Career Voyage to find a job

*****note CareerVoyage.gov is now closed****
Finding a job is a lot like going on a trip, it takes some planning. Not only will you need to know how to get there, you will also need to know where you are going. And don’t forget to be prepared for any unexpected troubles along the way. Well the Career Voyage website helps you each step of the way to your destination, a new career.

CareerVoyage.gov is a Federal Government website that helps you explore the jobs that are in demand. From the home page you will find information in four areas

• Students 
• Parents 
• Career Changers 
• Career Advisors 

From the students section you will be directed down four paths, where to start, where the demand will be, how to qualify for and get a job and does education pay, how to pay. Each section has a wealth of information that clearly guides you on how to go about researching and finding employment.

From the parents section looks at the same four areas but from the perspective of the parents and how they can help their child through this process.

From the career changers you will learn about various other careers and how to get the education and training to make your move into a new field.

From the career advisors you will be given information on how to help those beginning their careers or those who are making a career change.

Career Voyages also has detailed information on various employment sectors from Advanced Manufacturing to Transportation.

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Becoming a volunteer is beneficial in many ways

Getting a job in 2010, much like getting a job in 2009 will require much time and effort. All the conventional job tools will need to be sharpened such as having an up to date resume. You will need to practice for those interview questions. Maybe you will even take a course to brush up on your skills. But how many will consider being a volunteer?


Why a volunteer?

Volunteerism, whether you are working or not, is one of the best ways to help those who need the most help, whether it is at a hospital or the Red Cross, you are contributing something very important, your time. The rewards for your efforts are great, you will have a wonderful feeling that you helped the community and you provided relief for those in need.

There is also an added benefit to being a volunteer, getting experience in a field that you could eventually find a job in.

• http://www.volunteermatch.org/
• http://www.seniorcorps.gov/ This one is geared toward older Americans.
• http://vocationvacations.com/ This is an interesting concept where you can test out jobs for a period of time with mentors guiding you.
• http://www.civicventures.org/ this is also geared toward older Americans who want to help solve social problems.
  
  
  
  

What and where are the hidden jobs?

There is a regular routine that unemployed people go through when looking for a job. They search the want ads, then they search the online job sites and then they may search through some company’s websites to see if they are hiring. That’s fine but you need to add another resource in your job hunting routine, looking for the hidden jobs.


As you would expect hidden jobs are not advertised. You wouldn’t find them in the want ads or the big job sites. Who knows about these jobs? At first it will just be the people at the company that is looking to fill a particular position. Often times companies don’t immediately advertise that they are looking for an employee. In fact they may not even say that they are hiring, what they mean is they aren’t adding any jobs to the company but they still need to fill any position that has recently become vacant.

So how do you find out about these jobs?

The first thing that you need to do is to assess your skills. Then you need to make a list of companies that ordinarily use the skills that you have. Don’t be put off if the company has laid off people recently or if you have heard that they aren’t hiring. Once again, they may need to fill a job opening and you may have the skills that they need.

Who do I contact?

Call the company or look at their website and see if you can find a name of someone ( a manager in a department that you feel you would fit in to) to speak to or send an email to. I know this may be difficult for most people but during these tough times you have to do the difficult things to find a job.

Where are the green jobs?

The topic of green jobs has been very hot lately. The talk of global warming and the faltering economy has made green jobs vital to the future of our country and indeed the world. But the question remains, where are the green jobs coming from and what exactly is a green job?


A green job is employment in an industry that helps with the preservation of the environment. The industries that will have green jobs are quite diverse.

1. Energy – Industries that produce energy have to be cognizant of how their manufacturing plants are affecting the environment. Various engineering and technician jobs will be needed for the maintenance and construction of energy producing resources such as wind and solar power.

2. Construction – Buildings and housing now and especially in the future will have to environmentally friendly. The people working in construction will have to be trained to meet this requirement.

3. Transportation – Finding a cost effective and environmental friendly way of shipping goods and transporting people will need workers who understand the importance of keeping the environment clean and stable.

Some jobs, such as the field of engineering, will require more education than others. But there are also jobs that only require on the job training.

The Department of Labor has recently started a green jobs initiative for more information go to http://www.doleta.gov/brg/GreenJobs/

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Healthcare Options for the Unemployed

Becoming unemployed brings on many fears. Will I find another job? When will I find another job? How will I pay my bills? And of course one of the worst fears is not having health insurance, but there are some options if you are unemployed and without healthcare.

• COBRA – This was an act of congress to provide the unemployed an opportunity to continue with their healthcare plan that they had with their previous employer. You have to be working for a company that has more than 20 employees. The cost of COBRA is relatively expensive for someone who is unemployed. Congress last year passed a bill that would pay 60 % of your COBRA premium for up to 9 months. 
• Mini COBRA – Some states have what is called mini COBRA for the unemployed who had previously worked for companies with under 20 employees. 
• Medicaid - Medicaid is run by the state to help low income people with medical coverage, who qualifies differs from state to state. 
• RxAssist Patient Assistance Program Center – helps patients and communities with medication access.  
• Familiesusa.org – Great website on finding healthcare insurance if you are unemployed.

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Homeland Security Jobs

Since 9/11 security of our airports, borders and other vulnerable areas has become especially important. The need for people in this job sector has become crucial to the safety of this and other countries. With the government creating the Homeland security department after 9/11, there has been a need for various security jobs, particularly needed by the Federal Government.


