Help from the government for workers over 55 years old

While it is difficult enough to find work at any age, it is especially hard when you reach the age of 50. There are a lot of reasons why older workers are at a disadvantage, such as you are too old to keep up with younger workers, or maybe you are too set in your ways to learn anything new. Of course, another favorite reason to dislike older workers is that they get sick more often which translates into a lot of time away on sick days. All of these reasons are ridiculous and have been shown to be false. But unfortunately there are still a lot of companies that feel this way. One organization that has always been in the corner of senior citizens or older folks is AARP. They have teamed up with the Department of Labor to fund the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to help workers over the age of 55 to find jobs.

What is SCSEP?

This organization works with the unemployed on a personal level establishing what job skills they have and what they need to find work. They help with job search tips, sprucing up your resume and they will help find job training that will be beneficial to your future employment. What is also unique about this program is that they will set up a yearly physical exam for you.

Who qualifies?

• Over the age of 55
• Unemployed
• You are under the poverty level by 125%
• You live in a county that has as AARP SCSEP office

For more information go to the Department of labor seniors website.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

Lessons learned from unemployment

It is difficult to think of anything positive coming from unemployment, especially long term unemployment. But like most challenging events in life there always seems to be something that can be taken away from it, not easy lessons but lessons just the same. What you learn is not only about yourself and how you go about getting through a trying time but you will also learn about other folks and how they think about things.

  

 

Lessons learned while unemployed

 

• How to become resilient when things are at a low point in life. Unemployment is definitely one of the lowest times in anyone’s life how you adjust to it and gather strength from it can be quite telling. For some folks it can be an incredible transformation and for others it isn’t that difficult. 
• You learn how to develop strategies to get what you want, namely a job. This takes time but it is a great skill to have in regards to anything that you try to accomplish.  
• Learn how to survive on less, less money and less things. You may find out after you get a job that you don’t need as much to live on. 
• You gain confidence in yourself. Employed or unemployed, confidence is an intangible that helps you in every aspect of life.

 

 

 

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Part time jobs leading to full time

You main goal in job hunting is simple; you want a job, a career and a paycheck. You don’t want to be unemployed anymore and you are willing to do what it takes to begin working again. Many folks believe that the transition from unemployed to employed means getting a job that pays about the same or more than the last job and your new job will be full time. You probably already have an understanding that it may take a while to get to the salary level that you were before. Something that you should also consider is that your new job might be part time. It’s not what you wanted but you need to get your foot in the door. Remember that part time jobs often lead to full time employment.




The first thing that probably goes through your mind when someone mentions working part time is that you can’t live on a part time salary. This is certainly a problem but one that needs to be dealt with. If your part time job is with a company that you feel will offer you opportunities in the near future then you need to find ways to make ends meet till a full time job opens up. It is imperative that you consider this a chance that you mustn’t pass up. How will you deal with a smaller salary? Find ways to cut back, it shouldn’t be hard if you have been unemployed for any length of time. Another thing might be to get a second part time job; I know that it is easier said than done but if your main part time job might lead to something bigger in the future you have to make ends meet.



Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

Jobs trends for 2011

This year should be, hopefully, better for job seekers than last year, At least that is what a lot of economists are saying. The unemployment will remain high but it will be going in the right direction. And like in any recovery there will be more opportunities in some field rather than others. As you can probably guess all aspects of health care will have job growth. An aging population will make this field attractive for job seekers for a quite a while. But there are other jobs that should be making a comeback also.




Technology is like the health field in that it is constantly growing; the need for software engineers and network analysts will be great. Web developers will be needed to create and maintain web sites. Database administrator positions should also a good field to be in due to the ever growing amount of data being stored. Technology will definitely be growing, although in this field, unlike in healthcare, there will be some outsourcing to fill positions.



While the retail industry is still hurting from the housing market disaster of a few years ago, there does seem to be signs that the industry is picking back up. Since the start of the recession people have become more particular about what they buy and how much they spend on products, this makes for a competitive retailing industry. Fortunately, retail is one industry that wouldn’t be effected by outsourcing.



Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

Breaking bad job seeking habits

If you have been unemployed for awhile now then you know that looking for a job is a job and when you are employed you usually fall into the same work habits or routines. This is especially true if you have done the same thing for quite a while. Tasks become so routine that you don't even have to think about them let alone consider a different way of approaching them. Well, the same thing occurs when you are looking for a job. You do the same things over and over again, all the while thinking that you are doing the right things to find a job. But are you? Take look at how you go about looking for work and see if there is any bad job seeking habits.

  

A few bad job seeking habits

 

• Mass mailing resumes is definitely one of the worst things that you can do, not only is it nonproductive it also wastes precious time you could do something else.  
• Sending out the same cover letter and resume to everybody. Personalize them to meet the job that you inquiring about. 
• Remaining in that comfort zone doesn't get you anywhere. Take calculated risks and don't worry about failing. 
• Worrying about your present situation is something that everyone does but it doesn’t help matters any. Exercise and continue to do the things, like hobbies, that make you happy. Stay positive things will get better.

