Thursday, May 31, 2012


Job Search with LinkedIn: Stay The Course
By Larry French

How long have you been looking for work? In this economic downturn it has not been unusual for some individuals to be displaced for as long as a year or longer. I know because I was. It took me months to get over the initial shock of being laid-off.

Part of it was because I had become very accustomed to my job. After all, I’d been faithfully devoted to it for over 20-years. I was actually thinking in another 10-15 years I would be able to retire from my job and begin doing things I’d been planning to do for years. Well, the recession changed that line of thinking as I am sure it altered some of your plans. But in a sense the change was necessary. That’s the other part of why my experience took time. The loss of my job helped me to wake up.

Change Is Good
I’ve heard it said, “a bad situation can be a good one when you see it through different eyes.” It’s one thing to say that and another to actually live it. Been there, done that. I was content where I was in my former work-life, maybe too much to my detriment. For years, I had a dream of pursing my passion for writing. Several manuscripts were started but none were finished. There was always something distracting me. Being focused on the work I had so efficiently done for so long, I was narrowly focused. I concentrated on my profession so well that I kept neglecting my other aspirations. In other words, in a sense I was a workaholic. I was only looking at things in my life through a narrow perspective.

When I realized my perceived misfortune was more of an opportunity, I began to change. It was a process of re-inventing me. That’s right; I had to learn new things. I had to look at things differently, go about doing things in ways I’d never done them before. Instead of looking at myself as being unemployed and disadvantaged because of my age, I started looking at what I could do with all of my earned experience.

The re-invention of me was a required step I had to take to reach for my dreams. I’m not saying that it’s something everyone else needs to do but for me it was a no-brainer. I began looking for the kinds of employment where I could best use my skills and still do what I always wanted to do—write.

Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan
To pursue my dreams I needed a plan. To find work I had to have a strategy. I wanted to write and also be able to pay my bills and make a living. Maybe you’re in the same boat. If so, don’t stop paddling. There is a landing spot for you out there somewhere. You just have to be creative and patient. Give it some time and effort and you’ll develop your own job search strategy.

Making your job search strategy fit your plan is the creative part. Today, we have a host of electronic media venues available to use for serious work searching. You might as well forget about newspapers because many of them just aren’t advertising what you may be looking for. It’s the other search browsers you want take a look at, like Monster, CareerBuilder, and many others. Don’t forget the municipal, state, and Federal job search browsers. You want to have an assortment of ways to be looking—and advertising—yourself.

Become LinkedIn
One of the best professional networking tools out there is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional network that provides you opportunities to make connections with other people, like yourself. You can exchange knowledge and ideas while establishing a network to assist you in your job search. LinkedIn has become the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

You should seriously consider LinkedIn for the ways that its use can get you presence out there on the www. The Profile, Contacts, Groups, Companies and other features can maximize the effectiveness of your job search strategy. It can work, it did for me. I became introduced to LinkedIn almost a year ago. As part of my Deland PRO-NET professionals group, I shared what I was learning about LinkedIn use. It helped me and others. In talking and sharing, I gained more confidence in myself and my ability to make my job search strategy work. It encouraged others in the networking group and it also got me blogging.

For the past couple of months, I have been writing articles for the CBE Blog, http://cbeworkforce.blogspot.com/ about using LinkedIn. It’s been a great experience and I hope it’s been a help to others. Now, I have steady work as a result of my LinkedIn efforts. My personal writing is picking up and I’ve launched my own website as a platform for my writing, LARRYFRENCHHISTORICALNOVELIST.COM . I think I’ve done about all I can and it’s time for me to step aside and allow someone else the opportunity I had to share. This is my last post here on the CBE Blog. If you’re looking for me, you can find me via my own blog and website accessible through, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534

Stay The Course
I encourage you all to stay the course. If you haven’t yet found your way don’t give up. There is hope and there is a way. Keep at it and know that you are not alone. Get yourself out there and use the resources that places like the Deland and Daytona One-Stop, http://www.onestops.com/newindex.asp have to offer in your search. Attend the workshops and learn to network. PRO-NET and the CBE Workforce staff can help. If you arrived late in this series of articles go to the CBE Blog link above for the archive.