Homeland security covers a vast area within the Government, so employment with them could be in a number of places. Here are a few of the jobs available

1.    Emergency preparedness and response information – This is part of FEMA which helps coordinates first line of assistance in disasters. For job information go to  https://dhsjobs.dhs.gov/careersection/FEMA/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en&organization=89040010112

2.    Border and Transportation Security – job information can be found at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/

3.    Infrastructure protection Infrastructure protection – a good understanding of basic infrastructure and how to make it secure are the main qualities that employees in this field have to know.
4.    Intelligence investigators and analysts – As an analyst you will collect and interpret information that could be a threat to the security of the United States. Job information can be found here http://www.intelligence.gov/3-career.shtml

5.    The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Primary responsibility is to enforce immigration and customs laws. For job information go to http://www.ice.gov/careers/

Over fifty and going back to school

Are you a non-traditional student? Do you want to be a non-traditional student? If you are over fifty and you go back to school to better yourself (to help find a job) then you are one according to the government.


Most people who reach a certain age come to the conclusion that they are too old to go back to school. By the time that they finish their education it will be time to retire. Of course with the economy the way it is, retirement is pushed way back to a much older age or even retirement is forgotten entirely. Even if you begin school over the age of fifty, and finish a few years later you still will have time begin a new career.

How am I supposed to pay for more education?

Many people don’t realize that student loans aren’t just for young people. Government loans like the Pell Grant apply to people at any age. For the Pell grant you have to show that you are in financial need but there isn’t an age limit to it and the best part is that you don’t have to pay it back.

Where will I go to college?

Many colleges today are most accommodating to older students. Evening classes and online classes are offered so you can continue to work or if you are unemployed and looking for work you can get your education also. There are many online colleges to consider. You may think that you can’t get federal aid when applying to online colleges but you can. Federal student loans like the Pell grant are applicable to online colleges.

So don’t rule out taking courses to help in your job search. It will certainly help finding a job after fifty years of age.

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How long will the unemployment be high for those over fifty?

We have been told by those on TV and in the newspaper (for those who still read the newspaper) that the recovery is slowly beginning. We have already hit rock bottom and things will slowly start to become better. Although they warn that unemployment will be lagging. Lagging? We are then to assume that jobs will eventually return and the real unemployment numbers will go down. I wish that I could believe them but I don’t. There are some jobs that are gone and will never return and as for the prospect of creating new jobs, I just don’t know where they will be coming from.


It certainly isn’t going to be the construction industry that leads us out of this recession. The number of empty houses will take years to fill. The IT industry is hurt by outsourcing and that wouldn’t likely change any time soon. There does seem to be a lot of talk about green jobs, but no one is talking about where the jobs will be and what the jobs will be.

What can you do? Keep looking of course but also think about other things like self employment, if you ever had an itch to start working for yourself this is the time. Starting a small business might be a daunting task in a bad economy but not trying to succeed is a guaranteed failure.

To find information about starting a business check out the Small Business Administration website

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Top ten fastest growing jobs with on the job training

 
Whether the times are good or bad, it is always tough to get a job if you don’t have experience or training. Fortunately there are some jobs that don’t require a lot of experience or training. From the Occupational handbook here is the list of the top ten fastest growing jobs with on the job training.

 

• Personal and home care aides 
• Home health aides 
• Medical assistants 
• Social and Human services assistants 
• Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators 
• Pharmacy technicians 
• Dental assistants 
• Gaming and sports book writers and runners 
• Rock splitters, quarry 
• Customer service representative

 

New possibilities for the unemployed and over fifty

If you find that you are recently unemployed and over fifty you will probably think about the same old possibilities for employment that you always had. You’ll think about looking in the paper for a job. You’ll think about asking a few friends if they know about any jobs that are available. You might even be daring and go online to look for a job. Change your way of thinking, clean the slate and form some new career and employment opportunities.


The first thing that you need to do is clear your mind of all the old thoughts about what you can do and what you can’t. If you have done the same old thing for years and you feel that you are in a rut now is the time think about doing something else. I know that is easier said than done!

It seems to make things better to understand if they are written down, I don’t know why but it does. So… make a list of your skills and then make a list of the things that you like on the list. Examine the list further and put the list in an order from your favorite things to your least. Are you surprised?

Now its time to do some investigated work on careers and employment, the best place to look online is the Occupational Handbook.

This is a terrific resource that not only lists what type of jobs are available but also if they are going to be in demand in the coming years. Take your time and look through this massive website it will be very educational. With the list that you made go to the search option at the top of the page and type in your skills.

For example if you typed in drawing, the search result came back with hundreds of results! If you want to be more specific, type in a phrase to narrow down your search.

Give it a try.

In upcoming posts I will revisit the idea of forming new possibilities with your job search.

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The best places to find work

According to a study by JuJu.com, Washington D.C. is the best place to find a job right now and that makes a lot of sense considering that federal jobs are located there. It seems that the government is the only place that is actively hiring.


What was surprising was the next four places on the list, San Jose, Baltimore, Boston and New York. It is hard to believe that a city from California with all the problems out there is second on the list. I guess it has something to do with the IT field. And it is even harder to understand why the next 3 on the list were from the Northeast which has been hit hard with unemployment.

At the bottom of the list is no surprise it’s Detroit which as suffered for years due to failing auto industry.

The way that Juju.com came up with ranking is they divided the number of unemployed workers by the number of online jobs in their index. it is good to remember that not all people who are unemployed are counted by the government. If you are off of unemployment then the government doesn’t consider you unemployed. So take this study with a grain of salt.