Job Seeker Resources

Using Online Learning to Become Recession-Proof

2008-11-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

In tough economic times, people's worries naturally turn to keeping their jobs. It's no fun to get a pink slip on a Friday afternoon announcing that you no longer work where you thought you did. It's gotten bad enough that even employers formerly thought of as bulletproof (Google, for example) are laying off large numbers of employees. Some retail outlets like Circuit City are closing their doors outright, and others such as Kay Bee Toys and Wilson's Leather are closing huge portions of their retail operations. Even the government, an employment sector once thought of as totally secure, is contracting and laying people off. Is there any way, in such difficult economic circumstances, to make yourself immune to your employer's cost-cutting considerations? Along with keeping active in your job search and frequently checking online job listings, there is one other huge step you can take, too.

One sure way you can let your employer know how valuable you are, is to educate yourself. Put yourself in your employer's shoes- if you had two employees, both equally qualified, equally experienced, and equally salaried and benefited, wouldn't you want to retain the one with a higher level of education? Employers want workers that constantly strive to better themselves by increasing their knowledge- some employers even provide tuition reimbursement all the way up to 100% of the final cost! Higher education allows employees to learn as much about their chosen industry as possible, and that's in both the employees and the employers best interest.

It may seem like an impossibility to keep up with a full time job, stay abreast of the demands of friends and family, and attend college, simultaneously. It can be difficult, but it's not impossible- one only has to look at the large number of people attending law school at night to see that. Technology has presented us with another alternative- distance education, or home schooling, for higher education. You can earn a degree in much less time than you thought possible, and from the comfort of wherever you keep your computer! Online education provides a quality learning experience while allowing students to avoid the hassles associated with the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom such as buying textbooks, finding parking, dressing up to be presentable to peers, and adhering to a rigid schedule- all at a cost that's comparable to that of classes in traditional educational settings.

Most distance learning requires you to read an electronic textbook (often included in the price of tuition), complete assignments, and participate in discussion groups via message board or email several times per week. You will also have to collaborate on group assignments, as well, so you'll need a way to stay in touch with fellow classmates, such as Instant Messenger or an IRC chat room. The biggest advantage to distance learning is that you can do it on your own schedule- you can log in and do your daily reading, discussion and research after the kids are down and the dishes are done, for example. It's not prohibitively expensive, either, costs of home school online education are about the same (maybe a little bit higher) than costs of attending physical, brick-and-mortar classes.

It will take quite a bit of internal motivation and a strong, self-driven sense of responsibility, as well as self-discipline to succeed, as well. You're going to have to be tough on yourself- no classes to attend means no instructors to harangue you or remind you about assignments, so you're going to have to keep abreast of things all on your own. If this sounds like something you can handle, you should ask your employer about reimbursement for online education- everyone wins!

HR Search Engine Optimization

2008-11-10T13:54:00.001-08:00

The ultimate goal of any HR Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign is twofold.

1. Increase the number of highly qualified and targeted job seekers to your corporate career website.

2. Increase an employer’s brand, through obtaining high search engine rankings for pages that contain content related to the keyword strings that job seekers are using to search for jobs.

It seems like every day a new company is trying to get into the HR SEO business. Most of these vendors are selling the same product or service, something along the lines of “we will pull your jobs from your ATS, create a micro-site that optimizes those jobs, and then send the candidates to your ATS”.

This approach will result in optimized pages that the search engines will find; however, it’s not meeting the two stated goals of any SEO campaign. This on its own will not lead to more job seekers applying for your open positions. No job seekers will find these pages- it’s not enough just to structure a page so that Google can see it, you have to actively get back links, as well- so no brand authority will be achieved.

Here is why.

You absolutely have to have pages that are optimized for keyword phrases that job seekers are actually using in their job hunt. If no one on Google is using the phrase “electronic assembly jobs in Des Moines, Iowa” (and they aren’t) in the search engines, it doesn’t matter how much time or money you put into optimizing that page- because no one is searching that keyword phrase. No one searching means no one finding your pages means no one applying to your jobs. When was the last time you searched Google and went to Page 2 of the results? Chances are, not very often. In fact, some results show that this happens less than 10% of the time. Top 10 and Top 20 rankings are all that really matter. In fact, when optimizing for any “search string” that has 4 or more words in it, page 2 doesn’t even matter, because there are so few people searching on these phrases, (i.e. “search traffic”), that 10% of 100 searches in a month is only 10 people… That is NOT going to drive candidates to your website.

So is there anything out there that does work?

The first step you have to take is to do research on keywords- in other words, researching a list of potential keyword search strings and using your research to develop a litany of “keyword phrases” your target audience is likely to use to search for jobs. It’s only after you’ve done this research that you can begin working on designing a “landing page” for your jobs, specifically constructed to rank highly on Google and other search engines for the keyword strings your target audience is using. It’s important enough to stress again- the key to SEO is knowing what keyword phrases your jobseekers are using to look for jobs in the search engines. Only after you know that information can you start designing pages around targeted, highly relevant keyword strings. After your page has been optimized, typically, an SEO vendor will help to “submit” and promote the page with Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.

It’s not a difficult process.

THAT’S NOT ENOUGH THOUGH! Taking the above steps will probably get you into Google’s index- but not on page 1 of the search engine results. If it’s a competitive phrase, you probably won’t be on page 2, 3 or 4, either. The last part of the SEO process is the most critical, hardest, most difficult and expensive process. Without the proper marketing of your career site and landing pages, your pages are the same as everyone else’s. In order to be an “authority” (and therefore, in the top of the search engines) you need to have other, quality websites link to your pages.

In summary, there are 3 critical steps in SEO:

1. Conducting keyword research to figure out how to build your brand and drive traffic.

2. Design and create a web page optimized for those keywords.

3. Implementing a landing page marketing strategy to build credibility and authority to these new web pages.

Any SEO strategy that does not make use of all 3 of these aspects is destined to fail, and that failure will be measured by the distinct lack of new job seekers to your SEO micro site or career site.

Anchorage Alaska Jobs

2008-10-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Are you in the market for Anchorage Alaska jobs? The good news is that our northernmost state has plenty of work available for engineers.

It wasn't always easy to attract quality engineers to work in Alaska, what with the state's long winters and dark daylight hours and relative lack of creature comforts. Even though there are a lot of things not to like about Alaska on the face of it, Alaska experienced tremendous growth in the second half of the 20th century, with cities such as Anchorage growing by as much as 13 times, due largely to engineering feats such as the securing of a clean, reliable, unfrozen water supply, increasing amounts of well-paved roads, and the implementation of gravity sewers. Another major factor was the building of a huge natural gas pipeline from the Kenai fields, which gave the professional community working %LINK3% access to a clean, reliable, safe source of energy, making the dangerous yet ubiquitous floor stove obsolete. What did all of these projects have in common? They needed skilled engineers to be successfully carried out!

Engineers are in high demand in Alaska; the state's environmental challenges ensure that there will always be engineering tasks to carry out. All one has to do is look at any industry-specific publication, Association web site, or engineering job board to determine that engineers and surveyors are always going to be in demand in America's northernmost state. There are surely more Alaska engineering jobs available than there are people to fill them, as people in the industry are reporting an increase in the amount of firms trying to lure them away from positions they already hold to work %LINK2% instead. This is a natural outcome of the fact that engineers are always needed no matter what the economic climate may be.

