we humans hate most: change. You must be willing to expect it, plan for it and put it to work for you. Then, you have to back up that acceptance with action. In the 20th Century, you could get away with paying attention to your career once a year-during your annual performance appraisal and salary review. In today's workplace, you have to work on increasing the strength, endurance and reach of your career every single day. In short, you now go to work to do your job and to do all of the things that will ensure you can continue to do so. Proving Your Activism to Employers Once you've adopted that kind self-improvement philosophy and made it an integral part of your workday, you will start to develop a record that employers will appreciate. It will demonstrate your ongoing acquisition of skills and knowledge in both your primary field and in ancillary areas that will enable you to use that expertise in a broader range of workplace situations. It will also reflect your ever greater visibility and stature among a continuously expanding network of professional contacts. And, it will underscore your commitment to working on challenging assignments with top flight organizations and high performing peers. Those are all the hallmarks of a career activist's record. It is comprehensive in scope and, ironically, it will make you look incomplete. It will portray you as a person who is never satisfied with where you are, but always seeking to be more of what you can be. If you're in a job search, for example, it will detail a course of instruction or a training program in which you are enrolled by noting the fact on your resume with the term: "ongoing." That one word is an employer's proof positive that you are, in fact, a career activist. The long term unemployment that so many people are enduring today has its roots in the structural problems of the American economy. Its tap root, however, is a significant and permanent shift in what employers expect in their new hires. Unlike in the past, they are no longer content with qualified workers. They want (and need) to employ qualified workers who are also career activists. Thanks for reading,
Peter
Visit me at CareerFitness.com P.S. Please tell your friends and colleagues about WEDDLE's Newsletter. They'll appreciate your thoughtfulness, and so will we. |
| Forget Job Security, Get Something Better |
Job security has gone the way of the buggy whip. It was a benefit, to be sure, but one that was controlled by employers and provided only when it was in their interest to do so. What's a better alternative? Career security-it's your ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the status of any single employer or the economy as a whole.How do you build career security? Get Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System. It's Peter Weddle's new book about building a strong, resilient and vital career, one that will increase the paycheck and the satisfaction you bring home from work. Designed specifically for the challenging workplace of the 21st Century Work Strong not only tells you what to do for job search and career success, but when, where and how to do it. Career Fitness includes both a revolutionary philosophy of work and a regimen of daily, weekly and monthly activities that empower you to apply that philosophy to your career.Using physical fitness as a metaphor, it introduces an approach to job search and career self-management that is appropriate for everyone from seasoned mid-career professionals to senior managers and executives, from first time job seekers to those who are reentering the workforce after an extended absence.In today's world of work, you need (and deserve) every advantage you can get. So, give yourself the one resource that will enable you to take charge of the one-third or more of your life you spend at work. Get Work Strong today! But don't forget about others. Get Work Strong for yourself and for your spouse, your sons and daughters and even for your mother and father. Everyone deserves to Work Strong. To place your order, call WEDDLE's at 203.964.1888 or click here. Don't delay. Get Work Strong right away! |
| Our Featured Books |
The Best Guides to the Best Job Boards PeriodGet these job search bestsellers today: WEDDLE's 2009/10 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet. This Gold Standard of guides to the Web's 100,000+ job boards and career portals has been completely updated so you can find the best sites for you and your career.This edition of the Guide, our 9th, introduces an entirely new format: The Top 100, our pick of the most effective job boards and career portals on the Web, and the Best & the Rest, a directory of over 10,000 sites organized by career field, industry and geographic focus. There's no better way to know which way to go on the Web! WEDDLE's 2009/10 Guide to Association Web Sites. Employers often post their best jobs at the Web-sites of local, state, regional or national professional associations. This one-of-a-kind Guide enables you to determine which of those associations have the job search resources you need to connect with those employers.The Association Guide lists over 3,000 associations by the career field, industry or location in which they specialize and indicates whether they have a job database, a resume database and/or a discussion area for professional networking. It is the only book of its kind in print and the only way to find the "hidden job market" on the Web! How can you get these amazing resources? Click here to reach our online bookstore or call 203.964.1888 to order your copies of these truly unique job search guides. And don't forget to share. Get the Guides for your spouse or partner, your sons and daughters, even your working mother