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Recruitment ads posted on the Web generally fall into two content categories.  There are the really brief notices that offer the job title, employer’s name and maybe a couple of candidate qualifications that are deemed essential to satisfactory performance.  And then, there are the novellas that run on and on and on with enough job and organizational detail to impress even a government bureaucrat.  Unfortunately, both are unlikely to motivate the kinds of talent most employers and recruiters want to hire.  Whether they’re posted on a job board or on LinkedIn and Twitter, ads that are too brief or too long are too weak to have a big impact on “A’ level talent.

 

The key to developing high impact content for a job posting is to remember what it—the ad—is supposed to do.  Recruiting is definitely a sales activity—we are, after all, trying to convince prospects to buy the employment value proposition of our organization.  That’s our job, however, not the job of our ad.  A job posting has a much more limited sales goal.  Its role is to convince the prospect to invest a little of their most precious resource: their time.  The ad must sell them on the value of paying attention to what we have to offer while ignoring everything else going on around them.

 

To accomplish that objective, a job posting must be developed in a two step process:

 

Step 1: Figure out what matters to your target demographic.

 

To sell your employer successfully, you have to know what triggers your best customers to say “Yes” to its offer.  In other words, you aren’t interested in what motivates “C” level talent; you want to know how you can effectively engage the “A” level talent your employer needs.  Since such prospects are almost always employed, even during a Great Recession, you must figure out what factors have the power to induce them to do the one thing we humans most hate to do: change.

 

Ironically, these factors seldom include the kinds of information we typically provide in a job posting.  They are rarely the requirements or responsibilities of a job.  But don’t take my word for it.  Ask the experts.  Ask the “A” level talent you already have in your organization.

 

Pull together a focus group of the top performers in the fields for which you’re recruiting and ask them what triggered their decision to say “Yes.”  Encourage them to be as specific as possible and to rank order or prioritize the factors they identify.  As our colleagues in sales have long known, there probably won’t be universal agreement on any single factor, but there will almost always be consensus on the top two-to-five motivators.  These are the triggers—the specific benefits of employment—you want to highlight in your job posting.

 

What are these factors likely to be?  The following list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a place to start.

• The reputation of the organization, its products or services, or even its leaders;
• The kinds of people who will be a new hire’s coworkers or the caliber of their boss;
• The location of the facility and the quality of life available in that area;
• The opportunity the organization presents to do interesting and/or important work;
• The prospects for professional growth and/or advancement that would come from employment.

 

Step 2: Express the triggers in sentient language.

 

The dictionary defines sentient as “endowed with feeling.”  Sentient language, therefore, is a word or words that touch the reader, that have an emotional impact on them.  An idea expressed with a normal vocabulary might be very clear and comprehensible to the reader, but it doesn’t have the impact necessary to trigger them to make a change.  Sentient language, on the other hand, conveys the same idea in a way that matters to a group of prospects—in this case “A” level performers—and influences their behavior in a direction conducive to their recruitment.

 

For example, if you learn that your organization’s reputation is one of the key motivators for “A’ level prospects, you can express that idea several ways.  You might say:

• Our organization is a Fortune magazine “best company to work for.”

or

• Our organization empowers you to do your best work.

The first expression is an abstract statement of fact.  It provides helpful information, but does not include an emotional wallop sufficient to motivate a passive prospect.  The second statement, in contrast, uses both a single term (“empowers”) and a phrase (“do your best work”) with sentient impact—the ability to touch and influence a prospect.

 

Why worry about something as mundane as word choice in your job postings?  Well, there are at least three reasons for doing so:

• First, most postings on the Web today have the emotional appeal of a brick.  That’s true whether they appear on job boards or on LinkedIn and Twitter.  As Noan Cohen recently noted in the The New York Times, “Tweets arte generally banal,” and banal doesn’t recruit top prospects.
• Second, we are still in a War for the Best Talent.  Despite an unemployment rate that is steadily creeping toward 10%, it is still very difficult to recruit people who have rare skills or are “A” level performers.  In that kind of environment, a high impact job posting is one of the best weapons at your disposal.
• Third, despite all of the brouhaha recently about social media’s role in recruitment, the message remains just as important as the medium.  You can be on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter and be just as disappointed with your yield if you use a message with little or no impact as you would (allegedly) be using more conventional sources.

