Claremont-Branan Group, LLC - Job Seeker Assistance

Niche Job Boards

2010-07-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

My company owns a series of "micro-niche" job boards based upon either a technical discipline or geographic area. Generic (catch-all) job boards seem to be giving away to niche boards and why not? Typically job seekers will go to a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.), type in their job title and - maybe - a city, state or even zip code to pull up jobs relevant to them.

An example of one of our job boards aimed at a technical niche is MyWaterPlantJobs.com. Dedicated to employees of water & wastewater treatment plants, it is the only board of its type and enjoys a dedicated following of users (job seekers) and advertisers (employers).

A new job board we recently launched, NorthGeorgiaWorks.com targets the northern 1/3rd of the State of Georgia (Georgia Mountain Region). This area is roughly everything north of the Atlanta metro area and includes about 29 counties and 93 cities & towns. Job seekers who live in this area want to learn about job opportunities near their homes. Unfortunately, many job boards are weighted toward the Atlanta area and we believed that it was about time someone paid attention to the attractive and growing area that is the North Georgia Mountain Region!

Comments?

You will interview with Joe W. Smith

2010-06-15T08:47:00.004-04:00

Great news! You have survived the initial telephone screening call with human resources and now you will be interviewing at The Best Corp next month with the Director of Sales, Joe W. Smith. What to do?

Who is this person, Joe W. Smith? Time to find out. Begin now; don't wait until the day before. First stop, LinkedIn.com - you do have a Profile on LinkedIn, right? That's probably how you were found, so of course you do. Okay, simple drill; from your "Home" page on LI in the links banner, right hand side, top see the search box and type in Joe W. Smith. Hmmm; 175 results? Click on "Advanced" to the right of the search box. This time enter "joe" in the First Name field, "smith" in the Last Name field and "The Best Corp" in the Company field, then select "Current" in the drop down box below the Company field. Now click the Search button and there he is, Joe W. Smith with the Best Corp. (Fictitious, you won't find Joe - just pretend).

With Joe's profile in front of you take a close look and begin to prepare yourself for meeting Joe. Look at his photo, nice looking man, bald, glasses, probably in this 50s you think. Look further - see education; generally, you can pinpoint his age by the degree date listed. Look at his work history including current position; got the title right? How long has he been in this role? What did he do before then...same firm, or another employer?

Click on his websites, twitter account, see who else has viewed Joe's profile recently. NO, do not at this point reach out to Joe to invite him to join your network...too soon for that; get the job or get through the process and then send an invitation. Look at Joe's references, look at his past companies, in short look at every inch of his LinkedIn profile for clues about Joe's life!

Want to dig further? Sit down with your friend, Mr. Google and use Joe's name and company in a search string like this: "joe smith" "the best corp"

Do you have Joe's email address? You probably do either as a result of speaking with the HR rep. or earlier communications with the company - what do they use for their standard email formatting. Generally it is the domain name, "bestcorp.com" with each person's address being some combination of firstname.lastname or firstinitial.lastname, etc. Really all you need is the exact portion of the address after the "@" symbol. So if Best Corp's domain name is in fact, bestcorp.com, then their standard email formatting is likely to be @bestcorp.com. Using this in a Google search, type this: "joe smith" @bestcorp.com

Using this combination of Joe's name and Best Corp's standard email address, you will surface any and all places where Joe's email address has been published while he has been with Best Corp. Again, look closely at what is online about Joe to build your understanding of Joe before your interview. Using the Google "Advanced Search" menu, first look for results posted within in the last year. Adjust the date range to provide you with the most relevant information.

Use similar "search thought" to identify others in the organization, learn more about Best Corp and be better prepared than your competition to "wow" Joe when you meet him in person.

Sometimes a simple phone call will do...

2010-06-10T09:21:00.003-04:00

I beleive many times job seekers get bogged down in the online research function trying to identify names on LinkedIn or Facebook, Plaxo, Xing, Twitter... the list goes on and on.

