• Get out there and network
• Shave
• Take out the piercings
• Improve your attitude
• Don’t smoke
• read the article for the rest…

Read the article: 18 Reasons You’re Still Unemployed

These Days, Recruiters Are Worth the Money

The Hiring Trends of 2013

The general feel of the job market is still remaining a mix of optimism and caution. Full-time employment has risen since last year, but the number of employers seeking to reduce their staff has also increased. However, there are still more employers looking to fire new full time employees than employers looking to lay off. Active hiring has increased greatly in IT and Sales positions, as well as other top-dollar careers such as engineering, business development, and research & development.

As the demands on the market increase, many employers are leaning towards temporary and contract employment to fill the gaps in employment. 40% of employers plan to hire temporarily in 2013.

More and more areas of employment are looking to close the large skill gap. The demand for skilled jobs is increasing, leaving employers unable to find qualified people to work in those areas. In the search to find good skilled employees, employers have been offering jobs to individuals whether they applied for them or not. An increase in compensation across the board is assisting in this tactic, as well as encouraging current employees to stay. When it comes to hiring new workers, employees are also beginning to teach new recruits the skills they need for the job themselves, instead of looking for someone who already has those skills.

The Top Paying Jobs of 2013

Time, effort, and great aspiration can lead to very rewarding and high-paying careers. Below is a list of the 10 top paying jobs of 2013 in the United States. The salaries listed are based on median salary in the U.S. Actual salaries will vary from company to company.

• Registered Nurse – $65,000
• Dental Hygienist – $70,000
• Radiation Therapist – $76,000
• Software Developer – $96,000
• Aerospace Engineer – $102,000
• General Practitioner – $121,000
• Petroleum Engineer – $122,000
• Surgeon – $180,000
• Radiologist – $208,000
• Corporate Executive – $281,000

Highest Demanded Jobs of 2013

Finding a job can be difficult, especially if you are fresh out of college. Luckily, there are many jobs that are in high demand for qualified individuals. If you are interested in changing careers, or are recent graduate looking to start your career, these jobs may be just the entry point you are looking for. These salaries will vary from company to company, and are based only on averages.

• Architect – $72,550 – Requires bachelor degree
• Chiropractor – $67,000 – Requires doctoral degree
• Systems Analyst – $77,740 – Requires bachelor degree
• Electrician – $48,250 – Requires apprenticeship or associates degree
• Dental Hygienist – $70,000 – Requires associates degree and licensure
• Biomedical Engineer – $81,500 – Requires bachelor degree or higher
• Medical Sonographer – $64,380 – Requires associates degree
• Physical Therapist – $76,300 – Requires doctoral or professional degree
• Software Engineer – $91,000 – Requires bachelor degree

All of these positions are in high demand, and there is a shortage of qualified individuals in all of these fields. These jobs offer good pay and high job security due to their necessary nature. Healthcare professionals and engineers will always be in high demand.

