Happy (fill-in-the-blank) Holiday and have a Merry New Year! (or something like that.) Plus, a big congrats to my fellow bloggers who walked away with the prestigious Best Blog Awards from Recruiting.com. (I am just happy to have been nominated.)

Special Kudos to Shally and my co-bloggers: Gretchen, Jenna and Julie. See you all at Starbucks!

12:53 PM 0 comments

Many people are attracted to the benefits of self-employment, from setting your own hours and being your own boss to having control over the development of your business and career. The control over your lifestyle and work is a good reward for the risks involved in setting out on your own. But there are definite challenges involved also. One of the most daunting aspects of self-employment is finding credit. Lenders are often wary of lending to someone who is self employed, particularly if they are new to it and cannot provide proof of steady income.

However, as the character of the UK economy continues to change, and lifelong employment from a single company becomes ever more rare, banks and other lenders are becoming increasingly willing to lend to the self-employed. In fact, now, a self employed person is just as likely to get approval for a mortgage or other loan as someone in more traditional employment. Improvements in credit checks, which allow lenders to see how you cope with debt in general, as well as other changes in lending practices mean that borrowing for the self employed is now easier and faster.

Your Credit Score

Today, lenders can make immediate decisions on whether or not to lend, based exclusively on your credit score. Credit reports are becoming more important than proofs of income, and a self employed person who pays all bills and monthly payments on other loans on time, will have every chance of obtaining a loan. These same credit reports are what allow banks to make rapid decisions for lending to traditionally employed applicants also.

As self employment increases in popularity, lenders are beginning to compete for a market share in this increasingly lucrative market. The terms and rates available are pretty much the same as for other loans and definitely far better than what they used to be. In fact, if you have borrowed as a self-employed worker in the past, now may be the time to refinance such loans with better rates and terms.

Secured or Unsecured Loan

Another issue to consider is whether you want a secured or unsecured loan. Secured loans generally offer better rates and are secured over your home or automobile usually. However, if you are unable to repay the loan, the security is used instead. Now that unsecured loans are becoming easier to obtain, you should perhaps consider this option, particularly if the loan is being used for business purposes as it means you home or car will be less at risk from repossession.

The bottom line is that today, the self-employed have more options than ever before so don’t let this become something that discourages you from seeking credit or makes you accept less than ideal terms or rates.

About the author: Joseph Kenny writes regulary for the loan information sites http://www.selectloans.co.uk and also http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk/.

10:57 AM 0 comments

Preparing for an interview over the phone is primarily a mental exercise, and something that is easy to prepare for. It is the second impression that you will make on a hiring decision maker – the first impression was obviously made for you by your resume and cover letter, and must have been positive, or you would not have this interview appointment. That being the case, it is worth while to prepare for it and be ready to put your best foot forward.

Step one in getting yourself mentally prepared is to rehearse. Practice in front of the mirror, or with a friend or your spouse listening to you, asking questions and playing the part of the interviewer. Make a list of questions you expect the interviewer to ask and have good answers prepared, but have them on the top of your head in general and not memorized. Memorized answers can sound canned and not real, and will not help you. You need to appear genuine and real.

Step two is preparing and practicing two or three ideas that you want to get across to the interviewer as to why you are the right person for this job. If you are having trouble thinking of ideas, read your resume again. Look for the key points, qualifications or accomplishments you have written, and be ready to discuss them.

Step three is think of what you can do for the company. The hiring manager really doesn’t care why you would like the job; he cares about how you can help his company if you are hired.

Step four, on the morning of the interview get dressed. Wear the same clothes when you are on the phone that you would wear if you were in front of the interviewer in person. Dress for success and your attitude will reflect it. Dress in your pajamas or an old sweat shirt and your attitude may reflect that as well.

Step five is to smile. Smiles are contagious, even if they can’t be seen. Good salesmen know this and practice smiling on the phone. There is something in your voice and attitude that is conveyed when you smile, and the person on the other end of the phone can sense it. There is truth in the old saying, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” It is basic human nature.

Step six is to speak clearly and enunciate. Use a good quality phone, a land line not a cordless. If at all possible do not use a cellular phone for the interview. Crackling noises are distractions and bad cell sites, leading to dropped calls, are a negative. You only want positives during your phone interview.

Step seven is the interview itself. Relax, be yourself and do your best. When it is over remember to thank the interviewer for his or her time, and offer to provide any other information they might need to make a decision. Be professional and you may well be rewarded with a job.

