Judi,

What you are going through is not uncommon. Countless people have been faced with this same dilemma.  People returning to the workforce after an absence have multiple worries: “Will I have to prove myself all over again?” “How do I explain the gap in employment?” “What if I lack the required skills or education?”

It sounds like you are driven and motivated, but right now job seekers need all the help they can get. You want make sure you are looking at all your possibilities … including some you might not have though of. Here are several things you can do to get your foot in the door or start earning a paycheck while developing skills to add to your resume:

1. Maximize your cover letter and resume. Your cover letter highlights your key accomplishments and gives you an opportunity to answer any questions about an employment gap. Put your resume into a functional format (click for an example) that highlights your skills instead of a chronologicalone that lists your jobs starting with the most recent.

2. Network. Join professional networking sites like Brightfuse and LinkedIn. Look for groups to join that reflect your background or job interest. (For example, search the term “mom”.) The more you network, the more likely you are to meet people who are in a similar situation … or who have been in your situation and are now hiring.

3. Stay informed. Stay abreast of new trends, technology and developments in your industry by attending seminars and courses to prove your time off doesn’t put you at a disadvantage. Research the company, job or industry BEFORE you apply to a job and incorporate that information into each cover letter.

4. Remain open to all possibilities, even if the job title, salary and benefits may not be exactly what you were seeking. Holiday hiring season is in full swing. Try searching using the terms “seasonal” or “holiday.” Even though there are fewer openings this year and these jobs are typically temporary, there are employers who extend permanent offers to seasonal staff. Or consider direct sales like Avon, Stella and Dot or Wine Shop at Home.

5. Work with a professional. Recruiters at staffing firms like Robert Half and Kelly Services have their fingers on the pulse of the job market and work with employers to fill all types of jobs. They can also provide useful feedback on your resume and interview skills.

Click on these links for some additional articles that might be helpful to you:

It’s been 10 years since my last job search
http://www.primecb.com/its-been-10-years-since-my-last-job-searchwhat-do-i-do/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Worried about gaps on your resume?
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1911-Cover-Letters-Resumes-Worried-About-the-Gaps-on-Your-Résumé/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Dealing with gaps in your resume and cover letter
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1111-Cover-Letters-Resumes-Dealing-With-Gaps-in-Your-Resume-and-Cover-Letter/?siteid=cbworkbuzz

Can you relate to Judith’s story? What advice would you give her?

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“Competition for seasonal positions will be intense as the job market is flooded with qualified candidates vying for a smaller number of open positions,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. “Employers tell us they are accepting the majority of their seasonal applications during October and November, meaning job seekers need to identify and apply for those opportunities now.”

Because of the weaker economy and expected soft holiday retail sales, employers do not anticipate a robust seasonal hiring period this year. The outlook for seasonal hiring in the fourth quarter of 2009 is projected to be similar to 2008, according to CareerBuilder’s “Seasonal Hiring 2009″ survey of more than 2,900 hiring managers. Eighteen percent of hiring managers plan to take on seasonal workers to meet business needs associated with the holidays and end-of-the-year wrap-ups, on par with 17 percent in 2008.

According to the National Retail Federation, retailers hired an additional 231,000 workers during the 2008 holiday season, a substantial drop from the 618,000 they hired in 2007. During the holidays, while some retailers were hiring seasonal workers, others were shedding full- and part-time jobs from stores and corporate offices. Since January 1, 2008, the retail industry has lost 770,000 jobs.

Here are some of the other results from the CareerBuilder survey:

• 12% of employed workers plan to take on a seasonal job to help make ends meet.
• 44% of hiring managers expect to pay $10 or more per hour and 12 percent expect to pay $16 or more per hour; 34 % of hiring managers plan to pay between $8 and $10 per hour and 20% expect to pay between $6 and $8.
• The most popular positions identified for seasonal recruitment include customer service, retail sales, administrative/clerical, hospitality, shipping/delivery, inventory, technology and accounting/finance.

