Career and Job Training Readiness Center

I just finished creating a workshop on personality study, and thought “This info could really help job seekers, as well!” The idea is that you can use common personality information to understand yourself more fully and also to understand those around you more completely. Think of the advantages for job seekers! And once you’ve landed that job, consider how this type of information will improve your relationships with supervisors and coworkers. If you could have a magical key to understanding the people around you, why not pick it up??

Personality study is just that. There are many different theories, but nearly any one of them will offer you insights into the people you meet.  Try doing a bit of reading about personality theories online.  Take a few of the more serious personality quizzes and see what you can learn.   There are several good ones offered for free and I’ve put links at the end of this article.

And one other big point that I made in my workshop has to do with naming character traits.  Most people don’t realize that characteristics have two names.  One is usually positive, and the other is often perceived as negative.  Find the positive name for the trait that is annoying you, and you might be more accepting and less upset by it.  Here are some examples:  a person might be rigid or stable, optimistic or a dreamer, tolerant or a doormat, inquisitive or nosy, stubborn or persistent, and there are many more examples.  It’s all in how you perceive a given trait!

If you’d like to learn more about personality theory and try a few free assessments, check out these websites:

Myers-Briggs: What is Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type?

True Colors International

The Real Colors Website

Great Ideas in Personality

Few will deny that having a high school diploma is nearly a must for getting hired these days. People who don’t have that important paper often decide to head over to their local adult education center and take the GED test. Many of these same people are grossly disappointed when they try, though. The GED test is not easy! In fact, I’ve met many high school graduates that could not pass it. And if you’ve been out of school for a bit, your skills may well be a bit rusty.

Before you try to take the test, use one of the free resources online or at the local library to find out if you’re likely to pass this test. Each attempt costs money, too, so you want to be sure that you’ve got what it takes before you make the investment.

Practice test not coming out the way you had hoped? Hook yourself up with an adult education program, either locally or online to brush up on important skills. Watch out for scams, though- to truly prepare for your GED will take hard work. There are no easy paths or guaranteed successes.

Get a leg up on the skills assessment here at the Job Training Readiness Center! You can get a quick picture of your skills by visiting the Check-Up Center. And remember that the Job Training Readiness Center offers low-cost tutoring and other types of academic assistance.

Good luck!

Got a job fair coming up in your area soon?  Take steps now to get ready.  You can use this event to best advantage if you lay groundwork now.

If you can find out what companies are going to be represented, do some advance research to learn about the ones that might have call for your skills.  If you can find out a bit about each company’s history, current products, operations, or administration, you’ll be one step up on the competition.

Go prepared for mini-interviews.  Take lots of copies of your resume and business cards.  Leave an impression that you are organized and business like, and company execs will be more likely to give you a call after the fair.

Dress for success.  Make sure you treat this experience as formally as you would any interview.  The old saying that you only get one chance to make a first impression is very true.  Touch up that haircut, wear clothes that are neat and clean, and put your best foot forward.  Be sure to take several folders and other organizational tools so that you can keep track of any literature that you may pick up.

Finally, well ahead of your event, create what’s called an ‘elevator speech.’  This is a short (30-60 second) set of sentences that summarizes your best qualities and how hiring you would be advantageous to the company.  Focus on your strengths, encapsulate your previous experiences, and end with how you could be an asset to the company.  Practice your speech on friends and family until you are comfortable with it and it no longer sounds rehearsed.

As you visit each company’s display, find out if you can leave a resume.  See if there is someone that you can give your elevator speech to, and try to get contact information so that you can follow up after the event.  And rather than go straight from one table to the next, try moving around the room more randomly, so that the staff at the table next door won’t have just overheard your elevator speech.

After the job fair, be sure to follow up with every company that you spoke to.  Send an email or a letter to thank the representative for his or her time and attention, and reiterate how anxious you are to discuss a position when convenient.

With just a little bit of planning and forethought, you can get the most out of the job fairs that you attend, and you will find that perfect position!

If you are between the ages of 16 and 24, Job Corps may be the answer to your employment problems.  This federal program is a training and job placement system.  The program offers housing, education, insurance and job placement in a wide array of careers.  Options include many technical and hands on jobs, such as automotive technician and child care provider.

In this time of economic turmoil, many people search far and wide for affordable training to get off on the right foot with a new career.  Job Corps just might be the answer for you!  Check out their website at Job Corps.gov.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I DO NOT make New Year’s Resolutions.  That’s because GOALS work so much better.  The difference is in the wording.  A resolution might look a bit like this: In 2010, I promise to get a job.  Wow that’s a big idea!  Not completely in your control, either.  And after a few weeks or months of searching for your new job, you are quite likely to feel like it has been unsuccessful.

Instead, a goal might read something like this: In 2010, I will get training to be a ____, or In 2010, I will update my resume and send it to ____ prospective employers.  Look how measurable those are.  It’s easy to tell if they’ve been accomplished or not.  They are also pretty much in my control.  It’ll be through my own effort if I succeed or not.  Resolutions often rely on cooperation from others, or luck, or other factors outside of your control.  Goals are completely achievable.

