Attending a virtual career fair has many benefits — there’s no gas and parking costs, you don’t need printed résumés, you don’t need to find a babysitter, and you don’t need to wear special “interview clothing.”  There’s also no waiting in lines!

To get the most out of a virtual career fair, register early and post your résumé so employers can review your information before the fair begins. During the event, employers will be interacting with many candidates, but you can still make yourself stand out in a positive way by being prepared. Here are some valuable tips:

Take your online conversations or “virtual chats” seriously. Avoid using abbreviations or slang during your interview if you want to be taken seriously by recruiters.

Browse the companies in the virtual “room” before submitting your resume. Instead of sending your résumé to every booth (or company), review the jobs first and tailor your résumé to the positions where you can best match the skills the employer is seeking.

Smile, wear nice clothing and clean up your home office. A promising conversation with a recruiter can quickly lead to a Skype conversation with a web camera.  Be ready.  Make sure your room is clean and professional.  Wear colors that make you look good on camera.  Pay attention to your voice level and eliminate any distracting noise.

Check your social media profiles, and update and clean them up, if needed. Recruiters may check out your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter activities.  Have you “put your best foot forward” in your online profiles and conversations? Would an employer question any of your online behavior?

Relax, but remain professional. At a virtual career fair you can explore employment opportunities in a more relaxed way, without the anxiety you may feel during a face-to-face interview. To get the best out of the experience, set some clear goals in advance. Prepare for questions, plan your answers and keep them in front of you.

Send a “Thank You” note. Remember to email a thank you note to anyone you talked to within 48 hours of your interview. If you don’t receive a response within a couple of weeks, be sure to follow up.  Let the company know you’re still available and interested in the position; and find out the status of your application.

References:

 http://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2012/03/15/virtual-career-fairs-benefit-job-seekers-and-employers/

 http://acscareers.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/how-to-really-prepare-for-a-virtual-career-fair/

 Lady Victoria Walker is a workforce development project assistant at Goodwill Industries International and a contributing writer for the GoodProspects^SM web site.

Why? Because I liked trains.

News flash! I didn’t grow up to be a train conductor. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy becoming one.  If I honestly think about the job duties, it probably involves a lot of attentive watching; frankly, that’s not up my alley. But I didn’t think about all the specifics of the job or even the qualifications needed when I was a child, I just knew I liked trains and wanted to be around them. Of course, the trains I liked either talked and had faces on them or were colorful, immaculate machines.  Ah, the luxury of being young!

As adults, we still have the opportunity of pursuing a career involving something we truly like and are passionate about. We just need to learn how to find it.

Sometimes that’s easier said than done, but you do have options.  Thanks to the Internet, there are free career assessments that you can take which will give you some idea of what jobs you may like.

Try careeronestop.com and click on the “exploring careers” section.  You will find a list of the fastest growing careers and industries, information about different career options, and what kind of education or training is required to work in those fields.  This website also allows you to take interest assessments.

Another resource is mynextmove.org.  This site allows you to explore all types of career options.  You can either search for a career using keywords like “nursing” or “build houses,” by industry like “education” or “construction,” or by taking an assessment, which asks you questions about things you like to do and tells you what different career options best fit your interests.

Just because you didn’t turn out to be a fireman, astronaut or a train conductor doesn’t mean you’ll never fulfill your dream.  But when you do dream, know that there are several resources designed to help you find what can make those dreams become reality.

David Awalt
Lab Specialist – Goodwill Industries of North Louisiana, Inc.
dawalt@goodwillnla.org

A career ladder serves a similar purpose in our working lives.  We often realize where we are today, and we may even know where we would like to end up. But have we identified the steps we need to take – in between – to get there?

Going up your career ladder, the key is to first know where you would like to get to. This makes it much easier to know where to step next.  But with so MANY different types of career ladders (job or industry paths), the size of your ladder is based upon what you want out of your career!  So it helps to know if you are even standing on the right kind of ladder for you.

Designing your personal career ladder starts out in a discovery phase, doing career exploration through self-assessments, job research or even job shadowing.