What’s the good news long-term job seekers? Seasonal positions may prove to be the break job seekers are looking for as 31% of hiring managers indicate they are likely to hire a seasonal worker for a full-time position. Here are some tips if you are seeking seasonal employment:

• Start applying early – 77% of hiring managers do not plan to accept applications for seasonal workers beyond November. Especially in a competitive job market, getting your resume in early will help your chances of securing a position.
• Do your homework – Nearly a quarter of hiring managers say that having no knowledge of the company or products deterred them from hiring a seasonal candidate in the past. Check out the company’s Web site before the interview and familiarize yourself with products, services, press announcements, etc so the hiring manager knows you’re serious about the opportunity.  
• Show enthusiasm – Nearly half of employers say they were turned off by a candidate who lacked enthusiasm during their interview. Convey that you’re excited about the opportunity to contribute to the success of the organization and stay away from saying the primary reason you want the position is for the employee discount.
• Dress the part – If you are interviewing for a job in a retail clothing store, it’s a good idea to show up dressed in an outfit from that store. One-in-ten (11 percent) hiring managers said candidates who interviewed for a job in a competitor’s ensemble were ultimately not considered for the open position.
• Be flexible regarding your schedule – Forty-seven percent of hiring managers said they were turned off by a candidate who refused to work certain hours. Seasonal hours tend to fluctuate; you need to be open and flexible to alternative schedules.
• Use specific keywords – To find the most relevant jobs, search online using the following terms: seasonal, holiday, part-time, temporary and Christmas.

Want to know more? Check out this article on companies hiring this holiday season.

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This got me thinking about when job seekers hit mental blocks, and their drive and motivation is shattered. With 6.3 job seekers competing for every available job and about 5 million people classified as long-term unemployed it’s not surprising that a lot of discouraged and even giving up.

Career consultant Duncan Mathison, co-author of “Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times are Tough,” tells discouraged job seekers to “Never give up; never give in.” He are his five tips for staying motivated during a long job search:

1.       Prepare for an extended search. When the job market shrinks, it takes longer to land a job.  Adjust your finances and your expectations now to extend your staying power. Stopping the search until the economy improves is like the farmer who will go hungry at harvest because they didn’t plant seeds in the spring.  Do not give up. Keep planting those seeds.

2.      Don’t waste your time on long-shots. If you are only applying to posted jobs and those seem far and few between, your tendency is to cast a wider net by applying outside your geographic area or outside of your expertise (“I could do that job!”). This is a dead-end strategy and you will only face more painful rejection and depressing stories of 500 applicants to 1 job. When it comes to job postings: focus, focus, focus.

3.      The right job for you is out there – it just won’t be advertised. Employers cut recruiting budgets when times are tight.  Instead hiring managers use less expensive and informal word of mouth strategies. As a result a higher percentage of available positions are in the “hidden job market”.  Job seekers must significantly expand the quality and quantity of their networking efforts to find unpublished jobs.

4.      Leave the resume at home. The secret to good networking is to help your network help you. Instead of a resume, give people in your network (everyone you know) a list of 50-75 employers who you think would hire people with your type of skills.  Do not ask if the companies are hiring.  Instead ask if anyone knows people who work there – particularly managers who might hire and manage people with your skills.

5.      Contact managers directly. Get their name, get an introduction and introduce yourself to them.  Your introduction can be a simple, “I understand you have people with my kind of background and skills working for you.  I don’t assume to know if you have job openings but I would like to meet you and learn more about the type of people you like to have on your team and share with you a bit about my background.” They may say “sure”, they may say “send a resume” or they may say “no”, but now they know about you. Remember the ONLY thing managers can do to assure their success is to meet and hire great people.  And that’s you!

While these are great words of advice, many long-term job seekers will likely say “Easier said than done” or “I’m doing all these already.” We’ll continue to look for other ways to fight your despair.

If you are a job seeker or someone who was recently hired and has found a way to keep your sanity during your search, share your tips here.

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Using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has been front and center on many job hunters’ “To Do” lists these days.  Most likely, you’ve made some forays into these areas already.  While some are reporting success by incorporating these sites into their job search strategy, if you have little experience using these sites, you might not know where to begin.

Before you jump into the social media fray, first decide your overall purpose.  In a recent interview, Shama Hyder, social media expert and CEO of the Internet marketing firm Click-to-Client advises job hunters to first start with a focus.  The biggest mistake she notices is that most people post profiles to social media sites without having a future employer in mind.  So start with a purposeful profile and think from the perspective of what overall first impression that employer will have of you.  Hyder suggests only listing interests that support or underscore your purpose.

When we talk about purpose or focus, most job hunters think of themselves as a list of skills, job duties and responsibilities developed over the years.  Unfortunately, this is not going to make you stand out in the world of social media.  Two major issues today grip employers: too little time and unfilled job problems.  They don’t have the time to leisurely read through hundreds, if not thousands, of candidate profiles on Facebook or LinkedIn.  Furthermore, their mind is focused on their immediate job opening and the problems this is causing them.  So, how do you break through these social media barriers?