 

“Less is more” is clearly an overused phrase.  However, if your less is more impactful than a longer expression or even a shorter but duller one, you’ll have enormous success in recruiting top talent.

 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

 

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including his latest, Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

 

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for a job, you’re probably doing so with two strikes against you.  I realize that’s a harsh statement, but sadly, it’s almost certainly true.  Why?  Because most of the people in the job market today conducted their last job search prior to December, 2007, the date today’s Great Recession began.  The conventional wisdom on which they relied, therefore, was designed for a very different time and a very different employment environment.  This recession hasn’t changed the rules of the game; it’s changed the game, itself.  What was right for conducting a job search BGR (before the Great Recession) is totally wrong for doing so AGR (after the Great Recession).  Yet, that’s exactly what a lot of people are doing.

 

It’s understandable that so many of us still believe we can find a job the old fashioned way.  After all, we know how that approach works and have grown comfortable using it.  Moreover, conducting such a traditional job search was based on an assumption that was especially easy to accept:

Our careers were stable so we could put them aside while looking for a job.

The economy may have contracted, but a recession didn’t fundamentally alter the way business was conducted.  Those in transition, therefore, had but one task to accomplish: getting themselves reemployed.  It was always a challenge, of course, but at least it was a single challenge.  We didn’t have to multitask.

 

That assumption was bolstered by a second assumption that was equally as easy to accept:

The disruption caused by a recession was painful, but transitory.

Recessions forced employers to implement temporary reductions in force.  As soon as the economy began to strengthen, therefore, they would quickly refill their empty positions and even add new ones to accelerate their growth.  The resulting “more jobs” recovery meant that those in transition could get by with tried and true job search techniques: they would send out a slew of resumes, do a little networking around the edges and, before too long, have several job offers, including at least one that was better than their last job.

 

These two assumptions underpinned the BGR conventional wisdom.  It enabled us to view our being in transition as simply an interruption in the norm.  The world of work was basically unchanged, so our careers remained intact even as we moved from one employer to another.  In effect, we had a “come as you are” job market.  There was no need to shore up our occupational prowess or to add ancillary skills that would extend our range of contribution or to revitalize our network of professional contacts.  Our careers were good enough just as they were.

 

This Great Recession, however, has reset the dynamics of the American workplace.  The downsizing we are witnessing today is not a temporary reduction in force; it’s a permanent reduction in structure.  Employers are shaving huge chunks off their organizational charts, and those jobs will never be replaced.  As a result, what began after the 2001 recession as a “job less” recovery has morphed into a “less jobs” recovery after this recession.  There will simply be far fewer positions available even as the economy begins to grow.

 

What does that mean for you?  If you’re currently employed, it means you’ve lost your job security.  If you’re in transition, it means the quest for reemployment is now considerably more difficult.  For both of you, it means accepting two new and very different assumptions and, without sugarcoating them, these truisms impose additional obligations on you:

Careers are now in flux so you must take charge of your career and take the steps necessary to protect its health.

Workplace disruption is the new norm so you are always in transition and must make those moves serve your best interests.

 

I realize that this unconventional wisdom is tough to take.  I understand you would rather that I tell you the world is as it has always been.  I can’t.  I owe you the truth.  I have too much respect for your inherent talent to spin a fairy tale that makes you feel good but sets you up for failure.  The AGR workplace is already emerging, and there is no going back.  To put it bluntly, you can embrace this new reality and position yourself for the real and sustained success it offers or you can pretend it doesn’t exist and lock yourself into an ever smaller and more desperate box.

 

What’s the best way to embark on the positive course?  If you are actively looking for a new job, you must first accept that your quest is now more challenging than it has historically been and then adopt an appropriately tailored job search strategy.  If you are currently employed, you must first accept that your job security has now disappeared and adopt the same tailored strategy as your peers in transition.  Here’s what it entails:

 

Attention.  As it was BGR, finding a job AGR is a full time occupation.  Forget “funemployment.”  If you’re in transition, you need to be working on your job search 100% of the time and with all of the talent and energy you can muster.  If you’re currently employed, on the other hand, forget comfortably coasting along.  You also need to be searching for a job, as well, only the one you seek is the next opportunity you’d like to have.  It may be with your current employer or with another organization, but wherever it occurs, it must enable you to extend your development and contribution in the workplace.

