Workforce Developments

How to prepare for your next job interview (part 2)

In this post, I give away my biggest secret to job interviewing. In part 1 covered the simple stuff on the surface. Now we get down to the real nitty gritty.

Two or three days before the interview, you'll sit down with your resume and cover letter, plus a notebook and pen.

Step 1: The threes 
Make a list of the three most important things you want the interviewer(s) to remember about you. They should be about key knowledge areas, skills or work habits you have to offer, and they should be responsive to the job description. They should also reflect what's in your resume. 

For each of these three things, write down at least one example in your work history where you demonstrated that knowledge, skill or work habit. Hiring managers love specific examples.

Just about every job interview includes a vague question that boils down to Why should we hire you? or What are your strengths? Now you have an answer ready, beginning with, "There are three areas where I really think I'm a good fit for your needs." You can list those three areas, and give specific examples for when you've put those to work.

What you'll find is that this one set of answers will help you answer all sorts of questions in the interview. What's more, when you feel prepared, you're calm and will look much more confident.

Step 2: Your questions for them
If it's the first interview, don't ask about salary or benefits. I generally stick with questions about the substance of the job and the organization where I'm interviewing. My last question is about next steps in the hiring process. Write down your questions on that same pad of paper. Three or four questions is usually plenty. The important thing is to have them prepared before the interview. Don't add to the interview pressure by making yourself try to think up clever questions on the spur of the moment.  

You're going to take that notebook and a few pens with you to the interview so you can take notes on their answers. In fact, I take notes throughout the interview. Not too much, but at least to catch the important details. I want them to know I'm listening carefully.

Step 3: Practice 
Sit down with your notes and practice. You've given yourself a couple of days, so do it a few times. Get comfortable talking about your strengths and telling stories about how you've demonstrated those strengths in previous jobs. You want to be able to do this without looking at the notebook in front of you too much. But you'll have it there during the interview if you need it. If you're comfortable practicing in front of a friend, even better. They can tell you if you're making sense and if you look nervous.

If the interview goes well and the hiring manager is a skilled interviewer, this preparation will make a good process go even better for you.

If - as happens far too often - you have an unskilled interviewer who's never seen your resume, you have a plan in place to ensure that they remember the three things you want them to remember about you. They'll stick in the interviewer's mind as relevant and specific. You'll feel confident that you've shown the best you have to offer, even if they didn't make it easy for you.

How to prepare for your next job interview (part 1)

You sent in your resume and you got the call. They want to interview you for the job!

Here's how not to get ready for the interview: Wait until the morning of the interview, put on your best suit and walk in the door. No, you still have a lot to do. With the right preparation, you can increase your odds of getting the job significantly. Just looking like you invested time in getting ready can put you ahead of many competitors.

These tips and tricks for preparing for a job interview are ones I've developed for myself over many years. Including lessons learned from my own job interview mistakes. These tips work whether the interview is in person, on the phone or in Second Life. I've used them to prep for interviews for full-time jobs, part-time jobs, temp jobs and consulting gigs.

What's more, you should take this prep work equally seriously whether this is your dream job, or a just-to-pay-the-bills job. 

First up, some important things to know before you walk in the door:

The person doing the interviews may not have read your resume. Someone read it, but that might have been in another department. Heck, it might have been a machine. Or the interviewer might have already forgotten the most important details. You need to be prepared to summarize the key facts in your work history that make you the best candidate for the job. 

The interviewer may not be very good at interviewing. Yes, this has happened to me more than once. Your interviewer might be very good at his or her job, but interviewing is a skill that most hiring managers are never properly trained to do. You need to be prepared to present yourself and your skills effectively even if the interview questions are lame.

What are you going to take with you to the interview?

• At least two fresh copies of your resume (in case you need to leave one behind)
• A clean notepad and a couple of blue or black ink pens 
• Your questions for the interviewer (more on that in the next post)

Dress in appropriate business clothes. Not jeans, not that little black number you wear clubbing. Business clothes. If you're not sure what that means, ask a friend. 

