Tag Archives: Job hunt

Mistletoe and making dough: Wear the right shirt and attitude for holiday job

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This post was updated on Nov. 7, 2011

Zingerman’s Mail Order brings in about 300 temporary workers to send out sugarplums from Portugal and brownie bites from its Bakehouse. Toys R Us will hire some 40,000 temporary workers for its stores and distribution centers, and United Parcel Service and FedEx together could add 75,000 drivers, helpers and others.

‘Tis the season to work in retail, and it’s already Christmas time in the malls and Main Streets of America.

Almost 30 percent of retailers will add to their staffs for the busy holiday period and so will 10 percent of hospitality companies, about the same as last year, according to a new CareerBuilder survey of 2,600 employers.

That’s about 480,000 to 500,000 seasonal jobs, according to an estimate by the National Retail Federation, or maybe 627,000 positions based on a Challenger Gray Christmas estimate for this year.

While many of those jobs have already been claimed, one-third of the employers say they’re still adding staff this month and 10 percent will still be hiring in December, according to CareerBuilder.   November is the big month for hiring, according to Challenger Gray, which recommends going to the store and starting an in-person conversation with a manager.

So start now if you want a holiday job this year, but don’t go anyplace on a Saturday because most retailers and restaurants are too busy handling paying customers to consider potential candidates. Go on a weekday afternoon or another slow time.

Here’s three more  tips on landing a seasonal job:

  1.  It’s who you know and what you know.  Start your search at a store where you know someone or something, Challenger Gray suggests. “You should also target establishments of which you are a frequent customer,” CEO John Challenger said. If you are very familiar with the merchant, the store and the merchandise, show that clearly – by wearing their sweaters or shoes to the interview or commenting on their new line of hair care. If a friend works at the location 15 miles away, ask her to email or call the general manager the day before your interview and sing your praises.
  2.  Show success and customer-service savvy.  This may come from volunteering at a dance marathon or PTA fundraiser. It may appear in your leadership role in a student organization or working in your aunt’s shop on busy weeks.  But make sure it shows up in your application, even if the work was unpaid. Demonstrate your customer-focus mindset in the way you treat people before and after the interview, and if you see a row of books that needs straightening up or a person who needs assistance, jump in and do it.
  3.  Weekends and midnights – perfect! You must be available almost every weekend through New Year’s and some strange shifts that start or end at 1 or 4 a.m. If possible, be upbeat and enthusiastic about the chance to sell truffles or Teddy Bears at 6 a.m. every Saturday. Attitude matters – and so does availibility. People who are unwilling to work certain hours was the biggest turnoff to hiring managers in the CareerBuilder survey.

If you apply online as many retailers require, stop in at the store about three or  four days later. This helps you stand out from the crowd of candidates and allows you to show positive attitude and company attire.  “Have a three-sentence elevator pitch on why you’ll be a great employee ready,” said Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob.com. Then be prepared for a hello and a handshake or an impromptu interview.

MORE IDEAS / INFORMATION:

Home for the holidays? Here’s my WorkingKind post on making connections while you make merry.

Five tips for getting started on temping -in my Glassdoor piece.

 Fortune.com contributor Anne Fisher has advice on holiday hiring – and turning it into a permanent job.

If your company is sinking and you are starting to plan for your future, read my blog post first written for Borders Books staffers.

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Summer jobs spill over into fall – a second chance to land one