  

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

 

Pharmacy techs will be in demand

As the population grows older the health industry will grow creating more and more need for workers in all aspects of the medical field. One area that will be particularly active will be pharmacies because of their vital service to all age groups of people especially the elderly. Pharmacists will be demand as well as the people that help them such as the pharmacy technicians and aides.




What does a pharmacy tech do?

Pharmacy technicians help the pharmacist prepare prescription medications, help with administrative duties of the pharmacy and provide customer service when needed. Their work is detailed oriented because of the importance of getting the proper presecription to the patients whether it is in a retail store or if they work in a pharmacy that mails the prescriptions. The technicians also have to good understanding of insurance policies regarding medical prescriptions. Since the majority of pharmacy techs work for retail establishments they are required to work at various schedules according to the store hours.



What kind of education do you need to become a pharmacy tech?

While there isn’t any formal education required, there are schools that will train you to become a pharmacy technician. Some technicians can be trained on the job. In some states they have to register as a pharmacy technician with the State Board of Pharmacy. There are national certifications that a tech can receive by taking an examination. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) are the two organizations that administer the tests.



Job outlook

According to the Labor department the job outlook for pharmacy techs is very good with a 10 year growth projections of 25 percent.



Feel free to comment and Please subscribe to my RSS Feed
thanks

Should you use a resume service?

If you are unemployed right now or even if you think you will become unemployed very shortly then you are probably spending a lot of time thinking about your resume. Do you need a new one? Can you just update the one you have? And probably the most important question is whether you should have someone else do it for you.

  

You may scoff at the idea of paying someone to write your resume. Maybe you wrote your last resume and it worked out fine. But the economy has changed for the worse; the competition for employment is fierce. You want your resume to be as professional as possible. A good resume company would be able to highlight your achievements and skills in a way that you might not be able to. It certainly is an investment but a worthy one.

  

What to look for in a resume writing service?

 

• The first thing you need to do is research, don’t just go out on the internet and sign up for the cheapest service you can find. You’ll end up wasting your time and money. And the same thing goes for paying for the most expensive service also. Just because a resume service may charge a lot of money doesn’t mean that they will do quality work. 
• Before surfing the internet for resume companies, ask any friends who have used a resume company that they might recommend. They will be able to tell you what kind of package they received and how their customer experience was.  
• Ask the company for samples of the resumes and cover letters that they had produced in the past. You will be able to get a feel for what kind of work that they do. 
• Know exactly what you are receiving in the way of the final resume package that is produced, not only the cost to you but whether they will be willing to make any changes to the resume in the future. 
• Make sure that your final resume package includes a disk with the resume on it so you can make changes to it and the cover letter. The last thing that you need to do is send out form letters. 

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

 

 

 

Telecommuting

Since the advent of the computer and faster communications devices, the way people work and where they work has changed. Of course if you work in the service industry you have to be at the store or restaurants location. The same goes for skilled trade jobs you have to be where the work is. But what if you work in an office environment behind a phone and a computer where your job all day is to answer questions on the phone or do some kind of work that involves a PC, then you don't necessarily have to be in an office, you could be at home. Which translates into no traffic to put up with and you can work in a much more relaxed atmosphere. Plus you will save money on gas which is extremely important now days. Maybe you should think about telecommuting.




Most every office today has some people working if not full time at home at least some of the time. and why not? you have a phone at home and you probably have an internet connection so you would have all that you need. Some companies like to give their employees the choice of telecommuting, not only does it improve morale it also helps the environment by taking at least one car off the road. Of course on the other side of the coin some employers think that it is bad idea because employees would slack off at home without supervision. But that comes down to a matter of trust and how much productivity the employee has while working at home.



Where can you find information about telecommuting?

I checked on the Department of labor's career resource site and they had a lot of information about telecommuting, such as sites that list potential telecommuting jobs and advice article on whether telecommuting is for you.



feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
thanks

Finding a job in 2011

After the past 2 or 3 years of terrible economic news and an unbelievable unemployment rate, we can all truly hope that 2011 is the year of the economic turnaround. If you aren’t very confident that the economy will get better you aren’t alone. The government has been telling everyone that the recovery has started but it will take awhile before the unemployment numbers to come down. A recovery with millions of people unemployed doesn’t seem to be much of a recovery but you have to stay positive that you will find a job in 2011.

 

Things to remember about job hunting in 2011…

• Become an expert in the field that you want to work in. Learn as much as you can, this will be a big help at interview time. 
• Finding employers to target for jobs. There isn’t any use to research a company and send a resume to a company that doesn’t hire your type of work or isn’t hiring at all. Don’t waste your time. 
• Time management is extremely important when you are looking for a job. Make sure that you plan and schedule your time searching for a job because job hunting in itself is a job! 
• The government, whether it is federal or state, has a wealth of information about private sector jobs and government jobs. Take time to look over the Department of labor’s website. 
• If you have done any research on the web about job hunting then you have heard about job networking. Keeping in touch with people who may know of jobs or industry news is invaluable to your job search. 
• It is easy to just send resumes out and hope that someone will call you. As a job hunting strategy that isn’t very effective. Sometimes in life we must leave our comfort zone and try something new, this certainly applies to job hunting.

 

Stay positive and hopefully this will be the year that you will get back to work.

 

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
Thanks