In my experience, the vast majority of the time a simple phone call works. Let's say that you want to know who the marketing manager is at XYZ, Inc. Give XYZ a phone call and ask the attendant this simple question, "Can you tell me the name of your marketing manager?" If that doesn't work, try these tips:

1. Phone after hours, many times the company's voice mail product will lead you via prompts to the information you seek
2. If asked why you need want the person's name, simply say that you want to send them information; after all you do, right...your resume.
3. Rather than asking for the name, simply say, "Marketing department, please." You will either get a voice mail (usually including a name) on which you can leave a message, call back later, or use for looking up on all those social networks mentioned above.
4. If all of these fail, use the LinkedIn approach to identify someone - anyone in the XYZ organization and give them a call by name. Once you get them on the phone, ask them politely if they can tell you the name of the marketing director, or direct you to a live person in the marketing department to speak with.

Be resourceful, but make it as simple as possible.

Distractions - Take care not to fall in love...

2010-06-09T10:01:00.001-04:00

An unemployed friend of mine and I were discussing his job search over lunch last week. He was telling me about one potential job opportunity for which he was being pursued. He had was invited to participate in a conference call phone screen and is now awaiting an invitation for a personal interview.

What struck me about our conversation and my friend's description of what he was doing to prepare was the level of focus that he had on this one position. He spent a full day preparing for the phone screen, and hours beforehand researching the company's website, tracking down connections on LinkedIn, doing Google searches on the names of people involved...what they had written, their bios, etc.

The phone screen took just 25 minutes, just as promised by the committee leader. Afterwards, my friend felt somewhat deflated. He thought it went well, but was unable to tell. He recounted the questions, thought about how he could have answered better, then fired a "thank-you" note to the committee offering two brief insights about the issues they had discussed.

The next day, my friend was still suffering from the "what ifs" and continued to be engaged in thinking about the potential of this job. He went as far as to look at housing values in the city where the job is located, calculated his income requirements based upon what he thought the salary may be, etc.

After two days, he still hasn't been invited to a personal interview. Finally, he has returned to the job search project and is beginning to get his mind around other jobs.

It dawned on me just how much time was required to focus on giving a good effort and putting your best foot forward. Along the way, my friend was caught up in projecting the positives about the position and in his mind began to picture himself in the job. After being unemployed for some time, the idea of getting hired appeared almost magical, a burst of hope was present.

This experience is probably the same for everyone, bu the truth is that until the job is secured, you are still on the hunt. Focusing on an opportunity and preparing for the process is good, but like other forms of distraction, be certain that you don't forget the big picture. Use your non-working hours to do research. Calculate what your financial needs are beforehand and know what range of compensation you can accept. Don't get to carried away with your research (research & reading can be more attractive than making phone calls to other prospective contacts).

In short, don't be too distracted by one job and don't fall in love with it! As they say, "Love is blind" and it can lead you astray. Stay engaged on the big picture and continue to hammer away at contacts, connections and other opportunities till the right one is landed.

Promotion or New Job vs. Relocation

2010-05-31T09:09:00.000-04:00

This AJC's article higlights the difficulties experienced by employer and employee alike when faced with a promotion requiring relocation and/or hiring. With housing values suffering and many with upside-down positions, making a decision to relocate becomes a more detailed calculation exercise than ever before.

Are you prepared for this? I advocate maintaining a very flexible attitude about relocation in this difficult job market simply because having a J-O-B is better than not having one at all even if it takes you away from your geographic area of choice. Find job, perform well, stay positive and then, in a few years make the move back to to your first preference. Chances are, if you are positive and flexible, you may learn to appreciate and enjoy the new location.

If you are unemployed and looking, be prepared for this question. Know where you are when it comes to your mortgage and the potential cost of selling your home to relocate. Run calculations to establish a reasonable range of compensation and relocation assistance which will work for you. As the article points out, for some even a substantial increase in base was not enough to overcome loss of investment due to the sale of their home.

If you are employed, especially during these times when companies are trying to deploy their best people to achieve goals, you should be prepared to answer this question as well.

Memorial Day Weekend - 2010

2010-05-28T16:40:00.002-04:00

MyWaterPlantJobs.com « mikeroweWORKS

2010-02-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

I was a happy camper today when I found that one of our job boards was listed as a link on Mike Rowe's (Dirty Jobs) site.

