Job Searching Stinks!

Job searching is never fun and when everywhere you turn you hear doom and gloom about your chances for finding a job it becomes even more of a downer. I’m not trying to deny that finding a job is difficult. What I am telling you is that you must keep looking and you must maintain a positive attitude and outlook. If you have limited your job search to looking in the local papers and the online job boards, you’re missing a lot of opportunities.  

Here are some alternative search methods: 

Staffing Services – Yes, I know you want a permanent full time job. Every temporary job I ever had through a staffing service, ended up being offered to me as a permanent full-time position. Some I accepted, others I didn’t accept. Even if the work you get through a staffing service is part-time, it’s better than no time. Click here to read the Five Misleading Myths About Getting A Job Through a Staffing Company. 

Networking – Yuck, that nasty buzz word. Granted, it’s an overused and often abused word. The reality is that whatever you call it, it’s a vital part of any job search. Learn to use today’s social media (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.) to network. As with any tool be cautious how you handle it. Social media can help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it. Don’t limit yourself to social media. Go to networking group meetings and chamber functions. If you belong to a group like the Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, or any other service group, make sure your fellow members know who you are and what you can do. Don’t make a pest of yourself, however let people know. Also, pay attention when someone you meet is in the same boat you’re in, you may come across a job for which they would be a perfect fit. Click here for a site with multiple articles on Social Networking. 

Entrepreneurship – The Great American Dream is to own your own business. Believe me, not everyone is suited for running a business. When you start thinking about having your own business you need to do some honest self assessment. For an article on the top seven reasons small businesses fail go here.  

Employ Florida Virtual Recruiter – There really isn’t room here to explain the ins and outs of setting up the virtual recruiter in Employ Florida. What does a virtual recruiter do? Simple. It looks for jobs for you and then emails or texts you about them. Now, that I have piqued your interest, you’re probably wondering how you learn to set up your own virtual recruiter. You could go to www.employflorida.com and spend quite some time trying to figure it out on your own or you could come to one of the Volusia County One-Stops and attend the Take Control of Your Job Search workshop. 

If you have suggestions that might help some of your fellow job seekers, please let us know. 

"If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right. "

~ Mary Kay Ash

 

 

 

Your Mindset Is One Of Your Most Powerful Tools

Posted by:  Darlene Duncan CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC
                  Training Coordinator

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. Buddha

A positive mindset is one of the most powerful tools you have available to you and it costs you nothing. I have personal experience with the power of the mind. When I first started working on changing my mindset from a negative to a positive, I looked at this way; I didn’t have anything to lose.

If I employed a more positive mindset and nothing changed in my life then I hadn’t really lost anything beyond a little effort to try and keep my thoughts positive.

If on the other hand if being more positive in the way I looked at things changed my life for the better, I would gain a great deal.

It was a risk I was willing to take and I’m very glad I did. Life on the positive side of the fence is much better. What you believe about yourself is your reality. So if you believe that you’re a capable, valuable individual then that’s what you are and you will behave accordingly. Likewise, if you think of yourself as a failure incapable of doing anything right, well, you’ll be that incompetent failure. We are what we think we are.

So what did I do to change my mindset to a more positive mode?

In the beginning, I focused on how I talked to myself about myself. No longer was I allowed to call myself names like, stupid and idiot. Whenever I caught myself saying those things to myself, I stopped and instead reminded myself of all the things I was good at and all my accomplishments. For example, when I needed to learn to use Microsoft Excel there were very few books available. None of the schools offered classes on just that software. If you wanted to learn anything computer related you went to school for a degree in computers. So I got my hands on what few books the library had to offer and taught myself to use Excel, mostly by trial and error.

So step one is to stop talking to yourself in a negative way.

Step two was to stop watching the news. When I tell people this they tend to look at me as if I just admitted I’m from another planet and then proved it by growing a second head. But seriously, think about it, what’s on the news? Murder, rape, arson and scandal are the basics. If a story is full of blood and misery it will be the top story. It will also be repeated every ten minutes along with the traffic and weather. Is there any wonder you’re agitated and angry before you ever leave the house in the morning? Believe me, you’re still going to know what’s going on in the world. Your friends and relatives will be more than happy to keep you informed, whether you want to hear it or not. In addition, you’ll over hear conversations in line at the grocery store and then there’s the television at you favorite fast food place that’s tuned to the news. It’s not like you can escape hearing the news. You just don’t have to wallow in it. Try it, you’ve got nothing to lose except the agitation caused by constant exposure to all that negativity.

The next thing I did was begin to avoid those negative people in my life. You know the ones I mean. The ones that will tell you if they ever managed to buy the winning LOTTO ticket, they would lose it before they could collect. It’s virtually impossible to lead a positive lifestyle if you are spending time with negative people.

While there are other things you can do to have a more positive mindset those three steps should get you well on your way.

STEP 1 – Talk nice to yourself about yourself

STEP 2 – Stop wallowing in the news

STEP 3 – Avoid those people in your life who are negative

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

Dr. Wayne Dyer

 

 

 

No One Wants To Be Around A Sad Sack

Posted by:  Darlene Duncan CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC

                  Training Coordinator

Are you a positive upbeat person? Or do you always have a serious expression on your face? Is the glass half empty or half full?

Check out this article and find out why you can improve your job search odds by being a happier individual.

Click here for the article.

 

 

 

Time for a Reality Check?