Larry French is a novelist and writer. He is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Time Will Tell, The Awakening which blends his love of history and science and is set during the American Civil War. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534 Read about his work at, LARRYFRENCHHISTORICALNOVELIST.COM .

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Do You Know What Your Worth to Employers?


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

Personally, I know I’m priceless; however, an employer will undoubtedly have a different opinion. When you’re a job seeker sooner or later a potential employer is going to ask you that dreaded question. What salary are you expecting?

If you’ve done your research there’s no need to panic. Long before you reached the interview you should have checked out the company’s web site, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn presence. Sometimes you can find out what a company pays by researching their internet presence.

There are a great many sites you can use to do more Labor Market Information research so that you know what kind of wages are currently being paid for your skills, experience and abilities in your geographic area.

When you log into Employ Florida Marketplace you can access FRIEDA Florida from the navigation bar on the left. You can also access FRIEDA right here by clicking on this $ dollar sign.

In addition to that, you can click here for an article with some other sites that can help you with your Labor Market Information research.

Thursday, May 24, 2012


Forbes Magazine Article
By Larry French

When this series of articles began I was still looking for work. Being laid off from the job I’d thought I would retire from, I had to deal with the reality of today’s workscape. It was a barren ‘no-man’s land’ of little opportunity. After brushing the dust off of my resume, I was off on a journey of rediscovery when it comes to job searching.

Don’t Give Up
I had to re-invent myself. Looking at my skills and assets as a worker, I needed to come up with a job search strategy. I wanted to continue working as an editor and also seeking recognition as an author with my writing. A two-pronged plan came together where I would look for editorial work to meet my financial obligations and also keep writing.

That was a tough job search strategy to implement but LinkedIn became the tool for me to make it work. LinkedIn is a networking medium used by professionals and lots of businesses today. It’s become the electronic equivalent of face-to-face networking. The contacts you establish on LinkedIn can work for you. It has been helpful to me and that’s why I’ve been writing these articles.

See for Yourself
You don’t have to simply take my word for it. Check out the several links in the articles of this series to other sources talking about LinkedIn. In fact, here’s another, Top 2 Reasons LinkedIn Is Taking Over the World, from Forbes Magazine,

After exploring what LinkedIn may have to offer you, also seek more advice and help in your job search with the CBE One-Stop Employment Division. Check their website at http://www.onestops.com/newindex.asp and check out the resources, such as the Job Seekers and Customized Services tabs. Schedule an appointment to meet with one of the staff to discuss your job search strategy and begin re-inventing yourself. Find the CBE Blog link and also check out the other articles posted to help you in your job search.

Larry French is a novelist and writer. He is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Time Will Tell, The Awakening which blends his love of history and science and is set during the American Civil War. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534 Read about his work at, LARRYFRENCHHISTORICALNOVELIST.COM

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tweet Yourself a Job Interview


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

Do you tweet on Twitter? If not, maybe you should. If you’re already tweeting are you using the full potential of Twitter in your hunt for that next job?

I recently read an article with some great information about using Twitter for your job search. To read that same article click here.


Monday, May 21, 2012

Life’s what you make it


By: Lori Mcmullin, APR
Director of Business Operations & Communications
Center for Business Excellence



“Life’s what you make it – celebrate it. Anticipate it – yesterday’s faded.”  If you don’t recognize these lyrics, they come from a song by the 1980’s English band, Talk Talk.  You should YouTube them – they are awesome!

Getting to the point of this blog posting, this Mantra of sorts will be more relevant than ever as we finally see momentum in climbing out of the recession.

Bad news and bad things happen to all of us.  As humans, we are allowed to wallow from time to time.  It’s when we continually hold ourselves back or, worse yet, burden or unnecessarily worry friends, relatives and even complete strangers with our woes that it becomes a major issue.

Many times, the latter actually serves to drive these people away. It’s hard to remember when life is crashing all around us, but how we respond to the situation at hand is really the more important testament to our character.

