Notwithstanding a few tweaks that need to be taken care of, the site is looking and functioning even better than our Out of Work Chicago website; in my humble opinion. While the aesthetic is decidedly clean and minimal, there is significant horsepower under the hood. Harnessing what is generally considered Web 2.0 technology this site plays nice with social media and utilizes much JavaScript for an enhanced user experience.

The centerpiece of the site is sure to be the video slider located at the top of the homepage. Each panel houses embedded video that we will be updating frequently. Also very cool is the fact that this platform straddles the behavior, look and feel of both a blog AND conventional website. You will notice that the pages are full width while the blog area is compartmentalized; featuring a side bar.

With the feedback tab on the left edge (of the screen), users can post ideas, praise and problem. Further users can view the feedback and other submissions in a very user-friendly online community area. The ‘Share This’ link at every page & post allows for quick and easy sharing across popular social media outlets including Facebook and Twitter.

Some of the coolest functionality, however, lies within our event registration process. Once registrants have completed the registration process, an email confirmation is deployed to them with a link to print their own personalized name badge. This not only expedites event intake flow at the event, but allows for more personal information such as industry and organization to be communicated. (At the time of this writing this has not yet been implemented, but should be within the next 2 days.)

I really like to keep on top of emerging trends and technology, so expect this website to evolve with some really neat stuff moving forward. If you have any feedback for me about the site, please submit it through the ‘Feedback’ tab located on the right. I am suspicious of some nasty bugs festering about the site and would greatly appreciate the heads up.

Note: A special shout out to Amy Zabroga and Tony Boylan for their help in pulling content and copy together…you guys rock!

Obviously the list of thank you’s is so long I wouldn’t even know where to start but I do want to thank Linda Kesselman and our legion of volunteers! They worked so hard last night to make sure we were able to take care of people and get them in as quickly as possible. I also want to send out a HUGE thank you to the Mid-America Club for their incredible generosity and accommodations. They really took very good care of us!

Check out the Pics!!

I know we will do a few things differently next time but it would help me tremendously if you could let me know what you loved or hated, what you would change, what we could do differently, etc. That’s how we learn and improve. I take your comments very seriously and try to implement as much of your suggestions as I can.

I want to thank all of you that contributed to our charity drives. We were able to collect a ton of food for The Chicago Food Depository and my van is full to the ceiling with toys for Toys for Tots. Please know that every little bit helps and you just took part in helping a whole lot of people. Those donations will make the holidays better for many families this year.

As Patrick announced last night we have big things in store for 2010!! We are re-branding, revamping, renewing and reconstructing. We will be coming back with more resources, more events, a new name and much more! Once again we would love to hear your ideas – this is a community based group and we can only be successful as long as we offering programs and events that help you. If you have ideas or suggestions please send them along!

Thanks again for coming out and having a party with us. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season, a Happy New Year and we look forward to 2010 with all of you!

Amy Zagroba
Director of Operations

For those of you who attended the speaker segment I want to address a few things that were mentioned because they really resonated with me. I know we all had a laugh when Patrick asked the question about volunteering and mentioned it was a shameless plug but Tom’s answer reaffirmed what we already knew. Volunteering allows you to show you are active, helping others, keeping your skills sharp and building transferable skills that you can then put on your resume and offer to a potential employer.

Volunteer experience is “real” experience – it’s a job – just not one that pays in dollars. I want to encourage all of you to volunteer be it with us or with another group or non-profit. We can always use volunteers to help us in areas other than just working an event. Are you a great sales person? Do you have a marketing background? An HR background? Are you a tech wizard? These are all areas that we and other organizations always need help in. You can volunteer your time and skills in these areas. I know we would definitely be open to it so let us know if you are interested. To back that up even further Joy talked about “getting out and being productive” what a better way than to feel like you are doing what you are good at, sharpening skills, learning new things and the wonderful feeling that you are helping others. I thought both of our speakers were wonderful and gave very specific and useful things that you can use to take action right now.

Don’t forget that our big “Company Holiday Party for those with no Company” is coming up on December 9th! If you haven’t already registered go to the events page on our website and register. It will be a great night filled with lots of fun, food, drink, entertainment and gifts! It isn’t only for those unemployed either – it can be for entrepreneurs, employees of smaller companies that aren’t having a party or for anyone just wanting to get out and have a good time! The $10 registration fee not only gets you into the event but will also get in a guest under one condition – they have to bring a non-perishable food item for The Chicago Food Depository or a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. Remember that even if your situation is tough right now – there are people out there that are doing even worse – let’s help them out too!