Do you know how to get there and how long it will take you at the interview time? Whether you're driving, getting a lift or taking public transit, plan it out ahead of time and give yourself plenty of time. I'll never forget the job interview I was half an hour late for when I underestimated rush hour traffic. They, on the other hand, forgot me quickly. 

I often look up the nearest coffee shop to my interview location, in case all goes well and I get there too early. But order something without caffeine - you don't need to add to your jitters before the interview. 

Finally, turn off your cell phone, or at least set it to silent. Do not answer your phone or check messages during the interview! You don't even want it to go off and interrupt your conversation. Imagine if your ring tone just happens to be a song your potential new boss hates. What if it's the very song that was playing on the radio when she found out her husband was cheating on her? That could really kill the vibe. 

In part 2, I'll give you my tried-and-true tips for how to prepare for what you'll actually say in the interview.

Have any good job interview prep tips to offer? Add them in the comments below. 

Cartoon by Christophe Bauwens

Your local library: the new employment one-stop?

Marketplace radio had a great piece yesterday on how public libraries have become a popular place to search for work, especially for low-income job seekers. Overall, use of libraries and their free services is up since the Great Recession began. As the Boston Globe puts it, "But historically, nothing boosts the profile of a public library like a nice, dreadful recession." 

As the recession has worn on, libraries have had to cope with a surge in people using the library for job searches. It's had serious ramifications for library staff and resources. From the Marketplace story:

With at least 15 million Americans out of work, libraries across the country have seen their own transformations: An Illinois library installed a new reference desk beneath a sign saying "Your Job Search Starts Here." In North Carolina, public librarians from nearly every county came together to share ideas on helping the unemployed. And some big city libraries are renovating entire floors to make more space for job-hunters.

This isn't the only role libraries have played in helping job seekers. In early 2009, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development partnered with the state library to hold sessions at the libraries to help laid-off residents sign up for unemployment benefits.

This at a time when library budgets are being slashed. Another round of short-sighted cuts that hurt the people who need these services the most. If you haven't been in a library recently, you might not be aware just what a crucial role they play keeping Americans connected in the social media age. This recent report from the Gates Foundation is a real eye-opener. 

You can read the Marketplace story on job seekers and libraries reported by Zachary Barr, or listen to the full show here:

Marketplace_Library_Job_Seekers

Now I'm curious - have any workforce boards, One-Stops or nonprofits partnered with their local libraries to serve job seekers? If you know of any examples, please add comments below.

Do you have any ideas for how the workforce system can work with libraries to help job seekers? 

Have you used the library to look for a job?

Your help needed: Is this a scam or the real deal?

Hey, readers. I need your help to determine whether I've just been discovered by a valuable resource for job seekers or a scam.

A company called Assurance Wireless left a comment yesterday on an old blog post. The writer describes the company as "a new cell phone service for eligible low-income households from Virgin Mobile USA, part of Sprint’s Prepaid group."

The comment is lengthy and provides a lot of details, then conveniently links back to their own website. I was about to delete it as spam when I read that they'll be holding an event at the upcoming Tennessee Association for Community Action Conference. I clicked over to check out this Association, and yes, it's a real conference for real community action agencies. I'm a big fan of CAAs, so I had to pause. If the CAA association in Tennessee has given Assurance Wireless the thumb's up, then maybe this is the real deal.

I clicked over to the company website, and wasn't impressed. I now know that "Assurance Wireless offers a FREE wireless phone and 200 minutes of wireless service to eligible customers each month." I also know that it's "brought to you by Virgin Mobile USA and is a Lifeline Assistance program supported by the Universal Service Fund," which is one of the many small taxes I pay on my phone bills. But I don't know much more than that.

I still ask: is this a scam targeting low-income people?

