Austin JOBS Blog

A Reprint: Dear Corporate America, From Any Veteran, USA A Reprint: Dear Corporate America, From Any Veteran, USA A Reprint: Dear Corporate America, From Any Veteran, USA

rickyG — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:04:09 +0000

Once again I bring up ERE.net--one of the best online forums going for professional recruiters. Many times I find the content to be useful to job seekers as well. With ERE.net's permission--and that of the various authors--I occasionally post their comments and views for your consideration.

This morning's ERE.net post came with the headline you see above and it is a smart, well written open letter written to each of us by Morgan Hoogvelt, chief talent scout for Clear Channel Communications. With a dedication to my Afghan-vet son, Tory, and thanks to Mr. Hoogvelt for his permission to reprint I offer "Dear Corporate America, From Any Veteran, USA" for your consideration.

Dear Corporate America,

This letter is intended to ask for your help and to open your mind, perhaps a little bit. I have recently completed my tour of duty serving our country and now it is time for the next opportunity in my career. The past several years have been tough for me; numerous deployments, time away from my family and loved ones, the missing of birthdays and holidays and tough financial times as well.

I initially joined the military due to my sense of commitment and wanting to be part of something greater like service to my community and country. Now that I have accomplished that, I am ready for my next challenge and will be entering the civilian world, hungry for an opportunity where I can demonstrate my talents and knowledge.

While in the military, I learned such traits like leadership, commitment, accountability, dedication, team work, sacrifice, and courage. I learned my job in the military through schooling and classroom education. What takes civilian world technical schools and colleges months and even years to teach, I learned and successfully passed in weeks and months. I then applied those acquired classroom skills and theories in real world applications and career fields such as aviation, logistics, security, administration, healthcare, supply, legal, nuclear power, IT, and many other fields.

I performed my job in the military to a high degree and in places around the world that your average worker in Corporate America has never seen and will never know of: on an Aircraft Carrier in the Persian Gulf, on the airfield of Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, patrolling on the streets of Iraq, building relationships in the horn of Africa, at 25,000 feet in a heavy transport airplane, inside a hospital in Germany, and many other places I can’t even begin to share with you.

So I am here now and ready to make a change in my life like many other job seekers you have come across. Yet, I find it a little harder and even frustrating not getting the same chances and opportunities to showcase my talents and experience to you. Perhaps you are not familiar with the terms on my resume; perhaps you are thinking that it will take time for me to adjust; perhaps you are thinking that my skills will not translate; or even — perhaps you are thinking that some things I may have seen will stay with me and will be brought into the workplace.

I am not asking for a handout, nor am I asking you to hire me simply because I am a veteran. I am asking you to give me a fair shot and have an open mind when you receive my resume. Take into account the experiences I have had, the projects and assignments I have worked on — and if you need clarification on any acronyms on my resume, please call me or invite me in and I will be more than happy to clarify them for you. Oh … and when we do finally meet and I address you as sir or ma’am, it’s not because I am “programmed” to speak a certain language and cannot adapt; it’s because that is the word I use to as a sign of respect.

And if and when you do decide to hire me and give me a shot; you will find me to be punctual, respectful, grateful, hardworking, knowledgeable, and accountable. I will learn fast and apply the principles that I know in order to be successful and bring success to the department and company. I will work hard, dedicate myself, add to the team, lead where I can, and set an example for others.

One thing that I will ask of you is that you don’t fall into the “craziness” people and companies make hiring a veteran like me out to be. It’s not that hard, it’s not rocket science — I am a human and not a robot. The military is a company in its own manner. As a matter of fact it’s one of the largest companies in the world that employees individuals in every career field imaginable.

So if and when your next open position arises, and you receive a resume from me or someone like me, perhaps you will give the resume a second look and think about this letter that I have written to you. Perhaps you will even go as far to invite me in and let me express the value that I can bring or perhaps at the very least … maybe if I am not qualified at all, you can cut me a break, and provide me a small piece of career advice or guidance in order to get my career pointed in the right direction and contribute to the success of corporate America.

Signed,

Any Veteran, USA

I’m Seeking a Title

AustinBlog — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:31:35 +0000

I’m Seeking a Title

Posted on January 15, 2012 by rick

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to what I should call myself professionally. I’m seeking a title.

So, you might ask, what could this drivel have to do with me? Why am I wasting my time reading this? I’m looking for a job.
Stay with me–especially if you are job seeking–and you’ll see the value in this post.

I have always been reluctant in calling myself a career coach. I’m not. I don’t usually do the once-a-week, half-hour phone session, etc. (My sessions tend to be few and highly effective. People land their next job and I never hear from them again except on LinkedIn.)

I don’t like the term coach as people may apply it to me. As a friend of mine who attended a national coaching conference several years ago told me upon his return—what he learned from being there was that in order to become a coach all you need (his words) “is a pencil.”

I agree. I could send a bunch of money to one of the various ‘certifying’ organizations, learn the secret handshake, drink the Kool-Aid, obtain an official, multicolored certificate (Suitable for Framing) and access to a logo that I could place on my website and b/card–for what?! Hell, I can create my own certificate and design a logo right here at my desk.

The best counselors/coaches I recommend (and there aren’t too many) are those who have specific degrees and extensive experience in the field they coach. I’m also a fan of psychology and counseling degrees. Are you getting the gist yet? There is no such thing as a Bachelor or Master’s Degree in Coaching. Who have YOU been listening to?

Now in fairness I genuinely believe that most life/career coaches have their client’s best interest at heart; they are the real-deal and offer a valid service. Many people come to appreciate their one-on-one sessions with their trusted adviser and I have been personally advised by one or two I trust–because I know their background.

