March 2008 Blog Topics - The Spot Blog

How Rising Fuel Costs are Impacting the Transportation Industry

31. March 2008 | Show Originial

Fuel is the second largest expense in the transportation industry, right behind good old labor costs. With the seemingly endless rising of oil and gas prices, how does this affect one of the county’s most important industries?

For one, it has opened the eyes of many big shots to alternative fuel solutions. Not to say, there is going to be a full on switch anytime soon, but at least there is visibility for the future.

According to Truckline.com:

After years of paying some of the highest diesel fuel prices on record, interest in renewable fuels is gaining momentum. Motor carriers are beginning to embrace high-quality biodiesel in low percentage blends in efforts to extend the nation’s fuel supply. At the same time, the industry is transitioning to ultra low sulfur fuel to support the next generation of diesel engines designed to reduce emissions.

Sounds like a great start to me!

With a very exciting Driver’s Job Fair coming to Tampa on Saturday, April 12^th, we hope that the industry is taking the right steps to ensure that one of the nation’s largest growing industries will stand tall in the coming years.

If you have any input as to how the trucking and transportation industry can make changes/improvements to the fuel situation, please join the conversation in the comments. If you have any questions about the Careers in Gear Driver’s Job Fair, or would like to attend, have a booth or sponsor, please email me at .

Happy hunting Tampa!

Greg Rollett

Thinking About College?

31. March 2008 | Show Originial

Finding, selecting and applying for the right college or university is an important and sometimes tough assignment that many high school students and their parents have to face. It involves letter writing, telephoning, research, weighing alternatives, and plain hard thinking. What you need to be aware of is going into to college with the mindset to focus on your goals and succeeding them.

A good beginning in selecting a college is to make a list of objectives, both educational and personal. High school courses need to be planned early with college entrance requirements in mind. The purpose is not to make decisions about a course of study that may turn out to be premature, but to keep the options open until such decisions can be made. The areas of educational and personal interest that you will most frequently cite as important in selecting a college include the following:

- Location (state, city, region) - Type of institution (two-year community college, four-year university, etc.) - Enrollment by sex - Religious affiliation, if any - Enrollment size - Academic calendar Campus environment - Majors or course offerings - Housing (on-campus, off-campus) - Cost - Financial aid - Student activities - Athletics - General academic reputation - Social life - Entrance requirements - Teaching reputation or ability of faculty

Obviously, not all of these items will be of high priority, but using them as a checklist helps to specify the range of choices. Although you may want to make changes or modifications in the list as you review colleges, it is important not to eliminate any of these areas until you know which are essential and which are not. Even then, it is quite possible that no college will meet all of your needs. So if you are thinking about college be sure to research different schools and find out everything you need to know as it pertains to what you are interested in and what different groups you may want to join. For more information about finding the right college or thinking about college, please visit: http://www.education.com/

3 Strange Questions About Your Job Search

28. March 2008 | Show Originial

Looking for a new job?

If so, you have a problem, right? You want to find work.

Would you like to solve that problem and get hired faster?

Good. That's what this column will help you do.

Wait - stop.

You've just read 39 words and all I've done is ask a few questions. You've just proven how engaging and powerful questions can be.

Now, if you want to find out how three engaging and rather unusual questions could give you the answers you need to find your next job fast, keep reading...

1) What jobs are really out there?
Before investing precious time in a job search, wouldn't it be great to know exactly what the demand for your skills is right now, so you head off in the right direction?

Well, you can. And it's easy to do.

Just visit www.EmploymentGuide.com and play with search terms to get a sense for what employers are looking for.

Example: Searching for "design" at www.EmploymentGuide.com turned up 61 job openings in Florida; "web design" found 3 openings; and "graphic design" also brought back 3 job listings -- quite a bit less than the first search.

Knowing the demand for specific jobs will help you speak the language employers want to hear. In the example above, I would use "design" in my resumes, cover letters, and networking conversations, because that's the phrase employers seem to be looking for in that sector.

Note: For a more accurate idea of what's out there, multiply the number of jobs you find online by four, because only about 15-25% of job openings are ever advertised.

2) Are you being active or productive in your job search?
A wise man once said, "Never confuse activity with productivity."

Do you feel like you're getting a lot done every day, yet you're not getting calls from employers? If so, your activity is not productive, is it?