Here's how you can help:

If you or anyone you know has had any experience with Assurance Wireless, please add your comments below or send me an email. 

If you're from Assurance Wireless or one of its parent companies, you're also welcome to add comments and additional explanation below, but please do identify yourself as such. 

Please forward this post to colleagues who might be able to help out with info and insights into Assurance Wireless.

Old British telephones - photo by Dan Brady

Look who's hiring in Los Angeles

Click for more info on Census jobs in your community. 

Here's a story from Marketplace about Who's applying for census jobs?

How employers research you online before hiring

By now you've heard it a thousand times - be careful what you post online. Employers are looking you up, finding your Facebook and MySpace pages and anything else you've posted to learn more about you. What you posted online yesterday or five years ago could prevent you from getting a job, and it could get you fired.

Online searches are a 21st century addition to the old fashioned background checks many employers have used for years. They look for criminal records, and may even look up your credit rating. 

At a small company and for entry-level jobs, an online search might be done by a manager with a few minutes and Google. Maybe they'll find you, maybe not. 

At a big company and for high-level jobs, they're likely to hire a company like Fetch Technologies to do the search for them. They have access to all sorts of online databases, and they utilize computer programs to analyze the data they find about you. Here's how Fetch describes their FetchCheck Pre-Employment Services on their website:

FetchCheck uses artificial intelligence technology and machine learning to systematically access online data sites, easily handling changing data formats and site irregularities. It then finds, extracts, filters and aggregates candidate background information that can be integrated to flow directly into your screening fulfillment process. Best of all, using FetchCheck eliminates the potential for human error, always delivering the most accurate, real-time data available.

Makes you nervous about those old high school photos your friends have been posting on their Facebook pages, doesn't it? 

Here are a few tips for job seekers: 

• Google yourself and see what you find
• If you've posted something online that you wish you hadn't, take it down now
• If a friend has posted something you wish wasn't online, ask them to take it down 
• Learn how to "un-tag" yourself from Facebook photos
• Check your privacy settings on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites to make sure that only the people you've given permission to can see the details. If you don't know about those privacy settings, learn now
• If you can't get the bad stuff down, then start posting good stuff that you'd prefer people to see 
• Don't volunteer information in a job interview, but be prepared to answer questions about it if you're asked

Remember, once it's posted online, it's there forever. You may not be able to take it down, but over time you may be able to push the bad stuff down in a Google search. Still, a company like Fetch is going to find much more about you that what's online.

The Ad Council recently did a series of PSAs targeting young girls, but the lessons are relevant to job seekers too. Remember to Think Before You Post

Your help needed: rate the best online job search tools

With every crisis comes the con artists, and in the 21st century, they proliferate the web. Think about all those "Obama wants moms to return to school!" ads you've seen online. 

With so many websites and online job boards claiming to help job seekers, how can you separate the good resources from the garbage? 

The US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has issued a challenge to help job seekers and the workforce development professionals who serve them find the best online tools available for their job search. They're harnessing the power of the internet to find out what works best, and your input is needed. 

DOL's Tools for America's Job Seekers Challenge is went live today. Here's how it works:

Step 1 (Nov 30 through Dec 18): Do you know of any good online job seeker tools? The site developers should post them to the challenge site. They might be 

• General job boards, listing sites and aggregators
• Niche job boards
• Career tools such as ladders, transition tools, etc.
• Web based career exploration sites
• Web 2.0 social media sites specializing in job searches or job postings
• Other job matching and career advancement tools

Step 2 (Jan 4-15, 2010): Look through the online job seeker tools on the challenge site. Take them for a test drive and see how they work. Then rate them and comment on them - what works, what doesn't?

Step 3 (beginning Jan 18): Find out what job seekers and your workforce development peers rated as best. DOLETA will publish the top tools in each category.

This challenge is based on the concept of crowdsourcing, and the idea that together, we are smarter than we are individually.

