The VA is a great resource that is ready to provide health care and other important services to the Veteran community that is returning from the armed services. Below are some of their programs and resources that you need to know about upon returning back to civilian life.


The Returning Service Blog
This site is a great resource for veteran's to check out on a consistent basis with news, tips and stories on the impact of the VA on the lives of veterans.

Recent articles include:
A Journey We Must Take Together
What Should We Call Our Newest Vets

Health Care Eligibility
You can enroll for health care at any VA Medical Center or clinic for 5 years following your military separation date. When you enroll, you may start receiving your health care at the VA right away or defer till a later time, the choice is yours. You need to enroll within 5 years from your separation.

Dental Benefits
Unlike the health care, which you have 5 years with which to enroll, the dental program requires a dental exam within the first 180 days of your separation. Check out this link for more information on the dental program.

Federal Recovery Coordination Program
This program assists severely wounded, ill or injured returning service members, veterans and their families in accessing the care, services and benefits provided through the various programs in the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs and other private sector agencies. Check out this link for more info.

VA Mobile Site
Get your information on the go with the VA's new mobile site. Check out news, videos and find the closest VA facility from your mobile phone by going to m.va.gov today!
Important Numbers
Benefits...................................1-800-827-1000
Education and Training...........1-888-442-4551
Life Insurance.........................1-800-669-8477
Special Issues..........................1-800-749-8387
Health Care..............................1-877-222-8387
Headstones / Markers.............1-800-697-6947
VA Insp. General.....................1-800-488-8244

Are you a Vet looking for a Job in Orlando? Check out all the jobs in Orlando here.

I found an interesting resource this morning that I wanted to share with you guys. It's a site called Van-Pools and features ways to, you guessed it, van pool to work. From their site:

Van-Pools.com is a blog and online resource portal for commuters who want to learn more about the financial and environmental benefits of sharing rides. Van-Pools.com provides a forum for vanpoolers and other ride-sharers to access commute-related information, national trends and expert insights, share stories and gain access to unique and useful commute-related tools.

With time and money being your two strongest assets, you can save both by teaming up and riding with friends and co-workers. We have some people in our office doing this and it saves miles on the car, money in gas and allows them to switch off from driving - which gets them refreshed for the day.

Do any of you car pool to work? Let's share some stories in the comments.

-Greg

Health Career Web is a great resource for nurses, allied health professionals, doctors and really anyone looking to expand their career in the health care industry. Over the past 2 years the team at HCW have been talking to aspiring health care professionals, hospitals, small practices and nursing homes to get a better idea of what these skilled professionals are looking for when they network with each other.

Last week we saw the relaunch of Health Career Web as a professional networking site for these health care professionals, as well as recruiters and facilities to meet, talk and grow together. Here at the JobSpot, we wanted to give you a bird's eye view of all the cool things you can now do on the site to boost your visibility and your credibility.

Below is the first in this series of videos and is an overview of the new Health Career Web. Check it out...



If you are a nurse, doctor, physical therapist or aspiring to tackle another career opportunity in the Health Care niche, sign up for a profile today and be sure to check back with us over the next few days as we release new videos on how to search for jobs, how to create and optimize your profile, write compelling blog posts and other great tips to get the most of this medical resource.

Happy hunting Orlando.

-Greg

As we near Veteran's Day, the Orlando Employment Guide is gearing to release its fall version of the Veteran's Transition Guide. We distribute this resource twice a year to bases, veteran outlets and other places throughout the state of Florida to help transitioning soldiers get back on their feet and working in our communities. Over the next few days we will be providing some further resources and information to accompany the Vet's Guide here on the JobSpot.

If you are a veteran and have a transitioning story you wish to tell, please email us at greg.rollett@employmentguide.com to be featured in the JobSpot.

Did you know there are services and places for your to learn and grow into a new life after service?