Consider your BOD.

Before you jump into the social media world, make sure you have a clear understanding of why an employer would hire you. One good way to do that, according to Hyder, is to develop what she calls a “BOD.”  This stands for Brand, Outcome and Differentiator and is a good way to answer the question, “Why would an employer hire me?”

Brand

You can find a lot of personal brand information on the Web.  Actually, a brand is a concise sentence or phrase that can quickly describe you to an employer.  In the marketing world this is called the Unique Selling Proposition.  What is it that sets you apart from other candidates looking for a similar job or opportunity?  Since time is of the essence, Hyder goes even further by asking if your brand can be summed up with one word.  While most of us may not be able to distill our brand into one word, we should at least have it down to a sentence or phrase.

Outcome

This is what I see missing from so many resumes and profiles.  “What is the one clear benefit of hiring you?” Remember, employers have no interest in pawing through lists of skill sets or past duties.  They want to know whether you can solve their problem.  Right now.  So imagine that if an employer were to hire you, what is the single biggest benefit that YOU bring?  This is the outcome of hiring you. 

Differentiator

Employers today may look through thousands of potential candidates before settling on just a handful that they’ll interview.  So ask yourself, what makes you stand out from the pack? What do you bring that other candidates with similar skills and experience don’t?  This is your differentiator.  Examples of good differentiators might be your expertise as a cold caller, your bilingual expertise or your combined technical and management abilities as a project manager.

Look for factors that employers would highly value when searching for your differentiator.

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The latest Job Forecast from CareerBuilder and USA TODAY shows that, while employers are feeling more confident about the job market, the majority plan to keep their staff levels the same for the fourth quarter (October – December). The survey of more than 2,900 hiring managers and human resource professionals nationwide found that continued moderation in job loss, restrained hiring and cautious compensation changes are expected for the remainder of 2009. 

Here are some of the key findings and what they could mean for you:

• If you were laid off over the past year, make sure to keep bridges intact with your previous supervisor or HR department. Of employers who had layoffs in the last 12 months, one-in-four (26%) reported their company is planning to bring back some employees they let go earlier in the year.
• Employers are hiring, but it will still be restrained. At 68%, the majority of hiring managers don’t plan to make any staffing changes and 17 percent of expect to add headcount in the next quarter. And, while 10% anticipate a decrease in headcount, that’s down from 15% who answered the same question in Q3.
• Around the country, hiring in the South appears strongest for the rest of the year: 19% of hiring managers in the South expect to increase their full-time, permanent staff in the fourth quarter followed by 17% in the Northeast, 15% in the Midwest and 14% in the West.
• Pay levels are slowly being restored. Nearly one-in-five employers (18%) reported their organizations implemented pay cuts in the last 12 months.  Five percent of these employers said they restored pay to previous levels in the third quarter while 12% plan to do so in the fourth quarter.  Another 24% say they expect restore pay levels sometime in 2010.
• Employers will continue to be conservative with pay raises.  Half of employers (51%) anticipate no change in salaries for full-time, permanent employees in the next three months.  One-in-four (26%) expect to raise salaries between 1 and 3 percent, one-in-ten (12%) expect to raise salaries 4 to 10%, while 2 percent expect an increase of 11% or more. 

Want to know more? Click here to read the full press release or click here to download the pdf of the report.

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Peter, if we’re cutting to the chase, the answer to your questions are yes (kind of) and no, respectively. Here’s why…

I know we’ve discussed age at length here and here. But this question touches on something we’ve yet to discuss: How specific should you be on your application when it comes to giving away your age? Well, you don’t need to put your birthdate on your resume or cover letter, whether you’re 16 or 60. So don’t worry about that. And if you’re afraid employers will automatically dismiss you (even though they shouldn’t) because of the dates of your graduation, then leave those dates off. What matters is that you graduated with a degree, not when. There’s absolutely nothing dishonest or deceitful about that.

Still, we don’t advocate lying, and we’re not for burying information either. See, you still should put dates by your employment history, especially the most recent ones (aka ones that you had over the last 10 years, possibly longer depending on your field). Leaving those dates off will seem very suspicious. Employers will assume you’re hiding something. So an employer can always do some quick math if they really want to figure out your age.  Plus, if you get an interview, they’re going to see you face-to-face and, well, unless you’re really good with makeup, they’re going to know you’re not 19. So there’s no point in lying or going through extensive means to hide your age. And do you really want to work for a place that fears mature workers and experience?