About the Author: Heather Eagar provides reviews of the top resume writing services that put you in charge of your career so that you can get the job you deserve. sign-up for your free Job Search Tips E-course.

12:09 AM 0 comments

A little birdy told me about a new toy Indeed has released. If you have GTalk, send a 'hello' to indeedjobs. Then follow the directions and find yourself a new job!

If this sounds a little cloak and dagger to you, give Indeed a buzz (through GTalk) yourself and see what happens.

6:14 PM 0 comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC

So you want to look around for your next career step but you are concerned that your current employer will find out and give you an early exit? Confidentiality in your job search is a reasonable concern and makes the way you approach finding your next position all the more important. Confidentiality and privacy issues in today’s hyper-informative world are issues that should be taken seriously.

Keeping your intentions of changing jobs a secret is a challenge but secrecy is in your best interest. Case in point: Hilda was a highly paid pharmacist working for an independent pharmacy in Atlanta. She was approached by a new independent pharmacy who was a direct competitor of her current employer. The word leaked out that she was considering taking a directly competing position and her employer terminated her employment out of concern for operational security. As pharmacist-in-charge, she had full access to retail/wholesale pricing, future plans, insurance reimbursement rates and customer information – all data that would be highly desirable by the competitor. Hilda’s employer just could not take the chance that she would leave and take all that information with her so they terminated her. Unfortunately, the competitor did not make an offer of employment to Hilda and she was left out in the cold – not hired, and fired. If she had taken greater pains to keep her options confidential, she may not have ended up in the predicament of suddenly being unemployed.

On the flip side, it may be tempting to let slip to your current employer that you are looking around for new opportunities to provide some leverage for a raise or a promotion. Fishing for a counter-offer is a no-win situation. In a survey by the Wall Street Journal, 93 percent of employees who accept counter-offers to remain with an employer leave anyway after 18 months. If you are unhappy enough to spend months hunting for a new position, dealing with recruiters, and going on interviews, the true value of a counter offer should be questioned. Employers make counter-offers for their best interest – not the employees’. Employers need to make sure projects are completed, that deadlines are met, and that production does not lag. An employee who accepts a counter-offer has branded himself as disloyal and possibly a gold-digger and will forever more be viewed as such by superiors.

Common sense rules when going about a confidential job search. Do not use your work phone, email, or company cell phone to conduct any job search activities. Do not surf the job sites during your lunch hour or at anytime on your work PC. Be careful of the conversations you have within earshot of other co-workers. Do not leave your resume lying on your desk at work. Keep your plans and intentions quiet, even from close office friends whom you feel you can trust. Request confidentiality from all potential employers until an offer is made.

Beyond the obvious, consider the following tips for keeping your job search hush-hush:

Remove identifying information from your online resume. Replace your name with a generic title such as “Senior Marketing Executive”. Use only your cell phone number and a web-based email address that can be dropped after your job search. City and state is sufficient for address – no need for street address or zip code. Remove your current employer’s name and replace it with something that is descriptive, yet unidentifiable such as “Major Manhattan-based Financial Organization”.

Be careful in your networking. Networking is essential to an effective job search, but indiscrete networking can breach your wish for confidentiality. Networking carefully can be even more difficult in closed industries or highly-specialized fields. Ask more questions than you answer in group settings; talk about possible employment options with decision-makers only; and provide your resume only to someone in a position to assist you confidentially.

Protect your references. References should only be provided in an interview, and preferably not at a first interview. You don’t want your colleagues getting wind of your intentions before an offer is imminent.

Consider a confidential job search agent. If you have an annual salary of greater than $500,000 and/or you are well-known in your industry, hiring an agent to conduct your job search might be a good idea. The agent can extend inquiries without breaching confidentiality. An agent is not a recruiter, but rather someone who works for you individually to act as your liaison with potential employers.

In addition to confidentiality in a job search, everyone should be concerned about protection of privacy. Never, ever give out your social security number, driver’s license number, or bank account numbers to anyone during the job search process. There are scam artists out there who will take advantage of your vulnerability as a job seeker to steal your identity, your money, and your reputation. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has some helpful tips for protecting your privacy during your job search at http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs25-JobSeekerPriv.htm.

The World Privacy Forum has an excellent article about an Internet job scam that is a must-read for anyone considering using the Internet for their job search. This particular job scam involved 23 Internet job boards including Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and PreferredJobs.com. The scam involved a posting that required the new hire to transfer money into their personal bank account and then transfer it back out to an account overseas via Western Union, keeping a percentage of the total amount for their work. According to victims of the scam who responded to the article, the interview and application process for the position was extremely convincing and they were totally taken in. The article can be found at http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/jobscamreportpt1.html.