It's our hope that with the articles in our archives, our job fairs and jobs in the Orlando area that we can help make the transition as smooth as possible. Below is a list of resources to use as a starting point n your search for life after military service.

Community of Veterans


This is a place to swap stories and learn from people like you. The Community of Veterans is designed for people who have served, want to talk about their experience and meet new people.

National Veteran's Foundation

A resource tool built to serve veterans in crisis management, information and referral needs. It's their hope that public awareness programs shine a consistent spotlight on the needs of American Veterans.

Camp Patriot Program


Camp Patriot Program takes disabled U.S. Veterans on outdoor adventures. The can provide a range of outdoor activities, and will be equipped to accommodate veterans with an array of disabilities. There's no cost to the veteran.

Military.com/Careers


Use this resource to find companies that are looking for veterans

The American Veteran Online Video Magazine


This is a monthly video magazine featuring important veteran issues and tells the stories of service and sacrifice made by America's men and women in uniform and discusses some of the benefits they have earned.

Benefits Fact Sheets
This program, which allows service members to apply for disability compensation benefits from VA before retiring or separating, has a goal of providing benefits within 60 days after release or discharge from active duty.

Military.com/Education-Home


After you have finished serving your country, find your new place in life with a degree.

Enable America


Enable America’s objective is to increase employment among people with disabilities in the United States. To accomplish this goal, we are taking a two-pronged approach that reaches out to all members of the disability community and the business community.

Vet Friends


This site helps you reunite with friends and family who are veterans of or are currently serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard.

Relief for Military Homeowners in the Stimulus Package


The stimulus — signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17 — features a provision titled the Military Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP). HAP benefits (normally payable only at BRAC locations) will be extended to certain military homeowners who bought homes before July 1, 2006 and who sell the homes before Sept. 30, 2012, according to MOAA.com.

Vocational Educational Counseling
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service provides vocational-educational counseling to veterans and certain dependents.

Continuing our series working with employment superstars, we have Chris Perry of Career Marketeer, a career search and personal branding blog. In the below interview I had a chance to learn about attitude, resumes, personal branding and more. I urge you to take notes and apply them to your job search here in Orlando.

JobSpot: I was reading your site and you mentioned attitude as the number 1 tip for when looking for a job. Can you talk about the impact a change in attitude can have on a person during this time?

Chris: Attitude can make or break your job search. The job hunt is a challenge and with a challenge comes success and failure. The unfortunate part is that some job seekers let the failure discourage them, depress them, frustrate them and even control them. This negative attitude comes across not only in your interviews and networking, making you a less attractive candidate, but also starts to slow your efforts and progress down, making you a less aggressive candidate. Remember, in today’s job market, the best candidate’s success rate may be 1 out of 100, so just keep in mind that you may have 99 “failures” before you reach that 1 “success,” but that should be enough motivation to keep your chin up and keep trying for that job search victory.

JobSpot: There is a lot of chatter on personal branding and using social media tools to connect with employers, others in their industry, etc. How should job seekers be using these tools in a practical way?

Chris: First of all, your personal brand should start offline. Who you are and the unique and differentiating value that you offer others should not be initially or solely dependent on your social media activities and online efforts.

Second, once you have identified that value and how you want to communicate it, you can then begin to use social media and internet to help optimize your results. Whatever you end up using in your online personal branding, whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or a personal blog/website, make sure you are communicating your brand and your value consistently across all channels. It is rare that an employer or potential career contact already knows you, what you look like, your background and history etc. You need to make sure that you brand yourself consistently in your pictures, your content etc. so that they can easily connect you from one network, blog or network to another.

Third, you should also make sure that you cross-promote yourself across your various networks, blogs and sites so that someone who stumbles across your blog, for example, can quickly link to your LinkedIn profile and see your resume. This helps strengthen and synergize all of your activities online.

Last and most important, make sure that you are presenting value and/or contributing value to others. While you may be looking for a job for yourself, make sure you are presenting value to potential employers on your LinkedIn profile or VisualCV, make sure you are offering valuable insight in your area of interest/expertise on your blog and/or make sure you are reaching out and offering to help other contacts in your field.