MyWaterPlantJobs.com « mikeroweWORKS

Powerful Tool From SimplyHired.com

2010-01-22T10:44:00.003-05:00

You may have seen previous posts about using job search engines (specialty search engines but for jobs only) for fine-tuning your search for positions based upon relevant key words, geography, etc. I have also written about using social and business networking sites for research; Facebook, LinkedIn and others.

SimplyHired.com, one of the leading job search engines, and LinkedIn.com, the leading business networking site, are actually partners in delivering jobs and job postings on the LinkedIn platform. If you were to search for Jobs on LinkedIn.com and no results were found posted by LinkedIn's advertiers, you will automatically get results brought to you from SimplyHired.

What you may not realize is that now a new feature is available to identify contacts within firms which do have positions listed whether direct from LI or delivered by SH.Here is a link to the explanation put out by SimplyHired.com some weeks ago. Take a look and take advantage of this potentially powerful tool. http://tinyurl.com/yd2jlhl

Finding a Qualified Recruiter

2010-01-21T09:58:00.004-05:00

This topic was addressed in response to a question by a member of the Charlotte Admin Pros Group on Linkedin.
Finding a good recruiter can be difficult but rewarding if you team with the right person. Here are some ideas:

The most extensive and best known resource in my opinion is Kennedy Publication's Directory of Executive Search and Recruiting Firms - Available in libraries; online for $59.95. (try eaby, amazon, etc - get the latest edition): http://www.tinyurl.com/kennedy-redbook-online.
A new source that looks good is the RecruitersConnection.com - searchpage link here: http://www.tinyurl.com/recruiterconnection-searchpage

Other tips:
These resources are just the beginning. You still need to speak and/or meet theperson who will be working with you. Ask for references, the level ofexperience, their specialty and how they work. Expect good, clear answers anddon't hand over your resume until you are satisfied that you are working with aprofessional.

Insist that each recruiter identify each company to which they plan to sendyour credentials. Then, you can be in control of where your resume goes. Why?Everyone looks bad when multiple copies of your resume are received by the samepotential employer. A good recruiter won't mind doing this because it maintainstheir reputation as well. If the recruiter doesn't want to comply; don't workwith them.

Lastly, consider networking with job seeker groups in the area. Many churchessponsor job search support with regular meetings. Ask others who theyrecommend. If a recruiter has a good reputation it has been built by years ofgood performance and their name will be known.

I hope these tips will help you.

Job Hunting and Marketing, Same Principles?

2009-11-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of speaking with a seasoned marketing professional today who spent a number of years selling engineering services to a variety of clients in the private and public sectors. As she was describing some of her experiences I was reminded that the successful job hunter is much like the successful marketer.

This professional spent her early career as an engineer first learning one aspect of her firm's services, then requesting to be involved in other project types in order to round out her skills. Later, she combined those technical experiences and her love of business in a role as a marketer and business developer for her firm.

In that position she was called upon to develop a plan and strategy which would lead the firm to winning new business. First there was the task of assessing the strengths of the business. Then the methodical review of who bought these services followed by gathering the facts about who made decisions within those entities and how they conducted their business. After a great deal of research, investigation, attending meetings, asking questions, joining organizations and in general snooping around, she was able to develop a solid plan of action for the firm to follow which lead to winning new business. Some new business came from identifying new opportunities with existing clients and some from totally new clients.

I believe active job seekers may be well served by thinking this way. As mentioned in earlier posts, every job seeker should perform an in-depth assessment of professional and personal strengths, skills, interests and abilities. Combined with your geographic preferences/constraints, the next step is to identify who the potential buyers of your services (candidacy) will be. Some targets are likely to be competitors of your last employer while others may be totally different concerns which will be interested in utilizing a specific aspect of your experience.

You are the best representative of your skills and abilities. Be certain that you take the necessary time to understand what you "bring to the table" then spend your time wisely identifying who needs what you have to sell..

More Basics

2009-10-20T13:18:00.001-04:00

Much is being said about social and business networking sites and their use in searching for jobs. True, the results speak for themselves as do the myriad of new consultants who are offering "how-to" seminars for every possible product from "A" to Xing.com.

These tools can be very useful to job seekers if for no other reason than to expand what may be a limited field of immediate contacts. Side benefits include learning more about companies, participating in groups from the same industry, region or professional discipline.