Thank you again to The Affinia, all of our volunteers, our incredible volunteer coordinator Linda Kesselman and everyone who attended. We so appreciate all of you! Please continue to send us your feedback via the survey or directly to me – we can only get better if we hear from you on what you want and need.

Make the rest of the week a great one and we’ll see you in December!!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the great pics from this event now posted on our Photo Gallery

Then they get initiated into this job market.

Months later, the confidence has left their voice. They’re angry, depressed, frustrated and demoralized. I’m no psychologist, but I do my best to provide them with career information that might help them. Still, it’s frustrating for me to see so many great people feel so bad about themselves because they can’t find work.

So, when a book crossed my desk called “Think Confident, Be Confident” I knew it was something I had to look into for my Gannett column. Here’s my story:

For the first three months he was out of work, Frank Myers says he was “fine.” But after 15 months without a job, five fruitless job interviews and applying for more than 150 jobs online, he admits there are days he can’t get out of bed.

“As it goes on and on, you start to get worried and your confidence goes down,” says Myers, of San Diego, Calif. “I’m getting to the stage that I’m being reclusive. I wonder if I’m smart enough to hold up a conversation with anyone. I do get depressed.”

Myers story echoes that of many other job seekers who have been shell-shocked by successful careers suddenly yanked out from under them, cut adrift in a flooded job market. The lack of confidence that comes from unsuccessful bids to find jobs starts to wear on their confidence.

“In the beginning of a layoff, there’s no reason to think that your skills won’t be transferable and you’ll find other opportunities,” says Leslie Sokol. “But when you begin knocking on doors and nothing happens, the confidence starts to turn to pessimism. We become more doubt-activated, and when that happens, then we’re really in trouble.”

Sokol, an instructor and psychologist with the Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and Research, says that once the doubt creeps in, then “we start to think back to the job we lost and we start to think of all the things we think we did wrong, and we forget why we lost the job.”

In Myers case, a successful career as a district manager for Radio Shack and 15 years of experience fell victim to the bad economy. “It really was a slap in the face,” he says. “I went from an assistant manager to a district manager in a little over four years, and I had done all this work. Then, it was: ‘Bye.’”

“Sometimes when you lose your job, you start to feel like you’ve lost your skills,” says Marci G. Fox, a psychologist and senior faculty member in the Beck Institute’s training program. “We start to make our unemployment status mean something negative.”

Sokol and Fox have written a book, “Think Confident, Be Confident,” (Perigee, $14.95), addressing what happens when doubt takes over. In the case of unemployed workers, they say these people often are ashamed that they’re out of work.

“We fail to see the reality of why we’re out of work,” Sokol says. “So, instead of using a strategy that’s going to help us find a job, we do just the opposite.”

Our doubt begins to overtake our lives, often dragging down our ability to be stay balanced in our lives and project confidence in interviews and be productive in job searches, they say.

Instead, they say anyone searching for work or losing confidence in their career should:

Keep a list of skills. “Write down your skills, and then be prepared to sell those skills,” Fox says. “If you see that you have some shortcomings that are hurting your job search, then you know that you need to get more training.”

• Stop blaming yourself. “When bad things happen, we want to find meaning so we tend to blame ourselves,” Fox says. “That’s why it’s important to keep in mind those alternative explanations.” For example, you didn’t lose your job because you weren’t good at your job, but rather because market pressures forced your company to cut staff in order to stay in business.
• Don’t set the bar so high. “Everything is a competition these days,” Sokol says. “What is going on in our society these days is just crushing people.” Instead, she says to remind yourself that “you don’t have to be perfect to be an asset.”
• Find balance. Exercise, eat right, get enough sleep, spend time doing things you enjoy and stay in contact with family and friends, Fox says. “Treat looking for a job as a job,” she says. “That means you need to schedule time for other things as well. Don’t be afraid to take time off to do things that make you feel good.”

Read original post

BUT, if you find yourself spending precious time sending out more and more resumes and getting little to no response, you are in good company.  Sending out resumes is a poor way to go about getting a job, even when it is in response to an advertised position.