JobSpot: When job seekers are applying on job boards and not hearing back from companies, what are some steps that they can take to get in noticed, or heard on these big sites? When do they cross the line and when are they providing great follow-up procedures?

Chris: When applying for jobs on the job boards or employers’ websites, make sure your resume, whether copied/pasted in or uploaded, contains the keywords from the job description. This doesn’t mean overload your resume with inappropriate keywords, this just means that you need to have the keywords and phrases from the job description incorporated somehow. Many times, this is how the employers are searching for candidates through databases of uploaded resumes. They don’t have time to look at them all, so they use a couple of keywords to bring up the “top” resumes. Tailor your resume with that in mind. What words in this job description appear to be most important or relevant to this role and what words would I search for if I had to pick top candidates submitting resumes for this position?

I also think it is acceptable to write the HR managers, if listed, expressing your interest in the specific opportunity for which you applied. Another option is to reach out to contacts on LinkedIn in your company and function of interest and request informational interviews. In these interviews, you can discuss your interest and your application for a specific opportunity and ask them how they would advise pursuing this or other opportunities further. This can often open up some doors for referrals and assistance.

Caution: Never pester potential hiring managers or contacts. Also, when reaching out to anyone, they know you want a job, so don’t ask for one directly. Don’t email someone for the first time and include your resume. This looks greedy and selfish. Reach out to them for a brief informational interview and really strive to learn about them and their career and company before bringing up what you want. If appropriate, ask for advice on how to pursue an opportunity there, whether they can offer any assistance and/or if they know anyone you could speak to further about employment.

JobSpot: Where do traditional resumes play in today’s job application environment?

Chris: The traditional resume is definitely seeing less action than it used to, especially now that more employers require you to copy and paste and/or upload your resume to their website databases and that more professionals use their LinkedIn profiles, VisualCV’s and even personal websites in their online and offline networking.

However, the traditional resume is still a powerful tool if used effectively. Networking events and job fairs are still venues for distributing your traditional resume. If you know the hiring manager or HR professional in your company of interest, mailing a paper resume with a cover letter or written note to that contact is “stickier” and often stands out much better than one that has been emailed these days. Also, I personally found my current employment by reaching out to selected contacts in my companies of interest via LinkedIn and by requesting short informational interviews. In these interviews, I sought information about them, their careers and their company’s opportunities. In many cases, this led to them asking me to send them my resume, and in one case, led to an official interview and my job offer. In conclusion, the traditional resume can still serve you well if you identify the right potential recipients.

JobSpot: For people looking for a job for maybe the first time in years (layoffs, retirement, etc), what are those precious first steps they can take to make sure they get off to a good start and find employment again quickly?

Chris: Most professionals who have been in the workforce often “forget” their personal brand. What I mean is that they know their strengths and value, but haven’t had to practice communicating it to really sell themselves for a new opportunity. I recommend taking a little time to reevaluate your goals and your strengths to help you identify your unique and differentiating value (a.k.a. your personal brand). You should speak with your family, friends and past colleagues for their input to help you get external perspective. Once you have this personal brand and a pitch or statement to support it, you will need to make sure you are consistently communicating it across all of your career search outputs (i.e. your resume, your cover letter, your LinkedIn account, your blog, your emails, your VisualCV, you name it).

Now that you have renewed or reestablished your personal brand, reach out to your personal and professional network, people you know and that know you. Communicate your situation and your personal brand and give your top supporters an opportunity to help you. This doesn’t mean you will get an opportunity because of your family and friends, but if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. For all you know, someone’s college roommate or neighbor could have an opening. Just ask.

Make sure to reach out and expand beyond your current network. Connect with others in your field and industry and offer your value, strengths and skills. In everything you do, whether in networking, emails or interviews, make sure you are always focused on how your personal brand can help the company, the person etc.