The outlook for Anchorage jobs is good for several reasons, the first being that an increasing amount of Federal money is being allocated for new projects in oil and gas acquisition there. Expansion of infrastructure, construction of utility pipelines and the desire to exploit new sources of oil and natural gas ensure that there will be many large-scale engineering projects going on in Alaska, and for quite a while as well. Among young people, engineering isn't really seen as a "cool" or desirable profession, so as older veteran engineers retire, there are fewer college graduates coming in behind them to take their jobs.

Alaska has a very extreme climate, and along with that there are limited transportation networks and logistical infrastructure. All of Alaska's' difficult working conditions crystallize to forma need for increasingly ingenuous engineers- you won't be working in a cube; instead, you'll be out in the field on the cutting edge of design, earning the respect of those who understand the difficult challenges of working ion Alaska.

Start your Career Nursing by Reading This Article!

2008-09-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

If you were enrolling in a nurse training program in the mid to late 1990's, you probably heard that you were really in for it, training for a difficult jobs- you also probably heard that with all these nurse training schools popping up, it was going to be very hard to start a career nursing, as there just weren't enough jobs to go around.

Not any more! For a long time, people who studied the healthcare industry said that there might be a reversal of fortune, and there has been. Gradually, care providers such as nursing homes and hospitals, who depended on nurses to operate, came to realize that as nurses left their jobs they were becoming more and more difficult to replace. This has led to a severe shortage in the number of nurses available in the US- and the situation is getting worse. The shortage of qualified nurses is a global problem, meaning that health care providers have to compete on a world-wide scale to fill nursing positions.

The benefit of the shortage, to nurses, will be an improved future work environment, as employers try to better conditions in order to attract quality candidates. However, in the short-term, it's putting a lot of strain on everyone and may actually exacerbate the frustrations nurses may have, which may cause them to not only leave their jobs but also discourage others from becoming nurses.

In order to ensure that the current crisis in nursing does not continue much further into the future, the two areas of retention and recruitment need to be addressed. This article will take a look at some of the topics that come up among nurses when it comes to addressing these issues.

With up to 40% of the nursing workforce expected to retire over the next 10 years, it's very important to keep the younger members of the profession happy, so that the current crisis in the field can be halted.

A common complaint among nurses is that they don't get the respect they are entitled to, as most people (especially those within the medical community) see nursing as less of a "profession" and more of a "job". This is particularly bad when it comes to the case of physicians, as they have been guilty in the past of giving nurses the impression that they are there simply to carry out the doctor's orders. Only now that the profession is hemorrhaging people does the system realize how integral nursing is to the healthcare system, and that nurses should be awarded the same respect as doctors, respiratory techs or other medical professionals. The general public is also becoming more aware of this reality.

Nurses are often short on respect, but the current nursing shortage is changing that. After all, the amount of education required to have a career nursing is the same as that required to earn a B.A., M.A., or earn any other undergraduate degree!

Another oft-cited concern of professional nurses is that the conditions in their places of work are very poor. In this case, work conditions do not apply to the many different situations a nurse will have to put up with from patients during a course of a day; rather, they concern areas of the job that are directly informed by management policy, such as hours of work, nurse to patient ratio, the use of support staff, and the condition of equipment.

The average work week of a nurse in the United States will consist of a combination of both day and night shifts. While it is simply not possible to run a facility without a night shift of nurses, what is being suggested in many areas is that pay levels are increased for the less desirable and more difficult night shifts. Many facilities are also looking at rearranging the work schedule, so that night shifts are not as long as the day shift, perhaps including a transition shift.

As the government continues to ramp up medical spending, the concerns of nurses with regards to support staff and equipment will gradually alleviate. Nursing is a job that requires a lot of lifting, so it's important that hospital equipment is available to assist nurses with this endeavor, if they are to work the full span of a nursing career at a healthy level of fitness. Often, nurses report that they are taking care of duties that could be better performed by a receptionist or orderly, and healthcare providers are going to have to juggle their budgets to be able to afford the support staff that their nurses need.

In the short term, the nurse to patient ratio will continue to be the biggest problem concerning both nurses and patients. The nursing shortage means that most facilities cannot fill vacant positions needed in order to bring the ratio down to a level that nurses are comfortable with. However, by properly addressing the issue, there is hope that this situation can be resolved.

Recruitment of nurses is the second vital area in the future of nursing. This area will see a marked attempt to train more nurses as well as efforts by all facilities to offer enticing deals to attract nurses to positions within them. Those that do not or cannot offer sufficiently attractive enticements will find that they do not have the nursing staff necessary to run their facilities.

Unfortunately, universities and colleges are not graduating enough nurses quickly enough, to replace those that are leaving the profession. Further complicating things is the fact that many of them are not going to work in traditional nursing workplaces such as hospitals but are instead choosing relatively lower-stress jobs with higher levels of pay such as nursing homes or incarceration facilities.

In order to improve the patient to nurse ratio that is such a common complaint among nurses, it is vital to increase the number of students coming out of nursing schools across the country. Universities and colleges need to have the funding available to create these spaces. In addition, facilities and governments will have to offer programs such as student loan forgiveness programs in order to attract potential students to the profession.

In the last decade there has been much growth in so called "secondary industries" targeted towards nurses, such as nursing agencies and travel nursing programs. Both of these types of organization hire their own nurses and then contract them out to facilities in need; as a result, these nurses are generally higher paid than their traditionally-employed counterparts and they also enjoy the benefit of changing their workplace frequently, often with travel expenses fully paid. Medical institutions are going to have to match these kinds of benefits to attract quality nurses.

As far as the nursing profession goes, the long term future is bright. The current shortage allows a graduating nurse to virtually write his or her own ticket. In addition, the shortage is expected to grow worse, which has pushed the concerns of nurses into the public spotlight. In order to alleviate the shortage, governments and facilities will have no choice but to meet the concerns of nurses in order to keep them at their jobs.

Alternatively, the future of the nursing profession may lie within nursing agencies. Unless facilities and governments realize that the concerns of nurses need to be met at the ground level, new and established nurses alike will continue to gravitate towards the pay and flexibility that these agencies offer.

I hope you've found this discussion useful, and it's obvious that a career nursing is something that needs to be thought about pretty seriously. Good luck!

Use Caution When Applying to Jobs.com Websites!

2008-09-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

After one of the major job boards reported a major security leak in 2007, you may have become a little bit wary about putting your resume online, for fear that your contact information might be exploited for money-making purposes such as direct mail, email marketing, or identity theft. There are measures you can take, however, to ensure that you're not at risk when applying for jobs online at sites whose URLs end in jobs.com.

You could always just not put your resume on the Internet, right? Well sure, but that's going to put you at a pretty big disadvantage, as a lot of recruiters use the Internet to find candidates, and if it's not there, they can't find you, which means that you will have to be a lot more proactive, monitoring many job boards before you find a position that matches your skill set. It's much easier if the recruiters can find you, and another advantage is that they might be able to tell you about unadvertised jobs. If that's the case, you want to be able to be easily found- so how can you assure you're not opening yourself up to a ton of risk, and that your information will be safe?

A good rule of thumb is don't post your resume anywhere that you're not confident about. Trust your instincts. When you do decide to post your resume to a job board, make sure you read their privacy policy carefully. They may resell your resume or access to it, and you need to make sure that their affiliate websites and clients also have privacy policies that you can live with. You might even want to set up an employer account so that you can check the boards' employer guidelines for searching resumes, too. At the end of the day, the best way to get the information you need is to email or call the jobs.com board and request it- they want your resume, as it's how they make money, so they will do their best to accommodate you in most cases.