Finally, goals are generally easy to break up into manageable steps.  If you’re planning to get additional job training, you have to find the classes, figure out how to pay, get registered, do the tasks required, and so forth.  If you’re updating your resume, you need to gather your past information, choose a format, get it typed up, and so on.

The trick to changing your life, no matter what aspect you’re working on, is to set goals instead of making resolutions for big changes without an action plan that leads to accomplishment.

Happy New Year!

2009 is drawing to a close, and it’s time to take a look at accomplishments and make some plans for the coming year.  This year, instead of making New Year’s Resolutions that will be broken by the end of January, try setting goals.  There’s a world of difference psychologically.  Once your resolutions are broken, they are never the same.  You feel less adequate and it’s easier to break them again and again.  By mid-year for most of us, the resolutions are completely forgotten and life is still the same as it was the year before.

This year, change the pattern.  Instead of making a resolution, set a goal.  With goals, you can break them down into manageable steps and reward yourself for each achievement.  Even if you don’t accomplish the steps exactly on time, there’s still value in having those stepping stones to reach for on every new day.

The secret to writing good objectives for your goals is to make them SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.  When you write the objective, be very specific.  There should be no doubt about whether or not the task has been accomplished.  Make it measurable: count items or use percentages.  Achievable means that the matter is completely in your own hands.  For example, as a writer, I used to set goals about getting my work published.  One year I realized that the publication was not a matter that I was in charge of.  When I changed my goal to sending out the best queries I could muster, my publication rate went up and I felt more successful.  Relevant means that your goals and objectives must be meaningful to you.  Time-bound means that you set deadlines for yourself.

So give it a try!  Whatever changes you’re trying to make in your life, set some goals for the coming year.  Make sure each one is supported by SMART objectives, and you’ll be on your way to an outstanding 2010!

Happy New Year!

Whether you are heading back to school for extra training, or just trying to learn the ropes at your new job, it’s important to understand your own learning style.  Learning style affects the effort you need to expend to learn new things.

Basically, there are three common learning styles, and it’s quite possible to have a mixture of two or even all three.  Visual people learn best from seeing or reading things.  They like pictures, charts and graphs, diagrams, and so forth.  Auditory people learn best by hearing things.  They like discussions, lectures, oral directions, etc.  Kinesthetic persons prefer to learn by doing.  They like to move around, watch demonstrations, and learn in a hands-on sort of way.

Which type of learner are you?  Try the Learning Style Inventory and find out.  Then seek out experiences that will compliment your learning style!

Here’s an outstanding article from AARP about preparing for an interview!  Get some great advice and a sneak peek at common interview questions at Ten Tough Interview Questions .  If you plan your answers to these ten questions, you’ll be on your way to acing the interview!

I’ve been reading a lot lately about IC3 Certification, and it’s certainly something to consider if you are in the job market right now, especially if you are trying to move up the employment ladder from unskilled or low-skilled jobs to better paying positions.

IC3 is an organized way to show employers that you’ve got basic computer skills such as would be needed in an office or to utilize online trainings that have become so popular.  Many community colleges and some high schools are registered testing centers, and some offer inexpensive preparation courses.  There are also self-study books available, but you should avoid the temptation of purchasing an older edition to save money.  This is one area where the most current information will help you immensely.

The most comprehensive and yet inexpensive reference book I’ve found so far is posted below.  In the interest of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link to Amazon, and I do receive a small payment if you choose to order.

So many are still unemployed, and nation-wide, it’s taking an inordinate amount of time to find that new position.  Instead of being discouraged at not finding a new job in your career, consider some seasonal temporary employment.  This is a great time of year to look, as well.  Many companies need to put on extra help for the holidays, the winter, and tax season.

Where can you search for seasonal employment?  There are some obvious places, like stores that do more business during the holiday shopping season.   Restaurants also hire seasonal help, since the holiday shoppers are out and about over meal times and companies and other groups often have celebratory meals in the weeks that lead up to Christmas.

You can also check some out of the way places for seasonal jobs.  Many churches and meeting venues hire additional custodial staff to keep buildings looking ship-shape for the winter.  Businesses also hire extra security this time of year.  Hospitals, insurance agents, and banks sometimes need a few extra hands as they begin to get a handle on year-end paperwork.

Many places also step up the number of substitute workers they maintain as cold and flu season gets into full swing.  Try the schools-besides licensed teachers, they also hire persons for paraprofessional positions, custodial and secretarial jobs, and bus drivers.  With a minimum of extra training or licensure, you could add to your list of employable skills.

And schools aren’t the only entities that need subs on a spur of the moment basis.  Day cares workers, preschool teacherss, after school program leaderss, church music programs/organists, delivery drivers and many more are next to impossible to function without.  Can you imagine having to shut down an entire business because a key person wasn’t able to come in?

Pick a field, get equipped to do the job, and start with temporary or seasonal work.  Not only will it be extra money in your pocket for the holidays, it will also provide you with an “in” to a new collection of potential employers.