21 QUICK Job Search Tips (Quick Tips Edition)

Are you looking for a new job?  Do you need fast tips that can help you get started in your search?  Or perhaps you have been searching for awhile and still have not been able to land the job or career you desire?

Well, now you're in luck.  I have published my first book, 21 QUICK Job Search Tips (Quick Tips Edition).  This book can help you in your job search and you can learn some tips that are easy to read and comprehend.  The tips are also practical enough that readers can incorporate them in their own job search.

Each Quick Tip is short in length, but yet gets right to the point.  I have kept each tip short and precise in order to not waste your valuable time.

This is the first book in the series and it can be found on Amazon.  Order your copy today.

Also, don't forget to rate the book and share your thoughts on this blog and on Amazon.

Thanks,

P. Alexander

5 Quick Tips to Re-Invent Yourself and Career

There comes a time in a man's life (and woman's life) that you must make a change.  What used to work is no longer working.  The friends you used to have, no longer have time for you.  The jobs and careers you had are now gone.  Times have changed.

You may be older and wiser, but things seem to be harder.  Our world has changed so much and is constantly changing at an ever increasing rate. You will have to re-invent yourself to keep up.  If you don't, you will no longer be considered relevant.  You must make adjustments to continue on your path to success.  This article is about 5 tips that can help you re-invent your life and career.

Tip 1:  Move.  One of the surest ways to change your life and to meet new people is to move.  If you're in the United States, then you have 50 different states and many cities to choose from.  If you want to stay within the country, travel is easy and you have many options.  If you want to move international, then the Internet and planes have made the world much smaller than ever before.

Today, it is easier than ever to move far from family and friends and yet still be connected to them on a daily basis, almost like they are next door.  When you move to a new city or town or a new rural area, there are many challenges to address.  Ideally, you should research your new area before making the move, but I have seen friends that have picked up and moved, with very limited research, and yet they were still successful, Yes, it is much easier a transition if you already know someone in the place you decide to go and it is also easier when you move with a job waiting for you.  It is also easier when you move for a relationship as you will have someone there with you and not be bored and lonely.  Either way, whether you move by yourself or with others, you should consider moving as a dramatic way to change your life,...because it will.


Tip 2:  Go back to School.  Going back to school is the safe way to make changes in your life and career.  It is the safe thing to do.  Almost everyone has done it or will do it,  Many will take classes and slowly work towards a degree, which they hope will lead to a new career and more money.  The school option may take years to achieve, but it's often worth it, especially if it is being done for personal reasons (like accomplishing an educational goal).  And it may workout as a financial boost and allow you to change careers and jobs.

It is easier to change jobs if you have at least a bachelors degree.  A masters degree will generally give you more options.  The downside is that it can cost you a lot of time and a lot of money.  It can put you in debt for many years if you take out student loans.  There are no guarantees of success.  Times have changed.  But without formal education, it is easier for an employer to not consider you for certain jobs.


Tip 3:  Change Jobs.  Once you get your new degree, you should consider changing jobs, because your current employer will most likely not value your new education.  However, if your current employer did pay for your degree, then they will most likely want you to stay a few years afterwards so they can get a return on their investment (i.e. you).  Either way, try to negotiate more money and a promotion if possible.


Tip 4:  Change Careers.  If you can't advance any further in your career or you're mentally done with your career or you are unemployed and can't seem to land another job in your field, then you should consider a career change.  However, career changes often take years of time and lots of money to make it happen, therefore, you should start working on your new career as soon as possible.

Whether it is going to school or taking classes or freelancing on the side or even working a part-time job, now is the time to build your next career.  I used to teach part-time in the evening hours.  Back then, I was building a second career, while working my day job.  With each new class I taught, I was gaining valuable skills to add to my knowledge base.  I was building my resume,  The resume is still a key marketing tool to justify your experience for a career change, so get started now.


Tip 5:  Learn Something New.  Okay, last but not least, you can re-invent yourself by learning new things.  There are so many options to access new information.  You can read a book, attend a seminar or workshop, take a short, non-degree class, attend a lecture, go online, watch YouTube videos, etc., etc., etc.  The possibilities are endless.  If you can't attend a class during the week, then go on weekends.  As you learn more information and pick up new skills and experiences, you will change your thinking as your knowledge and vantage points change.  Always be open to learn new, positive and useful information and skills.  Then, your life will change.

Also, consider learning skills that you can add to your resume.  This is the fastest way I know to build your resume for a career.  Taking short, skill based seminars and classes are quicker than taking formal degree programs (above) that can take years 4 to complete.

Please comment and share your thoughts on re-inventing yourself and career.

4 Quick Student Loan Debt Tips

Do you have student loan debt?  Are you struggling to pay off your loans?

Today, I read an article on USA TODAY, titled "5 tips to tackle student loan debt".  It had practical tips to help manage student loan debt.  My 4 tips will focus on paying off your student loans faster.

