We already talked a lot about our Safety Net Project.  We are proud to tell you that the new presentation brochure for this project is ready!

You can already see the cover here under and you can see the whole thing on our Issuu page or you can download it from our Box.net space on the right side of this website.

Enjoy your reading!

My CTRN buddy Scott Birkhead of the Most Placeable Candidate will be offering an interesting personal branding session for job seekers. Check it out!:

Becoming the Milkshake –

How Being LOUDLY Yourself Helps You Get Hired Faster.

Friday October 9: 1-2 p.m. – mid-town Denver

In a struggling economy, traditional job hunting skills are less and less effective. Can you adopt small-business direct-marketing skills and get hired faster? Yes!

In a famous marketing story from years ago, a restaurant wanted to increase the number of milkshakes it was selling…very profitable item, the milkshake.

It hired one group of marketers, who did classic marketing research, and spent a lot of money…but didn’t budge sales.Then it hired another, which was incredibly successful.

The difference between the two approaches to marketing a very simple product contains lessons that every job seeker should know and understand – if you want to beat a volatile, crowded market and get back to work.

In this 45 minute session, we cover:

• Assumptions and methods that could be killing your chances of landing work
  
• Why applying for every conceivable job may be the exact wrong thing to do (even if you are desperate for work)
  
• How to look beyond traditional approaches to discover what your ‘ideal client’ really wants to hear
  
• Easy marketing fixes to get noticed and get more interviews – NOW.
  

Date: Friday, Oct 9

Time: 1-2:30 pm

Place: Jobing.com Community Room

1391 Speer Blvd.,

Suite 850

Denver, CO 80204

Free parking code will be sent upon registration…

Cost: FREE, but you must register to attend because we have limited seating.

*********

Scott Birkhead is the President of Most Placeable Candidate. Scott has 15 years and 727 hires under his belt in corporate, for-fee and consulting recruiting roles.

As well, he’s spent the last 5 years learning basic buyer motivation and direct-marketing methods as a small business owner determined to build his own business.

For the last two years, he has combined recruiting and marketing experiences to offer job seekers low-cost training and coaching that allow them to beat the crowd and get back to work.

The famous Flying Circus is 40 today! In the spirit of How Not to Get a Job, here is the Vocational Guidance Counsellor sketch:

Wikipedia: The first episode [of Monty Python's Flying Circus] was recorded on 7 September and broadcast on 5 October 1969.

Hat tip to Dave Banks

“Where’s the Hope?!” – uttered by a discouraged job seeker…..
What I have been hearing!

Hi folks. This past week has been very emotionally charged for me because I have been seeing and hearing many individuals express their unhappiness in not being able to find a job. They tell of their depression, their feeling like they can’t provide for their family as “a man should”, that they are doubting that there are jobs even needing their skills set, that companies are turning their backs on them and on and on….

I had the opportunity to counsel a gentleman about his need to find answers and to get some positive feelings about his job search. He finds himself – discouraged, moody, grumpy, sleeping more and more, not energetic, disinterested and sad. (Sounds like the commercials for medication for depression, doesn’t it?).

The offering of HOPE
Why did I feel like I could counsel him? Because I am in the same boat of no employment. My self concept takes a beating because I feel like I am not contributing to my family’s wellfare. BUT HOLD ON!!! That isn’t true!!!! WHY? Because I am taking action to keep myself above the dreary murky waters and dashed dreams of success. HOW? By applying myself to my own business! Something I have control over, and not depending on an employer to motivate or create an opportunity for me. I am making some income, associating with successful people who mentor me, making great relationships, building my business skills in marketing, sales, and entrepruenorial thinking; but most of all, I am building myself up to be the person God has called me to be – my best to love and serve Him and others.

How many people do you know that are discouraged because they don’t have answers to creating more income or the financial support they need for their family, thus feel hopeless? If you and anyone you know are needing options… give me a call. I have several options – maybe one or two will work for them.
I care. I’ve been there once and vow to not go there for the old reasons again! Growth will take you out of your comfort zone, so I can’t promise that there will be no pain in your journey, but the results is worth it!!