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As the first leaves show a little color, and school gets into swing, some of us may feel sad that summer is ending. Especially if we never landed a summer job this year.
If you feel disappointed you didn’t end up running roller coasters at Cedar Point or selling ice cream at your hometown shop, you could still land a job there this year.
Many summertime businesses grew their schedule, whether to maximize their investments, to serve customers or to make enough to stay in business.  Ice cream shops are selling soup and summer camps are running fall weekend retreats. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island plans murder mystery and “Somewhere in Time” weekends.  From the Jersey Shore to the  Grand Canyon, organizations are planning events this fall to lure visitors – and they usher in your second chance to be selected.
Even my small social enterprise, Mity Nice, has hired three people this fall, partly for the early University of Michigan home football games. We’re hoping for beautiful Indian summer days so we can sell through October.
As I add each person, I am clear that I likely will want them on my team next year. They make a little money now – and if they do a good job, next summer they have a job. Plus my time spent recruiting and training them will pay off for us both.
This holds true at many other “summertime employers” with extended seasons. Exhibit A: Cedar Point. Once a summer theme park and beach resort, the Sandusky, Ohio amusement park will stay now open Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays through Halloween. Cedar Point hires a second crew – 800 to 1,000 strong – for fall weekends.
“We hire all the way through, almost to the last weekend,” said Leslie Bradshaw, Cedar Point’s director of general services. Grill cooks, rides people, hotel staff and others earn $7.40 to as much as $11 an hour, and in the fall, the company provides free housing to those who live more than 30 miles away. Some 500 “screamsters” are hired to work in haunted houses, scare mazes or other Halloween attractions. “We’ve hired 34 makeup artists just to dress them up,” said Bradshaw.
If you want a second chance at a summer job, here’s some advice from Bradshaw and me:
1. Show your flexibility and adaptability if you’re coming in as others are departing.  Some seasonal businesses will operate for fewer hours during the fall months. So make sure you are available to work weekends and the other key times they need help.
2. Show your smiling face. “They need to be friendly,” said Bradshaw. Customer service jobs require a clean, upbeat and helpful mindset.
3. Use volunteer work to fill in your application.  Babysitting or caring for grandma are fine. So is being team captain, committee chair or regular volunteer assignments, said Bradshaw. Highlight “contact with the public” and responsibility.
4. Help with growth. Some employers are looking for ways to expand their product line so they can thrive in cooler temperatures. If you make a great vegetable stew, maybe your boss would want it on the menu at the farm stand.
5.  Know the employer.  If you’ve visited the Jersey Shore every other weekend for 10 years, you’re qualified to answer fall tourist questions. If you know all the rides and trails at Cedar Point, maybe you could qualify as a VIP tour guide, a job that may yield some “pretty generous tips,” said Bradshaw. If not, read up on the company on their website and social media pages, and find someone who’s worked there this summer to clue you in on new initiatives and plans.
At Cedar Point, about 40 percent of the workers return the next year, and when they return “we generally tend to put those ahead of everybody else” for summer jobs, said Bradshaw.

Plus many have served as “screamsters” and ridden the roller coasters when the wind was cold and the lines less long. That’s not something you’ll find in most summer jobs.

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5 ways to find job opportunities when hiring is scarce

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The hiring outlook for fall is looking cool and stormy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t locate work.

With the U.S. debt’s downgrade and worries about another recession taking root, hurricane damage and consumer skittishness, companies are not likely to hire in huge numbers. Job postings may be scarce in parts of the country, and service employers especially cut their hiring in August, according to the Society of Human Resource Executives Leading Indicators of National Employment. The monthly stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also have shown anemic job growth.

Yet you, like millions of unemployed individuals, are eager to start back to work. So don’t look just on Monster or at your local university career center – though don’t skip those either. Instead take “the road less traveled” as Robert Frost famously wrote, and find jobs before they’re posted. Here’s five ideas to get you going on the hidden job market:

1. Look for a new CEO or other senior leader.  This goes way beyond Steve Jobs at Apple Computer. More than 100 CEOs a month have left their jobs recently, Challenger Gray Christmas reports, with CEO turnover especially high in the health care and technology sectors. Each new CEO  brings in new people, new projects and new priorities. They may want their own team -  fresh faces around headquarters. Or they may need some independent contractors to help change the culture or inject some engagement and innovative thinking.

2. Search for earnings stars. Companies that are exceeding Wall Street’s expectations and growing in the United States, not just internationally, could be better bets for hiring, now or in coming months. This means companies such as Cisco, Dollar Tree and Nordstrom, which reported stronger than expected quarterly results. I watch for these at MarketWatch and in the New York Times; choose your own sites – including some local and regional ones. Watch for healthy private companies, those adding offices or new equipment or advertising in the founder’s alma mater football stadium. They may not reveal their financial fortunes directly, but you can see clues on their success in business weeklies, magazines or on some economic development blogs and sites.