Once you've decided which board(s) you trust enough to post your resume to, take proper precautions when applying to jobs and responding to email solicitations. Job boards work hard to ensure that only legitimate jobs are posted, however, it's near impossible to catch every single one of those "spam" job postings that may get through the filters. What this means to you is that you must keep an eye out for fishy jobs and emails. The old adage is truer than ever on the Internet- if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Never, ever give out your social security number or bank account information. An employer should never ask for that information via email, and a job board will not ever ask you for that information either, as is stated in most of their Privacy Policies.

If you are unlucky enough to be a target of one of these phishing scams, or some other sort of deception, it's in your, the job board, employer, and everyone that uses that site's best interest to report it to the board as soon as possible and with as much information as possible. You can also report strange-looking or sounding jobs, too- this will help cut down on the number of fake jobs posted to that board. The more you can help the job boards, the better job they will be able to do of prevention in the future.

By knowing where your resume is posted, doing your due diligence in regards to security measures and keeping an eye out for fraud, you can help keep yourself and your personal information safe while conducting an online jobs.com search.

Personal Privacy- Internet Jobs Search and your resume!

2008-09-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

The security breach at a major online job board last year may have made you a little hesitant to put your resume into online databases for fear that your contact information will be used for money-making purposes such as direct mail or email marketing or even identity theft. However, there are security measures you can take that will make your internet jobs search more secure.

There's always the option of just not putting your resume on the Internet at all, but that's going to saddle you with a pretty large disadvantage in that recruiters that use the internet to find candidates won't be able to find you! Instead, you will have to proactively monitor many different job boards, looking for companies that are looking for you. It's a lot easier to find candidates for a recruiter when they can search through online databases looking for skill sets that match yours and contacting you about unadvertised job openings. If the case is that you want to be easy to find, you'll have to post your resume, so how can you do that and ensure that the boards you post to are legitimate and have precautions in place to ensure the safety of your information?

Always make sure that you feel confident before you post a resume to a website. Read their privacy policy carefully, primarily to figure out if they repost your resume to other Internet jobs sites. If they do redistribute it to other sites, do you trust those sites, as well? The best way to get answers to these kinds of questions is to email or call the board directly. You can even log in as an employer and research all their policies on resume searching. These boards want your resume- it's a large part of how they make money- so any one that's any good will accommodate your requests without a problem.

Once you've decided which board(s) you trust enough to post your resume to, take proper precautions when applying to jobs and responding to email solicitations. Job boards work hard to ensure that only legitimate jobs are posted, however, it's near impossible to catch every single one of those "spam" job postings that may get through the filters. What this means to you is that you must keep an eye out for fishy jobs and emails. The old adage is truer than ever on the Internet- if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Never, ever give out your social security number or bank account information. An employer should never ask for that information via email, and a job board will not ever ask you for that information either, as is stated in most of their Privacy Policies.

If you do get a scam or "phishing" type of email and are able to deduce from what job board the sender got your information, it's in everyone's best interest for you to let the job board know as soon as possible, and give them as much information about said scam and the person who contacted you as possible. You can also report fraudulent looking job postings. The more aware the job boards are of potential rip-offs, the better job they can do to prevent them in the future.

By knowing what internet jobs sites your resume is posted on, doing your due diligence in regards to security measures and keeping an eye out for fraud, you can help keep yourself and your personal information safe while conducting an online job search.

Information For Health Care Jobs Seekers

2008-08-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome back if you're a returning visitor and just plain welcome, if you're new! As you know if you've been here before, this is where I give advice to job seekers. Today, I am featuring an article about the US healthcare system, designed to give those looking for health care jobs a high-altitude view of the industry as a whole. Let's get started!

In the US, a diverse selection of individuals and legal entities pay for health care- patients are offered both inpatient and outpatient services by charitable, commercial, or governmental entities. The healthcare system is funded by a mix of public and private funding, with the government picking up about 45% of the total annual cost.

There is also a huge market in the US for medical devices, medicines and medical research and development. Most spending on medical R and D is privately funded; however, non-profit organizations and the government provide some funding as well. Most medical research and development for direct medical application is conducted in commercial labs, and most general research is funded by the government (for example, the National Institute of Mental Health) or by universities.,

The law uses a "fee for service" business model when it comes to healthcare similar to other service industries, meaning that the patient must pay out-of-pocket, in full, for all medical treatment rendered. If a patient has insurance, they will pay a set monthly premium that will help pay most of the cost of medical treatment, however, a deductible (a minimum part of the total cost) is usually paid up front. Alternatively, the patient may have to pay a "co-payment"- a small part of the cost of every procedure.,

Most health care coverage provided through a person's work is provided through managed care organizations which pay much lower prices for medical services than an individual would if they paid out of pocket. The thing that makes managed care different from traditional insurance is that the health plan organization has contracts with specific health care providers, as the managed care organization is able to bring their numbers to bear to negotiate price reductions.

There are many individuals that are not covered by private insurance, but are covered by government programs such as Medicaid (which provides care to the poor), Medicare (which provides care for the elderly and disabled), or the Veterans Administration (which provides care to veterans, their families and survivors). In 2006, Medicaid provided coverage for 38 million Americans while Medicare did the same for about 40 million. Another 11 million people are eligible for coverage but are not enrolled in any kind of government program.

The number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased over the past decade due to high administrative costs and low levels of reimbursement. Another program, the State Children's Health Insurance Program was created in 1997 to provide coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet can't afford to buy health insurance- however, this program is already losing funding in may states.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article, and if you liked it won't you leave a comment? I hope you are well served in your health care jobs search by my advice- feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss the healthcare industry in general!

Thinking of Career Nursing Jobs?

2008-08-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

If you were enrolling in a nurse training program in the mid to late 1990's, you probably heard that you were really in for it, training for a difficult jobs- you also probably heard that with all these nurse training schools popping up, it was going to be very hard to have career nursing jobs, as there just weren't enough jobs to go around.

Well, flash forward to the end of the first decade of the new century. Prognosticators who study the healthcare industry have been predicting for a while that the situation with regards to the availability of jobs for nurses was going to change- and boy, has it! Health care providers such as hospitals and nursing homes are waking up to the realization that as people leave nursing positions, it's becoming very hard to fill those positions with new, qualified nurses. This has led to extreme competition for qualified nurses, and not only on a local (national) but worldwide scale.

The benefit of the shortage, to nurses, will be an improved future work environment, as employers try to better conditions in order to attract quality candidates. However, in the short-term, it's putting a lot of strain on everyone and may actually exacerbate the frustrations nurses may have, which may cause them to not only leave their jobs but also discourage others from becoming nurses.

In order to ensure that the current crisis in nursing does not continue much further into the future, the two areas of retention and recruitment need to be addressed. This article will take a look at some of the topics that come up among nurses when it comes to addressing these issues.

It's very important that employers do their best to keep their nurses happy, so this crisis can be cut short. Anywhere from 25 to 40% of nurses are going to retire in the next decade- this means it's very important to retain younger members of the nursing workforce.

The general public is coming to the realization that nurses play just as important a role in the healthcare system as doctors and other medical professionals do, and the industry is starting to realize it, as well. Many nurses complain that they are not accorded the level of respect they deserve, as nursing is seen as less of a "profession" and more of a "job". Physicians are often guilty of this, making nurses feel as if they are simply there to mechanically carry out the doctor's orders, and nothing more. As the system loses more and more nurses, it will become more and more important to grant those remaining the appropriate level of respect.