Tip 1:  Avoid Deferments and Forbearance. Yes, deferments and forbearance are good ways to postpone paying on your loans, especially when times are hard financially. However, if it is at all possible to pay on your loans, then do so. There are several repayment options for federal loans, from income based payments to switching to longer repayments.  Choose the option best for your situation.  You only have a limited amount of times that you can defer or forebear your loans. Therefore, avoid taking deferments and forbearance unless absolutely necessary.

Tip 2:  Avoid Capitalizing Your Interests.  If you have to do a deferment or forbearance, the main thing to remember is that interest is still being charged and accrues monthly.  If you have a federal subsidized loan, then the government is paying the interest during the deferment.  If your loan is unsubsidized (or private), then you must pay the interest.  If you don't pay periodically (at the end of the grace period), the interest will be capitalized (added to your principal) and your debt will increase.

Tip 3:  Do Not Default!  Don't default on your loans in order to avoid large penalty fees.  You will still have to pay the loans back, so try to avoid this pitfall.  By making monthly payments, you can avoid calls from debt collectors and the risk of wage garnishment.  If you have defaulted, then try to negotiate a repayment plan that you can afford.

Tip 4:  Make More Money.  In order to pay off your loan, your goal should be to increase your income annually.  If you have a full-time job, then consider getting a part-time job and use the extra income to pay down your loan.  By paying down the debt faster, you will save money, because over-time you will pay less interest.  You can develop a one-page resume to target part-time jobs and increase your income.

What tips do you have to help others pay down their student loans?  Also, feel free to share your student loan debt story and the amount you owe.

3 Quick Tips to Improve Your Resume

Resume Service

Here are 3 quick tips to improve your resume.

Tip 1. Place a link to your Linkedin profile at the top of your resume.  Place the link right below your name and above the title of the resume (i.e. the job title).  If you don't have a Linkedin profile, then go to Linkedin, sign up and build your profile.  You can then connect to former co-workers, friends, associates, etc. as easy as importing your email list.  Afterwards, create a hyperlink on your resume back to your Linkedin profile.

Tip 2.  Keep your resume short (1 to 2 pages).  Long resumes can show a wealth of skills and experience, but may be too long for the reader to read quickly.  Therefore, keep it short and supplement the resume with either a short cover-letter or a 1 page addendum.

Tip 3.  Develop a 1 page addendum to your resume.  This is basically a one page summary of skills, training, education, certifications, work experiences, etc. that either could not fit in your short resume or it is a one-page resume that targets one specific job or industry.

If you have a resume that shows different (non-related) work experiences, then you can build a one-page addendum that only groups the related jobs together.  This can be written similar to a functional resume, but save it as an "addendum".  For example, my full-time career field is Electrical Engineering and I'm often targeting the power industry, therefore, my addendum will be saved as, "Power Addendum".

Include your resume addendum, along with you resume and cover letter, when applying for specific jobs where the addendum can better hi-lite your skills and experience.  The resume will provide the chronological order that employers typically want to see.  The cover letter (which is often optional) can be used to hi-lite a few key points of your credentials.  I rarely use cover letters, but they can be helpful when used correctly.

Share your thoughts about these tips and other tips that you use to improve your resume.

Recently Unemployed? Share Your Story

Are you recently unemployed?  Please share your story here.

Include the basics of the job:  like the type of job you had, amount of years on the job and the reason for being unemployed (e.g. fired, laid off, quit, job out-sourced, etc.).

Also, share your experiences since being unemployed, including experiences with your state unemployment office, family, friends, spouse, significant other, associates, former colleagues, former co-workers, etc.      

Interview Tips: Deal-Breakers

What are some deal-breakers that you have seen on interviews or ones that you may have committed yourself?

One of my deal-breakers, was that I arrived at an interview 3 hours late!  That was crazy!  But, what was even crazier was that the company actually saw me and reshuffled everybody's schedule to accommodate me.  I was almost able to pull off the interview, but in the end,  I was 3 hours late, so there was no way to salvage the bad first impression.  A Deal-Breaker!!!

Please share some of your experiences,...no matter how wild and crazy!

Job Search Tip: Refresh Your Resume (Often)

What do you do when you stop getting phone calls and stop receiving emails inquiring about you and your resume? You may think that you may have to apply to more jobs and have to network more and may even need to go to more job fairs?  All of these things are of course helpful in your job search, but what I have found is that I can do a simple thing like refresh my resume and within a day or two I am getting lots of phone calls and emails again.

To refresh your resume on the major job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder you will need to log in and re-post (upload) your resume.  It appears that resumes that are older than 30 days will get less and less interest from recruiters.  Recruiters / Head Hunters tend to gravitate towards recently posted (recently uploaded) resumes.  So, if you want a steady flow of calls and emails, then try uploading your resume at least every 30 days.  You can also upload (refresh) your resume more often if you like.

