Are You a Dinosaur On One Job Forever?

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
Some people worry about having too many jobs listed on their resumes. How will prospective employers look at that?
Others, like me, have worked a long-time at one job. I was at my last position 28 years before I was laid off. Does that make me a dinosaur?
In fact, this is only my fifth job in a fullfilling career that has taken me from the Midwest to Florida. I'm the rookie now in my new position as a career specialist helping customers at the One-Stop.
A recent article on Monster says if you've been in one job for years, spin your work history as a positive, letting employers know you'll be around for awhile. It's costly to hire a new employee so staying at a job a long time makes you a good investment.
You need to let prospective employers know you have continued to learn. I like the suggestion to add a professional development section to your resume that lists training and education.
Monster also suggests using longevity, dedication, commitment, loyalty and perseverance as selling points, both on your resume and in interviews. You also have the advantage of having seen your accomplishments through from beginning to end.
Just remember, many years at one job can work to your advantage. You have skills a new employer will value.
Read more about how to handle a long-term job on your resume.

We Shouldn't Live Without This Trait

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist

There is one character trait that will make all of us successful.
Whether you are a boss, an employee or a job seeker, this trait will serve you well.
And it's one trait we should be teaching our children.
You can be as honest, fair and reliable as the day is long, but if nobody else sees you as trustworthy, it won’t help you.

In her Smartblog on Leadership, Heidi Grant Halvorson says when your boss doesn’t trust you, you don’t get key assignments, promotions or the latitude to do things your way and take risks. When your employees don’t trust you, you don’t get their best effort or all of the information you need from them to make good decisions.

If you want other people to believe that you are trustworthy, you should be aware that you might be seriously undermining that belief if you appear to lack self-control, Halvorson says. Research shows that people won’t trust you when you seem to have a willpower problem. If you think about it, this makes a lot of intuitive sense. We trust people because we know that when things get hard, or when it might be tempting for them to put their own interests first, they’ll resist temptation and do what’s right. How trustworthy are you?

Read more here about the one trait everyone needs to succeed.

You May Want to Ignore Hot Job Lists

By Suzy Kridner
CBE Administrative Assistant
Is the job you've been searching for on the Hot Job List or the Current Job List -- or the Obsolete Job List?

There are very few positions advertised these days for newspaper reporter/editor, a job I loved for years, the last 28 in Daytona Beach. It's bad enough getting laid off, but even worse when all newspapers in the country have cut back on employees, pages, news and benefits. Some say newspapers are a dying breed. But I still enjoy lying back in my recliner reading my local paper.

If your profession is on the way out, that's when you have to reinvent yourself, write multiple resumes for multiple jobs, practice for interviews with diverse companies. And you may be as lucky as I was to get a job in a completely different field.

At the Center for Business Excellence/One-Stop Career Centers, where I am currently employed, we say, "It's a full time job looking for a job." We are fortunate to have three One-Stop Centers in Volusia and Flagler Counties that provide a myriad of services for the unemployed. For more information, go to http://www.onestops.com/ But I digress. How do you determine what's the newest hot job or hot career and are you qualified? Most of these lists are worthless. Instead, it's time to look for a realistic job.

Here are seven reasons to ignore these lists of hot jobs.