Tag Archives: The economy

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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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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Freelancers cultivate Independence Day almost every day

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With Independence Day approaching, I’ve been thinking about how independent agents – like me – could celebrate and boost their independence. I mean financial independence, but also the freedom to read a great novel for 90 minutes in the afternoon.

For whether you’ve chosen to work as a free agent or taken the freelancer’s road because other avenues were closed to you, your work and life is so different from the Corporate Job. You are responsible for so much more as an independent contractor and yet your income could be less. So even as beach and summer fun beckon,  July 4th seems like a great occasion to consider our financial freedom and futures.

Part of my approach has been to grow my freelance writing career so I have several regular gigs; I write every other week for the Washington Post Capital Business and weekly for the Glassdoor.com blog. I hope to contribute regularly to Fortune.com . Now I’m trying to trade up on clients – so I end up with more higher paying assignments and better finished articles, too.

But I’ve also focused on some other ideas to rebuild my finances (after a divorce and leaving a full-time editing job). Here’s four of them:

  1. “I live an abundant life on a modest paycheck.” This became my mantra several years ago – and it still works for me. It helps me see my choices in a positive light. Living frugally seemed like a dear, old friend by the time the economy hit the skids. So I shop at the Kiwanis Sale and second-hand shops; see a lot of free theater, easy to find in a college town, or usher at nonprofits to get into some amazing performances. I use coupons and Groupons and restaurant specials – loved The Earle’s nickel and dime specials. I bring my lunch a lot, and say no to an event that is too costly or not worthy.
  2. I set clear financial and life goals. I want to buy a house – maybe this year! – so I’ve saved money for it steadily.  And I want to travel and encourage my children to travel – so I established travel funds for each of them (and gave them “travel money vouchers” for Christmas). It can start small – mine certainly did. Save $15 a week and at yearend you have almost $800, or shove away $50 a week and you’ve got $2,600 toward your dreams. An extra project – park more of it in your goal accounts.
  3. Develop your reputation – and your network. If you are flying solo, you want a reliable, well-tuned plane. So choose carefully your clients – and then exceed their expectations every time. Build your reputation for quality, integrity and reliability. Don’t be shy about saying no to work if you’re too busy or if the client doesn’t meet your standards or goals. That said, I also strive to create karma LINK and friendships  as I go – and expand my network of editors, writers and creative types who I know and like. Thursdays are my outreach day – I need to put that reminder back on my calendar so I have a nudge to network.
  4. Cultivate multiple options and careers. Writing is my main love and my profession, yet I also want some Plan B career options: training and teaching, selling Italian ice (and maybe soup), maybe even career coaching. I’m not going to depend on one media outlet or one career path as the only way to achieve my goals.

And on days when I think how much easier and more collegial life would be if I were back in a newspaper newsroom, I remind myself: Independence has its costs, and all the diversity and joys cannot arrive without a little loneliness and variety in income. Today, I realize many independent contractors and freelancers will celebrate Independence Day not with picnics or fireworks but with deadlines and marketing campaigns.  I’m marching in the 4th of July parade as CEO of Mity Nice and then may do a little reporting for the Observer. But I’ll savor my freedom to take a holiday or skip work on the day I choose.

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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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5 trends for the job market this year

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It’s still all about work and creating jobs, sometimes in tiny increments.
Friday’s unemployment report showed very tepid growth in jobs – the private sector added just 50,000 jobs in January, or less than one-fifth what is needed to show improvement.  Snowy weather may have hurt some sectors, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, noting the jobless rate fell to 9.0 percent.
Five trends became clear in the reports out this week on employment and the economy:
1. Manufacturing may be making a comeback. After shedding jobs steadily for years, the sector has started hiring again. Companies in fabricated metal products, machinery, autos, electronics and more added jobs in January. Some will keep hiring as exports and domestic consumer demand both increase. Half the manufacturers expect to hire this month, and their trendline is up, according to the SHRM Line hiring forecast. It’s starting to look like the trend may be developing momentum.  Check out the other sectors via the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and don’t be deterred by the array of numbers.
2. The United States has a huge jobs deficit to fill. Job losses in this downturn were twice as severe as the previous three recessions, the Economic Policy Institute reported this week. Besides the jobs lost to corporate and government cutbacks, the economy has not created an estimated 3.2 million jobs needed to keep up with America’s growing population, the EPI said in a report called The Great Recession’s Long Tail. This deficit will last for a long time, except in some labor markets that are strong.

3. Employers are selective in hiring. Job openings nationwide increased 65 percent from January 2010 to January 2011, Simply Hired reports. Yet many of those openings may remain unfilled for a long time, or may go to part-time staff or other insiders who jump into the opportunities. Many employers are cautious about adding costs; others want to avoid hiring problematic or un-adaptable people. For job seekers, this means you must be a “home run candidate” who is recommended by a current employee.