A benefit of the current nursing shortage (if you can consider it a benefit) is that non-nurses are finally starting to realize how rigorous the training and testing processes for becoming an RN are. It takes just as long to become a nurse as it does to earn a B. A., B.S., or any other undergraduate degree!

Another oft-cited concern of professional nurses is that the conditions in their places of work are very poor. In this case, work conditions do not apply to the many different situations a nurse will have to put up with from patients during a course of a day; rather, they concern areas of the job that are directly informed by management policy, such as hours of work, nurse to patient ratio, the use of support staff, and the condition of equipment.

Most nurses in the US work a combination of both day and night shifts. Of course, it's impossible to run a medical facility without nurses, yet the inconvenience of working a night shift is not currently compensated any differently. One way to increase the attractiveness of the position would be to do as they do in other professions and pay more for workers that take night shifts, and some facilities are already looking at revising work schedules so that night shifts are not as long as day shifts are, with some adding in a "swing" shift.

As the government continues to ramp up medical spending, the concerns of nurses with regards to support staff and equipment will gradually alleviate. Nursing is a job that requires a lot of lifting, so it's important that hospital equipment is available to assist nurses with this endeavor, if they are to work the full span of a nursing career at a healthy level of fitness. Often, nurses report that they are taking care of duties that could be better performed by a receptionist or orderly, and healthcare providers are going to have to juggle their budgets to be able to afford the support staff that their nurses need.

In the short term, the nurse to patient ratio will continue to be the biggest problem concerning both nurses and patients. The nursing shortage means that most facilities cannot fill vacant positions needed in order to bring the ratio down to a level that nurses are comfortable with. However, by properly addressing the issue, there is hope that this situation can be resolved.

Recruiting of nurses is the second vital focus for the future of nursing. This milieu will see increasing attempts to train nurses properly, and increased efforts by medical providers to attract good nurses. Those that can't offer sufficient training and enticements will soon find themselves without enough nurses to run their facilities!

One of the biggest concerns is that the output of nurses from universities and colleges does not match the number of nurses that are leaving. In addition, many graduating nurses are not going to work in traditional areas such as hospitals, instead choosing the lower levels of stress and the higher levels of pay available at other facilities, such as jails and nursing homes.

In order to improve the patient to nurse ratio that is such a common complaint among nurses, it is vital to increase the number of students coming out of nursing schools across the country. Universities and colleges need to have the funding available to create these spaces. In addition, facilities and governments will have to offer programs such as student loan forgiveness programs in order to attract potential students to the profession.

Over the last 10 years, several "secondary industries" targeted towards nurses have come to the forefront. Industries such as travel nursing programs and nursing agencies hire their own nurses and then contract them out. These nurses generally make more money than those that choose more traditional employment and they have the added benefit of a constantly-changing workplace, often with all travel expenses paid. Healthcare organizations are going to have to take a long hard look at matching these kinds of benefits if they want to attract quality nursing personnel.

As far as the nursing profession goes, the long term future is bright. The current shortage allows a graduating nurse to virtually write his or her own ticket. In addition, the shortage is expected to grow worse, which has pushed the concerns of nurses into the public spotlight. In order to alleviate the shortage, governments and facilities will have no choice but to meet the concerns of nurses in order to keep them at their jobs.

Alternatively, the future of the nursing profession may lie within nursing agencies. Unless facilities and governments realize that the concerns of nurses need to be met at the ground level, new and established nurses alike will continue to gravitate towards the pay and flexibility that these agencies offer.

Armed with these facts, you should be able to make an informed decision about whether becoming a nurse is right for you. Happy job hunting!

Healthcare Jobs Information You Wish You Had

2008-08-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

Hello, welcome to my little corner of the web! Today, I'm featuring an article about the general state of the healthcare industry in the United States. This is not a top-to-bottom review of the entire industry, but it will give you an overview, and should give anyone looking for healthcare jobs a head start on the rest of the pack!

Health care in the United States is provided by a variety of sources, ranging from private insurance to government-funded initiatives. The US spends more on health care than any other country in the developed world; about 16% of the GDP annually is spent on health care. In 2007, that was over 7 thousand dollars per person.

Medicine is practiced in a variety of facilities throughout the United States. Obviously, there are for-profit hospitals, operated by private corporations, and there are also nonprofit hospitals, which are usually operated by the government or nonprofit or religions organizations. Hospitals provide a small amount of outpatient care in emergency rooms and specialty clinics but are run primarily to provide inpatient care.

The law uses a "fee for service" business model when it comes to healthcare similar to other service industries, meaning that the patient must pay out-of-pocket, in full, for all medical treatment rendered. If a patient has insurance, they will pay a set monthly premium that will help pay most of the cost of medical treatment, however, a deductible (a minimum part of the total cost) is usually paid up front. Alternatively, the patient may have to pay a "co-payment"- a small part of the cost of every procedure.,

Managed Care organizations include HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) and PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations. A PPO general has a higher cost than an HMO, but a PPO allows the patient to choose where they receive their care, while with an HMO they are constrained to "in-network" providers. The PPO has been the dominant of the two, over the past decade, and it is common today for a physician or hospital to have contracts with a dozen or more health plans, each with different referral networks, contracts with different diagnostic facilities, and different practice guidelines.,

There are many individuals that are not covered by private insurance, but are covered by government programs such as Medicaid (which provides care to the poor), Medicare (which provides care for the elderly and disabled), or the Veterans Administration (which provides care to veterans, their families and survivors). In 2006, Medicaid provided coverage for 38 million Americans while Medicare did the same for about 40 million. Another 11 million people are eligible for coverage but are not enrolled in any kind of government program.

The number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased over the past decade due to high administrative costs and low levels of reimbursement. Another program, the State Children's Health Insurance Program was created in 1997 to provide coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet can't afford to buy health insurance- however, this program is already losing funding in may states.

Thanks for taking the time to read this; I hope it was as illuminating for you to read as it was for me to write! Keep this information in mind as you go forward in your hunt for healthcare jobs and you will be well served in the future.

Sites Ending in jobs.com- The Hourly Workers’ Friend!

2008-08-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! Today, I will be taking some time to speak to the person looking for a part-time job. This is a bit of a departure from what is usually a more career-oriented column but I feel this information is valuable as well. Conducting an online job search for a part time job is done in the same manner as conducting an online job search for a full time job! The same rules apply- make sure there is some way for the employer to contact you that isn’t on line, for example- use a cell phone, voice mail or answering machine to help stay in touch when email isn’t available. If you’re also pounding the pavement- walking into physical work locations to ask about employment opportunities, you should be prepared for an immediate interview and/or offer of employment! You may also find other opportunities at national job boards such as Go Jobs.com.

There are niche boards on the Internet that specialize in part-time work, and the big national board also have search engines that will allow a job seeker to search only for part-time positions. The nice thing about using these boards is that you can usually complete the whole application on-line, from the comfort of your home. Some of the larger retailers, such as JC Penney and Target, have special sections – ending in jobs.com- on their websites, just for part-time hourly workers.

Most online applications for part-time work are the same as those for full-time jobs- they will require contact information, education, and employment history, as well as salary information and your availability. Some of these applications will also ask for references.