The bottom line is that confidentiality starts with you. A secret shared is no longer a secret and cannot be controlled. If you are serious about keeping your career ladder climb quiet, you must take the precautions that are necessary. Employers have a great deal to lose when they lose employees – human capital investment, corporate information, competitive data – so keeping your intentions to leave might well be in your best interests until the time is right.

About the Author: Published in 25 career books, Alesia has been cited by Jist Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America" and quoted as a Career Expert in the Wall Street Journal. Serving as the Resume Expert for over 50+ organizations, she has numerous media appearances to her credit and is a frequent keynote speaker. http://getinterviews.com

9:21 AM 0 comments

Like others, I’m looking forward to the season finale of Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” show… Had this funny thought pop into my mind…

Just finished an HR Law course and remember chatting about what constitutes employment. Talked to a few professional associates – and asked them this question:

“When Donald Trump says ‘you’re fired’, isn’t he implying that there was some type of employment involved? How can you fire someone who’s not an employee?”

A member of my online HR Law class was John Koenig, an attorney with the Maryland based firm, Robinson & Koenig. He responded as follows: “that’s a good question! Certainly some type of implied understanding of employment – whether it was a employee, trainee, recruit or whatever… if not with Donald Trump directly – another alternative theory could be to say that they (the Apprentices) were fired from the show.”

Talked with Joan Ehrilich, District Director of the San Francisco EEOC. “It’s dramatic license in my opinion. He’s using it as a cliché`- and it’s very important and effective for television. He uses the language to make a point on the show. Anyone can use any form of terminology in interviewing or termination of employment. What someone does need to be concerned about is - was the terminology sensitive and done in a manner that would avoid lawsuits? Was an explanation given for the termination of employment or contractual services? Was an explanation given for not hiring that person? Was the explanation justified and not ‘just a smoke screen’ for another reason that could be interrupted as discrimination or illegal?”

Karen Mattonen C.A.C. of Advanced Career Solutions, Inc. is a major force in the staffing and recruiting circles I corral around in… and she reminded me that an employer could offer the job to anyone they seem fit and most states have “At Will” employment status. It is within the interviewing and hiring process itself where especially the candidates that didn’t get the job can interrupt actions as discriminatory and/or illegal activities.

Regarding the “Apprentices” and my good pal Donald… the legal contracts are in place for this specific example as well as the FCC because these people appear on television. It is my understanding that they are basically classified as “talent” and are technically “actors” – covered by all legal aspects of that industry.

But I think we all could agree that we deal with “talent” when recruiting and trying to staff technology-based requirements. We all know about the Microsoft lawsuit that spurred a huge amount of discussion on what constitutes an employee and a contractor – but do all staffing professionals in our industry know exactly what constitutes employment? (Check out the IRS Federal-State Reference Guide Publication 963, Chapter 4 “Determining Worker Status”). How about an understanding beyond the IRS SS-8 form? Does the SS-8 cover you, no matter what?

As recruiting and staffing professionals, I believe that we should be aware of the legal issues that confront our industry right now. Topics regarding overtime for contractors, use of H1-B candidates and converting them to employees… lawsuits about employers using contractors to substitute employees…. Know about the recent settlement made by Electronic Arts here in San Francisco for $15.6 million (October 2005)? And hopefully, the Bay Area Technology Recruiters Group and the Electronic Recruiters Exchange (www.erexchange.com) will be the venue for you to receive that information… (how do you like that for a plug ?)…

It’s all about how things are perceived during the interviewing and hiring process – as well as during employment. If an action, response or behavior during the interviewing process could be perceived as discriminatory or illegal, you’ve got a problem on your hands – and perhaps, legitimately so.

As staffing and recruiting professionals, it is imperative that we sincerely realize the importance of our role in the hiring and recruiting process… and that our clients and/or employer understands that how the process is conducted is imperative to the bottom line of any business (know what settling out of court for some recent lawsuits have cost technology employers recently? Know how much time dealing with an EEOC complaint takes away from your HR staff?)…

It’s heading back to an “employee market” and if prospective employers don’t conduct themselves in a proper, ethical and legal way – they may not only find an in-box full of EEOC complaints, but they will also find many quality, top-notch talent saying “You’re Fired” to that organization for prospective employment consideration for that person’s career (not just a single employment search).