Resources for help?
Career Coalition – career coaching/networking email – kendall@careercoalition.org

Business development/additional income building options email – cg.outofthebox@gmail.com

Healthcare insurance options website – www.benefitsbydesigninc.com
email – mnewton@benefitsbydesigninc.com

Let’s be honest: landing a job is frustrating. The higher you go up on the chain of command, the more frustrating and difficult the search gets. To make matters worse, there is no silver bullet.

I know a lot of services promise that with their program you will land a job in 2-3 weeks. That simply isn’t true! There is no killer resume or Golden Ticket to employment. I was an Executive Recruiter for a while, I’ve had some experience with this subject.

Let me give you the inside scoop of how the Recruiter game is played. Most recruiters failed at their previous career or were tricked into it with promises of a huge payout. There are a few – I know of 2 – that were successful in their first career and then successful as recruiters. They are both rare in the field in that they would succeed in anything they did.

The average recruiter is young, has little real world experience in whatever field they are recruiting you for, and were hired because they exhibited a type-A personality (in the interview they said: I really like people!) They are told in the interview process that they can make $100,000 their first year and on up from there. They are told that if they stick to the numbers, they will succeed. It’s made to sound like the dream job.

The firm I worked for had 200% turnover during my time with them. The average person made 2 placements – which barely covered the draw. So what you have is a collect of broke and desperate SALES people who will say anything to get your resume (or job order if you’re a hiring manager.) In other words, sales as usual.

That’s right, Executive Recruitment is nothing but sales job – more like a call center sales job. We worked crappy long hours for a miserable base pay with promises of riches that are rarely delivered. Welcome to the world of Executive Recruitment.

As an executive, what are you to do? Do you post your resume on one of the online job boards? Do you send your resume to the recruitment firms? Do you pay $4-10,000 for a career service? Or what?

The online job board is a dead end for anyone above the level of Manager. They rarely work even for mid-level positions. For entry level or skilled labor positions – GREAT! But for VP of Sales, forget it!

Recruitment Firms? They could care less about your resume – UNLESS they have an active search that you meet the targeted keyword screening process. It’s like winning the lottery.

Career Service? I know people who have paid $8000 to have a resume written. It looked like crap and was completely unintelligible. But the company made several thousand copies and gave my friend a list of possible leads. Gee, thanks. They borrowed his watch to tell him the time.

Over the coming days/weeks, I want to lay out a plan or strategy that I hope will help you rethink the whole process. It’s time to get away from ancient methods and outdated techniques. Moreover, it’s time to get away from the failed processes that enrage and frustrate today’s executives.

I hope you join me on this journey to find a better way to land a job.

so while some of the cities on my list are hot and bubblin…what i will do here is chronicle my progress. and hopefully some way somehow it will help/assist someone else get something, get away, get out. and lastly, hopefully it will benefit me as well.

my main drive(s) are two things. i need out because i need to survive artistically, socially and i need to grow. besides due to major job loss, the mortgage crunch is here…heavy. that says something about the job market.

this will be my place to motivate the job movement. and hopefully to motivate and educate others. this will be our thing. i’ll give you some tips…maybe you’ll tip me…and we will be on…our…way.

my other drive is the way of most corporations these days (it seems) outsourcing. it is happening to my department. i work for a huge global company. my department was taken over by an outsourcing company. we are not allowed to apply for our original company job postings until we have been severed. yes, crappy. and my original company is EVERYWHERE…sorta like VISA. (sorry for the pun but it is so true).

and i know i said two drives, but there is a third…my passion. it is just not in this place. i’ve looked.

what i will do is blog a bit about what i’ve tried, how, when, who i’ve networked with…and what has been successful.

my places of interests? still undefined.

okay. stay tuned.

one tip i’ve learned:
needing an effective resume. sometimes this can be expensive. and sometimes it is worth it. check with someone you know first.

however, my grad school has a career network. professionals proofread and suggest changes to resumes for free. they also offer free career coaching. a few weeks ago i communicated with a tv producer about career transistion into the entertainment industry for someone with my background and experience and i got some helpful advice.

the show? a certain medical tv show…

now remember, you should share your success story. that’s the deal. i already have a running expectation with my “better half” at work. the first one of us that lands a new job owes the other dinner. you don’t owe me dinner, just the story.

okay…good luck…stay tuned.