Make sure that you diversify your job search by using other resources such as classified sites like Craigslist, and the print edition of the newspaper. Make sure you stay vigilant of your surroundings, you never know when the coffee shop on the corner will put out a Help Wanted sign. Alternatively, you may want to approach the manager of such an establishment directly and ask if there are any unadvertised employment opportunities available.

Remember, there is help out there too- make sure to utilize free or inexpensive services that provide job search assistance such as your high school guidance office, college student employment office and state Department of Labor offices, as well as your local public library.

You should make sure that everyone you know knows you are looking for a job- your social and professional network can help you find unadvertised jobs- networking is very important because it works!

Guiding You through Jobs in Nursing

2008-08-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome back if you're a returning visitor and just plain welcome, if you're new! As you know if you've been here before, this is where I give advice to job seekers. Today, I am featuring an article about the US healthcare system, designed to give those looking for jobs in nursing a high-altitude view of the industry as a whole. Let's get started!

The United States is the only industrialized, wealthy nation without a national healthcare system. About 16% of US citizens do not have health insurance. However, Federal law mandates that a person cannot be turned down for emergency medical services because of an inability to pay for them.

Medicine is practiced in a variety of facilities throughout the United States. Obviously, there are for-profit hospitals, operated by private corporations, and there are also nonprofit hospitals, which are usually operated by the government or nonprofit or religions organizations. Hospitals provide a small amount of outpatient care in emergency rooms and specialty clinics but are run primarily to provide inpatient care.

A small segment of the population (about 9%) chooses to purchase individual health care insurance. The government covers about 80 million Americans, but in the year 2006, approximately 47 million people did not have health insurance at all. 37% of the uninsured live in homes that have annual incomes of over $50,000.

Managed Care organizations include HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) and PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations. A PPO general has a higher cost than an HMO, but a PPO allows the patient to choose where they receive their care, while with an HMO they are constrained to "in-network" providers. The PPO has been the dominant of the two, over the past decade, and it is common today for a physician or hospital to have contracts with a dozen or more health plans, each with different referral networks, contracts with different diagnostic facilities, and different practice guidelines.,

There are many individuals that are not covered by private insurance, but are covered by government programs such as Medicaid (which provides care to the poor), Medicare (which provides care for the elderly and disabled), or the Veterans Administration (which provides care to veterans, their families and survivors). In 2006, Medicaid provided coverage for 38 million Americans while Medicare did the same for about 40 million. Another 11 million people are eligible for coverage but are not enrolled in any kind of government program.

The number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased over the past decade due to high administrative costs and low levels of reimbursement. Another program, the State Children's Health Insurance Program was created in 1997 to provide coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet can't afford to buy health insurance- however, this program is already losing funding in may states.

Thanks for taking the time to read this; I hope it was as illuminating for you to read as it was for me to write! Keep this information in mind as you go forward in your hunt for jobs in nursing and you will be well served in the future.

Searching through Internet Jobs getting you down?

2008-08-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Lots of people ask me for basic information about Internet jobs and online job searching.

Finding jobs, especially internet jobs online requires basic knowledge of how to surf the Internet.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of job boards and job sites. There are geographically specific job boards, niche job boards by industry, or job function, boards focused on part-time jobs and even religious based sites.

Finding the specific job boards isn't difficult.

A quick search on Google for "Job boards", or "Jobs", will bring back more than enough career centers.

There are Industry specific job boards, such as Accounting, management, purchasing, and even sales job boards. Many of these job boards are relatively smaller, compared to big job boards, so there are advantages to using these sites.

When searching for jobs online, it's important to remember to be efficient with your time. Chances are there will be a lot of job board results, and hopefully, many of these will be tailored specifically to the type of search that you are performing.

One of the benefits of an online job search is the ability to create job agents. These are simple "reminders" that usually send you email when jobs meeting your criteria come up. One thing to note is that it's important to test your job search criteria. For instance, if you add too many search criteria, you may get limited, or no results. If you create too broad of criteria, you get a lot of jobs that aren't relevant.

Posting a resume online is also unique to online job searching. This is a great feature, but can also be a little cumbersome. For instance, most big employers want you to post your resume on their corporate website. Well this isn't that difficult, it's just time consuming. Follow my advice and you'll be finding internet jobs in no time!

Be sure to continue the process of building up a social network, because while you might spend a significant time looking for Internet Jobs, statistics still show that 65% of people are still hired through referrals.

Jobs in Nursing and Your Internet Job Hunt

2008-08-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

The number of open nursing jobs continues to outpace the number of registered nurses available. This is good news for nurses, as jobs in nursing are becoming more and more prevalent, and it’s not likely to slack off any time soon, as the US population is steadily getting older.

Employers are being forced to use non-traditional means for finding employees including temporary and contract staffing, as well as traveling nursing agencies. All those unfilled jobs mean plenty of opportunity for a nurse that knows how to see it out. As such, you need to be on the Internet as part of your job search, as the healthcare industry is no exception to the rule.

For the registered nurse looking for new job in nursing in 2008, the prospects are pretty good. There are a number of job listing websites with dedicated nursing jobs, links to local and national nursing recruiters, travel nurse employers, and local salary information.

There are lots of Internet job boards such as GoJobs.com, and taking that site as an example- they have over 20 thousand jobs in nursing, from emergency room nurses to traveling nurses, OR nurses, critical care nurses, and many other RN jobs. One of the best ways to help search through the myriad of listings on a site such as GoJobs is to set up a job search agent.

One of the best practices for finding jobs in nursing online is to use job ‘agents’.

Job agents (also known as job alerts, job searches, and job notifications) are simple email notifications. They are easy to set up, and can be used for a variety of reasons, besides just finding a new job. Once set up. A job agent will send you an email anytime a new job(s) fit your search criteria.

Job agents are useful for more than just finding a job, though:

Get updates on what local companies are paying for different positions.
Get updates on local companies, who are looking for people exactly like you.
Find out if there are jobs at your companies competitors.
Keep up to date on how many employers are hiring for different positions.
Get updates on jobs that you are in training for, or are looking to start a career in.
Get updates on Job openings at your EXISTING Employer!

Use the strategy of setting up job agents to simplify your job search. That way, you don’t have to spend time digging through every listing, on every site, every day; to see if something new has arisen. You will be getting emails about jobs in nursing directly to your inbox, so you can use that extra time to learn a new skill, or relax- that job hunt can be stressful! Good luck and happy searching. I hope this has been helpful.

URLs Ending in Jobs.com- the Internet Recruiter’s Best Friend!

2008-08-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

This article is a bit of a departure, as I usually speak directly to job seekers- today, I am going to be speaking to recruiters! That doesn’t mean to stop reading if you aren’t a recruiter- there’s value in knowing how recruiters approach their hiring strategy as well!

Need a fresh idea for your recruiting strategy? Niche job boards- basically any board ending with the text jobs.com - could give you that edge you’re looking for!

Finding a job on the Internet, while mechanically easier than a good old fashioned “pound-the-pavement” search, still isn’t any less stressful. If you’ve been on one of the huge national job boards recently, you’ll be aware that it’s tough to find that needle in the haystack. You’re probably also aware of the numerous job boards popping up on the web every single day- even hour-to-hour! It can be a struggle to validate your recruiting practices, and with that in mind I present the strategy of the niche job board posting!

The first thing you’ll want to do when you decide to use niche boards is to make sure that they have some kind of tracking in place. If you don’t know where resumes are coming in from, you can’t determine the ROI for each of those sites. Using tracking gives you an idea of where to put your jobs to get the most possible bang for your buck.