1:45 AM 0 comments

Brian Eddy and Chad Ronnebaum did that very thing when they built Q3 Innovations, a product design, development and distribution company that specializes in the personal safety market. These Eagan, Minnesota, entrepreneurs started in 1999 when both had full-time jobs--in fact, Eddy, 30, a lawyer, just recently left his law firm to work on the business full time, while Ronnebaum, 30, still works full time in the pharmaceutical industry. Friends since the sixth grade, the pair decided that even though they both had successful careers, they wanted to own a business and bring products like the Alcohawk, a digital breath alcohol screener, to consumers.

During their six-year startup phase, says Eddy, "We worked about 50 hours a week at our careers and about 40 to 50 hours a week at our business." A typical weekday for Eddy was getting up at 7 a.m., doing business activities until 8:30 or 9 a.m., then heading to the office. After getting off work at 6 p.m., he spent about an hour with family and went into entrepreneur mode for the evening and most of the weekend.

How can weekend entrepreneurs ensure startup success?

READ: Weekenders

12:37 AM 0 comments

You may not know the name of Milton Glaser, but you probably know at least one of his works of art – the “I 'Heart' NY” logo. In his book, Art is Work, Glaser provides these provocative definitions of work:

1. Work that goes beyond its functional intention and moves us in deep and mysterious ways we call great work.

2. Work that is conceived and executed with elegance and rigour we call good work.

3. Work that meets its intended need honestly and without pretence we call simply work.

4. Everything else, the sad and shoddy stuff of daily life, can come under the heading of bad work.

I combine Glaser’s second and third distinctions to have just three categories: Great Work, Good Work and Bad Work. (And by “Work”, I’m talking all of “the stuff you do”. It’s not only about what you do in the office, but what you do 24/7. Work includes looking after your children, watching TV, preparing meals, exercise, being with friends, being by yourself, and so on).

How do you know what’s what? Here’s my litmus test.

Great Work

Great Work brings with it both exhilaration and terror. You’re delighted when someone asks you what you do, and they have trouble getting you to stop talking about it. You tap into reserves of courage and chutzpah to get done what needs to be done. You often have no idea how to do what needs to be done – and are only a little fazed by that, because you are certain that this is truly what needs to be done.

Great work is a place where impact and effect trumps over efficiency and process. It is often a place of waste, because creativity needs waste to thrive. It is a place of inspiration, where suddenly all your past makes sense (“A-ha! That’s why I did that, learned that, experienced that”). It is a place that honors your skills, your passion and your experience.

Great Work is also a difficult place to be. The temptation to “downgrade” to the comfort of Good Work is constant. Your “inner critic” is rampant, whispering “Who are you to try this? Who do you think you are to be this ambitious? Don’t you know you’re doomed to failure?” Great Work can also be elusive, because it can degrade in a moment to be simply Good Work. To do Great Work, you must be ever vigilant.

Good Work

With Good Work, there is no shame attached. You’re doing work that uses your skills, it gets stuff done, it may well pay you a wage. It’s comfortable, because you know what you’re doing. It is probably something of a routine or a habit.

So it’s not that you’re having a bad time. It’s just that when you’re asked by strangers what you do, sometimes it feels like you’re trying to convince yourself more than them that this is great. Good Work is often about “being efficient”, without ever asking the difficult question “is this the right work to be efficient with?” (Peter Drucker says this: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things”). In a year’s time, you won’t remember the Good Work you were doing a year ago.

And as for Bad Work, the test is simple. It’s when you have that sudden flash of realization and you ask yourself: Why exactly am I wasting my life with this?

Take action

Here’s a quick exercise. Draw a biggish circle on a piece of paper. Now, divide it into three segments that represent the proportion of each of these types of work in your life today.

How much Great Work are you doing? More than 80%? Less than 20%?

In my experience, many of us are doing a fair amount of Good Work – but very little Great Work. The goal is to remove Bad Work from our lives, and continually increase the amount of Great Work.

What would you have to say “no” to, to double the amount of Great Work in your life? What would you have to say “yes” to, to halve the amount of Bad Work in your life?

Resources for Great Work

- Peter Block, The Answer to How is Yes - Michael Bungay Stanier, Get Unstuck & Get Going… on the stuff that matters - Richard Carson, Taming your Gremlin

Copyright 2004 Michael Bungay Stanier, Box of Crayons

About the Author: Michael Bungay Stanier, is a certified coach, Rhodes Scholar and author of the best selling coaching tool, Get Unstuck & Get Going available at http://www.GetUnstuckandGetGoing.com . Sign up for Michael’s free Outside the Lines ezine at http://www.BoxofCrayons.biz.