or father. These books will help them find their dream job, as well. So, don't delay; get your WEDDLE's Guides today! To Find the Right Job, Find the Real You First If you're searching for more meaning in your career, if you want the time you spend on-the-job to be more fulfilling and rewarding for you, then read Peter Weddle's new book Recognizing Richard Rabbit. Amazon described it as "a gentle way to figure out your dreams." Recognizing Richard Rabbit is a fable for adults from 22 to 62 and older. It recounts the tale of some forest animals that try to help one of their friends, a rabbit that's stuck in his hole. Their efforts to free him are laced with humor and insight and ultimately open a pathway to the secret of authentic living. To being your own true self. How does that happen? Unlike traditional fables, this story unfolds in two synchronized parts: one in fiction-the fable, the other in nonfiction-a parallel self-interview. In essence, you are invited to tap both the creative and the analytic sides of your brain-to probe the whole of your inherent talent-so you can climb out of whatever hole you may have fallen in and become the person you were meant to be. Why is that so important? Because whether you are a mid-career professional or a first time job seeker, whether you are a senior executive or a skilled tradesperson, whether you are actively looking for a job or just keeping your options open, the key to success is a sure understanding of who you are and what you stand for. So, make sure you know the authentic You. Get your copy of Recognizing Richard Rabbit today. All you have to do is call WEDDLE's at 203.964.1888 or click here. Don't delay. Get Recognizing Richard Rabbit right away. A Special Notice for Career Counselors & Coaches Are you looking for a unique and compelling way to differentiate your practice? Would you like to be able to attract a broader array of clients? Well, now there's a way for you to accomplish both of those goals. How? With WEDDLE's certification program in Career Fitness. Based on Peter Weddle's new book, Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System, it uses the metaphor of physical fitness to introduce both the principles of successful career self-management in the 21st Century and a one-of-a-kind regimen of daily, weekly and monthly activities to put those principles to work in individual careers. There's no other system like it, and the Career Fitness Pro (CFP) certification enables you to offer it to your clients. For more information, email Peter Weddle at peter@weddles.com or call him at 203.964.1888. This program is open only to experienced career counselors and coaches. |
| Our Featured Job Board |
 Site Spotlite ... from the pages of WEDDLE's 2009/10 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet.There are 50,000 job boards now in operation in North America and an equal number operating elsewhere around the world. The key to a successful online job search, therefore, is knowing where to find and how to select the best sites for your specific employment objective. WEDDLE's 2009/10 Guide profiles The Top 100 employment sites on the Web today and provides The Best & the Rest, a listing of over 10,000 such sites worldwide. It's all of the information you need to determine which job boards will deliver the best opportunities for you. For example: CareerBank.com
http://www.careerbank.com Post full time jobs: Yes
Post part time, contract or consulting jobs: Yes-All
Distribution of jobs: National-USA
Number of jobs: 10.700
Salary levels of jobs: $51-75K/year, $76-100K/year
Offer a job agent: Yes
Resume database: Yes
How long are resumes stored: Indefinitely
Restrictions on who can post: Anyone
Other services for job seekers: Assessment instruments, Career information, Links to other sites with career information
Member, International Association of Employment Web Sites: Yes
|
| Forget Job Security, Get Something Better |
Job security has gone the way of the buggy whip. It was a benefit, to be sure, but one that was controlled by employers and provided only when it was in their interest to do so. What's a better alternative? Career security-it's your ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the status of any single employer or the economy as a whole.How do you build career security? Get Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System. It's Peter Weddle's new book about building a strong, resilient and vital career, one that will increase the paycheck and the satisfaction you bring home from work. Designed specifically for the challenging workplace of the 21st Century Work Strong not only tells you what to do for job search and career success, but when, where and how to do it. Career Fitness includes both a revolutionary philosophy of work and a regimen of daily, weekly and monthly activities that empower you to apply that philosophy to your career.Using physical fitness as a metaphor, it introduces an approach to job search and career self-management that is appropriate for everyone from seasoned mid-career professionals to senior managers and executives, from first time job seekers to those who are reentering the workforce after an extended absence.In today's world of work, you need (and deserve) every advantage you can get. So, give yourself the one resource that will enable you to take charge of the one-third or more of your life you spend at work. Get Work Strong today! But don't forget about others. Get Work Strong for yourself and for your spouse, your sons and daughters and even for your mother and father. Everyone deserves to Work Strong. To place your order, call WEDDLE's at 203.964.1888 or click here. Don't delay. Get Work Strong right away! |
|
WEDDLE's
No comments:
Post a Comment