 

Guts.  Unlike during the BGR period, finding a new or another job in the AGR era requires that you also take a second job.  Not everybody is going to be willing to do that.  It takes courage and self-confidence.  You have to push yourself outside your comfort zone and tap into more of your talent and energy than you’ve probably ever used before.  You must be both a proactive job seeker and a proactive career self-manager.  Your second job, however, is not a secondary endeavor; it is every bit as important as your first job and should be given the same priority and level of effort.  Said another way, working on your own career is just as critical to your success as working on-the-job for your employer.

 

Readiness.  To be a successful career self-manager, you must become an expert in and regularly practice “career fitness.”  You must accept responsibility for the health of your career and act to execute that responsibility every single day.  You must know how to increase the strength, endurance and reach of your career and be dedicated to performing the activities that will achieve those outcomes.

 

One of those activities, for example, is to “pump up your career’s cardiovascular system.”  The heart of your career is your professional knowledge and expertise.  When you’re looking for a new or better job, therefore, enroll in a professional development course to bring your skill set up-to-date.  Then, tell your supervisor what you’re doing and/or add the activity to your resume with the annotation “On-going.”  That simple step will signal to employers that you realize the importance of staying current in your field and that you take personal responsibility for doing so.  There’s no more powerful statement than that of your workplace character and potential contribution.

 

A new era is dawning in the American workplace.  Coming as it does after the Great Recession and shaped as it is by that extraordinary event, it is most appropriately described as the AGR world of work.  It is an environment unlike any we’ve ever seen, but one that holds great promise for those who can and do adapt.

 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

 

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including his latest, Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

 

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Staybridge Suites in Chatsworth is currently seeking a Maintenance Manager. As part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group, we and everyone at IHG is aligned behind one clear goal; to deliver great Hotels Guests Love. We may be seven different brands, but wherever you join us, and no matter how far your IHG career takes you, you'll be working to make a real difference.

Staybridge Suites is a part of InterContinental Hotels Group. InterContinental Hotels Group operates 7 different brands, including the Staybridge Suites. IHG is an international hotel company whose goal is to create Great Hotels Guests Love.

We have more guest rooms than any other hotel company in the world – that's rooms in more than 4,200 hotels across nearly 100 countries. Our guests make over 180 million stays in IHG hotels every year. We operate seven hotel brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

We employ a global team of fantastic individuals and we give everyone room to be themselves. It's what makes us different. Whatever they're interested in, they all share the values that matter to us as an organisation - our Winning Ways. They help us all do the right thing, show we care, aim higher, celebrate difference and work better together. They explain how we treat our guests and how we treat each other.

Apply Here

It’s hard to debrief an event such as yesterday’s ASTD-Orange County Learning Event, as it was designed to be different experience for each attendee – like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.  Just as the ride provides "tracks" to follow -- Future Sight, Wealth, and Youth -- this MLE had two tracks: Training Resources and Training Tips. Each participant's experience -- dependent upon the collaborative experiences provided by the members at the table -- was unique.  Thus, the value of the event was dependent upon what each person had to offer, and what each person had to learn.

For each track, each table of 9 – 10 trainers had an opportunity to review a prepared document that lists some of the resources existing ASTD-Orange County members use for their job.  Then they discussed what they read or added to the list.  While I don’t know if things were planned this way, each table was a good mix of veteran trainers and those new to the field, so the discussions had the benefit of field expertise and innovative thinking.

Resources:

Those at my table started discussing sources for clip art, and how to obtain similar-looking clipart or photos to maintain a consistent look to one’s presentation (rather than the hodge-podge of images that often clutter a presentation because it makes sense for that slide).  We then shared our preferred assessment tools, books we’ve read, blogs we follow, and design documents we’ve used.  We used a tool the size of a business card designed to encourage follow-up with those people who’d shared something we found cool, and wanted to discuss further.  This tool created quite a bit of buzz, as it was simple and practical, and applicable right away!
 