3. Develop an opportunities antennae. Or find someone else who has one, and follow their tweets, their blog and their suggestions. These antennae are out there in front, sensing, locating new prospects and possibilities. Some of them work as journalists and some work in business development or sales. Cultivate this by looking three or four steps beyond today’s headlines and seeing the future changes, shortages and opportunities.

4. Walk around. Head to a business park or office building. Spend an hour or two going in and asking questions about expansion plans, potential job openings and more. Bring along a small notebook to jot down notes and some business cards or your pocket resume. Sometimes one business owner will send you to another that has recently said they want to add to her staff. Sometimes you will arrive just as they’re discussing the need for new crew. This approach, recommended by Richard Bolles in What Color Is Your Parachute, works – and it may develop your opportunities antennae too.

5.Befriend the connectors. You know the ones – the people who know everyone in the organization or whose Facebook friends number in the thousands. Some o them work as recruiters or in sales, others just used to be their sorority’s president or their hometown’s football star. Choose those who are gracious and generous with their contacts and by all means, start by identifying projects and problems where you could help them.

When your search includes face time and a variety of methods, not just one or two, your chances of success improve considerably.  So go where there’s possibilities and don’t slow down even if the economy does. Good luck!

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Matchmaker, matchmaker, find a job

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Whether you’re searching for true love or locating work you love, you’ll use similar skills and perspectives. So when I interviewed some matchmakers for a Washington Post Capital Business article, we talked about their careers and business – and the connection between the job search and the partner prowl.
Use these half dozen ideas  to find a new lover or a new boss; they were suggested by matchmaker Ann Wood and Crystal Sylvester, a soul mate coach:

  • Know what you want. Be clear whether you want a lifetime commitment or children, an active partner who kayaks and hikes or one who prefers museums and the latest theater. Same for the job and employer – know what cultural and other traits are important to you and whether you’ll thrive in a highly structured workplace or one with some flexibility and variety.
  • Trust yourself. Be authentic, said Sylvester. Acknowledge that you know what works for you. Create boundaries and then stick with them.
  • Be curious. Ask a lot of questions, and do it pleasantly, said Wood. Don’t make assumptions about men or about future managers.
  • Be nice. So much depends on personality and charm, the chemistry. This holds true in a job interview or a date, said Wood.
  • Expect contradictions and surprises. “Even if their politics are liberal, their personal lives are conservative,” said Wood, who works from Georgetown. Some couples and some bosses can come off well, even if they aren’t an obvious match. Or as Sylvester said: “The most wonderful things sometimes look different.”
  • Understand the details. Some people work together well and yet you wouldn’t want to take them home. Some people don’t consider the commute time on jobs or relationships. Dig into the details and don’t make assumptions, said Wood.
  • Try again. Sometimes the second date, or the second pitch, goes better and people are less nervous, said Leora Hoffman, who runs a Bethesda, Md., personal introduction service.

The bottom line for anyone who’s searching for a mate, a date or a job moving  freight  is to be hopeful and clear on your  a great outcome – and then work at it with energy and focus almost every day.

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Four traits that will advance you in job search and career

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Looking for work today takes more than a good resume, a polished elevator pitch and some professional Tweets.

It requires a mindset of adaptability and creativity – and great communications skills. It requires thoughtful solutions and problem-solving aplenty, as well as an ability to get things done, or motivate workers to compete projects or goals.

The American Management Association identified four key traits – the 4Cs – as increasingly important to employers. They are communications, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. They are the very traits that will impress and help land your next job.

Here are four ideas on cultivating those from four posts or articles I wrote recently:

  • COMMUNICATIONS. My Glassdoor.com piece on starring in a Skype interview offered nine tips for making the most of the Internet phone service. My favorite: Give a dog a bone, and get rid of other distractions just before and during the interview. The advice also included practice and practice some more. But the main message is: Learn to communicate effectively, with new tools and old ones.
  • CREATIVITY. After the interview, comes the hardest part: the waiting. If you want to make those days or weeks feel more productive and less dismayingly long, read my Glassdoor.com post. Candidates can use their creativity to come up with many smart ways to stay connected and offer valuable information or assistance after the interview.  Pennell Locey at Keystone Management offered a half dozen ideas to expand the interview and advance your chances. Use your creativity liberally and suggest audacious approaches and amazing ideas.
  • COLLABORATION. This trait is the glue of organizations, and includes the ability to work well with much older and much younger people. My AARP Bulletin piece shows how 50-somethings can learn from the interns; yet 20-somethings also need to show their ability to work in inter-generational teams. You could show your collaborative approach by sending thank you notes after the interview, or by giving a hiring manager a hand folding up her table after the job fair. You may not be on the team yet, but you want to appear a team player.
  • CRITICAL THINKING. This may mean having a deep knowledge of a subject, or it could spring from a curiosity and thoughtful inquiry. I wrote about the power of great questions for Fortune.com - and managers who use questions to engage, motivate and learn. Not only are they engaging in critical thinking in asking the right question; they are encouraging it in their team.  A job seeker could use similar techniques to learn how a manager thinks or what the critical needs a client has or what opportunities or openings are likely to blossom in coming weeks. Look past the easy, obvious answers and engage your how does that change things? and what next? thinking.

Certainly, there are other ways to cultivate the 4Cs – and also my fifth one: A can-do, problem-solving approach. That upbeat attitude of action gives anyone an aura that’s appealing.  So show them these five traits from the get-go – in your cover letter and in your early conversations with the HR manager.  You could even come up with an example or story of success in each of these crucial Cs, which used correctly, will win you an A as a job candidate.

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More signs the job market is warming up

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Even in a spring as full of gray chilly days with snow and sleet as this has been, eventually the tulips bloom and we start planting carrots, oregano and pepper plants. The U.S. job market may also be warming up nicely, with  268,000 jobs created by private-sector employers in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest since 2006.

The report Friday had other encouraging news too: More than 200,000 long-term jobless found work or consulting projects, or were otherwise not counted as unemployed. And every sector, except government and temporary employment, added jobs last month, with retail, manufacturing and health care showing especial strength in hiring.

Two months ago, in a blog post for Glassdoor.com, I listed seven signs of spring  in the job market, including some BLS numbers and hiring by small businesses for 12 months. Lately, more green is showing up in the hiring fields – and more flowers are preparing to bloom. So with hopes that my optimism will ring true in the months ahead, here then are seven more signs of growth in hiring:

  1. Companies are recruiting more HR people. Human resources job penings increased 34 percent in the last year, same gain as health care, according to Indeed’s blog. Companies hire HR people when they need help with recruiting or retaining talent.
  2. Some areas experience labor shortages. Recruiters say it is increasingly difficult to find well qualified candidates, according to the latest Society of Human Resource Executives LINE survey. In IT security, database administration and nurse practitioner openings, there are more jobs than job-seekers, according to CareerBuilder. The two-to-one ratio of jobs for candidate is a standout.
  3. The number of quitters has inched up. The proportion of job leavers now is higher than the laid-off, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This is a big shift, and indicates people are confident they have other work options.
  4. Hiring on college campuses has increased. This year, 42 percent of college seniors who had looked for work has received a job offer by graduation, up from 38 percent last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. More seniors also were saying no to offers, holding out for something better or more appropriate.
  5. Metro unemployment rates keep declining. More cities are adding jobs, according to the BLS. And Indeed reports that 15 metro areas – from New York to Milwaukee to San Francisco – have one job for every candidate, meaning much less competition to land the opening you seek than a year or two ago.
  6. Job openings are more plentiful. SimplyHired experienced a 33.9 percent increase in postings in the year ended in April, CareerBuilder’s job listings rose 23 percent as companies hire staff “in nearly every role.” These openings will mean more hiring in coming months.
  7. Innovation seems to be increasing. Some jobs available today didn’t exist two years ago, and some  companies  hiring hundreds of people didn’t either. Think Etsy and Groupon and all those app makers. Think filmmakers for YouTube. Think about hiring on or creating another Google or Netflix in your city. Consider the virtual internships and start-ups showing up not just in Silicon Valley but in Saline, Mich., and Southern Georgia.