Career exploration activities and assessments will indicate which job roles and duties would be a great fit for you. Are you currently in one of these roles?  Do you like it? Do you want to climb up that ladder to higher levels, or do you want to consider a different ladder?  It’s your choice.

Once you know that you are on the right ladder or you want to change to a different one, then you should determine: “Which step am I standing on?”  Are you on the very first rung with limited knowledge about your field, but with lots of room to grow? Or are you possibly on a higher step, with some experience which just needs to be sharpened?  Using this process to plan out your career path will ensure your success in getting to your goal!

Need help?  Contact your local Goodwill agency and sign up to attend free workshops on career exploration classes in your area!

Bren Moon
GoodProspects^SM
Program Project Manager
Phoenix, AZ
bren.moon@gwaz.org

Do you feel lost with what you want to do with your life?

At work, do you sense that you could do something more meaningful, but don’t know what that could be?

Are you not sure what jobs to apply for?

It happens to the best of us. Life happens, our priorities change, and we lose sight of what we once wanted.  But it’s never too late to take a self assessment and personality test.  They offer questions about our likes, dislikes and needs. The answers can help us rediscover what we want to be as adults.

A self assessment will help guide you with:

• Understanding your personal traits
• Identifying your personal values
• Identifying your skill base
• Exploring your long-term goals

A personality test describes the different ways people:

• Prefer to take in information
• Prefer to make decisions
• Are energized by their outside or inner world                                                                                                                                                   

How do I begin?

1. You must be ready to have an open and honest conversation with yourself to gain an accurate evaluation.
2. You can do a search online for self assessments and personality tests.  The following are a few sites with plenty of resources:

• http://www.quintcareers.com/career_assessment.html
• http://www.rileyguide.com/assess.html
• Additionally a free personality test, the Jung Typology Test™, based on the work of Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers, can be taken at: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

3. Find the time to sit down and answer the assessments and personality tests.

4. Once complete, find the evaluation results and find out how your results can match with occupations.

Why is this important?

Understanding your likes and dislikes along with your personality type can give you a deeper understanding of who you are and will prepare you to find a job or career that will satisfy your personal goals and values.

Most of us have to work until we retire, so why not pursue a job or career that we can enjoy!  Taking a self assessment and personality test is the first step!

Luz Barboza
lbarboza@scgoodwill.org

Luz is currently exploring the California central coast and self assessing her next career steps. She enjoys reading, spending time with family, taking pictures, and has recently signed up for her first Triathlon.

These positive people have learned about the kinds of events that can trigger destructive thoughts and attitudes.  They are leaders willing to help others over some attitude hurdles. They see the big picture and are already on their way to employment success!

Then again, it is heartbreaking to hear other job seekers honestly share opinions about themselves, such as, “I have made too many mistakes in life,” or “Nobody will hire me because of my criminal record.”

When these kinds of destructive messages play and replay in our heads throughout the days, weeks, months or even years, they sadly may become self-fulfilling prophecies.  If these are our thoughts, how likely are we to have a positive attitude toward the job search process?  It’s highly unlikely.

In the class, we invite job seekers to compose new, positive, and hopefully healing self-images for themselves.  Some of the most popular ones are:

• Although I have a criminal past, somebody will hire me!
• I may need to work harder to get a job, but once I get one, I am willing to learn new skills and prove myself!
• I have learned from my past mistakes, I look to the future!
• I am willing to make a positive change.
• I am worthy of a good job.
• I can handle rejection, bounce back, and continue my job search.
• It is their loss. They are missing out on a great worker!

We can sometimes be our own worst enemy.  Our thoughts about the world of work, about the job search process and especially about ourselves will have an effect.

Now, can you afford to have negative thoughts?  The answer is NO, because attitude is everything!

Kate Keifling
kate.kiefling@givegw.org

Kate Kiefling is a former Goodwill Career Solutions client who now teaches Job Readiness Skills at Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.  Her team launched a five-class training series dedicated to helping people with criminal backgrounds find employment.