12:52 AM 0 comments

The foundation of the new mobile office package, which is featured in the California Custom “General Contractor” F-250 Super Duty built for SEMA, is a GPS, wireless broadband, printer and digital camera-equipped mobile computer that will allow a contractor to bid jobs, order and purchase parts and materials, and process payments while ‘on location’ from their truck.

The Ford mobile office system is in development for inclusion as a dealer-installed accessory through the “Genuine Ford Accessories” program in 2006.

READ: FORD TRUCK ‘MOBILE OFFICE’ ALLOWS BUSINESS ON THE GO

12:59 AM 0 comments

This is what Katrina looked like from space, a collective mass of swirling marshmallow clouds. It is a curious and wonderful thing to observe from space. However, those who lived beneath it had a different point-of-view.

No need to show to show the devastation Katrina caused.No need to be reminded of the children crying. It was not so long ago and we do not all of us forget so soon.

This is why I have posted this comment. It is because some refuse to forget and not only that, many more still want to help. The vehicle of that assistance is a virtual class: “Job Hunting Is A Team Sport.”

In a nutshell, it is a simple strategy for finding work by teaming up with other jobseekers (as narrated by me).

If all has gone according to plan, then you downloaded this document and the audio that came with it from a link on a blog. (Maybe someone made a copy and passed it to you, or sent the whole thing to you in email. Either way, its okay with me.) The whole purpose of this lesson is to help any and everyone looking for work, but especially those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. So if you would, please do one (or all) of the following:

1. Trackback (or email) this link (and the MP3 that goes with it) to anyone and everyone looking for work, but especially those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. (Pointing it out to Career Ministries, Charitable Associations and Jobseeker Networking Groups would be a good idea too.)

2. Listen to the presentation, learn and teach others this job hunting strategy. (You have my permission as long as you do not charge any fees for it.)

3. Drop me a note and let me know if it has made a difference. I would really appreciate that.

Jim Stroud jstroud@microsoft.com ---

Click here to download the presentation notes.
Click here to download the MP3.

Listen, learn, pass it on...

2:41 PM 0 comments

It’s getting harder and harder to drag myself out of my warm bed and face the cold commute each morning. I think it’s a safe bet that I’m not alone in thinking working from home is looking better with each windy, snowy day.

But after learning about this CareerBuilder.com survey, your boss might think twice about letting you take the office home regularly if you’re not a productive worker. According the survey, 25 percent of workers spend less than one hour on their professional duties when working from home, 53 percent spend less than three hours and only 14 percent put in a full 8 hours.

View the full post...

5:05 AM 0 comments

Jobseekers Revenge and The Digability Blog (my other blog) were both nominated for a "Best Blog Award" by Recruiting.com!!! (Big yay!)

Voting on the Best Blog stops on December 21, 2005 and will be announced on December 26th. Since my blogs were nominated, its now up to a panel of judges to make the final decision. (Keep your fingers crossed for me and my fellow bloggers - especially Gretchen Ledgard, the "first lady of Corporate Recruiting Blogs!" (Don't let anyone else tell you different. SHE is the woman.)

Click here to check out the other nominees!!!

12:02 AM 0 comments

MARK THIS DATE: DEC 6TH 6:30 TO 8:30

CINDY CANNON WILL BE STEPHANIE C. HARPERS GUEST AT "CAREER AND COFFEE".(THIS WILL BE A FREE CAREER WORKSHOP.)

Come learn from the best. Cindy Cannon, once awarded as the # 3 recruiter in the Nation by the largest recruiting firm in the world, shares 20 years of proven secrets.

LEARN THE INSIDER SECRETS OF INTERVIEWING, NETWORKING AND MARKETING YOURSELF TO YOUR NEXT EMPLOYER.

JUST A SAMPLE OF INFORMATION YOU BETTER KNOW AND WHAT YOU'LL LEARN…
· What 6 things should you bring to EVERY interview?
· 9 out of 10 hiring decisions are based on what?
· What's the one thing you should NEVER do in any interview?

In today's market, you simply cannot afford to be under prepared...The time for your next career advancement or step backwards just might come before you know it!

Don't let downsizing, merging, outsourcing or any other influence determine your career advancement. Take charge with this hands on and ready to use right now Insider Knowledge.

WHERE? WHEN? TUESDAY NIGHT, THE 6TH AT 6:30

For directions to Mocha Match www.mochamatch.net/location.asp or call 404.377.7788

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10:57 PM 0 comments