Here’s the cool thing. We have unique opportunities out there to rise from the proverbial “ashes” and reinvent ourselves.  It’s up to us to be open to the possibilities.

A week from now (May 30), you have the opportunity to attend CBE’s “Eighth Annual Business Summit” at the Daytona Beach Hilton.

There will be many valuable workshops, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our keynote speaker Connie Podesta will be addressing this topic.  So, what are you waiting for? Click on the link below to learn more about the event and register.  See you there!

Thursday, May 17, 2012


Don’t Avoid LinkedIn
By Larry French

Logo provided by LinkedIn
If you are seeking work or trying to re-invent yourself in this present economy you need LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a valuable online tool for networking. It’s one of the biggest and fastest growing means by which recruiters and employers are seeking out new employees today. LinkedIn has become the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Are you LinkedIn? If you aren’t, you need to be.

Don’t Miss Out
I was struggling in my own job search before I found LinkedIn. The success that I’ve had using LinkedIn spawned this series of articles to spread the word to other job seekers. LinkedIn is not a social meeting place, but instead is a business oriented hub for business networking. Businesses, employers and recruiters are more likely to be interacting with other professionals on LinkedIn making it a more credible tool for a job seeker trying to market him/herself.

You should check out this article, Recruiters Say: Avoid LinkedIn At Your Perilhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/11/recruiters-say-avoid-linkedin-at-your-peril/

Use All Resources
For more advice and help in your job search go to the CBE One-Stop Employment Division website at http://www.onestops.com/newindex.asp and check out the resources, such as the Job Seekers and Customized Services tabs. Schedule an appointment to meet with one of the staff to discuss your job search strategy and begin re-inventing yourself. Find the CBE Blog link and also check out the other articles posted to help you in your job search.

Larry French is a novelist, speaker, editorial writer, and content provider of Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Mathematics curriculum. He is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Time Will Tell, The Awakening which blends his love of history and science and is set during the American Civil War. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534 Read about his work at, LARRYFRENCHHISTORICALNOVELIST.NET

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Power of Your Elevator Speech


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

Some of you may be wondering, what is an elevator speech? An elevator speech is usually no more than 30 seconds. If you’re a job seeker, your elevator speech should inform the listener of who you are, what you do and how you might be an asset to the listener’s organization.

For ten tips on this topic click here.

Monday, May 14, 2012

It’s springtime! Need some extra help improving your concentration?


By: Lori McMullin, APR
Director of Business Operations & Communications
Center for Business Excellence



Most of us love springtime.  Remember, when you were in school and you caught “spring fever?”  You know, it’s so beautiful and invigorating outside, you find it harder to concentrate?

Now, we have to contend with “spring fever” and the fact our brains are bombarded with thousands of messages daily.  Here are some tips to help improve your focus:

Thursday, May 10, 2012


What Not to Do with LinkedIn
By Larry French

LinkedIn is a valuable tool for networking. It has become the premiere venue for professionals seeking to make contact with others in their field. LinkedIn is also an effective means to use in your job search strategy. As I write this I am reminded of how using LinkedIn helped me find my present job.

Don’t Misuse It
LinkedIn can and does work for you. Make sure you don’t abuse it. LinkedIn is not a social network, like Facebook. Because of the professional nature of most those who use LinkedIn, it has managed to stay professional. In your own use of LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to keep your social/personal networking separate from it.

You don’t want to make the mistake of using LinkedIn while on the job either. If you’re working to expand the business aspects of your job, that’s different. However, you don’t want to use LinkedIn at your job to look for another job. That could lead to trouble. For more wise advice regarding this, check out this article, http://www.internetserviceproviders.net/blog/2012/10-reasons-linkedin-can-cause-problems-at-work/ shared by LinkedIn member Jessica Miller.

For more advice and help in your job search go to the CBE One-Stop Employment Division website at http://www.onestops.com/newindex.asp and check out the resources, such as the Job Seekers and Customized Services tabs. Schedule an appointment to meet with one of the staff to discuss your job search strategy and begin re-inventing yourself. Find the CBE Blog link and also check out the other articles posted to help you in your job search.