JobSpot: Can you talk about Career Rocketeer and your goals in building the site and your brand in the coming months? What value do you see bringing to job seekers and companies alike?

Chris: There are so many great career blogs out there; however, most job seekers don’t have a lot of time to read them all. As a recent job seeker myself, I realized just how valuable a team blog providing job seekers with one place to come and read top career advice from many top career experts would be. And thus, Career Rocketeer was born.

I am very excited about what we are doing and am always looking for ways to improve our site, our communities and our content to help job seekers in their career search and personal branding efforts off and online.

We also know that there are many job seekers out there who would prefer something in hard copy to read, and so we are excited to be launching a new quarterly print publication entitled “Launchpad” which we hope will become considered the “Cliff Notes” or “Spark Notes” of the career search, featuring exclusive articles from the top career experts. Our first issue will be “launched” in November. For more info, please check our site.

JobSpot: How does this align with your own career trajectory? Why do you wake up everyday?

Chris: I consider myself a Brand and Marketing Generator and what I drives me and gets me out of bed every day is helping generate creative ideas and solutions to help the lives of others. What draws me to the career search industry is the uniqueness of every job seeker and the opportunity to simplify this overall job search process and help people find work they love by presenting themselves uniquely and effectively.


Chris Perry is a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.

This week on the Orlando JobSpot I got to speak with 2 great career advice professionals, Anne Brown and Beth Zefo that cater to the recent college graduate. With UCF now the 3rd largest university in the nation, their advice is more important that ever as the graduates are competing in a tight labor market where opportunities are not as abundant as they once were in Orlando, FL. Check out our talk and Go Knights!

JobSpot: I was reading something this week about unemployment for Gen-Y being at a high not seen since WWII. With the number of grads still growing, from Universities, trade schools, etc. what should they be expecting when they graduate?

Anne and Beth: Today’s graduates can expect to face an extremely competitive - and shrinking - job market. Entry-level corporate positions are disappearing, and due to economic and political uncertainty about healthcare and other policy decisions, small businesses aren’t hiring either. Therefore, it is critical that students realize three things:

1) they can no longer wait until the last weeks before graduation to start job hunting,
2) not to rely on their campus career centers to hand them a job, and
3) that networking is the critical component to landing a job.

According to the old job search rules, students could expect to find a job in 3-6 months from the time they started looking. Nowadays it could take more like a year or longer. Students need to start researching companies and organizations while they are still in school and reaching out to them long before they graduate. A great way to do that is to work part-time on a contract basis or as an intern several months before graduation. Then, stay on that company’s radar by keeping in touch with colleagues and managers.

There is an enormous disconnect between what students believe the purpose of a career center is, and how it actually functions. Students expect to waltz into their career counselor’s office and be handed a list of companies that want to hire them. Students think the career center is there to find them a job because they were told during the admissions process that the placement rate for XYZ college is 99% or something ridiculous. In reality, career centers help students figure out what careers they are most suited for. To get the most out of the campus career center, students need to build a relationship with the staff and take advantage of career assessment tools. When companies come to recruit, who do you think will learn about the opportunity first?

This is proof that networking doesn’t start after college. It should start the minute a students develops an interest in a particular field or industry. Students need to talk to everybody who will listen about their career goals because you never know who might have the perfect opportunity or know someone who does.

JobSpot: We are big promoters of social media and personal branding over here. What are your thoughts on the role self promotion is playing in getting young people prepared for a job?

Anne and Beth: Self-promotion, in whatever particular format – digital, or otherwise - has always played a large role in helping resourceful people win jobs (and promotions). If a job candidate doesn’t come across as competent, professional and mature through social media channels, their chances of ever landing an interview diminishes. Being able to articulate your strengths, and describe the benefits a company would achieve by hiring you, is a skill. And it’s a skill that, unfortunately, is lacking among the majority of recent graduates.