It's the same idea that drives much of the social web, from Wikipedia to the comments section on a blog like this - I don't know everything in workforce development. We all gain knowledge when you add your thoughts, ideas and wisdom by commenting below. What's more, if you find a mistake here (and it has been known to happen), you can help by correcting it. James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds explores the concept in much more detail.

The more people engage in nominating online tools and rating them, the better DOL's challenge will work. We'll get more ideas and more input from more people. So get to the challenge website and start adding your favorite job tools today. You can also help by spreading the word to friends and colleagues.

And if you think this all sounds too modern and web-savvy to be the Department of Labor you know and love, read the bureaucrat-ese version of the challenge with all the details in TEN 16-09 below: 

Tools for America's Job Seekers Challenge -

Have mercy

Unemployment is de rigueur these days. I know that's not breaking news, but it's amazing how many employed people just don't get it.

I've had two clerical job interviews where the interviewer asked me, in a shocked tone, why I hadn't worked in nearly ten months. At this point, I had to omit. Instead of saying, "I just finished my master's degree in May," I said, "It's really tough out there." Amazingly, one of those interviewers told me that her husband had been laid off for a year. The other one told me that her company just had two rounds of lay-offs. So what's with all the shock? What – you have a job and you haven't noticed the rest of the world around you? Probably not.

Most of these interviews have been so trying. I just want a job to pay the bills. I can do any of the work employers require, both professional and non-professional, but until they decide to believe it, I'm at their mercy. Showing up for call-backs and group interviews where I'm the only one who even thought of not wearing shorts and flip-flops has been part of my routine. Once I went through a 35-minute interview with a tour and questions about my salary requirements only to find out, at the end, that the company wasn't actually hiring.  They were just looking to establish a group of qualified applicants in case someone quit.

Non-professional jobs aren't the only ones that have put me through my paces. I've had to submit a number of writing and multimedia samples to one employer with whom I've never actually spoken. The good thing about that is that it's given me a chance to re-edit some of my work and keep up with the latest technology. I also haven't had to drive round-trip to his office. Unfortunately, I have no idea how close I am to getting the job. I hear from him about once every two weeks and I keep supplying him with materials.
 
Another employer I'd never met called me and kept me on the phone for nearly an hour. This particular guy asked me every question under the sun and told me at the end of the call that he actually had two positions open. Prior to calling me, he’d felt that I qualified for one, but lacked the five or more years of job-specific experience he wanted. He also wanted to pay less than $45,000 for a position that required a master's degree. Yes, really $45,000 a year for five-plus years of job-specific experience with a master's degree. He felt I was too qualified for the other job and would end up being bored.

Why did he call me if he sensed all this upon reviewing my resume? I have no idea. The more important question is: why did I stay on the phone with him?

I was unemployed. What else was I going to do?

So, where am I now? A major retailer hired me part-time at a rate that should be criminal. I'm serious. I'm lucky enough to be living with family right now and, therefore, I don't have certain expenses. I don't have a spouse or children. I have no idea how anyone else is making it at minimum wage or even minimum wage plus commission. It is an absolute certainty that without the help of my family, I would be on public assistance in some way, shape, or form. 

It also appears that I will be starting another part-time job one of that major retailer's competitors. I'm pretty sure that this is not okay. But, it’s a living. An honest semi-honest living.

This may sound strange, but I'm much happier than I was a month ago.  No, I'm not using my degrees or working anywhere near my intended career path, but I'm earning a few cents of my own. I don’t have that sinking, suffocating feeling that everything is going to fall out from under me. I don't feel as though I’m so much of a burden anymore.

More importantly, in my past when it's rained, it's poured. Usually when I've found a job, at any level, other employers start calling. We'll see. Something's bound to change. A couple of things already have. I'm probably in breach of an employment contract and, well, someone already decided my thoughts might be interesting enough for you to read. 