Larry French is a novelist, speaker, editorial writer, and content provider of Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Mathematics curriculum. He is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Time Will Tell, The Awakening which blends his love of history and science and is set during the American Civil War. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534 Read more about his work at, LARRYFRENCHHISTORICALNOVELIST.COM

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

10 Things You Need To Do While You’re Unemployed


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

Being unemployed leaves you with a great deal of time on your hands. If you’re not sure what to do with all that time, besides job searching. Here are some productive ideas for you, take a class to learn or improve on a job skill, use the time to come up with ideas or start a professional blog.

For the details on these ideas and more read the article by clicking here.

Thursday, May 3, 2012


LinkedIn Can Work for You!
By Larry French

This series has explored how you can establish yourself a LinkedIn Profile. It’s also featured brief articles on the various features LinkedIn offers you as tools in your own job search strategy. All of us who are job seekers can benefit in some way through the offerings LinkedIn has. If you’re serious in your job search, LinkedIn can be one of your most effective tools to get a specific job.

As I’ve stated in previous articles, I had to come to the realization that my work search methods from 20-years ago weren’t working in our current market place. I began looking at LinkedIn as a tool to get myself back into the job market. Thanks to LinkedIn, I now have a job. My personal journey to success may be different from the one you take. All of us are individuals. We each have specific needs, dreams, and goals that vary. The one thing we have in common is the need to succeed in what ever course we’re pursuing in the job market. Using LinkedIn you too can make it.

Thank You for Your Service
Cover from FALL 2011 USAA Magazine
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of those servicemen and women coming home. We all owe you for the sacrifice you gave in your service. Now that you’re home and rejoining the job market you too may want to take a look at LinkedIn.

The use of Keywords and wording in resumes and job descriptions may pose an initial challenge to transitioning military personnel. Don’t let the jargon discourage you. All of us have had to look at everything in a different perspective in these times. It’s not really all that daunting a task cross-referencing your skills. USAA magazine had an extremely helpful article in their 2011 Fall edition for transitioning servicemen and women, http://usaamagazine.com/fall2011/ . The article, On The Job Front provided pages for you to De-Jargon Your Resume, showing how tasks and jobs in the military can be translated into civilian application. For example, if you worked in reconnaissance that could be translated to data collection, survey, and analysis experience.

Adapt for Success
If you’re just getting started in your search to get back into the work force you’ve got lots of resources to help you. Check out the CBE and PRO-NET. Go to the CBE One-Stop Employment Division website at http://www.onestops.com/newindex.asp and check out their resources, such as the Job Seekers and Customized Services tabs. Schedule an appointment to meet with one of the staff to discuss your job search strategy and begin re-inventing yourself.

Larry French is a novelist, speaker, editorial writer, and content provider of Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Mathematics curriculum. He is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Time Will Tell, The Awakening which blends his love of history and science and is set during the American Civil War. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-french/12/213/534

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Overcome Your Shyness to Become a Proficient Networker

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

The self-imposed barrier of shyness is something to which I can definitely relate. It wasn’t that many years ago that it was impossible for me to even consider speaking before a group of people of any size. Even one-on-one interactions were difficult for me. Then one day I realized that if I wanted to succeed in promoting my books at books signings I was going to have to get over myself. With that goal in mind I joined Toastmasters. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would speak before audiences ranging from a few people to 300 people. However, I speak before a group of 34 at least once a week and I have presented to an audience of 300 people. If I can overcome my shyness to do what I needed to do, then you can do the same.

Networking is just a label given to the act of meeting people and connecting with them for your mutual benefit. While social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) has reduced the amount of face-to-face networking, it still needs to be an integral part of your job search. If you have a self-imposed barrier of shyness and feel that you’re not a good networker, you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Whether it’s a simple social gathering or a formal networking event the advice in Dawn Rasmussen’s article can help you overcome that self-imposed barrier of shyness.

Your success at networking depends on your willingness to push yourself out of your comfort zone and put forth the necessary effort to succeed. I’m not saying you have to like networking. I am saying it should be a vital piece of your job search strategy and you need to become proficient at it.

Click here to read an article on overcoming shyness to improve your networking skills.