On the flip side, the immediacy of feedback via social media is helping students to more quickly learn from their mistakes and develop the communications skills they need to succeed. In addition, being able to showcase your talent through online portfolio’s and case studies (in some cases) helps to identify the top young talent more quickly and easily.

I will say, however, that I am very uneasy about the increasing convergence of professional and personal lives. The line between the two is getting really blurry and I think social media is speeding up this process. I still believe professional and personal lives they should be separate for the health and overall well being of families in this country, so social media makes me a little nervous for this reason. There are also legal issues arising, regarding how social media is used for recruiting purposes, so I’m interested to see how that all shakes out in the future.

JobSpot: Do you think there is room to have a career you love in this economy, as opposed to a job for right now that addresses current needs?

Anne and Beth: Yes, and in fact I think it’s critical that students find a career they love now, because transitioning careers is extremely difficult in a recession. It will be better to have a more cohesive resume in the near future, say through 2013. According to all reports, even if we start to pull out of a recession, it’s an impossibility that we’d recover all 7.2 million jobs that were lost since Dec. 2007 when the recession began. On top of that, according to a WSJ article by Sudeep Reddy, we’d need an additional 100,000 jobs just to keep pace with population growth.

Basically, it’s better to find work in your field, even if it isn’t the position you envisioned coming out of college. Get your foot in the company’s door, and concentrate on working your way up (long-term goals) as opposed to taking an unrelated job that offers more money (short-term goals). People always succeed faster doing what they enjoy than trying to fake it. We could talk about this topic for hours.

JobSpot: How important is the traditional resume in today’s online and social media landscape?

Anne and Beth: Social media gives students - who might otherwise fall through the hiring cracks – an opportunity to show recruiters why they should be considered for a specific company or position. Social media may help to land an interview, but the recruiting process doesn’t end there. Once a student lands a job interview through non-traditional means, they still have to back themselves up with a traditional resume. It’s still important to look good on paper. The necessity of a traditional resume hasn’t diminished.

JobSpot: Your book, Grad to Great was released about 2 years ago. What do you think are some things that have changed in the past 2 years that grads should be aware of?

Anne and Beth: Well, exactly what we talked about just now. In our book, we advocated trying out several fields after graduation because in the past, your first few jobs were more about establishing a good reputation for work ethic, punctuality, corporate maturity and the like. In today’s environment, recent grads are competing with more experienced Gen Xers and Baby Boomers and need to have a more cohesive career history right out of the gate.

JobSpot: What can college students expect from the book, and where can they find it?

Anne and Beth: Our book teaches college students and recent graduates how to get people to listen to them. Whether that’s a recruiter, colleague or supervisor, our book explains how to take charge of your professional life. We cover resumes and cover letters and interviews, but it’s much more than that. It’s about giving students the tools they need to find the right career and articulate their goals so people actually care about them when they’re networking. We also devote an entire chapter to creative networking. The book is currently available on Amazon, and can be ordered at any Barnes and Noble, Border’s or local bookstore.

Anne Brown is a former journalist who became involved in writing about career development and success strategies after gaining experience in a wide variety of fields and industries herself. Beth Zefo is a former HR manager with General Motors. Their advice for recent graduates has been featured in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and several other media outlets. Their web site is GradtoGreat.com and features a regularly updated blog. You can also follow Grad to Great on Twitter, @gradtogreat.

-Greg

I have had the opportunity to speak with a lot of people in Orlando lately who are frustrated by a job search that has seemed to offer little in the way of new opportunity. I often try and provide resources and advice to help those individuals get back on their feet. The one thing I can never stress enough is taking the time to network. In today’s market people really want to hire people they know and trust.

There are various ways to effectively network in order to find a job. The traditional way is to reach out to your friends and former colleagues and try and make connections through them. The new way is through social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. The most uncomfortable way is to simply put yourself out there and meet and speak with people that you have no traditional connection to.