Guest blogger Anasa D. Sinegal hopes to find a long-term career in teaching or public affairs. She's blogging tales from the job hunting front lines all week on WorkforceDevelopments.com.

They shoot the unemployed, don’t they?

Going to Craigslist for job postings feels like that. I've typically only searched the site for administrative work, but in the last two months, I've actually seen two part-time, professional jobs geared toward me there.

There are a whole host of issues with Craigslist, however. First, the bad news. Since Craigslist is free, there are all sorts of shady people posting ads for personal assistants in the administrative/clerical section. Anyone with any sense knows responding to one of these posts could be dangerous. I skip right over them.

Recently, I've also noticed that there are a lot of spammers posting help wanted ads that send responders to Web sites asking for a ton of personal data. The Craigslist site administrators seem to be fairly vigilant in clearing these ads out once they've been notified of them. It's just unbelievable to me that anyone would think of preying on people who are desperate to work.

Finally, some employers, possibly unaware of the current economic crisis, post their addresses, phone numbers, and "day of" interview times for job seekers. I call these cattle calls. When I've shown up to these businesses, I'm one of dozens of people waiting for a chance to have a five minute interview. I have yet to have anything pan out in these types of cases, although that's just fine with me. I honestly have to check my gut before I decide whether or not to go. I also tell a family member or friend about the location just in case.

Now, onto the good stuff. Craigslist is free and when you're broke there's nothing better. I see the same jobs on Craigslist that I see on Monster and Careerbuilder – if not more. I'm also able to very easily toggle between several local cities and regions, making my job search as hassle-free as possible.

There's good and bad with everything and I think I've been an informed job seeker. Hopefully that will get me even closer to my desired position.

Guest blogger Anasa D. Sinegal hopes to find a long-term career in teaching or public affairs. She's blogging tales from the job hunting front lines all week on WorkforceDevelopments.com.

Professional rejection in a most unprofessional manner

It's funny how much difference one year can make. It's scary just how quickly your view of the future and your status can change.

Exactly one year ago today, I was in Europe. I had saved and saved and saved to pay for the three-week trip that I'd dreamed of for years. I actually had the nerve to think that international travel was something I could start doing on a fairly regular basis once I graduated and started my career.

My prospects are entirely different now. Back in May, I was offered and denied a teaching position that would have provided entrance into my chosen career path.

When the school's department chair emailed me and another candidate to inform us that we'd both gotten the job, he offered two possible teaching assignments: one was in-class instruction and the other was an online course. He then asked us to tell him which one we thought would suit us better. The chair told us that he had each of us in mind for a particular assignment, but was very open to placing us according to preference.

Honestly, as soon as I saw that he'd emailed the offer to both of us, meaning I now had knowledge of the other candidate's private business, I knew the situation wouldn't end well. My family members were happy about the prospect of me teaching again, but I wasn't going to get caught up in the excitement. The chair's correspondence just seemed too unprofessional.

I was right. I responded solely to the chair and told him about my preference for in class instruction. I made certain to be clear that I was thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of the X College community. I also let him know that I was confident that my education and training would make me a wonderful instructor and that I was enthusiastic about teaching his students in an online or in-class format.

He replied to both of us, a week later, that neither of us (the original two candidates) seemed enthusiastic about the online class and that he'd decided to cut me from the part-time group of candidates and offer the job to someone else who was already teaching a "brick and mortar" course. He did let me know that he tried to get the third person to switch his brick and mortar course with me. Surprisingly, in this economy, Mr. Brick and Mortar was willing to take on an online course that he could easily teach at home while sitting in his underwear.

In that email, Mr. Department Chair then went on to tell candidate number two that he looked forward to working with him and that they should schedule a luncheon or get coffee together at some point. Yes, my rejection was not done with a private phone call or even with a form letter, but in an email with a third party. I was angry and shocked at the level of unprofessionalism. Previously when I'd taught part-time at a state university, each semester I received a personal letter detailing my teaching assignment, hours, and rate of pay. Perhaps I was wrong to expect the same treatment at another institution.