When it comes to job search (as opposed to career) coaches I find most are little more than job seekers who have attended a multitude of job-search networking meetings and eventually come away thinking “I can do that” and begin their coaching/speaking “careers.” In my opinion these people do more damage than good. They usually don’t understand the mechanics behind the techniques and tactics someone like me will teach. Nevertheless they motor on–taking on clients–until they land their next job.

The other variant is the goof who manages to land a job with a state employment agency and after a week or two of “training” and taking a swig of that same Kool-Aid believes that they have all the answers. Once again and to be fair, there are some really good folks at these agencies–it’s the ‘newbies’ you have to watch out for.

Essentially these players cheapen what I do. I am really good at what I do. My successes speak for themselves.

I am self-made; I did not apply for a job in the job search/employment/ speaking/authoring/radio & TV guesting business. A pastor buddy of mine says its my calling. (I tend to agree. I wasn’t looking for this!) I got here by virtue of my sales & product development career with 4 different job boards. I claim to be a pioneer of online job search and I can defend that claim–with references. I write. I speak. I study. (Just keeping up with social media and job search takes several hours a week.) I have a degree in management, have written 3 books on job search with a new one soon to hit the streets. I speak on the subject and talk with employment professionals daily. I am continuously learning. It’s necessary–job search in this economy and in the electronic era is a moving target.

But back to the task at hand: giving myself a ‘working title.’ I have decided that going forward I will call myself a Job Search Advocate. That’s what I do. Using the term ‘advocate’ I can coach if I please and counsel to my heart’s content. The fact is that I do a TON of one-on-one job search counseling with clients all over the country. If you REALLY want to learn how to successfully navigate the obstacles that modern job search has become–the software, social media, mindset, documentation, interviewing/negotiating/age discrimination (both young and old) issues that exist–I can do that. Drop me an email.

I want to leave you with a question: Where are you getting your job search advice from?

I Have Met the Enemy and He is Us!

rickyG — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:04:05 +0000

I Have Met the Enemy and He is Us!

Rick Gillis
Job Search Expert/Author/Speaker

When it comes to employment and job search I am almost continuously in a ‘rage’—-at job search coaches. (Bear in mind that in order to become a coach all you need is a pencil and the nerve to claim your ‘coachness.’)

I want to throw rocks at the TV when I hear so-called “job search experts” tell us, once again, to watch out for typos, yada, yada. This helps no one. The true job seeker is waaaay past such ‘pertinent’ advice.

I regularly speak on panels with other JSE’s (job search experts); pay attention and listen to HR professionals and professional staffing folks to see if I can latch onto something new. It ain’t happening. So if anyone reading this considers my statements akin to throwing down the gauntlet–so be it.

In my view HR professionals provide you with the information THEY want you to have. And let me be clear: I love HR professionals. They work their backsides off for not near enough money or respect.

Staffing professionals, on the other hand, will provide the job seeker with about 70-80% of the information they need. Why? Because the information they withhold is that knowledge they would rather a job seeker NOT KNOW. Why? Because that is where they make their bucks. And this is not a bad thing. I am also a big fan of staffing companies–and of capitalism.

But in the scope of what I do which is to provide individuals with the very best and most up to the minute information I possibly can–I can’t hold anything back if they will benefit from some little bit no matter how insignificant. If I know something that can add value to an individual’s job search it is my ‘duty’ to inform them.

I would like to ask those JSE’s who do more harm than good to just get out of the way. You are the Enemy!

BTW–while I’m at it–if you are in job search you may want to subscribe to ERE.net. This site is THE final (and often first) word on electronic recruiting. Some of the thought providers on this site are so far out there that it makes you wonder but….and a very important ‘but’…they bring astounding information to the masses and eventually most of what they have to preach actually becomes gospel. Check them out.

Online Scams and Phishing targets Job Seekers

AustinBlog — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:22:14 +0000

Welcome to AustinJOBSBlog.com.

I wanted to address a topic which I get phone calls almost every day about and that is “Scams” perpetrated on job seekers globally.

There are many people out there whose goal, when they wake up in the morning, is to separate you from as much money as possible. There tactics range from selling you over priced software that will allow you to learn to type in medical information for doctors to learning how to develop web sites for money from home.

I am going to list some basic “Warning Signs” to look for to hopefully save you from separating from your money and or your personal information!

#1. Work At Home - Run! If they want you to work out of your house and will pay you per hour or per entry, it is a scam. Out of 1000′s of “Work from home business opportunities” there are a handful that are real and reputable. They do not advertise on Job Boards that often. Their client flow comes from web sites that are ranked high on searches for “Work at Home”.

#2. Buying Software - If they offer a job that sounds really good, allowing you to work from your computer at home BUT you need to purchase their software, RUN! You will purchase the software, work had to get knowledgeable about the system and then never hear from them again. Because you “bought” the software, they get away with not contacting you.

#3. Interviewing using Instant Messaging - RUN! No reputable employer does this. Never ever give out personal information online as well. If an employer wants to hire you, they want to do a face-to-face. Trust me on this. It is a scam.

#4. We want to send you a check, you deposit it in your account and then send about 70% to this address and keep the balance - RUN! Come on people. The check is not good, even if it is a money order. It is bogus. Biggest scam out there!

#5. You receive and Email that looks like it came from a Job Board in the Subject but not the sender - This is the latest scam. They even use an existing company with an existing web site to lure you in. Generally it is a publishing company of some sort. If they are not able to meet you face-to-face for an interview, RUN! If you call the number on the address and ask to speak to HR (Human Resources) or ask if they are hiring and get a negative response, RUN!

There are many other scams out there. Please be careful and approach every job opportunity email or phone call with caution. Search Google.com for Job Seeker Scams and educate yourself.

Thank you!

Steven Carr

AustinJOBS.com