But don't forget a few basic principles; use proper spelling and grammar in everything you post. Linkedin.com is probably the best known of the current business networking sites. If you are actively searching for a new position, treat this as your online resume. Use your objective statement to describe what you are looking for. Be certain your Profile demonstrates your experience, success and capabilities.

Think "Outside Your City"

2009-10-15T08:03:00.001-04:00

Today's economy requires flexibility. When speaking to job seekers who have lost jobs, or those who are concerned about losing theirs and want to be proactive, I encourage them to think "outside their city."

The arguments for not relocating are compelling. Selling a home can be difficult now and the disruption of moving can cause some negative financial impact regardless of whether or not one receives relocation assistance from the new employer. However, limiting your options to your current city/area can be equally negative.
If you are still employed and only "planning" for the possibility of a job change, you have more flexibility to take the time necessary to evaluate how long you can wait before considering other geographical possibilities. If you are passively looking, and simply keeping an eye on job postings and word-on-the-street, you will have some sense of the demand for your skills and whether or not looking further afield will be required.

However, if you unexpectedly find yourself out of work, the situation changes dramatically.

My advice, in both cases, is to plan - NOW! Begin your plans by developing a list of your top five location preferences with as much specificity as possible. A list of ten is better.

If remaining in your current location is your number one choice, so be it; what are your next choices? Include your spouse and family on the decision if appropriate to your situation and discuss issues which matter to you - family, climate, unemployment numbers, population trends, cost of living, quality of education for your children, etc. You may find this exercise enlightening and productive. A job change can be the perfect time to reset many aspects of your professional and personal life.

Lastly, you will hear me speak often of developing a "direction." Moving forward requires setting goals; it is imperative that have a plan for your job objective and where you want to employ your skills. Otherwise your momentum will be challenged and your time may be wasted. Avoid thinking, "I will go anywhere." Very few people, when pressed to make a decision, are truly open to relocating "anywhere." Develop a list of five to ten geographically acceptable areas/cities based upon your interests and needs, and then plan your attack accordingly.

Using Citations in Your Resume

2009-10-12T10:13:00.001-04:00

If you have published books, articles, websites or blogs, newsletters or other publications which you want to include on your resume, be certain to use correct citation formats. Two common formats to use include, Modern Language Association of America (MLA), an academic style guide, and American Psychological Association (APA) style, typically used in/for social sciences.

There are various tools and websites to use which make the work of proper citations easy for you. Here are links provided for two:

For MLA http://tinyurl.com/qm6r4
For APA http://tinyurl.com/6h4cd

References; Who & How Many?

2009-10-05T21:10:00.002-04:00

I am often surprised when a job seeker arrives at the point in their search when they are asked to provide a list of references and does not have them readily available. Like other tools (resume, business cards, elevator speech), a valid list of trusted references is a must.

The best combination of references includes the following in order of strength and preference:

Current (if appropriate) and former direct supervisors/managers/bosses who can speak about you as an employee; who can provide objective insight into your technical skills, strengths, potential, results achieved, work ethic, etc.
Current and former co-workers (peers) who can attest to your performance while working with them on projects, teams or other day-to-day tasks in the working environment.
Current and/or former clients who are able to speak about you as a vendor/supplier of goods or services to them and about your professionalism, care for quality, attention to detail, loyalty to your employer and to them as customers.
Academic or personal references who have some specific ability to speak about your service, responsibility, character and potential having witnessed you in the academic or service environments over an extensive period of time.

Steps to take:

Review your experience and make an extensive list of any, and all, of the potential references.
Establish contact with each of them, explain your desire to have them serve as a reference and ask for their permission.
Ask them to take a moment to provide their correct contact information including phone number, email address and preferred method of contact. Of course, you will need the name of the organization and their title.
Offer to provide a "heads-up" call or email, if possible, before they receive contacts.
Ask that they advise you when and if they are asked to provide information on your behalf.
Say thanks and offer to do the same for them if their situation warrants in the future.

Customize Your Resume for Every Position

2009-10-02T11:22:00.002-04:00

I was speaking to a friend of mine who is on a job search mission yesterday. We discussed the need to keep track of networking contacts and he mentioned that he was on top of that using an Excel spreadsheet...a perfect tool.
But, when I mentioned that he could use this same spreadsheet to track which version of his resume he used, there was a brief silence followed by, "what do you mean?"Every resume you send in response to a specific position, should be customized to fit the description of the position!