4. Small is beautiful for job seekers. Small companies – those with 50 or fewer people – hired more than eight times as many workers in January as large companies, according to the ADP National Employment report. Start-ups and smaller employers that fly below the media radar may be the best bets for job hunting. These can be found by attending business organization meetings, chamber mixers – or by wandering around a business park or an office complex. What Color Is Your Parachute? author Richard Bolles says this walking into any organization that looks intriguing is one of the most successful strategies.  When thinking small, think too of  health care, which dominates Simply Hired’s list of the top regional hiring companies.
5.  The gig economy is growing. People are taking freelance assignments, contract work, short-term projects as a way to tide themselves over. For many though, those turn into a new career path.
There’s no clear measure of this sector, though an indication may be the shrinking labor force which the EPI figures is 4.9 million smaller than at the start of the recession. Some of those turned themselves into reluctant entrepreneurs offering home repairs, dog walking and web design services. Some may be able to build up their clients and develop full-time work (as I am attempting to do as a freelance writer) but many will be stuck with very part-time work and pay.
The bottom line:  Pay attention to the national trends and see how you can capture opportunities or momentum from some of them, if that works for your career or business goals. Otherwise, focus on your own plans and work relentlessly to create your own trendline.

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Five ways to take the path of thriving as easily as you brew tea in the morning

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“Life is what we make of it. Always has been. Always will be.” – Grandma Moses.

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” -  Danny Kaye

My picture for myself:  I am thriving and finding so many successes, so many friends and so many adventures and opportunities for travel, generosity, joy and love. Despite a few struggles and slip-ups very occasionally, I live an abundant life and create many good things – stories, articles, seminars, connections, jobs, assistance for those in need.

And I am determined this year to be more intentional in how I live and how I create life day by day. Here’s five ways we each can thrive, no matter what happens to the job market or the profit margins or the economy:

1. Know what you’re the best at; where and how you excel.

Know your niche and use your talents well. Play to your strengths – and make sure everyone sees you shine. A basketball player who scores most of the time and can reach the rim repeatedly doesn’t have to think about defensive play. Likewise, an administrative assistant who keeps office running smoothly and the boss’ key tasks on track will be valued and may even score a raise or bonus.

2.  Feed your mind and your body with goodness.

Choose books and blogs as carefully as you pick out organic vegetables at the farmer’s market.  Recently, I’ve started carving out about 30 to 40 minutes a day (well most days) to read a book. Sometimes I grab some  water or tea and my book and sit in the sunshine. Sometimes I  stay in bed an extra half hour in the morning to read – a luxury that makes me feel like a queen. Books as delicious as vegetarian chili include The Happiness Advantage, The Optimist’s Daughter and The Fifth Agreement.  I’m savoring more poetry and a few novels too, along with winter squash and greens.

3. Develop diverse friendships.

These people serve as the fruit trees to your life. Certainly you want peaches and apples, raspberries, oranges and grapes. So find friends at work and while volunteering. On grow them on BrazenCareerist or LinkedIn, in a  writers group or chance encounter at a coffee shop. Once I met one while walking around my new neighborhood.  Then make sure you give them all the support, encouragement and assistance they need – so when your needs spike they already feel connected enough to assist you.

4. Cultivate curiosity, creativity and adaptability.

Curiosity is the triplet that grew up with creativity and appreciating or at least accepting change, key traits in today’s work world. All three will make you better, more informed and more likely to spot opportunities for yourself and your employer.  Curiosity also will encourage you to ask questions, to look beyond the obvious and to unearth information and insights.

Adaptability serves us well in these unsettled times. “We’re in the midst of this vast transformation. No one can see the outcome,” said M.J. Ryan, author of an excellent book called AdaptAbility. More from her soon on Glassdoor.com . (LINK) So be open and flexible and as Ryan suggests, look for ways to marshall your resources and focus your energies not on the past but on your future plans. And creativity in life and in solution-getting can make stones sing and problems disappear.

5.  Seek a second or third stream of income.

You may feel you have the most steady, reliable job in the world. But so did auto workers not so long ago or the staff at Aon and Hewitt Associates until their merger knocked 1,800 people out of jobs. So start thinking of yourself as a slash careerist – someone who has two or three jobs that bring satisfaction and income. And begin now to develop your second source of funds – something you can manage in your off hours. Seek ads for your popular blog or offer to work weekends for a real estate agent handling all the foreclosed homes. Help a friend with her start-up. Work as a waitress on Saturday nights. Crochet scarves; sell them on etsy or at a local farmers market.  Pray and plan that Mity Nice will make a profit this year. Someday this second income may be your primary source of living expenses. Or maybe your hobby business will grow into the real deal. Or perhaps your favorite cousin will need work and you’ll be able to train her to crochet the hats that match your scarves.

To be sure, there are other ways to brew thriving like you would a good cup of tea. So start your own list of habits and goals that will stir up a drink of life’s elixir as you stroll Abundance Lane or speed along Thrive Highway.

MORE INFORMATION:

M.J. Ryan’s books and blog are on my highly recommended lists.

I’m just starting to explore GoodReads, but I think it could be a rich resource.

Money Under 30 has 10 good tips for making moonlighting work.

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