Philosophy

Reading philosophy today

where a=b=a

except in poetry

Ways to get hired

One of the ways to get hired these days into a permanent position is through a temporary assignment. Employment agencies have alot of clients on their books so this will increase your exposure to more companies. As well, you can "try" out a job for the duration of the assignment - its an excellent way to get a feel for a company's culture as well - is it a formal company, do the employees seem happy there and so on.

One of the differences between working an assignment now as compared to 10 years ago is that the clients of the agency will often want to interview you face to face. In the past, the agency simply told you of an available assignment and upon accepting it, you started working. Part of the reason for this change, according to a comment, from an agency that I am signed up with is the competition for jobs -unemployment is still over 9% in Connecticut (this only accounts for those still receiving unemployment benefits - those who have exhausted their benefits would probably add another 3% to the nine % figure). There are alot of people looking for work and quite a few are assigned to agencies. This surplus allows companies to work with a few agencies and to be able to pick among many candidates to find a close match for their needs.

Temporary work is one of the bright spots in the employment picture these days. Companies are more willing to "try out" a potential employee before risking the expense of hiring an employee to a more permanent position. As well, they aren't required to provide benefits - health, dental, 401k, to temporary employees thus saving them money.

When you contact an employment agency, they will want you to come to their offices to interview and to assess your skills. This is done through an interview, answering written questions and computer tests to assess your software skills with products such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Your skills are then "matched" with a job from one of the Agencies clients. You have the option to accept or refuse an assignment once it is offered to you.

Depending on the agency, some offer health benefits after you log a certain number of hours working for their clients. As well, training is offered for sometimes hundreds of skills.

Well, this is just a bit of information that I hope will help. Some of the good agencies out there, in my humble opinion are :

OfficeTeam: www.officeteam.com They are part of Robert Half

Adecco - www.adecco.com

Kelly Services - www.kellyservices.com

It's a scary scenario out there in the employment world, but there are still some choices to keep that three headed monster (despair, discouragement and depression) at bay.

A white house

A white house

freshly painted amid red roses

has its secrets

Birch Tree

The birch tree

with its white peeling bark

embraces the pine

Watching tv

Legs, abs, hair, lips, teeth

which of these

are more important than kindness?

Poem for today

I collected this yellow leaf

to show you

Fall's bounty is the sun

Monday Blues

Most everyone at some time or other has sung the Monday Blues after contemplating the week of work ahead of them. Without checking, I imagine lottery ticket sales have soared early in the week, and the skies have been clogged with fantasy air travelers longing to recline on sandy white beaches.

For some of us who are members of the LTU club (Long Term Unemployed), the Monday Blues include verses about quiet empty neighborhoods, silent houses, silent phones, and the weekly claim for unemployment checks.

But we have a job..now. We're told that searching for a job should take up 20 hours of our time each week - ok, its not the standard 40, but its part-time employment. How can a person work 20 hours a week searching for a job? Here are a few suggestions that may bring a whistle or two while you work.

-Network. Linked in is one of the most popular networking sites. I discovered that Linked in also connects you with jobs closely related to your industry (providing you have given ample information in the profile section of your account). You can reach out to your network contacts through Linked In.

-Apply. Follow-up. Apply. Follow-up. I was told recently at a networking session via CT Works that perseverance is paying off. One suggestion was to re-apply for a job if you have not had any feedback from an earlier effort.

-Work on your elevator speech. This is your 1 minute blurb about you - what you have done, what you are looking for, etc.

-Work on certifications that will enhance your chances for consideration. In the HR and Insurance field, for example, a CEBS designation is very valuable indeed.

I hope to get comments, suggestions and ideas from other LTUs and non-LTUs so that one day we can all be singing (and garnering strange looks) our own version of "Whistle while you work".

-

Monday Blues

Most everyone at some time or other has sung the Monday Blues after contemplating the week of work ahead of them. Without checking, I imagine lottery ticket sales have soared early in the week, and the skies have been clogged with fantasy air travelers longing to recline on sandy white beaches.

For some of us who are members of the LTU club (Long Term Unemployed), the Monday Blues include verses about quiet empty neighborhoods, silent houses, silent phones, and the weekly claim for unemployment checks.

But we have a job..now. We're told that searching for a job should take up 20 hours of our time each week - ok, its not the standard 40, but its part-time employment. How can a person work 20 hours a week searching for a job? Here are a few suggestions that may bring a whistle or two while you work.

-Network. Linked in is one of the most popular networking sites. I discovered that Linked in also connects you with jobs closely related to your industry (providing you have given ample information in the profile section of your account). You can reach out to your network contacts through Linked In.

-Apply. Follow-up. Apply. Follow-up. I was told recently at a networking session via CT Works that perseverance is paying off. One suggestion was to re-apply for a job if you have not had any feedback from an earlier effort.

-Work on your elevator speech. This is your 1 minute blurb about you - what you have done, what you are looking for, etc.

-Work on certifications that will enhance your chances for consideration. In the HR and Insurance field, for example, a CEBS designation is very valuable indeed.

I hope to get comments, suggestions and ideas from other LTUs and non-LTUs so that one day we can all be singing (and garnering strange looks) our own version of "Whistle while you work".

-

Unemployment

I've been unemployed for 18 months now - it isn't like crossing days off a calendar until Christmas arrives or something like that - its open-ended. And I'm not sure Christmas will be the end result either.

But I want to share a few things that I've learned - nuts and bolts. Some may already know, but I'll post them.

-You can still work part-time and collect unemployment benefits. At least that is true in CT. 2/3 of the gross of your part-time job will be deducted from your unemployment benefits. See the ct department of labor web-site for more information.

-Volunteer. Although I'm not yet employed, I did land an interview because of my volunteering experience. Make sure that you put any volunteer experience on your resume. Its a way of showing prospective employers that you are actively in touch with your community during your unemployment. And no, I'm not too positive that viewing the 80 gazillion movies on Netflix qualifies as a valid volunteer experience.

-Education. Make sure you put any certifications, even courses that you attended at the local department of labor (CT Works, etc locations) such as resume writing, interviewing techniques, on your resume. It serves to show that you have been "doing something" during your unemployment.

Remember that you are not your job. There is so much more to us!

Some web-sites to type in your browser and investigate:

ONET

CT Department of Labor

There are free college courses online. You won't receive credit for them, but its an interesting way to investigate and learn - subjects range from Accounting to Religion and more. Yale, Stanford, etc are only a couple of colleges that offer these free courses. Just type in free college courses online in your browser.

Have a good day!!