To help Central Florida’s job seekers get comfortable with this third form of networking, Real Radio’s The Buckethead Show hosted a Pink Slip Party Tuesday (10/13) at Cheers in Kissimmee. As a hiring manager and someone who may be able to assist job seekers with employment resources I made my way out to the event and was pleased with the turnout.

Let’s face it; walking up to a total stranger and telling them about yourself and your situation can be very unnerving. So I was impressed with the job seekers that came out to the event and put their best foot forward and met employers and other job seekers to try and find a foot in the door with a new career.

With food, music and giveaways as a back drop, it became very easy to let your guard down, be yourself and just talk to people. It was much different from a traditional job fair or on-site interview in which jobseekers can get lost in a web of trying to impress the person they are meeting with. Instead the mood was fun, relaxed and inviting.

I had the opportunity to speak with a few individuals that I think would make great additions to my staff at the Employment Guide and others that I tried to provide helpful resources to in their job search. There were a few things I noticed with the individuals I networked with (both good and bad) which may help you all in your current job search.

Business Cards
In a networking situation it can be difficult & bulky to keep up with several resumes. A few job seekers had business cards printed up with their contact information, social networking links and even website addresses that housed their resume. This provides an easy information exchange with a prospective employer.

Plus if you are out at a non-sanctioned networking function, you probably won’t have your resume in your back pocket if the opportunity should present itself. So the business card format offers a great solution to this problem. You can order business cards inexpensively at sites like vistaprint.com.

Confidence
As an employer I also find myself drawn to and spending more time with job seekers who are confident in themselves. My biggest complaint as an employer is when I ask someone what type of job they are looking for and they respond with “I’m looking for anything”. While this may seem to open you up to all potential opportunities with a company, you are most likely not qualified for everything the company has to offer. It also does not tell me anything about your skills and accomplishments.

I know that it is difficult to walk up to an opportunity blindly and you don’t want to close any doors prematurely. But I promise that your conversation will go a lot further if you discuss experience & training you have acquired and how you would like to use that experience in your upcoming career move. Conversations tend to get awkward and clumsy when you begin trying to find a link between your experience per say as a customer service rep and the open opportunity available for an Account Executive. Just because you have done one doesn’t automatically mean you are qualified for the other.

Asking Questions
When networking with people you don’t necessarily know, it is important to form a relationship first and then figure out how you may fit into their hiring needs. By asking questions, you not only allow for a two sided conversation that both parties can enjoy being part of, but you will also save yourself that awkward moment as you try to find a link between your experience and their opportunity.

The answers that they provide will give you insight as to how you should position yourself as the best candidate for the job. It may also let you know that they don’t have anything you are looking for.

In addition, people become uncomfortable in a one sided conversation. They will begin to tune you out or start looking for a good exit strategy. By launching into a one sided sales pitch, you may think that you are setting yourself as an excellent prospect but in reality you are pushing your audience away.

Stay Positive
This was very refreshing at the Pink Slip Party because almost everyone I spoke with had a very positive attitude. One individual had been unemployed for a year, gone back for additional training and was still looking for a job. Typically at this point, people can become disillusioned and bitter. Instead, he informed me that he now feels he is a well rounded candidate who knows how hard he will have to work for a company in order to get his career back on track. As an employer, this is someone you would want to take a chance on.

If you come off with a strong and/or negative personality you will find it very difficult to get your foot in the door. Business unfortunately is too hard right now to hire someone who is going to continually try and buck the system. A social setting provides an atmosphere for people to relax, unwind and set aside the difficulties of the day. By staying positive you will ensure that your conversation and your first impression leave an impact for the right reasons.

I am by no means under the illusion that the job search is an easy thing right now. There are so many qualified people looking for work and not as many opportunities. But I do assure you that companies are hiring and you can get a job. Events like Buckethead’s Pink Slip Party are great ways to meet new people and find your next career, but you don’t need to simply wait for the next one to start meeting people.