For those of you with marketing or sales experience this concept should be second nature. Think of it this way; each time a business prepares a proposal what experience do the "lead" with when preparing their proposal? Easy, they place their most relevant prior experience near the top of the document to catch the attention of the buyer. The same concept applies to building your "proposal," e.g., resume! How do you accomplish this with a resume?Note - You must be truthful and objective about your experience & ability. This advice assumes that you actually have qualifications which do relate to the position as advertised. If you do not, then no matter how good you are at writing, the result will be obvious to the reader. Having said that, here are a few methods you can use:A. When using an Objective Statement, write it to reflect your experience and interest related to the job at hand. Why not use some of the same keywords listed in the job description within the language of our objective statement? B. If using a "Statement of Qualifications" or "Summary of Experience" instead of an Objective Statement - take a moment to compose the statement in a way which demonstrates that your experience/skills/interests relate closely to what the employer is seeking. B. Use the experience detail found in your prior experience. If the position of interest describes a specific project type, responsibility, or skill that you possess, why not arrange your experience record to reflect that information first?The key, once again, is to think in terms of the Acronym, "RTJ" - Relative-To-Job" in your efforts to customize each resume for the position(s) to which you apply. One last example: I recently saw the resume of a professional engineer who used this statement in their resume objective, "...interested in design or construction management position..." Now, as an employer who has a position to offer for a construction management professional, I would much rather see a candidate who states clearly that they are interested in "construction management" than both. Why? Because it demonstrates that the person has a clear and appropriate interest in my position! So, in this case, I advised the engineer to use the "design" term only when submitting to jobs for design engineers and the "construction management" term for those related to CM work.

Recruiting Firm Websites, A Reflection of Quality?

2009-09-25T08:12:00.009-04:00

Recruiting firms come in a variety of types, sizes and competencies. Like every business, some are better than others. The challenge for you as a job seeker is in qualifying who you will choose as a partner to assist you in your job search.

Your choice should be based upon the expertise and confidence you have in the person, not the firm. Just because a recruiter advertises a position which fits your experience, you should not assume that they are an expert in your field. When given an opportunity to meet or speak with that recruiter, it is your responsibility to qualify their understanding of your experience and knowledge of the industry you are targeting. Their qualifications can be established by a number of factors including, number or years in the recruiting business, and with their firm; in your industry, prior experience, etc.

As you listen, weigh what you know about your industry/expertise against what the recruiter is telling you. Do their thoughts and explanations follow what your experience has been? Are they using buzzwords or are they conveying intelligent insight beyond the point of surface understanding?

The link offered here is a list of the "100 Best Recruiter Sites." I have no idea what relationship may exist between any of the firms listed and their actual quality. True, I recognize many of the firms. One of the top ten listed is the firm which helped me find my first job upon leaving the Army. Now, they are large and well-diversified with many Associates. Yet, the quality of their website is not necessarily a direct indication of the quality of the Associate who may handle your career.

So, you may ask, why highlight this website? Good question. These "top rated" websites can serve to provide you with good insight into how recruiting firms function. Many will describe their processes for candidates and for clients. This is good information for you since, for the most part, you do not work with recruiters on a regular basis and it is important for you to have some basic knowledge of how they work.

Review some of these websites and read some of the material posted; take a look at their videos and listen to their presentations. At the very least you will be more comfortable when you deal with recruiters who come your way, or those you seek out.

Your Employment Goal

2009-09-20T17:34:00.004-04:00

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of working with two friends and fellow search professionals, Luke Greene (Broward-Dobbs, Inc) and Jim Ingram (Evans & James, Inc) in developing a one-day workshop for job seekers. We used a successful outplacement program that Luke had designed several years ago and packed a lot of lessons learned as recruiters into a one day session and used the name, "On The Offense...The Job Search Strategy for Today's Market" (OTO). In this blog I will often refer to some of the topics we addressed especially the ones our participants said worked for them.

