Click on the image below to view a copy of this week's edition of The Employment Guide in Portland.

Thanksgiving Trivia

 

After you have gone around the dinner table, and said what you are thankful for (at least that’s the tradition at my house), you can impress everyone with some Thanksgiving / turkey trivia

 

Did you know:

• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States.  But it was Thomas Jefferson who opposed him.  It is believed that Franklin then named the male turkey as “tom” to spite Jefferson
• The mature turkey has over 3,500 feathers
• Wild turkeys can run as fast as 20 mph and fly up to 55 mph
• Minnesota is the top turkey producing state in the US
• George H.W. Bush is the first president to pardon the Thanksgiving turkey
• The long loose skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck is called a wattle
• Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining
• The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day
• The cranberry is one of 3 fruits native to North America. The others: blueberry and Concord grape
• The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was 2,020 lbs.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest turkey on record weighed in at 86 lbs.
• The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934.  Their opponent was the Chicago Bears
• The day before Thanksgiving is the most profitable day for bar sales in the U.S. New Year’s Eve is a close second

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

With many of you this week being in totally holiday mode with Thanksgiving on Thursday, here are some quick link to whats going on around Portland:

• Portland may not be a global city, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
• Consumer confidence grows slightly, but is nothing to write home about for the holiday season.
• With the economy growing modestly and consumers spending, the economy may not be rebounding as strong as once believed.
• Is a college degree worth what it costs to be in debt after graduation and in a weak job market?
• It has gotten so bad for some that they can not even afford to take care of their pets.
• More on Portland being a happier city despite the unemployment issues.

So Portland, while your enjoying your turkey on Thursday and catching up on the news, don't forget about the Employment Guide for all your employment needs. Stay safe and enjoy your Thanksgiving, and as always please feel free to leave comments in the section below.

In the Meet an Orlando Job Seeker series, we are going to be meeting job seekers and see what is holding them back, what they are doing to look for a job and helping promote them to the companies we have the opportunity to showcase them in front of. If you are looking for a job in Orlando and wish to be profiled and promoted, please send an email to greg.rollett@employmentguide.com.

Meet Ryan Patrick McCafferty, a recent grad looking for an entry level business position in Orlando, FL. We asked Ryan some questions about his job search and his future. Here is the interview.


JobSpot: How long have you been looking for a job?
Ryan: 6 months

JobSpot: How did you find yourself unemployed?
Ryan: Graduated College

JobSpot: What has worked for you in terms of finding available positions?
Ryan: Word of mouth, internet job searches

JobSpot: What has been the most frustrating part of the process?
Ryan: Not hearing back from companies I have sent resumes to and finding more experienced people are taking entry level jobs away from college grads and the jobs that are available are commission based which don't necessarily pay the bills.

JobSpot: If you have been interviewed, how were the interviews conducted and what can employers do to make interviews more efficient?
Ryan: The interviews were professional that were in person and I've had a few phone interviews which were less formal. In terms of making the interviews more efficient the company can give an exact date and time they will get back with a candidate to inform them whether they will be chosen.

JobSpot: Describe the value you can bring to an organization?
Ryan: I can bring energy, intelligence, leadership, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and an ability to work well with teams.

JobSpot: What is your dream job?
Ryan: A job that I would enjoy going to everyday and that would allow me to use my talents in a way where I would be able to make a difference in other peoples lives.

JobSpot: What steps are you taking to get to that dream job?
Ryan: Networking and actively searching job postings.

JobSpot: What would you like to see improved in the whole looking for a job process?
Ryan: It would have been nice if there was an opportunity to have more connections working through the college as I was graduating.

What Ryan should do next?
My suggestions to Ryan and others in Ryan's shoes is to start making yourself more attractive to employers and recruiters by building an online presence. This can come in the form of a LinkedIn profile, blogging about your industry or profession and looking for networking opportunities with people in the positions you wish to be in. Job boards are great, but rarely do they have all the answers.

Another idea is to narrow his focus. Take the business angle and find specific jobs and careers that fit your dream job or ideal career. From here it will be easier to find companies that offer these types of positions and find people to network with.