To be sure, there are concerns that could freeze some green shoots of hiring. High oil and gas prices are cutting hiring in the travel sector, SimplyHired reported. Initial jobless claims are rising, and many companies are sitting on the sidelines of hiring, or adding jobs outside the United States.  State and local governments continue to shed jobs and some are in danger of insolvency. We still have 13.7 million Americans out of work, and at current levels of hiring, it could take another five years to reach pre-recession unemployment levels, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Yet the pace of hiring is picking up – in the last three months it has averaged 233,000 jobs a month, double the rate of the previous three, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Small companies are being established and bringing on friends or part-timers to grow. Corporate profits are strong and many individuals have learned to grow gardens or their own jobs.

Call me an optimist, if you like, but the employment tulips have shown up in bright red and yellow and soon career roses and broccoli will bloom again – in the yards and lives of many.

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Six ways to make the unemployment stats advance your career

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You see the numbers in your Twitter feed or headlines on your mobile phone. Job creation reaches 216,000 last month. The unemployment rate declines. Optimism in job market.

Unless you’re looking for a job as an economist or a statistician, the data may not mean much to you or your life. But there are tricks to taking the numbers and using them in your job search or career choices,  whether or not you’re actively looking at the moment.

Here’s  six ways to use unemployment to advance yourself:

  1. See the big picture on the economy. The unemployment numbers give you one big picture window to see what’s happening with hiring, with employment. Pair this with a few other economic reports – consumer price index for inflation, gross domestic product and business capital spending among others – and you will be armed and ready to discuss economic conditions and corporate strategy in a job interview or at a networking event.   You may want to pick a couple of media outlets or websites for context and commentary – the Washington Post and Marketwatch are two of my favorites, and I also regularly read the New York Times. (Full disclosure: I have been a Washington Post freelancer for five years.)
  2. Identify growing sectors and sub-sectors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics rolls out a huge array of data on the first Friday of each month – and some of the best of it shows up in the tables.  I highly recommend looking at Table B1, which gives industry detail on hiring. This allows us to see that amid manufacturing hiring, the strongest gains are in fabricated metal products, machinery and transportation equipment. It also indicates which retailers are growing and which are not and what sectors within health care are adding staff. Look beyond the one-month increases to see trends developing over two to four months. Then consider the sectors that are hiring steadily – and see what opportunities they could offer you. Even if you never expected to work in accounting or medical field, you could land a job managing social media or human resources for a CPA firm or a nursing home company.
  3. Watch the quit rate and turnover. The BLS reports on turnover – including data on who is leaving their job voluntarily – in something called JOLTS. The quitter information may be especially useful – since people usually quit because of other better opportunities. If you see a rising quit rate, you may identify a sector that’s warming up. The changes on the quit rates are tiny many months, but these report also can help you see what sectors are cutting jobs and see how many job openings are available – 2.8 million openings at the end of February. Sometimes this data could JOLT you into action.
  4. Look for one-off opportunities. As bars and restaurants add more staff, it could mean opportunities in night time promotions businesses – or for a micro-brewery or major beer distributor.  As temporary hiring continues to grow, temp firms may need more administrative and other staff.  Or you may see possibilities for consulting services in health care, which has added an average of 24,000 jobs in each of the last 12 months. Employers are adding contractors and service providers too.  Watch for indications of opportunities in smaller cities and counties too – the BLS data shows places such as Elkhart, In., and Bell, Texas, showed the biggest gains in jobs in the latest 12-month period.
  5. Make your move better. If you’re being recruited for a job that requires relocation, start digging into local employment and unemployment statistics before you accept the offer. This data  could come from state labor departments or the BLS’ monthly metro unemployment report. Why is it important? Relocating for a job entails some risks – and you may also need to find work for your partner or a teen-ager once you arrive. Plus it’s good to see if there will be other opportunities, a fallback employer, if the job that recruited you is a dud.
  6. Motivate yourself with optimism. The job market is warming up now and more employers are hiring – a growing array of data confirm this view, and so do media reports. So if you’ve been waiting to jump back into a search, get started now. It’s easier to be hopeful of your chances when the outlook seems better, so start or resume your job hunt today.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also offers an excellent resource for those considering a new career path. The Occupational Outlook Handbook gives details from salaries to working conditions to hiring prospects on hundreds of jobs.

Just remember, the jobless numbers in the headlines and in this post are important windows to possibilities and opportunities. But they aren’t the door into new work. That requires a whole different data set.

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