Perhaps most importantly, you shouldn’t be ashamed of your age. If an employer is going to assume you can’t perform the tasks or doesn’t want someone with a little grey hair in the office, that’s not going to be a good place for you to work. (Forget how illegal it would be for them to openly dismiss you on those grounds.) Avoiding a few specific dates where possible might not be a bad idea if you’re afraid a college graduation date of 1973 will intimidate someone before they even look at your qualifications. But don’t lie and don’t forget that you probably have gained experience that a newcomer hasn’t. Be yourself and be proud of what you’ve done with your career.

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The key is identifying which skills you have and to which jobs they can be applied. Try using online tools, like CareerPath.com. You may learn that you can easily transfer into a new occupation with the expertise you have or short-term training and/or certification.

This morning, CareerBuilder’s V.P. of Human Resources Rosemary Haefner discussed this very topic on the Today Show. Watch this segment to learn about one woman who is making the move to nursing and how you can make a change, too.

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Sylvia’s experience with the younger members of the work force haven’t been all great, so she expressed some hesitancy at losing out on a job to a recent graduate. While we here at The Work Buzz don’t think anyone’s automatically a better or worse job candidate because of their age (or any other demographic trait, for that matter), we do think it’s worth addressing a conversation that’s been going on for decades and has heated up more in the last few years. If two candidates are pitted against each other, one being young (by professional standards) and the other being significantly older, who’s going to get the job?

The thing is, no one knows, and it’s not as cut and dry as age. First off, you should know your legal rights in terms of age discrimination, as explained on the government’s EEOC site. So rather than try to say that you, specifically, can always get hired in any situation, here are ways you can stress the attributes of your age without having to actually talk about your age. Why? Well, because no employer wants to hear “I know I look old, but…” or “I might have baby fat, but…” Instead, phrase it all in terms of experience.

You’re an older work (however you want to define “older):

• You’ve already  made the mistakes
  When you discuss weaknesses or learning experiences, you can refer to mistakes you made earlier in your career. Everyone makes rookie mistakes, and hopefully you learned from it so that you can point to a time when you didn’t know your limits and now you do.
• You’ve been around the cubicle (for lack of a better metaphor)
  If you’ve been in the work force for 10, 20, or 30 years, you’ve probably held different positions. Maybe you changed industries, employers, or roles. That experience informs the decisions you make today. The skills you’ve acquired have come from hands-on experience, which is something school alone can’t teach you.

You’re a younger work:

• You know the current trends
  On average, younger workers (especially those straight out of college) are familiar with today’s technology and new industry trends that are just now making waves. For many employers, that’s a huge asset because their current employees might be more focused on what’s previously worked and not think as much about what’s coming up.
• You’re willing to take risks
  No employer wants to hire a liability, but if you’re still trying to establish yourself in the professional world (aka you don’t have a ton of credibility to lose at this stage), you’re more likely to try new ideas. Unconventional ones that might not appeal to others could be a boost for you.

The goal isn’t to attack the other applicants but rather to show why you are a positive addition to the team. And remember, your focus needs to be on what you bring to the company. Employers want good workers regardless of age or gender. No one will hire the whiny crybaby who spends the whole interview complaining about the rest of the job seekers.

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This latest report also shed some light on discouraged workers:

Among the marginally attached, the number of discouraged workers in August (758,000) has nearly doubled over the past 12 months. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The other 1.5 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in August had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

It seems many of the people we at The Work Buzz are hearing from these days are discouraged. They say there aren’t enough jobs, there aren’t the right jobs, there aren’t any jobs.

Yes, it is taking more time these days to find a job, but hopefully, we can help you fight that job seeker fatigue. For example, we told you this week about a new CBsalary tool that matches salaries to jobs.

Many of you tell us that you’ll take any job as long as it pays the bills. Here’s one way this tool might fit in. Say you need to earn $50,000 to support yourself and your family. Type in your location and that number and — voila! — you’ll receive a list of jobs that match that pay an average of $50,000 in your area.