This breach of my privacy caused me to take a three month break from job applications. I decided in late May to consider the summer of 2009 a break typical for college students. I didn't even attempt to find part-time work. I figured I wanted to have some type of employment by the first week of September, even if that meant working at a cash register. During the summer months, I also worked on applying for PhD programs for Fall 2010. That long-term goal made things a bit easier and allowed me to really think about what I wanted to write in my college essays.

Eventually, I came up with the three-prong plan I detailed in a previous entry. More on its successes, failures, and the hilarity of it all tomorrow.

Guest blogger Anasa D. Sinegal hopes to find a long-term career in teaching or public affairs. She's blogging tales from the job hunting front lines all week on WorkforceDevelopments.com. 

The sin of omission

What's the biggest difference in my professional and non-professional job searches? Omission. Lots and lots of omission.

I have omitted the majority of my work history when applying for non-professional work. In January my cousin told me, without hesitation, that I wasn't finding work because I was actually listing my full education and experience on resumes I sent to employers filling administrative and clerical positions.  Of course, she was absolutely right.  The minute I restructured my background, I was hired for a temporary filing job.

It didn't feel right, though. I thought they would see right through me. They didn't.

My professional resume and cover letter are not embellished at all.  I've been extremely thankful to have my former graduate adviser give me some wonderful guidance with them. It's also critical that I have a Curriculum Vitae for academic work and I've finally gotten that to the point where I'm happy with it. Since I have two degrees in the field of communications, I search the job postings on professional sites like JournalismJobs.com and HigherEdJobs.com.

A friend of mine from grad school told me about usajobs.gov, the clearinghouse for all the government jobs, so I've got my resume up there, also. My graduate adviser recently told me about idealist.org, a site catering to people seeking non-profit employment and volunteer opportunities. I probably apply to one or two professional jobs per week through these sites. There just aren't too many opportunities out there.

When I apply for non-professional work, my resume includes the retail and administrative positions I've held since I began grad school.  I've also tailored my professional jobs to read as though I had been performing clerical work or assisting my co-workers. Obviously, I've told my former employers and co-workers what I'm doing so that they don't blow my cover when they’re contacted for references.

In terms of education, on non-professional applications, I'll write that I've attended "some college." I use the community college I attended during my summers in undergrad to back this up.

For administrative work, I've found 95% of my help wanted ads by searching craigslist.org because it's free.  I don’t post my resume on craigslist mainly because of the same reason. Free doesn't just mean "at no cost," it can also mean free of the filters that will keep the "Craigslist Killer" from contacting me.

These jobs don't often call for cover letters.  When they do, I keep them very short.  I actually have a form cover letter that is all of two paragraphs long and – maybe – a total of six sentences. Most of these places just want a resume. So, I have about ten emails in my draft box ready to go with two simple sentences about how professional, reliable, and experienced I am.  I make sure to refer to the specific position title in the subject line, attach a copy of the resume, and paste my resume into the body of the email below my note. 

Occasionally, an employer will ask for salary history and requirements and I'll attach those, also.  When I'm at home during the day, having this system of form responses makes it really easy for me to fire off a resume as soon as a new posting pops up.

At times, I have literally pounded the pavement for non-professional work. Retailers and restaurants don't tend to post on craigslist so I have to seek them out. I actually like this method a lot more than the purely electronic approach. Why? There may be a chance that you'll see the manager in the building and you may even be able to chat him or her up. The only problem with this system is gas money. I'm not working so I don’t have any.

In the end, I'm still trying to convince someone to put my resume aside out of the dozens, if not hundreds, they receive on an hourly or daily basis.

Guest blogger Anasa D. Sinegal hopes to find a long-term career in teaching or public affairs. She's blogging tales from the job hunting front lines all week on WorkforceDevelopments.com. 