Sitting in your living room, vehicle, or office, you can probably find inspiration from somewhere.  It could be the colorful beam of light coming in through the window, a piece of artwork, a child’s painting, a nice card, photos, your favorite outfit, or it could be a beautiful poem or quote you memorized by heart.

At times we may find ourselves feeling down or depressed and not know why. It could be just that we need to talk to someone, or give more attention to cheering up ourselves. Try listening to music that you enjoy, watching a funny movie, reading a book, going for a walk, paying compliments to people (making someone else feel good can improve your mood), or dancing like no one is looking!

Children can be a good window into feeling better. Most children do not care what others think and they do what makes them feel good. Sometimes it seems that children know something that adults do not; we have so much to learn from them. We need to remember our inner child. Watch a child play, make a child smile or laugh, or ask a child to sing, and remember what that’s like.

You must believe in yourself, or no one else will.  Do this, and your confidence and happiness will grow from within and shine on the outside.

If you want more tips on finding happiness and being happy, visit www.actionforhappiness.org.

You’ll find ideas like “10 Keys for Happier Living,” and how volunteering helps others while improving your own sense of well being. The site offers an abundance of enjoyable, inspiring quotes, such as, “We all want to live happy and fulfilling lives and we want the people we love to be happy too. So happiness matters to all of us.”

Happiness is all around us. Sometimes we have to look for it; other times, we need to create our happiness so we can share it with others.

I am on my very own pursuit of happiness.  When I was younger, I used to feel that happiness was all around, as I got older I realized happiness is like kindness — you have to spread it.  So I am officially taking charge of my happiness and want others to consider this idea.  Happiness to everyone!

Genia Neal
Genia is an HR recruiter, currently studying for her SPHR certification.
Genianeal12@yahoo.com

The belief that “I learned everything I need to know in school” is one that permeates American society. But with the pace of change today, what we learned in school quickly becomes outdated, even for those who have recently graduated.

Henry Ford was describing what is today called “lifelong learning.”  Lifelong learning is continuous skills and knowledge building over a person’s lifetime. I truly believe in the lifelong learning process — I am continually learning something new!  Yes, it is a part of my job, but that is not the only reason I learn. I need to continuing learning so that I can help my children with their homework.  I will also need to continuing learning as long as change is a constant in life.

Your local community college can be an excellent resource for continuing your education. In my hometown, the community college has a community learning class.  These classes are inexpensive and cover a wide variety to topics.  To see an example, visit the community learning site at Lincoln Land Community College.

Learning online is another option that is available, and the variety of learning topics seems endless.  GCF Learn Free is a great resource.  There are more than 750 lessons covering topics from how to use an ATM machine to Microsoft software products.  Best of all, this resource is free for anyone to use.

Many online colleges and courses charge a fee for services.  Don’t let that stop you.  The US Department of Education can provide you with grants and scholarship information.

Remember to check out any business or educational provider before paying money to take a course. The US Department of Education and The Council for Higher Education Accreditation are two resources that can help you verify a course or school.

Lifelong learning is a journey that everyone should take!

Jenifer Wofford, GCDF
jenifer.wofford@llgi.org

Jenifer is currently working on her Masters of Christian Education online.  Her future plans are to learn how to create a database system in Access.

In a nutshell, job seekers need to have Internet access to become a virtual job seeker.  Then, becoming familiar with the most popular job search boards and posting your resume online is a great idea. Some of the favorites are simplyhired.com and Indeed.com

These sites collect job postings from all around the web and should save you some time in locating open positions. Another website I really like is americasjobexchange.com.  These sites allow you to specify your career needs, and then they will send potential job matches directly to you.

Social media sites are another option for virtual job searching. LinkedIn, Plaxo and Facebook are gaining popularity, and experts tell us not to ignore or underestimate the power of these tools to network and find jobs.  An IT staffing firm based in Los Angeles writes, “Instead of posting a job online and getting a thousand resumes, we will go on Linked in and Plaxo to seek out the people we want to talk to”.

Since employers are looking for talent in a more focused manner, job seekers need to be equally focused.  Becoming educated is key, and Goodwill Career Centers are a great place to start. They offer free workshops on Internet literacy, and how to use sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to find available jobs.