There are many ways to better present your company to qualified job seekers. For starters, going to where your ideal candidates are on the web shows them that you are not taking the easy way out by only using the quantity providers many employers default to. Discovering more about job seekers you feel are qualified lets them know you are serious about filling the position with someone who will excel. And you know best, a key part of selling (products, your company, whatever it may be) is making the “buyer” feel wanted and cared about.

Still not convinced that you need to post on niche job boards? Here are a few reasons to consider:

4. Niche job boards narrow the number of jobs seekers have to look through to find that diamond in the rough you posted. The more generic job boards require clever searching to eliminate jobs that aren’t in the seeker’s area, industry or professional level. With fewer jobs listed, it’s easier for job seekers to find your job, even on the 15th day of posting.
5. Resume mining on niche job boards is less of a hassle than big boards. Although the quantity is lower, the quality level of the seekers is much higher making it more likely that you’ll find a great candidate.
6. If you’re thinking in terms of budget, hint hint…a vast majority of smaller, niche job sites charge a very minimal posting fee, if they charge at all.

Now, go off and find which niche job boards your hard-to-fill positions should be listed on. There are many associations out there pertaining to the specific field or general industry of your highly targeted open positions, keep an eye out for those boards ending in jobs.com. Find those that you feel represent your ideal candidate or speak with a job distribution firm such as for advice and direction. Good luck and happy recruiting!

Healthcare Jobs- the Industry’s Inside Scoop

2008-08-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, and welcome to Part 1 of my series of articles about the healthcare jobs industry in the U.S. Are you aware that the US spends more on health care than any other single nation in the world? 16% of the GDP is spent on health care- in the year 2007, the US spent 2.25 TRILLION dollars on healthcare, for a per capita average of over $7,000! That’s a lot of band-aids, and a lot of healthcare jobs!

So, what kinds of services are encompassed by the “healthcare industry”, anyway, and who provides them? What kinds of healthcare jobs are available? Well, in the United States, healthcare is provided by a vast array of individuals and legal entities. These organizations are funded by a mix of both public and private funds. In 2004, for example, the Federal government footed 34% of the bill, out-of-pocket expenses were about 15%, private insurance covering 36%, and state and local governments footing the rest of the bill.

Types of Healthcare Services

Ambulatory care- aka “outpatient” care, where no hospital stay is required
Home Health Care = Nursing services, ordered by physicians and provided in the home
General Practice- personal care internal medicine physicians
Specialty Practice- physicians that specialize in a specific area- oncology, for example
Non-Physician - Nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Where are Healthcare Services typically administered?
Private Hospitals (usually operated by private corporations, for a profit)
Nonprofit Hospitals (usually operated by religious organizations or independent nonprofit organizations, or governments)
Specialty Clinics such as prenatal clinics, surgical centers, or family planning clinics
Hospice care (for patients with less than 6 months to live, typically subsidized by charities and/or government and provided in the patients’ home)
What other things does the medical industry do?
Pharmaceutical drugs
Medical equipment/ devices
Medical research

There are a lot of issues revolving around health care in the US. In 2000, for example, the WHO (World Health Organization) ranked the US healthcare system as the best in the world in terms of expenditure and responsiveness; the same survey ranked the US only 37th in overall performance and 72nd in overall level of general health. That study has been criticized; however, as when individual patients are surveyed, they report much higher rates of satisfaction.

The US remains the only industrialized country in the world without a universal healthcare system. About 84% of the population is insured through their employer, the government, or through the purchase of a private policy. There are also programs that exist, funded by taxes, to provide medical services to the elderly, the disabled, children, veterans, and the poor. In fact, the government spends nearly half of all the money spent in this country on healthcare. Federal law also mandates that emergency services must be provided to those requesting them, regardless of their ability to pay for said services. Health insurance is expensive, too- it’s cost is rising faster than either wages or inflation, and in 2001, over half of the bankruptcy cases in the US were attributed to “medical reasons”.

For all of these reasons, the healthcare industry in the US is going to remain a viable employer, providing lots of healthcare jobs for a long time to qualified applicants. Make sure you check back soon for part 2 of the series on the US healthcare industry!

Find Programming Jobs in Irvine, California

2008-08-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

A History of Computer Programming

If you’re in the job market in Southern California, finding web developer jobs in Irvine will be very competitive. This article will help you get ready for that search! Did you realize that technically, programmable computers have been around for centuries? The first was a humanoid designed to entertain rich guests at parties- it played the drums, and by moving pegs around on its gears, it could be made to play several different rhythms! The first modern equivalent was the Jacquard loom, invented in France in 1801. This machine incorporated space for a punch-card, and based on what card was entered, could be programmed to weave several different patterns. If you’re looking for a web developer job in Irvine, this could be helpful- it’s a very competitive area!

In 1896, International Business Machines was founded as the Tabulating Machine Company, by Herman Hollerith. He expanded the use of punch cards and they were actually used to program computers all the way through the 1970’s. The punch card was a major advance in the science of computing, as for the first time the whole machine didn’t have to be reconfigured to run a variety of programs.

In 1954, the first high-level programming language- Fortran- came on the scene. This was a major step forward as it allowed programmers to enter instructions in algebraic terms; these instructions were then converted by a compiler into machine language used by the computer to carry out calculations. At this point most programs were still entered into computers using punch cards or long strips of “tape”. By the end of the 1960s, computers had advanced to the point where instructions could be directly typed into the machine itself, due to advances/cost decreases in memory and parts.

Time marches on, and computers aren’t immune to the effects of time, either- computer programming languages nowadays work on quite an abstract level from their earlier counterparts. This means that more computer processing power is needed, but it also means an easier learning curve for new programmers, and simplification/streamlining of the process for experienced programmers. This has led to quite an increase in demand for programmers in developed countries, as the economy marches ever towards the service sector.

The five most important elements of any computer program are

Efficiency: the amount of system resources a program consumes-the less the better.
Reliability: how often the results of a program are correct.
Robustness: how well a program anticipates situations of data type conflict and other incompatibilities that result in run time errors and program halts.
Usability: the clarity and intuitiveness of a programs’ output can make or break it's success. This involves a wide range of textual and graphical elements that makes a program easy and comfortable to use.
Portability: the range of hardware and OS platforms on which the source code of a program can be compiled and run.

The steps of development of a software program are usually:

Requirements Analysis- what does the software need to do?
Modeling- anticipating usage scenarios
Implementation- bringing the software on line
Failure Elimination- debugging and further testing

Bear these things in mind when you start you programming career- these are the most fundamental aspects of computer programming. Keep these things in mind when you search for a job in Irvine as a web developer and you will be ahead of the game!

Cal Jobs- What You Need to Know

2008-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ah, California. Mountains, oceans, forests, art and culture, all within sight of the beach. Who wouldn’t want to live here? I got sick of asking myself that question and moved here about 4 years ago- I’ve never looked back. I have come across some things in the job market that are a bit different in California, and I would like to pass them along to you in the hopes that you learn from my experiences! So what’s so different about these Cal jobs than jobs in other places?