Is another unemployment extension on the way?

According to official numbers from the Bureau of Labor Stats, some 2.3 million Americans are so discouraged by the job market that they've just given up looking for work. Many of them have been out of work so long they've exhausted their unemployment benefits.

Another 400,000 Americans are expected to run out of benefits this month. 1.4 million will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. 

Governors of some of the hardest hit states have been asking for an extension.

On September 10, Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington State introduced HR 3548, the Unemployment Extension Act of 2009.  It would extend unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks for long-term unemployed in states where the jobless rate is above 8.5 percent. That would cover 26 states, plus DC and Puerto Rico.

HR 3548 is expected to pass.

Making it on Labor Day 2009

It's Labor Day 2009, but it's not much to celebrate for any of the

• 81.5 14.9 million Americans on the unemployment rolls,
• 9.1 million Americans working part-time when they'd rather be working full time,
• 2.3 million Americans who have been out work so long that they've given up looking, or
• Countless Americans worried about whether they'll have a job for long.

To those of you looking for work as Labor Day rolls around: keep the faith. Plan for the long term. Get the training and job search help you need. Stay engaged with the world - don't just sit at home. Keep building your networks, one spoke at a time. Think creatively about what your future might hold. This isn't what you'd planned for, but the tide will turn. It just won't happen as fast as you want.

Most of all, take care of yourself and your loved ones, and focus on what's important.

Don't check your Blackberry during a job interview - and other sage advice

True story from a colleague. When the interviewers got to the "Do you have any questions for us" part of the interview, the job seeker said no and reached for her Blackberry.

Shocked by what she'd seen, my colleague said later, "In this economy, I expect job seekers will be on their very best behavior." Needless to say, this job seeker will not be getting a job offer. In this extremely competitive job market, employers get to choose the very best. They expect to see the very best of you in the interview.

Here's my advice: If you've developed a Pavlovian response and simply cannot help but reach for your phone or PDA whenever it buzzes, beeps or otherwise calls to you, then turn it off or leave it at home.

For more sage advice on job hunting, check out the Employment Specialist blog. It's written by an honest-to-goodness professional employment specialist in Portland, Oregon. The blog has a good mix of straightforward advice and news from around the employment and job hunting world. It makes sense of some of the job hunting advice you might be hearing and reading, and helps to debunk some of the bad advice out there.

For example, from a recent Employment Specialist post:

This week at a job fair, a workshop facilitator included this in a list of "10 truths" about job search:

"You do not need a resume to do a job search."

Is it possible to get a job without a resume? Sure. Can all my job seekers throw away their resumes? The idea frightens me.

There is probably a nuanced explanation to the "no resume" job search, but the 1/2 hour presentation didn't leave time for that.

When reading job search advice, consider the source, and check it against common sense.

Good luck on the job search, and put your best foot forward.

Major layoffs for foundations and fundraisers

If you've been paying attention to job boards for nonprofit organizations lately, you might have noticed that fundraisers have continued to be in demand, while it's been hard to find job openings for other types of positions. The nonprofit sector was probably hit harder and sooner by the economic downturn than many other industries, which actually raised demand for fundraisers. Now it looks like the fundraisers and the funders are getting hit too.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is tracking layoffs and salary cuts to foundations and nonprofit organizations around the country. Their March 26, 2009, edition includes the following listings

• Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland: Laid of 25 employees, nearly 21% of its total staff
• University of Washington: Laying off 34 fundraisers, reduced 16 full-time jobs to part time and will eliminate 36 vacant positions
• Miami City Ballet: Laid off eight of its 53 dancers
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Laid off 14 staff, froze salaries, is reducing retirement benefits by 50% and will not fill any vacant positions
• Sesame Workshop: Eliminating 67 of its 355 staff positions 

If you know of major layoffs and cutbacks at your favorite charity, you can send the info to editor[at]philanthropy[dot]com.