Here is why:

• Do the math.  In this tight job market, job ads typically get hundreds of responses.  You are now competing with hundreds of other applicants, many of whom may be as or better qualified than you for the job.  What is even more frustrating is that resumes are often sorted out digitally by key word searches. Your qualifications may be solid but your choice of words may not be in line with what the employer is looking for on resumes.  The result is that you are passed over.

• Here is another possibility, disheartening but very real.  Is there a real job opportunity behind that job advertisement?  You may be thinking to yourself, “what a stupid question!  Of course it is real, it is posted, isn’t it?”  Yes it is posted, but that does not mean it is real.  There are too many instances where a job posting is created and advertised with no real job availability.  What happened is that there was a job available but it was filled.  The hiring manager found someone on his or her own and wants to hire them, or already has.  The company posting the job on a commercial site, or their own, may be fulfilling a company policy or legal requirement.  Does this actually happen?  Yes, all the time.  Certainly not every job but many jobs that you are or have applied to.  How do I know?  From being on both sides of that little vignette during my corporate career.

Now that you know what happens behind the scenes, I will ask again:  Is this a good use of your time?  After all, you want to be the one getting the job and then having the job posted after you have already been hired.  One way to get in that position is by networking.  Network your way into companies and in front of hiring managers.  Be the candidate that gets interviewed for the jobs before they are posted.

My call to action for you?  Get out from behind your laptop and in front of people.  Network around.  The more you do, the more productive you will be and the sooner you will get a job.  Then, you can help your new manager write the ad for your job that has to be posted.  Nice.

Make sure that you are comfortable and confident in the abilities and professional ethics of the recruiter you choose to work with.  A good way of establishing this is to gather the following information and ask your recruiter the following questions before giving them your resume.

• Ask about the recruiting firm they work for.  How much do they know about their own company?  How long have they been recruiting and how long have they worked for their current firm?
• Is this recruiter specialized in your industry and profession?  Do they appear knowledgeable about the roles and responsibilities pertaining to your profession?
• What is the recruiter’s relationship with their client company?  How long have they been working with this client?
• Get as much information about the job and the recruiter’s client as possible.  Most recruiters are not at will to give you the name of the client they are working with but they should at least be able to answer general questions such as industry, size of company, how many employees work in the department, who the position reports to…etc… It is normal for a recruiter to withhold the name of the company, but it is not normal if they do not have other specific information about their client to share.
• Is the recruiter retained by this client?   Is this an exclusive search?  If this is a contingent search then how many placements have they made with this client?
• How many other recruiting firms are working with this client on the same position?
• Ask for references from either clients or candidates that have been placed by this recruiter.  If they are on LinkedIn, most recruiters will have recommendations from clients or candidates on their profile.  If they do not have any, ask why?

Keep in mind: Are their answers honest and professional?  What is your instinct telling you about this person?  Trust your gut!

Once you’ve chosen to work with a recruiter, here are some things that your recruiter will ask of you and things you should be prepared for:

• If a recruiter asks where your resume is posted, let them know what job board(s) you’re using.  Some companies will not pay a recruiter fee if they have already seen your resume through a job board or if you have already applied for the position on your own.  Let your recruiter know which jobs you’ve already applied for to avoid duplication of effort.
• Make sure you understand how your recruiter will present you to potential employers and how your information will be circulated.  Make sure that the recruiter asks your permission to submit your resume for consideration.
• Recruiters will often use candidate testing to determine what their clients needs are.  Be prepared for skills testing and be honest about your qualifications at all times.
• If you hear of a position through a recruiter, it is not recommended to go to the employer directly.  Not only is this considered unethical, but it will risk your professional reputation among recruiters in your area and with the employer.  Most companies are turned off when a candidate tries to go around the agreement between a company and a recruiter.  Under these circumstances the company will most likely prefer to keep their relationship with their recruiter over pursing you as a candidate.  The recruiter will also probably not want to work with you as a candidate again in the future due to lack of trust.
• Don’t be disappointed if you send your resume to a recruiter and they don’t respond right away.  Recruiters receive hundreds of resumes weekly.  Most of the time they will put your resume into their database so it is easily accessible for when they have a position that you may be a good fit for.  Resumes are searched by keywords in this type of database so make sure that your resume is filled with the keywords that reflect the position you are searching for.

Did you know that your Google Profile can move you onto the first page of the Google search results?

Pretty powerful when key hiring managers and executive recruiters look for you!
Come join our free, 30-minute webinar overview on how to set up your Google Profile as part of your personal branding and social media networking efforts.