Posted by:  Darlene Duncan CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC

                  Training Coordinator

I was sitting at my desk thinking about what I should write about for the blog and it came to me, thinking would be a good topic.

I have a saying I strongly believe in that’s relevant to this issue. Our thoughts lead to our actions. Our actions create our reality, if you don’t like your reality change your thoughts.

Let me give you an example.

A young woman, we’ll call her Bess, presents a report to her boss. She thought the boss would be delighted with this report, especially since she got the report in before the deadline. The boss glances over the report and tells her she did a good job; however, he emailed her some data that needs to be added to the report. Bess heads back to her desk totally deflated. She’s decided that the boss hated her report and is probably looking for an excuse to fire her. Her thoughts are centered on the idea that she’s going to be fired. The thought that she’ll soon be fired begins to affect her work performance in a negative way and yes, eventually Bess’s poor work performance will lead to her being fired. In summary, her thoughts of being fired led her to not give her best effort and her lack of effort is what led to her being fired. It all started with her thinking she was going to get fired.

Our thoughts lead to our actions. Our actions create our reality, if you don’t like your reality change your thoughts.

 

 

 

Buried Treasure

Posted by:    Darlene Duncan CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC
                   Training Coordinator

In today’s job market finding a job is like searching for buried treasure. Here are some non-traditional ideas you can use for your search:

  1.    If you’re interested in a specific employer; Friend them on   Facebook, seek them out on LinkedIn and Twitter.

2.    Be more than a voyeur on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Get involved in discussions, especially if the discussions are relevant to the type of work for which you are looking.

3.    Connect with people on LinkedIn that work for the company for which you would like to work. Get to know them.

4.    Visit the websites of companies for which you would like to work. This will help keep you abreast of what’s going on in those organizations.

5.    Set up Google Alerts on companies for which you would like to work. This way whenever they’re mentioned in the news, you’ll be notified of the issue.

6.    Volunteer somewhere doing the kind of work for which you’re trying to get hired. There are multiple benefits to this. One, you’re keeping your skills sharp. Two, you might pick up some new skills. Three, you’re out there in the world meeting people, people who might have job leads for you. Four, the place you’re volunteering for may decide to hire you. Five, you can put your volunteer work on your résumé. This lets employers see that you’re not sitting at home waiting for something to happen. You’re out there trying to make something positive happen for yourself.

7.    If you belong to a specific profession, find associations and other websites related to that profession.

Remember, people like to help people who have helped them. When you go to these social media sites, don’t just be there as a taker. You need to give of yourself. Offer helpful suggestions. This applies to face-to-face situations as well as social media sites.

Maybe you’ve connected with a person who works at the company you really want to hire you. They have posted a request for help with a work related problem. If you know of a solution or have an idea to offer them, do so.

 

One final note today, don’t whine. Be positive. Negativity is a huge turn off.

 
This is a repost from January 2012.

A Positive Beginning to a Great Year

Posted by: Darlene Duncan CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC
Training Coordinator

Happy New Year 2012!

It’s a new year and a new beginning. Let’s think positive that this will be a good year.

Think positive! What does that mean? People are always telling other people to think positive. The recipients of those words, smile, shrug their shoulders or nod their heads, all the while thinking, “What do they mean ‘think positive’? I don’t understand.”

I’m going to tell you what it means to me to ‘think positive’. It means that in any given situation, think about the outcome you want. For example, if you’re going on a job interview think about what makes you qualified for the position, plan to wear an outfit that makes you look good, prepare the outfit ahead of time so you know that it’s ready. See yourself getting the job and going to work every day. DO NOT let any negative thoughts enter your mind. If you start thinking negative thoughts about the interview, crush them like a bug.

If you’re a negative kind of person this will be more difficult for you because you’re creating a new habit of positive thinking. If you put forth the required effort and allow sufficient time you can create a new habit of positive thinking.

There are those people that don’t believe in the power of positive thought. If you’re one of those people, think about this. What do you have to lose by changing to more positive thoughts? The truth is you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

Perception = Reality

Posted by: Darlene Duncan, CWDP, JSS, CCC, JCTC, JCDC
Training Coordinator

Some people disagree that someone’s perception of you is reality. However, each person’s perception of the world around them is THEIR reality. I agree that my perception of the world is not, necessarily, your reality. It is definitely my reality. Therefore, someone’s perception of you is their reality.

Think about your perception of the world. Are you a negative individual? Then it’s very likely the world is a very negative place, for you. Give this idea a try – for one month work at having a positive attitude. Every time you catch yourself being negative about anything. Stop and try to find a positive aspect of the issue. Find some part of the situation for which you can be thankful.

Even something as simple as getting caught by a red light can have its positive aspects. You’re sitting at a red light idling away the liquid gold your car runs on, so what is there to be thankful about? If your car has air conditioning, you could be thankful for that. If the air conditioning is broken or just non-existent, you could be thankful you have a car and you’re not walking.

I’m not saying that life will improve overnight. At the same time, being positive isn’t going to make matters worse and it might make things better. An old phrase I’ve heard many times comes to mind. I don’t know who said it first so I have no idea to whom I should give credit. “Fake it till you make it.”

Maybe you don’t really feel positive but if you fake it long enough, you may find that you’ve become a positive kind of person. And let’s face it no one wants to hire someone who’s always down, grumpy and just plain negative all the time.

Give it try. What have you got to lose?