Free resume printing nationwide on March 10

FedEx Office (the place I used to know as Kinko's) has just announced it will print up to 25 copies of every customer's resume for free on March 10.

Read the press release here.

Sure, it's a PR gambit, and there are limitations (black and white only, have to place and pick up the order in the store, etc.). But free is free.

Many companies require you to apply for jobs online. This offer won't help you there.

But some experts recommend sending hard copies of your resume through the mail directly to hiring managers (rather than through the HR department) when you can. Because so many people are applying online, a printed resume might make you stand out from the crowd. Also, it can't hurt to have a few hard copies on hand at your next networking meeting.

Get the details on their free resume printing offer here.

Good luck with your job hunt.

More than a quarter of unemployment claims challenged by employers

The message to workers is be prepared. With nearly 5 million Americans on unemployment, the number of employers challenging the unemployment claims of their former employees is on the rise. Read the story in the Washington Post, or watch the video on ABC News.

Wayne Vroman of the Urban Institute has crunched the numbers from the Department of Labor. He finds that today, employers are challenging about one-quarter of all unemployment claims. That's double the rate from the early 1980s. Take a look at what he found:

(Click here if you don't see the chart.)

Government pays unemployment benefits, so why would employers challenge claims by their former employees? Because the unemployment tax rate paid by employers is based on the number of employees they lay off. More unemployment claims by former workers means they'll pay a higher rate. So there's an economic incentive to challenge the claim. Today, a business can hire companies like TALX in St. Louis to help them file and manage their former employees' unemployment claims.

Although the number of challenges being filed by employers is on the rise, Vroman found that the number they ultimately win has stayed the same. In fact, employers lose about two-thirds of the time. 

Remember - if you're fired for misconduct or if you quit, you're not eligible for unemployment benefits. Most employers use one of those claims as the basis for their challenge.

On Feb 12, the Washington Post invited readers to ask Vroman questions about their unemployment situation. Click here for a transcript of their conversation. If you want to know about the problems and confusion people are facing when filing unemployment, read some of these questions. Kudos to the WaPo for offering this opportunity.

If you're concerned about being laid off - or if you are laid off - here are some tips:

• Get it in writing. Get a letter from your employer explaining that you've been laid off.
• If you have copies of former reviews saying you're a great employee, keep those 
• If there are witness to your being laid off, get their names and contact info
• Never sign anything that says you waive your right to unemployment benefits
• Always fill out your unemployment claim completely, honestly and accurately. An error anywhere on your form could lead to you being denied benefits.
• Don't quit or even pretend that you quit after being laid off in order to save face 
• If you know you were laid off due to no fault of your own and a former employer challenges your claim, fight back

For more unemployment coverage, click here.

Monster.com hacked (again), job seeker info stolen

If you're a registered user of Monster.com or USAJobs.com (which is run by Monster), change your password now. Change it to a password you don't use anywhere else online.

Next, be on the lookout for phishing emails trying to get you to click through and give your personal information.

On Friday the giant job search company announced it had been attacked and information from registered users was stolen, including names, passwords, email addresses and telephone numbers. USAJobs posted this announcement.

Monster was hacked previously in 2007 (click here for a techie explanation at Symantec), and job seeker information stolen.

Monster at first announced it would not send emails to users to let them know of the problem. The company later changed its mind. Either way, if you're a registered Monster user and you get an email telling you about the problem, the safest thing to do is do not click any links in the email. Close your email and use your browser to go directly to Monster.com and change your password there.

Thanks to Chris Russell at Secrets of the Job Hunt, where I first learned about the problem.

When I did a Google news search to learn more, I found another problem. This is being covered almost exclusively by techie publications and blogs like PCWorld, ComputerWorld and ReadWriteWeb. The only general interest mainstream coverage I found was a brief at the New Hampshire Union Leader.

In other words, if you don't read technology publications - and most of us don't - you might never know about the problem at Monster and USAJobs.