The key element and cornerstone of a successful job search strategy is knowing what you want; what your employment goal is; the ultimate purpose of your day-to-day job hunting efforts. The concept sounds simple, but we found that most people, when confronted with the need to look for a job, begin by dusting off their old resume and firing it off to their contacts. When asked what they were looking for, they used a variety of statements reflecting something similar to what they were doing in their last job, or something related to an industry in general, etc.

IMPORTANT: You need to define exactly what you want to do!

Luke taught a simple, yet powerful, technique which combines about 48 hours of reflective time with one hour on intense decision making. It involved contemplation and evaluation of your professional likes and dislikes, an effort to remember and catalog these in written form followed by a session of uninterrupted time to answer one simple question..."What do I want to do?" There are many methods a person can use to come up with a definitive statement of their goal, but we labeled the end result as your "concise statement."

Without a concise statement, you lack clarity and direction. Without clarity and direction, you will waste a lot of valuable time in your job search efforts. Without clarity and direction, you will confuse the very people you hope to have working on your behalf to help you identify suitable opportunities. Without clarity and direction, you may not recognize open doors when you see them.Here is an example of a good concise statment, "A project management position in a consulting engineering firm specializing in airport design." Another: "An national account manager with a consumer products manufacturer." Still another: "A position as director of human resources for a law firm."

Armed with a clear concise statement you will be able to answer succinctly when someone asks, "What are you looking for?" With a good concise statement, you will be able to conduct research to identify companies and contacts to fuel your job search project. Ready with your clear concise statement, you will be in a position to equip your contacts with a clear understanding of when to refer you.

This goal you have developed and the concise statement which states your purpose may evolve to some degree as your make progress. But it is vital that you start with a strong sense of direction and purpose. Therefore, take the time and energy to develop your employment goal and a concise statement now before you take another step in your job search.

A New Acronym For You..."RTJ"

2009-09-18T11:20:00.005-04:00

When preparing resumes, I believe too many job seekers attempt to create an "all-in-one" document. Consequently when submitting the resume for a specific job, they miss and opportunity to convince the reader that their interests are in line with the requirements of the position

When a human reads a resume, at least yours truly, I first scan it quickly to get an initial idea of what the candidate's experience is about and what they are attempting to convey. Likewise when resume parsing software scans the resume document, the software too is screening for keywords and phrases in order to characterize the candidate's experience.
Here is where the new acronym comes in to help you remember this important point! Each resume you prepare should should be "Related To Job" (RTJ)! Thanks to word processing software you can prepare your resumes with ease and, more importantly, target each version for a specific purpose (job opportunity).

Create versions for each position to which you apply. Save and name them accordingly using whatever means necessary for you to keep track of what each version means and where each has been submitted.So, bottomline... every element of your resume should reflect information which is RTJ! Don't write just one resume.

What's in a name (or Email Address)?

2009-09-16T10:25:00.006-04:00

How you represent yourself to potential employers is reflected in a number of ways. One often overlooked symbol is your Email address.

If you have a cute personal email address, like "bubbadawg@xxxx.com" which you use for communicating with family and friends, consider securing another for your job search and professional purposes. I recommend a Gmail Account and an email in this format: lastname.firstname@gmail.com. If already taken, simply add a number to the lastname or firstname portion and you will be set.

Don't forget to change the address on your resume, and other places (Outlook or Outlook Express) so that your correspondence originates from the new, more professional, Email.

Business Cards for Your Job Search?

2009-09-15T19:07:00.005-04:00

A personalized business card to use during your job search campaign is a good idea. I have seen a number of versions including those which state the person's job objective on the front of the card and, in some cases describe their key skills and experience on the reverse side. I have also seen the effective use of an "elevator speech" printed on the back side.

Today's landscape for job searchers is loaded with opportunities for networking whether at job fairs, local community/church sponsored groups (see a list of North Fulton County, GA groups here), state labor departments and others.

Armed with a pocket full of professional business cards, you are in the position to "leave behind" something to remind your new contact of who you are and of your career interests or capabilities.

As a minimum your business card should include: Name, Address, Phone Number(s), Email Address & Professional Credentials. I encourage the use of a brief statement of qualifications or objective statement.

Like resumes, business cards are relatively inexpensive to create and can be customized to reflect different objectives. To make it easy for you to remember which one to use, have the cards printed on different colors of stock when ordering. Stick with the basics, avoid catchy phrases and quotes unless they accurately reflect your objective.