A recent survey of 800 hiring decision makers conducted by Jobvite, a maker of social recruiting software found the following:

• Hiring managers say their best hires come from referrals, followed by direct sourcing and social networks.
• 80 percent of survey respondents use social networks to recruit new employees. Of that 80 percent, 86 percent used LinkedIn.
• 45 percent of survey respondents say they always search candidate’s online profiles.

As success strategies for today’s job search continue to evolve, it is an exciting time to utilize technology in ways we have never done before.

Jenni Samsill
jennil1970@gmail.com

And according to Randall S. Hanson, PhD, experts estimate that the great majority of jobs are never advertised. These “hidden job market” positions are filled through networking.

Your “social network” consists of friends and family, coworkers, acquaintances, friends of friends, and people from every aspect of your life.  Your job search network is created by building relationships. Why? Because people prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. A referral from someone the employer knows, or the ability to “drop a name” can open doors.

Conventional job search tools such as job listings are valuable, but the competition is fierce. Your resume or application goes into a huge pile of hungry job seekers. Moreover, it is impersonal. You are only a name on a page.

Preparation Is Critical

Before beginning your networking, and engaging with people about your job search, you need to have a clear idea of where you are going and the assets you bring with you.

Identify your career track, the type of job you want. Determine your interests and strengths using assessments at workforce centers and online. What situation works for you?  What hours will you work? Will you work overtime, swing shift, weekends? What salary, wages, benefits do you expect. Do you want management responsibilities and growth potential?

Brand yourself. Who are you? What can you do? Don’t underestimate your skills and work ethic. Make a list of your strengths and skills: computers, hand or power tools, “works well with people,” etc. When you know yourself, it’s easier to communicate that to others.

Develop a strong resume. Again, help is available at workforce centers and online.

Make a list of all the people you know, the people they know, and so forth. Prioritize it.

Get organized.  Keep a business card file, computer database, or a 3×5 card file.

Set goals, such as five new contacts per week.  Stick to them.

Stay in contact through regular phone calls, emails, etc.

Connect face-to-face through job clubs.

Get Started Today!

Interacting with people is much more satisfying and encouraging than just sending out tons of unsolicited resumes.

Jim Coen, Program Manager
Good Prospects
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys
jcoen@goodwillvalleys.com

Who are the people around you that share your interests and can be supportive as you seek  employment in today’s competitive market? Sometimes it’s the obvious — family and friends are your best supporters.  Ask them if they know of any job openings where they work, or who you might talk with just to get in the door.

If you snag that informational interview with an employer, you’ll have the opportunity to talk up your experience and skills. Do you homework and research the company beforehand. Get to know a little about its character and culture, so that you’re fully prepared to answer the question, “Why should I hire you?”   You want to have the employer remember you when there’s a job opening, so follow up after your interview with a phone call or email to express your continued interest.

Participating in professional online social groups is a fun, interactive way to connect with others. There’s a free website, Meetup.com, where you can complete a personal profile.   There are many groups to choose from, so concentrate on those that are health care related.

Career fairs are popular events that link job seekers with employers.  Due to the large number of people participating, you’ll have to figure out how you can really shine in the short amount of time you have with an employer.  Prepare your “elevator speech” — a two-minute introduction to the question, “Tell me about yourself.”  Highlight your expertise in the health care field.  For example, “My name is Mary Smith and I have two years experience as a medical biller in a hospital setting.”

Joining a health care professional association can also help you develop relationships with others who are working in your field.  As a member, you can receive newsletter and other publications that include job announcements. For  information about these associations, visit Happy Career or Pam Pohly Associates. These sites offer good tools for investigating training opportunities, school requirements and financial assistance.

Remember — when networking, be positive and open-minded, explore a variety options, and stay focused on your goals.

Odalis Gonazalez
og104@hotmail.com.

Odalis is a Social Worker with 16 years of health care experience in areas such as long-term managed care, domestic violence and hospitals. She has worked as a recruiter in a vocational program within a nonprofit agency and in a college setting.   Her interests are blogging and internet marketing.