1. What Color is Your Parachute? By Richard N. Bolles. This book is widely regarded to be in a class of its own when it comes to resources for job searchers. It is the bestselling career book in the world, with over 10 million copies sold. This book covers the job search process and devotes a large portion of itself to helping readers figure out what they want in a career, and what they want to accomplish with it. This book is updated annually to stay relevant in the ever-changing job market.
2. Résumé Magic by Susan Britton Whitcomb. Everyone’s resume could use a little magic, and this book will help you spice up yours. Susan Britton Whitcomb is a professional resume writer, and she knows all the little tricks to make your resume shine in today’s competitive job market. This book is the definitive guide to writing a stellar resume and cover letter, and is full of tips and tricks.
3. Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters by Jay Conrad Levinson and David Perry. The Internet has provided our world with many wonderful things, and a new way to job search is one of them. This book contains over 1,000 tips for using social media such as LinkedIn to search for a new job, and trying new things in your job search.
4. Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel. Branding yourself is a very important part of job searching. Dan Schwabel is an expert in the field of self-branding and using social media to boost a job search, and his book is a must read for anyone searching for a career. This book is especially important for those new to the job search, looking to begin their careers after college.
5. Getting from College to Career by Lindsey Pollak. This book is an essential for fresh college graduated looking to get their foot in the door of a career. Lindsey Pollak gives college graduates and other entry-level job seekers the skills, tips, and confidence needed to start a major job search in today’s competitive world.
6. 101 Best Ways to Land a Job in Troubled Times by Jay A. Block. Searching for a job during a recessional period is difficult and can be heartbreaking. This book covers the emotional fallout of losing a job and unemployment, and gives tips and suggestions on how to restart your career search during such a hard time.
7. For Executives Only by Bill Belknap and Helene Seiler is an excellent resource, not only for executives, but other job-seekers as well. This book features case histories of those who have come before, to learn from their successes and failures in the job market. Bill Belknap and Helene Seiler cover every aspect of the executive job search, and advice on organization, managing a job search, and much more.
8. Interview Magic by Susan Britton Whitcomb. Like Resume Magic, this book is a rich guide on the topic of interviewing for a job. From how to write the stories of your accomplishments for an interview, to material to prepare for those hard interview questions, this book is a treasure trove of information that is essential for every job seeker.
9. Make Your Contacts Count by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon. This excellent book is a comprehensive guide to networking. It is not specifically focused on job seeking, but it contains invaluable information on how to efficiently network yourself. This book is a valuable guide to cultivating contacts, the art of effectively exchanging business cards, avoiding networking turn-offs, and much more.
10. The Career Coward’s Guide to Changing Careers by Katy Piotrowski. If you are looking change your career, this is the perfect book to read. This book covers the steps you’ll need to take to transition smoothly from your current career to a new one. Learn to identify great-fitting career options, make a confident choice about the best career for you, and make the transition smooth and enjoyable.

The goal of an interview is to learn about who the candidate is and how they work, and to determine whether or not they would be a good match for your company.  Having a repertoire of interesting, informative and thought-provoking questions has the goal of making the interview memorable for the interviewer, and gets a better glimpse into the mind of the candidate to judge their intelligence, self-assessment and goals.  Here are some good questions you may want to add to your interview list.

10 Great Interview Questions

1. Tell me about your proudest moment at work.  This question seems simple and standard, but it is an excellent judge of a candidate’s drive, personal motivators and preferred work style.  Are they more of a team player, or do they work best alone?
2. When I call your old boss, what will he or she say about you?  This question forces the candidate to be more honest.  Sometimes candidates try to sugar coat themselves to sound more appealing, and the anticipation of a call to their previous employer may cause them to open up more about their strengths and failures on the job.
3. What was your most horrible screw-up on the job?  This question looks for honesty in the candidate.  Nobody is perfect, and if the candidate cannot name a time when they failed, then it’s best to look elsewhere.
4. Why us?  Many interviewers will say that this is the question they want to hear the answer to most.  Why does the candidate want to work at this specific company?  What do they want from their job, and what do they want to give the company in return?  How much do they know about your company?
5. Why should we hire you?  This is among the best questions to ask, according to Doug Schade, principal & supervising executive recruiter for Winter, Wyman & Company.  Hearing the candidate talk about how their skills, experience, education, and personal interests and hobbies will expand and power your company can help make the choice between many similar resumes easier.  A candidate who is confident but not arrogant when speaking about themselves can go a long way in the hiring process.
6. “What was a time you took a risk and failed?  What about a time you took a risk and succeeded?” These questions assess the candidate’s risk-taking ability and their tolerance to risk and failure, as well as their self-awareness of these mistakes.  It can also be a good judge of honesty, as the former question requires the candidate to talk about a mistake or failure.
7. What about this opportunity most excites you?  Give the candidate a chance to gush about the job they are applying for.  Listening to their answer to this question will reveal their goals, passions and what they most enjoy doing in a job environment.  Sometimes it can be difficult to assess how interested a candidate is in the job, and this question is sure to reveal the answer.
8. What motivates you?  What frustrates you?  Asking these two questions in succession reveals a lot about how well the candidate will mesh with your company.  If what drives the candidate matches the corporate culture, then you could have a perfect match.  Talking about past frustrations on the job can gain the interviewer a greater insight into the candidate’s personality, diplomacy skills and their ability to be a team player.
9. What are the three most important decisions you’ve made in your professional career?   The way that candidates word their responses and how specific their responses are can give a great window into the candidate’s mindset and goals for their future.
10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, and how will this job help you achieve that goal?  The candidate whose eyes light up when thinking about the future is an ambitious person who knows what they want and will do everything they can to make it happen.  Is this their dream job?  Are they looking to revolutionize the industry?  You can learn a lot about a person by asking them about their goals.