Probably the best known online source for personal business cards is Vistaprint.com.

Friends of Phil Custom Job Search Blog

2009-09-13T21:21:00.014-04:00

Today I created a unique blog space with the goal of providing customized job search engines for anyone who is interested (friends of Phil).

Here's how it works...You describe to me what your career goal is and, if applicable, where you want to look, e.g., country, city and/or state. This information is used to create two customized job search engines especially for you, one using Indeed.com and the other using SimplyHired.com.

Indeed and SimplyHired are two of the top ten job search engines on the internet and will deliver a large percentage of the available jobs advertised by companies, in newspapers, associations and job boards. Since they are pre-populated, all you need do is bookmark the Friends of Phil blog page and go directly to your custom job search engine and click on the link.

To demonstrate, I have created a custom search engine for someone looking for and Executive Assistant position in Atlanta. Go the FOP blog and see the results by clicking on the EXAMPLE custom search engines which have been created there. Look for the Indeed.com link on the left side and for the SimplyHired.com link on the right.

Sound interesting? Let me know and I will create one for you, free.

Direct Hire Government Job Opportunities

2009-09-13T18:11:00.012-04:00

Not all federal government jobs are advertised on USAJobs. Another category of civilian positions is known as "excepted service" positions and are found within agencies which are known as "excepted service agencies." Among this group are the FBI, CIA, Federal Reserve System and others.

To explore career opportunities with the excepted service agencies, you should do so by going directly to their websites and apply as directed. This link carries you to the Excepted Service Agency list published by USAJobs.

International Cost of Living Information

2009-09-11T20:50:00.007-04:00

Numbeo.com is a new and very interesting Cost of Living comparison website recently developed by Mladen Adamovic a former software engineer at Google.com.

This is a straight-forward attempt to use direct input from the global internet community to accurately compare cost of living information between countries & cities around the world.

For more information on cost of living comparisons in the USA (often misunderstood) check out this article I wrote last year for Google Knol. You can also find it on the Links page found on MyWaterPlantJobs.com.

Personal Service Contracts, a.k.a. jobs, with the Federal Government

2009-09-11T20:17:00.010-04:00

This year I have devoted some time to understanding how to do business in the government sector including federal, state & local agencies. With a background in recruiting I began to notice a few opportunities which actually appeared to be more along the lines of "jobs" rather than contract opportunities.

Most of you know that the prevalent online source for Fed jobs can be found at USAJobs. There are a few others (governmentjobs.com; govtjobs.com), but USAJobs is by far and away the largest source.

However, relating to the point I was alluding to, what you may not realize is that the Feds can also hire individuals under what is known as a “Personal Services Contract.” The official definition of a Personal Services Contract (PSC) is found in the Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 37.000; Subpart 37.1; Section 37.104. But, in case you don’t have your handy-dandy FAR close by... go here: Federal Acquisition Regulations - FAR.

This descriptoion of a PSC is taken from the USAID homepage):

“Personal Services Contracts are characterized by the employer-employee relationship that exists between the Government and the contractor. The contractor is treated very much like the civil service staff, frequently performing the same or similar work.”

It seems that most Personal Services Contracts, by nature of their business relationship with the government, are not advertised as "jobs" and therefore may not be found on the USAJobs website. In fact, you will find most listings for PSCs on the government’s portal for advertising solicitations for bids and quotes, FBO.gov (FedBizOpps.Gov). FBO is the mandatory advertising portal for all U.S. government contracts exceeding $25,000 in value.

Anyone may browse FedBizOpps; conduct simple or advanced searches, browse award results and locate companies expressing interest in specific types of contracts. Use the advanced search form to check up on how our funds from the Recovery Act are being spent.

Direct your browser to the FBO website and, using the basic search fields at the top of the page, enter the keyword phrase, “personal services contract” in the Keyword / Solicitation # field and a Posted Date of “Last 90 Days.”Today when I ran this query, there were 78 listings. You will find a number of interesting and varied requirements. Perhaps one will be of interest to you or someone you know.

Let me know if you have questions about FedBizOps or learning more about doing business with the government. I value your comments!