While we’re on the subject, we thought we’d give you a list to start with. Here are 50 jobs that pay an average of $50,000 annually in the United States:

1. Millwrights

   Annual average earnings: $50,040*

2. Mechanical engineering technicians

   Annual average earnings: $50,070

3. Industrial engineering technicians

   Annual average earnings: $50,130

4. Vocational education teachers, middle school

   Annual average earnings: $50,150

5. Food service managers

   Annual average earnings: $50,400

6. Vocational education teachers, postsecondary

   Annual average earnings: $51,020

7. Dietitians and nutritionists

   Annual average earnings: $51,540

8. Pile-driver operators

   Annual average earnings: $51,650

9. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

   Annual average earnings: $51,960

10. Court reporters

    Annual average earnings: $52,150

11. Chemical plant and system operators

    Annual average earnings: $52,160

12. Construction and building inspectors

    Annual average earnings: $52,240

13. Elementary school teachers, except special education

    Annual average earnings: $52,550

14. Lodging managers

    Annual average earnings: $52,570

15. Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education

    Annual average earnings: $52,650

16. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers

    Annual average earnings: $52,950

17. Forensic science technicians

    Annual average earnings: $52,970

18. Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school

    Annual average earnings: $53,090

19. Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents

    Annual average earnings: $53,100

20. Boilermakers

    Annual average earnings: $53,110

21. Sound engineering technicians

    Annual average earnings: $53,150

22. Respiratory therapists

    Annual average earnings: $53,170

23. Advertising sales agents

    Annual average earnings: $53,230

24. Radiologic technologists and technicians

    Annual average earnings: $53,410

25. Appraisers and assessors of real estate

    Annual average earnings: $53,460

26. Educational, vocational, and school counselors

    Annual average earnings: $53,540

27. Vocational education teachers, secondary school

    Annual average earnings: $53,760

28. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists

    Annual average earnings: $53,960

29. Insurance appraisers, auto damage

    Annual average earnings: $53,990

30. Electrical and electronic engineering technicians

    Annual average earnings: $54,050

31. Medical and clinical laboratory technologists

    Annual average earnings: $54,120

32. Real estate sales agents

    Annual average earnings: $54,700

33. Librarians

    Annual average earnings: $54,750

34. Training and development specialists

    Annual average earnings: $54,840

35. Music directors and composers

    Annual average earnings: $54,840

36. Special education teachers, secondary school

    Annual average earnings: $55,140

37. Surveyors

    Annual average earnings: $56,030

38. Property, real estate, and community association managers

    Annual average earnings: $56,280

39. Aerospace engineering and operations technicians

    Annual average earnings: $56,560

40. Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other

    Annual average earnings: $56,660

41. Legal support workers

    Annual average earnings: $57,060

42. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists

    Annual average earnings: $57,080

43. Editors

    Annual average earnings: $57,300

44. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

    Annual average earnings: $57,630

45. Funeral directors

    Annual average earnings: $58,820

46. Public relations specialists

    Annual average earnings: $59,030

47. Sales representatives, services

    Annual average earnings: $59,150

48. Transportation inspectors

    Annual average earnings: $59,650

49. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators

    Annual average earnings: $59,780

50. Instructional coordinators

    Annual average earnings: $59,830

*National data according to the BLS

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I have been open to definitely stepping out of my comfort zone and applying for positions that I would not normally pursue.  The online application process seems to be the “black hole” because you have to basically do detective work to see if the position is legitimate.  Getting an address or phone number for the company sometimes seem impossible. My question is, since most employers are using the online application process for prospective employees, what other steps can we do to make sure our application is received, even when they post “NO CALLS PLEASE” or you acquire the number through your detective work?

We get this question a lot, Patrice, so thank you for asking.

The most common reason behind the “No Calls Please” is not so the hiring manager can avoid talking to you or taking the time to look for your application — it’s to keep his or her sanity.

Imagine you’re a recruiter and you post a job online. You receive 300 resumes. Can you imagine having 300 people calling you to see whether or not you’ve received their application materials? You would go insane. Even with the “no calls” disclaimer, about 10-15 percent of these people call anyway. That’s still 45 people calling you.

That being said, I think you should defintely respect the “no calls please” request.

Usually when you apply online, you’ll receive an e-mail stating that your application has been received. If you don’t hear anything back and want to confirm that they got your materials, do some detective work and find an e-mail address where you can follow up.

Remember that while searching for jobs online is important, it’s also crucial not to rely soley on job boards and classifed ads for your search. Keep networking and getting in face time with people who can help land you a job. That way, you’ll have an actual person you can talk to and you won’t even have to worry about the “no calls please.”

In regards to your reference to the “resume black hole,” check out this article that addresses that very topic:

The Résumé Black Hole