RESOURCES:

http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/interviewing-candidates/best-interview-questions.aspx

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/board-interview_n_1519486.html

http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/small-business/conducting-an-interview/interviewing-job-candidates.aspx

http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/08/03/the-best-interview-questions-you-never-ask/

David Curtis, a partner with the Dallas law firm of Gardere Wynne Sewell, says that “inappropriate questions are a major source of lawsuits. Most illegal questions occur when an employer asks an applicant for information where the answer tends to affect a protected group, such as minorities, women, the disabled, legal aliens and people over 40 years of age, or where the question is not related to essential job functions.”  These legal issues can include violations of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991.

A simple bullet list, like the one below, can be enough to keep the interviewer on track with his or her questions, and keep the company out of trouble later down the line.

Questions Not to Ask

• Do not ask the applicant if they own a home, have ever filed for bankruptcy, or any other credit-related question.
• Do not ask the applicant if they have children, plan to have children, or what childcare arrangements have been made.  These questions can make applicants uncomfortable, and are not relevant to hiring.  If the job requires frequent travel or overtime, only ask the applicant if they are comfortable with and can meet those requirements.
• Do not ask the applicant about their marital status, their maiden name, their spouse’s occupation, or how much the spouse earns.  These questions are not relevant to a job interview.
• It is illegal to ask about or request military records, information on military service for another country other than the U.S., and what type of discharge (if any,) was given to the applicant.
• Do not ask the applicant if they are Miss, Mrs., or Ms., what their maiden name is, or about any names which have been changed by court, marriage or otherwise.  This can be seen as discrimination and is irrelevant to a job interview.
• Do not ask the applicant for their religious denomination or affiliation, which church/temple/etc. they attend, or what religious holidays they observe.  Applicants should not be told that they are required to work on any observed religious holidays.  Do not ask about the applicant’s religion or religious customs.
• It is illegal to inquire about any arrests without conviction, or involvement in demonstrations.  Criminal record should only be discussed if the convictions received are related to the applicant’s reasonable fitness to perform a particular job.
• Avoid asking the applicant for their age or date of birth.  Instead, ask if they are of legal working age for that particular occupation.
• Do not ask questions about race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry.   All of these questions can be seen as discrimination against that particular group of people, and are illegal.
  • Questions concerning the ability of the person to perform specific tasks, such as lifting heavy objects, are legal if the work being applied for requires a certain physical ability to perform.
  • Asking the applicant to present proof of eligibility or work in the United States is legal and required before hiring.  However, you may not ask outright if the applicant is a citizen, or what country they originate from.

Use tact and common sense when interviewing a candidate.  Be professional, courteous and avoid flirting, patronizing or making sexual or ethnic jokes.  This does not reflect well on your company and yourself.  When asked about the town, or number of women or minorities employed by the company, be honest and tell all.  Do not overemphasize positive aspects of the town and downplay the negative.  Do not assume that the candidate will wish to meet with any women or minorities, but honor any requests to meet with them.  Do not give any indication to the candidate that you are interested in employing a woman or minority in order to improve your company’s Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity profile.  Not only is this extremely rude and insulting to the candidate, it is unlawful.  Lastly, do not be patronizing.  Treat the applicant as an adult, and expect the same from them.

RESOURCES:

http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/forms/whatyoucanandcantasklongversionmay05.pdf

http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/recruiting-staffing/dont-ask-a-job-applicant-these-questions.aspx