Take the lessons learned from this event and others and start putting yourself out there. It is never a bad thing to make connections and meet new people. I wish you all the best with your current job search and we look forward to working with you as you find your new career.

This post was written by Patrick O’Brien, General Sales Manager at the Employment Guide.

If you were at the event, have questions for Patrick, or would like more information or suggestions, please leave your message in the comments.

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 Carol Harstad, A Technical Writer from Orlando, FL

My name is Carol Harstad, and I am currently seeking employment in the computer industry as a programmer/analyst or technical writer. I have been looking for employment for 11 months after a mass layoff from the company I worked for.

I would have to say that I am desperate to find employment, as I only have one unemployment check left to receive, unless the Senate passes the extension bill for Unemployment compensation. During my time of unemployment, not only have I been on many job boards researching current openings, but I also finished my masters degree in software engineering management.

The biggest thing that worked for me in finding open positions, has been through contact with placement agencies, going directly to corporate websites and browsing their open positions, and via job boards. EmployFlorida.com has been the best job board in my job search. The most frustrating part of my job search thus far, has been using some of the bigger job boards. Not only do they never have relevant listings, but I get mass amounts of job scams and other scams via email from so-called companies who frequent that website. Another frustrating part of my job search has been the amount of competition for the same positions.

I have been on a few interviews. They have been your basic, ordinary interviews, asking the normal questions that you'd expect. As for the interviews I have been on, I would have to say they were conducted quite efficiently.

I have used various social networking sites to spread the word that I have been seeking employment. I have used sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and many others. The problem with using these sites to network for employment, is that you really need to be connected to people other than just close friends. Close friends already know when you are seeking employment. The best thing to get the word out, is to make sure you join various groups, and broadcast your messages to the groups and hope that someone in that group might be able to connect you to another person, in need of someone with your experience.

As for improvement of the job search process, the only thing I can really say is that job boards MUST monitor the organizations that access job seekers records. They need to monitor the jobs that are actually posted on their site, and conduct a marketing campaign to get REAL employers to their sites.


Orlando employers, if you are looking for Technical Writer or Programmer / Analyst, please get in touch with Carol. She would lover to hear from you. You can reach Carol at the following online destinations:

Website/Blog: http://www.webinique.com
Twitter Page: @SweetLilRedhead
Email address: osweetlilredhead@yahoo.com

This week on the Orlando JobSpot, I got to talk with Clare Whitmell, author of the Job Market Success Blog. In our continued effort to bring real world advice from HR and career experts, I wanted to have Clare talk a bit about standing out and breaking away from the crowd. Below is our conversation.

JobSpot: Let's jump right into it Clare! We talk about it a lot here, in that over the course of a week, some HR pro’s can see hundreds of resumes fly through their inbox. What is going to make your Microsoft Word document stand out?

Clare: Being relevant to the job (not just a question of having the right keywords, but also making it clear through choosing the most relevant aspects of your background that you are a good match for the role)

Showing the company how you can add value to the organization through having the necessary skills / experience to solve problems, and take the company forward

JobSpot: What do you think is one of the most effective ways to break yourself apart from your peers, who have similar skillsets, credentials and work history?

Clare: Nobody is going to be completely the same as you, so work your differences to your favor. This partly comes down to knowing what your personal USP is – the aspect that sets you apart (personal characteristics which are aligned to the company / role) NB this takes good, objective analysis and...

showing real enthusiasm for the role. If you have done your research, know where you can make a difference, understand the challenges and opportunities of the job, then you can project your positive attitude throughout your application – on CV, particularly in your covering letter, and at interview. We'd all rather work with someone who's excited to have the job, excited to bring value to an organization, and a pleasure to be around.

JobSpot: After applying for a position, or turning in a resume – what should the followup steps be, and when do you become a pest and stop being a candidate?