Here are some posts for ideas and inspiration:
Discover Who You Want To Be
How To Find A Career By Listening Online
Finding People To Advance Your Career Online

If you would like to contact Ryan about a position at your company, please reach out to him at MCCAFFERTYR@etown.edu.

-Greg

Click on the image below to view a copy of this week's edition of The Employment Guide in Portland.

While the October unemployment rate in Pennsylvania remained flat at 8.8% from September, the state managed to add over 10,000 jobs month to month. This is only the second time since 2007 that Pennsylvania has seen job counts rise.

The big gainers were Healthcare/Education and Hospitality, while manufacturing and construction continue to shed the most jobs, though at a reduced level from prior months.

This puts Pennsylvania 1.4% better than the national unemployment rate of 10.2%.

More: http://bit.ly/4ukKIH

Job fairs are still one of the easiest ways to get in front of a potential employer. The entire point of the event is to being together employers with open positions and job seekers to fill them. If you prepare adequately and come with an open mind about job possibilities, you may very likely leave the event with an interview, a job offer or some great leads. The Employment Guide was fortunate enough to help over 15,000 people find employment through job fairs alone in 2009.

We have a complete resource center on Orlando Job Fairs here.

For more information about transforming from the soldier's life to civilian employment, please be sure to pick up a copy of the Veteran's Transition Guide at your local Workforce Central Florida location or at a military base near you.

Whether you just got out of the service or are staring to think about your next steps after military life, online job hunting is the most efficient way to find your new career. There are many new search tools and online job resources available, waiting for the classifieds in the Sunday paper is old news. Perhaps you have already dabbled in online job searches and social networking. However there are still some tips and tricks to getting the most of your online job seeking efforts.

Here are some tips and resources to get you started:

Start With The Basics
Set up a professional email with GMail or your own hosted domain. Try and grab yourname@gmail.com if its available.

Look in All Available Places
In today's landscape there are job boards, social networks and communities for every industry, every niche and every brand. Find these specialized job boards and communities and look for people to connect with, companies that you relate to and opportuities to explore. The Employment Guide has set up niche sites in Transportation, Healthcare and Older workers to make this process easier for job seekers.

Use Automation Tools
Set up things like job alerts and Google alerts to create feeds that bring the jobs to you. This will make the most effective use of your time.

Promote Yourself
Use these social media tools to promote yourself in a positive light. Do you have videos of presentations or pictures of things you have built, awards you have won? If so, showcase this on your profiles, start a blog or bring them onto the networks. This will give recruiters a great sense of who you are and what you can do for their company.

Get Offline
We can get caught up in the ease of tools like Google and Job Baords, however physical meetings and networking events can still play a major role in returning to a civilian job. Try sites like Meetup, Eventful and Upcoming to find events in your area that relate to your likes and interests.

For more information about transforming from the soldier's life to civilian employment, please be sure to pick up a copy of the Veteran's Transition Guide at your local Workforce Central Florida location or at a military base near you.

I was up late the other night and this clip really caught my eye. It was an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featuring Vice President Joe Biden. In this first part of the interview Joe and Jon talk about the administration's role in job creation and the new jobs coming to Americans in the form of Health Care, Energy and Education.

Watch the clip here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Joe Biden Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

I'd love to know your feedback. Over the past half a year we have heard from Florida's Gov. Charie Crist and now Joe Biden talk about jobs in these sectors. They say the growth with come in the first quarter of new year. What do you think is happening and where do you fit in. We love learning from the people who are living the job seeking lifestyle as it helps us deliver news and information and help you out everywhere that we can.

Happy hunting Orlando!

-Greg

As we continue our tour of the new Health Career Web, I wanted to showcase one of the most beneficial things you can do other than create a powerful profile, and that's making use of the blogging feature. The video below walks you through how to create a new blog post and where it goes and who has the potential to see it.



I hope you are enjoying these videos and taking action if they pertain to you. We have some great information coming in the next few days including a Thanksgiving action plan for job seekers that may just turn your holiday season around!

Happy hunting Orlando!

-Greg