Intermission:

We switched tables before discussion Training Tips.  Even this activity was designed to give us a new tool! We all are familiar with the practice of counting off our class participants into groups, but our facilitator had prepped each seat with (of all things) a sticker designed to disperse us to other tables. “If you’ve got the giraffe,” instructed our facilitator, “come to this table up front.  The star-shaped sticker, go to that table in the corner…” and so on.  We rose and shuffled through the Garden Room to our assigned table, meeting new people, experiencing different viewpoints, clutching the same glass of iced tea.  Some wrote down "stickers to assign class into new groups" on their notepads.

Training Tips:

What struck me was the simplicity of the tips shared by my table group. In a world where one can spend thousands of dollars on an impactful, tool-filled program, or hundreds of dollars for Trainer’s Warehouse stuff, the tips shared yesterday used plastic Easter Eggs, pennies, a ball of string, plain paper, etc.  We discussed different ways of determining comprehension, ways to illustrate different viewpoints using the mere twirl of a finger, and stories to illustrate an important point.  Nothing involving certification, nothing involving the outlay of much more than a few pennies or some office supplies.

I am being deliberately vague for two reasons.  First: we’re going to share most of these resources and tools in the ASTD-Orange County Community Toolbox, which will come laden with much better instructions of how to use them than I can provide in a blog.  Also, the ASTD-OC Community Toolbox will be available for members only, so I’m blatantly enticing non-members to join.  (We'll post when that link is up and running.)

Second: this was an event that you had to be there to get something out of.   A mere description of a tool is insufficient.  What made the event work with the collaborative nature of how all the trainers, senior and new, applied their unique skillsets and experiences to come up with different applications for similar tools.  Tables were filled with comments like: “I’ve used that, also, but this way,” or “for this purpose,” or “And if you use that with this, you can…”
 
After the Learning Event I spoke with Anthony, ASTD-Orange County Chapter President, who shared with me that yesterday's event was the future of Chapter events.  Sure, we would have speakers and seminars, networking activites and meals, but he looks to having more events that focus on the collaborative experiences provided by our members.  An ambitious plan to engage our members! Imagine the possibilities!

If you liked this blog, you might like:

No Time Like a Recession!

Find out what other experiential events ASTD-Orange County has to offer.

The Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) is a professional, non-profit organization dedicated to the overall achievement and advancement of South Asian professionals. The primary focus of the organization is to foster a bond among South Asian professionals to unite and support each other locally, as well as to give back and contribute positively to the communities in which we live and work.

Join us this year at:

The 18th Annual NetIP Conference
Held in the Dynamic and Vibrant City of Toronto
Friday, Sept 4th to Sunday, Sept 6th 2009

• Engaging Panels and Workshops (covering finance, healthcare, entrepreneurship, culture, media arts)
• Film Screenings & Community Outreach Events
• Chic & Elegant Parties
• Captivating Entertainment (including a Bollywood-themed gala affair)

Create Memories of a lifetime and gain an opportunity to forge lasting friendships, as you mingle with elite South Asian professionals, network with industry leaders and meet top notch speakers!

For more information, visit www.NetIPConference.org.  

California Staffing Professionals annual conference held at the JW Marriott in Palm Desert and the Los Angeles Chapter received three awards.Yvonne Rockwell of Royal Staffing was the recipient of the Staffing Professional of the Year award for the Los Angeles Chapter. The "Staffing Professional of the Year" Award recognizes deserving individuals in the industry based upon Standards of Excellence for production, education/accreditation, leadership and business development superiority.

Chapter President Joe Cummings of Royal Staffing received the Diamond Award for the Los Angeles Chapter. The Diamond Award is presented to the Chapter Presidents who have met the required criteria. They are the driving force behind their Chapter Board of Directors. The Diamond Award is achieved through providing their chapter members a variety of benefits including chapter meetings, continued education opportunities, legal and legislative updates. The Chapter President must also grow the chapter membership and promote the chapter through public relations in their geographical area. Further requirements include maintaining Chapter records and State board Participation. 