The biggest thing that may be different out here as opposed to other places you’ve worked is that California is an at-will state. This means that both employer and employee are free to terminate their relationship at any time and for any reason- or for no reason at all. However, anti-discrimination laws still apply- you can’t be let go based on any of the following conditions, as defined by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA):

Race

Color

Religion

National Origin/Ancestry

Physical Disability

Mental Disability

Medical Condition

Marital Status

Sex or Sexual Orientation

Age (with respect to people over 40 years old)

Pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition

Now, let’s talk taxes, everybody’s favorite topic, to be sure! California has some very specific laws about what employers may deduct from your paycheck- they may only deduct the taxes required by law. This means that they may not charge you for a uniform, for a physical, for having a picture taken, or for any “business expenses”. They also can’t deduct your gratuities from your check, and they are solely responsible for absorbing “breakage” as a cost of doing business.

Minimum wage in California is also different than in other places- namely, at $8 an hour, it’s even higher than the Federally mandated minimum. This also applies to servers, so if you are used to making $2.51 an hour waiting tables, your first Cal paycheck may be a nice surprise! In cases where there’s a conflict between State and Federal law- the jobseeker wins, and must be paid at the higher rate!

As far as holidays are concerned, there is nothing in the law that says that an employer has to close on a certain day, or that they must pay you more for working on a Saturday, Sunday or Holiday. Make sure you check with your potential employer to see if their holiday policy is in line with what you’ve come to expect.

Lastly, let’s talk pay periods. There are specific rules in California about when you get paid, namely, you must be paid by the 26^th of the month for all hours worked between the 1^st and the 16^th, and you must be paid by the 10^th day of the following month for all hours worked between the 16^th and month-end. Bear all of the above in mind when you start your Cal jobs search, and you won’t be in for any nasty surprises!

Your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)

2008-07-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Now that we’ve discussed some of the more general aspects of truck driving jobs, let’s get a little more specific. Today, we are going to discuss the one piece of documentation any truck driver needs to have- the Commercial Driver’s License, hereafter referred to as the CDL.

You must have a CDL to operate any vehicle with a weight of 26,000 or more pounds, and it’s also required to operate a tow truck or a bus. A tractor-trailer requires more expertise to drive than a regular passenger car, which is why the Federal government mandates a special license- namely, the CDL- for large, heavy vehicles. Up until 1986, drivers could get a separate license from every state, allowing them to cover up poor driving records and accidents, which is why the Department of Transportation (DOT) passed the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, which standardized minimum requirements for obtaining a CDL and mandated both a written and road test.

You do not have to attend a school to take the test, you simply need to demonstrate competency on the road and pass the written test with 80% of the questions correctly. Employers, training facilities, States, governmental departments, and private institutions can administer knowledge and driving test for the State. The test must be the same as those given by the State issuing the CDL and the instructors must meet the same professional certification as State instructors.

A CDL allows an 18-21 year old to operate a commercial vehicle within their own state only. Once a driver turns 21, the license automatically converts to a national license that lets them transport cargo across state lines. New York and New Jersey also have additional laws related to the CDL which apply to limousines and school buses.

There are also several additional endorsements a driver may earn for their CDL:

T- Double or Triple Semi Trailer- Written Test

P- Passenger Vehicle – Written and Driving Tests

S- School Bus- Written Test, Driving Test, Background Check, Sex Offender Registry Check and “P” endorsement

N- Tanker Truck- Written Test

H- Hazardous Materials- Written Test, Background check through the TSA

X- Combination Tank/Hazardous Materials- Written Test

Operating a commercial vehicle without a CDL is a civil penalty of up to $2,500, in more extreme cases; a criminal charge may be levied with a penalty of up to $5,000 and 90 days in jail. An employer may be fined up to $10,000 if they willingly and/or knowingly allow a driver to operate one of their vehicles without having obtained their CDL. You may lose your CDL if you commit two or more serious traffic violations (90-day to 5-year suspension) or one serious traffic violation (one year suspension). You may also lose your CDL if you are found to be driving under the influence of an illicit substance or are convicted of using a CMV to commit a felony (3 year suspension).

To get your CDL, the best course of action is to attend an accredited CDL training program through a truck driving school, where you will learn how to read a map, how to plan your trips, and how to comply with DOT law, as well as the mechanics of driving the truck like backing up, turning, hooking up a trailer, and driving on the road.

Here are some tips on choosing a CDL training program:

Shop around- there can be massive variations in price and quality of instruction from school to school

Community college and vocational/technical schools are almost always accredited, and provide an excellent value

Most trucking companies won’t hire you if your CDL training was completed in a week or two- try to find an eight-week school.

“FREE TRAINING” is not always free- some companies require you to work for them for a year in exchange for “free” training.

You will need a physical exam and your driving record will be checked by any trucking company you apply with. Don’t pay for training that you won’t be able to use.

Most companies will disqualify you if you have been convicted of certain felonies. Again, don’t pay for training that you won’t be able to use.

Is a Career in Trucking Right for You?

2008-06-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the phrase “if you bought it, a truck brought it?” Well, that’s because trucking is the main driving force behind America’s economy! 70% of everything you buy has traveled on a truck at some point. In the year 2006, trucks transported over 10 billion tons of freight, and the trucking industry was a 645 billion dollar business! Here are some things that you’re going to want to know if you intend to take on truck driving jobs as a career.

Truck drivers are generally excellent behind the wheel- they spend a lot of time there! They are involved in traffic collisions less than half as often as passenger car drivers are. However, truck driving jobs do present its own unique set of challenges: the hours are long and lead to fatigue, the profession can be very lonely, and there are significant health and safety challenges. Drivers are also subject to strict Federal regulations and must submit to random drug tests, as well.

Consider the following:

Truck drivers experience 10% of ALL the workplace fatalities in the US and 8% of all workplace musculoskeletal injuries. It has even been suggested (with strong empirical evidence to back it up) that a long-term career as a trucker can reduce the average person’s life span from 10 to 12 years! That may be why the industry experiences such a high rate of turnover- 136% in the 4^th quarter of 2005. That means that for every 100 people that took a trucking job during that time frame, 136 of them quit!

Knowing some of the industry rules may help you decide if you want to pursue a career in trucking or not. Legally, truckers can drive for 11 hours at a time, with a 10-hour break immediately afterwards. Also, truckers MUST take a 10 hour break after their 14^th hour of the day, independent of the number of miles driven. Truckers may drive up to 70 hours per week, but are not paid overtime after working the standard 40 hour week. A trucker has to be 21 years of age to drive cross-country and 18 years of age to drive a truck within their home state. Many carriers are hesitant to hire young drivers and will not hire you unless you are at least 23 years old- 25 years old, in some extreme cases.

Truckers are usually paid by the mile, so a trucker has to drive a lot to bring in a good paycheck. When a driver isn’t driving (if they are sitting waiting for freight to get loaded or in traffic, for example), they aren’t making any money- this leads some drivers to bend the federally mandated rules about drive times in order to ensure their pay is good. A trucker averages from between 19 to 44 cents a mile. It’s tough to narrow down “how much a trucker makes” because incomes from $300 a week to $1200 a week are frequently reported.

Trucking is keeping pace with the Internet, as now almost the entire industry is computerized. Most trucks are equipped with a Qualcomm Satellite System, which tracks where the truck is down to a three-block radius. In the past, truck drivers were tied to the telephone to know when and where to get their next load, but now, the trucking company’s dispatcher simply sends out a message over the Qualcomm- this message includes directions, location, distance- everything the trucker needs to handle the load.

Now that you’re armed with a little more knowledge, get out there and get yourself your CDL and your first truck driving jobs. You’ll be hauling freight in no time, and helping to keep our economy moving!