Now be careful to not over saturate your name and resume.  If recruiters see you too often, then you may have over-exposed yourself.  On the flip-side, you can be strategic and take down your resume for 6 months or a year, if you're not actively looking for a job.  That way, when you are ready again and post your resume, the recruiters / staffing agents will see you as NEW candidate and gravitate towards your NEW resume and hopefully will land you the NEW job you desire.

What are your experiences with this strategy?  Has it worked for you or others you know?

Generate More Income Tips

What are some tips to generating more income?

For those that work for money (income),...to generate income usually means getting a job or getting a better job that pays more.  Sometimes it means getting a part-time job also or maybe getting two part-time jobs or even a seasonal job.  However, how can we working class or middle class people generate extra income with the limited time we have?

One way is to develop a side hobby into a cash hustle.  For example, I once read about a lady that liked to cook and bake cakes.  She was unemployed and her unemployment benefits ran out, so she needed a way to generate some quick cash.  She started cooking dinners and cakes and sold them to her friends, family and local community.  She also did other hustles to keep some cash (income) coming in to put food on the table for herself and her daughter.

In the winter time, I see a lot of guys out with their pickup trucks, looking to plow driveways for individuals and businesses.  Its a quick, easy income if you know what you're doing.  Other people offer moving services, dog walking services, tutoring, etc,, etc.

What are some of the ways that you know to legally generate income outside of working a traditional job or a part-time job?  And are any of those ways making you money now?

Resume Addendums

What are your thoughts about attaching a resume addendum when applying for a job?  Basically a resume addendum is a one page version of your resume, but with more details of a specific job or skill.

For example, my career is in Electrical Engineering and I was asked today by a recruiter to add more detail for one job and he suggested that I could add it as a separate addendum.  So, I basically used my resume as the template to build the addendum.  In it, I added the details of my related projects, courses and training with some of the other aspects of the 1st resume, like my name, job title, objective and education.  This resume addendum reminds me of a functional resume, but the huge gap in my related experience is justified, because I have already accounted for the time in the original chronological resume that was submitted.

Tell me your thoughts of submitting an addendum (in the form of a shortened, but detailed resume). The recruiter was very pleased with the format.

Ebola Survival Tips

Watching the news today leads me to write this post.  So far it appears that there are two nurses in the United States that have contracted Ebola from the first patient in Dallas.  One nurse is being treated in Dallas, while the other has been moved to Emory hospital in Atlanta.  Also, a nurse in Spain is still battling with Ebola, but may be improving.

So, with this little news detail, I started to think of some quick tips to help us survive an Ebola outbreak.

Ebola Survival Tips

1.  Stay out of Africa

   -This should be a no-brainer, but I know someone planning to travel there soon.  West Africa is ground zero for this round of outbreak.

2.  Consider wearing a mask on airplanes and large public gatherings.

   -The authorities say you can't catch Ebola through the air, but how often have the "authorities" been wrong before??

3.  Wash your hands (often).

    -Wash your hands after you use the bathroom and use sanitizers.  This should be a no-brainer too, but how often have we seen people not wash their hands after using the toilet.  Nasty!

4.  Wear latex gloves and masks when dealing with sick people.        

     -It's probable best that you avoid sick people in general, but if it is a close family member, then    you may want to take these precautions.

5.  Check your temperature.

     -An elevated temperature,...around 100 degrees F is a possible sign that you are having a fever.

6.  Seek medical help if you think you have been exposed to the virus.

    -It appears the sooner you are diagnosed and get medical attention, then the more likely you will survive.

Okay, these are a few tips that I can think of.  Please share your thoughts, comment on my tips and provide any helpful tips you might have.  Let's hope the spread of the virus ends today.

Long-Term Unemployed

What are your thoughts regarding the long-term unemployed?  Are you presently unemployed longer than 6 months and actively looking for a job?  Do you know of someone in this situation?  Please share.

And if you are employed,... do you think it is the long-term unemployed people's fault for being unemployed for so long?  And what if you lost your job?  How long do you think it would take to find another one?

Age Discrimination

When does age discrimination start?

Does it start at 50?  Maybe 45?  I think it starts as young as 39 or 40.  I remember when I was 39 and I was working as an engineer on a short contract job and just about everyone in the office were younger than 33.  I felt old and at times could tell that I was viewed as the "old guy" in the office.  For the first time I was working for managers that were younger than me.  They were 29, 31 and 32.  It was not a good experience as they often felt the need to show how "smart" they were.  It was obvious that I knew more than they did, but they had the power. It was hard for me to navigate the relationships as they often teamed up against me.  Up until then, I was always on the younger side of the fence.  All of my managers had been older.

I think the younger managers favored the younger workers and often tried to disregard and minimize my vast knowledge and experience.  Eventually, they were able to force me out.  My contract was suddenly ended.  They kept the younger engineer who was in his early to mid-20's, but who had far less experience.

Please share your age discrimination stories and tell us at what age were you when you first faced age discrimination? Also, if you are young, and are also facing age discrimination, then please share your experiences here as well.