Clare:
Wait. Don't bombard the company with a follow-up email or phone call. They're likely to have a huge quantity of resumes to read and assess, so taking up their time to ask how yours is doing is counter-productive.

There may be occasions in which you follow-up (if you've left off a vital piece of info, perhaps, or if your info has changed enough to make a difference) but this stage is really out of your control, so stop obsessing over it and go off and do something else instead. Keep looking for good opportunities, keep networking, and keep your cool.

If a recruiter has hinted you'd be a good match, it's worth following up after a decent period (after deadline for applications has expired) as they have direct communication with the employer. How has your application been received? How are you placed regarding other candidates? What sort of timeline is there?

JobSpot: What do you feel about the role of personal branding in a job search?

Clare: It's important to know what defines you in terms of your career and personal goals, and where your strengths lie, so you can better target your ideal position, organization or sector. I've found this to be a useful quote on personal branding:

"Personal Branding links your passions, key personal attributes, and strengths with your value proposition, in a crystal clear message that differentiates your unique promise of value from your peers and resonates with your target audience." (from 10 Steps to Help Define Your Personal Brand Online - Keith Robinson.)

- At the same time, you also need to make sure that your brand (= your professional image) reflects how you want people to think of you.

JobSpot: Can you tell us about your book, Getting a Job in a Recession?


It covers the whole process from search to successful interview; with advice on understanding your skills and values, networking, writing a resume / covering letter, preparing for interviews, and salary negotiations.

I'd like to thank Clare for giving us an insight into the career search, there is some really great information in there from the follow up to defining your personal brand. You can reach Clare on Twitter, @clarewhitmell or visit her blog, Job Market Success.

A qualified business communication trainer, Clare Whitmell blogs CV writing and job hunting tips on www.JobMarketSuccess.com and is a Guardian career expert on http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/clare-whitmell

-Greg

The Employment Guide is looking to learn.

And we want to learn from you! The job seekers who are working hard to land interviews, set up blogs and personal brands, rewrite your resumes and land work in Orlando, FL. In this ongoing 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 Stephen Slaven

Database Administrator from Orlando, FL.

JobSpot: Occupation or job position you are actively looking for:
Stephen: Database Administrator either SQL Server or Oracle.

JobSpot: How long have you been looking for a job?
Stephen: I have been looking since Sept 2008.

JobSpot: How did you find yourself unemployed?
Stephen: I was on a contract, the contract expired and I can not get another job, perm or contract.

JobSpot: How would you describe your current situation?
Stephen: I have been on numerous interviews, and for one reason or another I have not been selected, even though I have the qualifications the employers are looking for.
I am a college grad with a BA in Computer Science. I graduated in 1985..
I am really desperate, I have considered moving back to New Jersey, but cannot sell my home.

JobSpot: What has worked for you in terms of finding available positions?
Stephen: Jobs Boards, and LinkedIn.

JobSpot: What has been the most frustrating part of the process?
Stephen: Waiting and waiting for an employer to get back to you.

JobSpot: If you have been interviewed, how were the interviews conducted and what can
employers do to make interviews more efficient?
Stephen: The employers should let the candidates know what the outcome is either yes or no and in a timely manner.

JobSpot: Describe the value you can bring to an organization?
Stephen: I have supported and maintained major databases and application and kept the systems running. I had very little downtime and I have managed a team of DBAs and developers in completing major applications for the Insurance industry.

JobSpot: Are you using any of the following to help look for jobs and/or build your
personal brand - Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs?
Stephen: I just use Linkedin

JobSpot: What steps are you taking to get to your dream job?
Stephen: I am getting certifications in Linux, Oracle and SQL Server.

JobSpot: What would you like to see improved in the whole looking for a job process?
Stephen: If the employer is seriously looking to fill a position, then do it in a quick fashion and not having candidates hanging on for months.

Employers, contractors and those interested in contacting Stephen can do so at sslaven50@yahoo.com. Best of luck Stephen and thanks for the information on your Orlando job search.

-Greg