Truckin' Lingo

2008-06-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Everyday, I continue to learn something new about the online job search process.

Today, I learned that Truck Driving Jobs, is one of the most competitive niches in the job board business.

“Really?”, you say?

You bet. Here’s why…

When truck drivers finish delivering a local or long haul load, many times they have to head back home, or to another destination. It makes sense, that if they can pick up another load, on their way back, or to their next delivery, to keep the truck full, they can make more money.

Well… welcome to the Internet. Most truck stops are already Wifi enabled. Using online job boards, truck drivers can log into the Internet, find a delivery, that needs to be made, pick it up, and take off. It’s actually a pretty unique solution to creating great efficiencies.

So you want to be a trucker, eh? There are some terms you are going to need to know, and having the “lingo” down pat can’t ever hurt in a job interview, or during a networking opportunity. With that in mind, let’s review some of the industry’s common terms.

Motor Carrier- a person or company providing transport of people or goods using commercial vehicles

Shipper – The person “sending” goods using a freight service

Receiver- The person “receiving” goods using a freight service

Consignor- The person who transfers legal responsibility for a load to a carrier

Consignee- The person who takes legal responsibility for a load from a carrier

Freight- The cargo being hauled / handled

BOL (Bill of Lading)/Manifest- A paper document that states the content and nature of the cargo

Intermodal- a description referring to a single container that is transported via multiple means during shipment, i.e. from air to sea to rail to a truck

TSE/Shore Power- Truck Stop Electrification- external power “docks” that allow truckers to operate internal systems such as climate control or television without idling their engines

Deadheading- Operating a truck that isn’t hauling any cargo

OTR (over-the-road)- Any trip longer than the maximum per-day period of 14 hours where the driver doesn’t return to the home location

Terminal- A dock where trucks come and go and freight is sorted

Owner/Operator- a self-employed independent contractor that operates a privately owned or leased truck

Team Drivers- A team of 2 or more drivers that ride in the same truck and drive in shifts so that the truck is essentially always in motion. Usually used when a shipment is time-sensitive or perishable

Dedicated (regular) Route- a driver that transports cargo between 2 or more locations repetitively, usually keeping to a certain schedule.

Irregular Route- a driver who goes anywhere at any time without sticking to a scheduled route

Regional- a Driver who works in a limited geographical area within a certain radius. A regional driver may or may not maintain a regular schedule.

Truckload (TL)- A load of freight consisting mostly of one kind of cargo, usually handled by an Over-The-Road driver

Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)- a load of freight consisting of several different types of cargo with several different destinations, usually handled by a dedicated or regional driver

Writing an Effective Cover Letter

2008-05-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Let’s say you are applying for truck driving jobs. Do you need to include a cover letter with your application? Yes, absolutely- read on to find out why!

At some point, we’ve all sat around contemplating whether to write a cover letter when applying for a job. You’ve probably wondered if a cover letter even makes a difference or if anyone even reads it. Human Resource Management consultants have discussed the difference between an application with and without a cover letter and the conclusion is that those with cover letters are able to set themselves apart from the throngs of people applying for the same position.

How can your cover letter set you apart?

In addition to introducing yourself as a person rather than just another resume, a cover letter should explain to an employer what you want to do and what makes you qualified to do it. A great strategy for getting this information across is to quickly introduce yourself, mention which position you are applying for, why you are interested in the position and what makes you a qualified applicant for the position.

To clearly show your qualifications without appearing overconfident, you can list a few of the qualifications listed in the position requirements and; alongside them, note your experiences, certifications- anything that proves you have the desired skills and experience for the position. Then simply close with a “thank you” and provide your contact information. Make sure your full name and contact information is included just in case your resume and cover letter become separated.

Think of it this way: your resume is like a piece of marketing material, but your cover letter is the sales pitch. Would you buy something if all you got was information on the product without a pitch as to why you should buy it? Probably not- the same goes for employers.

It’s very important to put your best foot forward when you are applying for a job. Employers normally receive a barrage of resumes for each open position; they don’t have time to sift through each and every resume and find the ones that have potential. Showcase your potential through a cover letter, and chances are you’ll be off the market in no time!

Beginning Your job Search Anew

2008-05-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

Perhaps it’s been a while since you’ve been in the market for a job. Or maybe you have been affected by lay-offs. Of course, you could just be ready for something new. In any case, you now need to start being proactive, exploit your connections and get into a position that you want and can be happy in. So where should you begin?

It’s all about connections. Knowing people who work for organizations that you want to work for is always a bonus. For starters, s/he can let you know what the company culture is like, how management works and give you an idea if it’s a place that will satisfy you. Another great benefit to knowing someone within a company you’d like to work for is that s/he might now of open positions that aren’t publicly announced. Lastly, having a reference from someone within the company bodes very well for you.

Be resourceful. Whether you have connections or not, search job boards, company career centers and set up job agents so that you are updated when new or applicable jobs are open. Putting your feelers out there is very beneficial. If you find that some job boards don’t have the types of positions you are looking for, think about any associations you are part of and check their website. A lot of associations have their own career centers, enabling employers to advertise directly to specialized individuals like you. There are tons of other niche job boards that focus on a particular region or industry (such as this one, for truck driving jobs, for example) – they may help to narrow your search and provide you with opportunities that more closely match your field of expertise.

Stay Positive. One thing about job searching is that it can be frustrating and sometimes depressing. Don’t let it affect you in that manner. Those feelings can come across in your resume, cover letter and interview. You don’t want employers to think you are too anxious or even dispassionate. Remain upbeat and they’ll see your true, passionate and professional self. Remember: the right job is out there; you just have to find it.

Going “Niche” With Your Job Search

2008-05-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Finding a truck driving job on the Internet can be a stressful and confusing process for even the most qualified job seeker. For starters, you are probably either not working currently, or are ready to close the door on your current career. Whatever your reason may be for searching, you likely feel lost when searching online. What sites should you search? Does it matter? Should you post your resume? How do you know where to go?

As Internet recruiting is still a relatively young industry, new employment websites are beginning every day. There are thousands of job boards to choose from and your perfect job just may be posted on a site you’ve never heard of. I know what you’re thinking- “but employers always use the well-known boards, right?” Some do. The emerging trend these days is to take a deeper look at recruitment advertising budgets and evaluate the effectiveness of various sites for a variety of positions.

Chances are, your ideal job is a hard- to- fill position. This makes employers all the more likely to reach out to association websites, regional and/or industry specific job boards. These are the sites you need to have a presence on.

Still not convinced? Here are a few reasons to consider niche job boards for your search:

Employers that post on niche job boards have taken measures to target ideal candidates. Rather than taking the easy route and solely posting on the “big” boards, they have made an effort to understand you, the job seeker, and where you feel most comfortable searching. This type of company has you and your success in mind – something that is likely important to you.
Niche job boards narrow the number of jobs you have to look through to find your diamond in the rough. The more generic job boards require clever searching to eliminate jobs that aren’t in your area, industry or on your professional level.
Once you find your “niche,” you can rest easy knowing that you are in demand. Joining an association related to your career or field of expertise allows employers the comfort of knowing you are more qualified for positions that fall into the niche than job seekers on the larger, more generic boards.

Now, go off and find your niche. There are many associations out there pertaining to your specific field or general industry. Find those that you feel represent who you are and what you do, then join them. Or, do a search for jobs by state, in your region or industry and sign up on sites that best represent where you are looking to work and in what industry. Good luck in your job search!