To fix this, get a piece of paper and write down everything you've done in this job search -- and the last two before it -- the produced a face-to-face meeting with a hiring authority. That's the goal of your efforts, after all. We'll call these "A" job-search activities. They are productive.

Then, write down everything else you've done in your search that didn't produce a meeting, such as picking up the dry cleaning, visiting ESPN.com, deleting spam, etc. You get the idea. These are "B" job-search activities. They are not productive.

You can guess what's coming next, right?

Starting tomorrow, spend as much time as possible doing "A" activities, and stop doing "B" activities altogether. The upsurge in real productivity you enjoy may astonish you.

3) How could you get others to find job leads for you?
The most successful people multiply their efforts by using teams and systems to get more done each day. Think Tom Sawyer painting that fence.

You can do this, too. Here's how:

* Teams: Who's on your job-search board of directors? Don't have a board? For shame. All you have to do is ask 4 or 5 friends to meet every 2 weeks for lunch or coffee. Give them regular progress reports, ask for their input, hold yourself accountable -- and get hired faster.

* Systems: Do you have an organized way of managing every job lead, from start to finish, until it either turns into an interview or is ruled out? No? More shame for you.

Never rely on memory or your email inbox to keep track of this stuff -- names, dates and other details will get lost, and jobs will slip through your fingers like gold dust.

Instead, you need a system. It could be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet or a box of 3x5 cards, or as robust as the contact management software from ACT, GoldMine or JibberJobber.com.

Until next time, go out and make your own luck!

Kevin Donlin is creator of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 11,000 people. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His free report, The Simple Job Search Manifesto, is found at www.TheSimpleJobSearch.com.

3 Tips for Veterans On the Job Hunt

26. March 2008 | Show Originial

I grew up in a military family. Both of my grandfathers served in World War II in different branches and capacities. My father was in the Air Force, and my brother is currently in the Navy. I'm pretty much the norm here in Hampton Roads. We're home to just about every major branch of the US Military, and are known for our large military population due to the number of bases we host.

Just like my father and my brother, many people aren't quite sure what to do when they're able to let their hair down (literally) after leaving the military. You could be like my dad and grow a moustache* immediately. (That one didn't last long...) Or you could assimilate into the masses. Your time in the military is sure to have given you many skills that employers look for in new recruits - including higher management positions.

Here are some tips for veterans entering the workforce:

1. Lead the attack. You've been taught the values of reliability, ethics and leadership during your time in the military. Use that to your advantage by stressing your teamwork experience and your ability to lead.

2. Search and destroy. Your time in the military undoubtedly gave you unparalleled experience in many different fields. Many of those experiences can be translated into civilian jobs. Took a recruiting course? Use that experience to search job boards for HR positions.

3. Let your hair down. Literally. The military is super strict (and a bit behind the times) fashion-wise. The business world is a little more relaxed. Grow your hair out. Invest in some more comfortable pants.

Once you've settled in, start your job search. Here are some ideas from Military.com.

Top 25 Jobs for Veterans in 2008:

1) Network systems and data communications analyst
2) Personal and home care aides
3) Home health aides
4) Computer software engineers, applications
5) Veterinary technologists and technicians
6) Personal financial advisors
7) Medical assistants
8) Veterinarians
9) Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
10) Financial analysts
11) Social and human service assistants
12) Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators
13) Physical therapist assistants
14) Forensic science technicians
15) Dental hygienists
16) Mental health counselors
17) Mental health and substance abuse social workers
18) Dental assistants
19) Computer systems analysts
20) Database administrators
21) Computer software engineers, systems software
22) Gaming and Sports book writers and runners
23) Environmental science and protection technicians, including health
24) Physical therapists
25) Physician assistants

*Tom Selleck is not my father; but if he were, that'd be really, really cool.

Job Fair!!

26. March 2008 | Show Originial

On Yesterday, we held our Spring Diversity Job Fair at the Cobb Galleria and it was a blast! There were about 1,000 attendees that were anxious and excited to meet and greet with employers. I had a chance to catch up and speak to a representative from Comcast and here's what she had to say." I love attending the Employment Guide job fairs. We always find qualified candidates and the turnout is always great!"If you attended our job fair, we'd love to see your comments and hear any feedback that you might have.

Fun at Calle Ocho 2008