This webinar will be led by Glenn Raines, our resident personal branding and social media expert. Glenn’s engaging presentations are noted for their value-packed information designed to help enhance the effectiveness of your personal brand online.

Glenn will outline how to setup your profile and suggest the type of content you’ll want to create to effectively position your value to key hiring managers.

Setting up a Google Profile is free and can dramatically increase your visibility online.

It’s Google, after all!

Register Now!

December 1, 7 – 7:30 pm

While admittedly we are “Job Fair adverse”, this event only resembled a typical job fair at

Participating Universities

30,000 feet. At the ground level we found a well-organized and detail orientated event vastly superior to job fairs we have attended in the past. Having a booth at this event afforded us the opportunity to spread the word about OWC and get a pulse on the the recent-grad job-seeking community. In speaking with event organizer Tarek Pertew we observed a genuine regard for helping others which transcends in to the quality of his event program. In fact, superlatives abound; not only from us, but from attending employers & job-seekers alike:

Accenture: “I wanted to let you know that my colleague and I really enjoyed ourselves at the career fair yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised by how many qualified candidates I met…Next time I definitely need to bring 3 additional recruiters with me.”

Job Seeker: “I would like to say I thought the Chicago Job Fair was great. It was just like you stated, not crowed and over 35 top companies and banks were their. It was very professional and well organized. I would highly recommend this job fair to anyone who is looking for a job or a career change.
Thanks again”

We look forward to MyWorkster’s return which is tentatively slated in the spring of 2010. Until then, check out the MyWorkster website; it is quite impressive.

The MyWorkster Guys

Spreadin' the word...

• What networking REALLY is and how to use it to tap into the hidden job market
• How to quickly build a list of meaningful connections
• Ways you can market  yourself effectively by communicating their message in 60 seconds or less
• How to develop a system that keeps it all straight
• Best of all, ways to relax and enjoy the experience of making new contacts and connections.

So, get the inside scoop this Thursday – for free.  Interested?  Send an e-mail to our business manager: meganmckenzie@getcertainty.com.  Now, today, this very  minute.  Remember you have to be 1 of the first people responding to grab these free spaces.

1.  Bring your family in on the plan

This is not the time to put on a brave face for the rest of the family. Even the kids need to be part of the discussion of this life-changing event.

“First of all, you’ve got to tell them that things are changing,” says Sharon Danes, professor and family economist in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. “You don’t have to give them lots of detail, but you let them know that mom or dad has lost a job, and what that means is that we’re not able to spend as much money. Younger children may not know what’s going on, but they’re going to sense that something is wrong.”

The next step is to gather everyone around the table and talk about how the family spends money.  Categorize your spending into “needs” and “wants.”  “The “want” spending has to stop, and the “need” spending has to be prioritized.

When you’ve cut back as much as you can, the next step may be to liquidate some of your assets — by having a yard sale or selling a few items on eBay or Craigslist, for instance. You might even consider bartering with neighbors and friends for household repairs and other services that would otherwise eat into your family’s budget.

2.  Manage your mortgage payments

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, call the mortgage company right away and explain your situation. Ask what they can do to help you out, such as perhaps allowing you to defer payment for a month or two. If you need more time — and more help negotiating — consult a certified housing counselor, whom you should be able to find through a nonprofit credit counseling agency.

Unfortunately, some mortgage lenders may refuse to renegotiate the terms until the homeowner had fallen two months behind.   This will damage your credit, which can actually take you out of the running for any other programs that may be available later, such as refinancing.

3.  Put the credit cards away

More than one-third of Americans do not have any nonretirement savings, according to a recent NFCC survey. With no savings to fall back on, living off credit cards becomes the default system for getting by.

In fact, now that you’re in survival mode and operating under a bare-bones family budget, the only good excuse to reach occasionally for a credit card is to pay for an absolute necessity, such as food. Resist the urge to continue your pre-unemployment lifestyle and simply charge your way through the recession.

4. Commit to saving money

When you are barely making ends meets with your reduced income, it’s hard to even think about saving. But the habit of setting aside some money now — however small the amount — will pay off in the long run.

It starts with making it automatic – there are a number of ways to automatically save small amounts of money. Online banks such as HSBC Direct, ING Direct will automatically take as little as a dollar out of your bank account every month.

If you were one of the many caught with little or no savings when your pink slip came, you are painfully aware of the economic disadvantage of not having a nest egg when a crisis hits.