Heather Leemon Raboff of Property Management Personnel, Inc and CSP’s Executive Boards 2nd V.P. and immediate past President for the CSP Los Angeles Chapter was the proud recipient of the Essey Award. In 2006 CSP awarded Dick Essay with the James R Pierce lifetime achievement award. Upon the acceptance of his award he asked that CSP consider an Essey Award. He asked that the Essey award be presented to the person who had furthered CSP or the Staffing industry the most. Dick Essey also included a donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice. 

"I chose Chrysalis because I believe in what they do and how they do it. I haven’t lived the perfect life and have experienced my own challenges. I have been graced by the support and opportunities provided by others that developed the path that brought me this far" said Heather. Chrysalis provides critical employment services to nearly 2,500 homeless and economically disadvantaged individuals annually through its service centers in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica and in the San Fernando Valley where poverty is the most pervasive. Since 1984, Chrysalis offers services ranging from job-preparation classes and one-on-one mentoring to material assistance such as interview clothing, bus tokens, and access to phones, computers, and fax machines. 

Heather’s involvement with CSP this past year as 2nd Vice president included leading a very active team of volunteer committee chairs who accomplished needed goals throughout the year. The committees she over saw included website technology, industry partners, legislative affairs and awards. The events she was involved in this year included our annual Legislative Day in Sacramento and Co-Chair for this year’s annual conference. She also remains active in the Los Angeles Chapter as immediate Past President assisting our Industry Partners with their Los Angeles chapter activities and supporting our current Chapter President, Joe Cummings.

We’ve all heard of the alpha male and female.  The dictionary defines them as the dominant person in a group, the one everybody emulates and follows.  The term was originally coined to describe behavior in wolf and dog packs, but for most of the 20 th Century, it also accurately depicted the way we interacted in our careers.  One person was on top, and the rest of us brought up the rear.

While wolves and dogs are stuck with this leader-follower relationship, however, we humans have an option.  We can pull ourselves out of the back of the pack—out of the pack altogether, in fact—and assume a new role.  I call it the “alpha career athlete.”  It recognizes our innate ability to act as individuals and to set our own unique course in the world of work.

More often than not, the alpha career athlete still finds their employment in an organization.  Most aren’t free agents or independent contractors.  They work in teams, on projects and for departments and they report to a boss.  Their on-the-job experience is similar to that of every other person in the workplace.  What changes is their view of who they are working for and why.  

An alpha career athlete works on themselves for themselves.  They are interested in learning just how good they can be in their profession, craft or trade.  They accept a job because it challenges them to be better than they have been, and they devote all of their talent to passing the test.  Moreover, that same commitment to self improvement also enhances the value of their contribution to their employer.  In effect, they protect their employment and preserve their paycheck by persevering in their determination to excel.

 

In Search of (Personal) Excellence

In 1982, Tom Peters wrote a business classic called In Search of Excellence .  The book’s popularity was largely based on the author’s research into how companies achieved superior performance.  It outlined a number of practices that other organizations could implement in order to achieve their own version of excellence.

What many readers missed, however, was the underlying premise of the book: success was best achieved through a commitment to excellence.  If you wanted your company to prosper, it wasn’t enough to be good or even very good and certainly not mediocre or just enough to get by.  The one sure pathway to prosperity was excellence.

  What was true for organizations in the 20 th Century is true for individuals in the 21 st Century.  Success is not achieved by being loyal to one’s employer or by knowing how things get done inside an organization.  It is not assured with years of experience or even with a knowledge of the current state-of-the-art.  What produces sustained career advancement in today’s world of work is a commitment to personal excellence.

  It is what drives the alpha career athlete.  He or she is “in search of excellence.”  They are on a quest to become the champion inside them.  This is not some quixotic adventure, but rather an entirely rational determination to express and experience the talent with which they (and all of us) were created.   Alpha career athletes believe that, just as every company can achieve superior performance, so too can they.  And they’re resolved to do so.

Companies, however, have Peters’ guidelines with which to work; alpha career athletes need something else.  They need a set of practices that will engage, refine and unleash the excellence within them.  What follows are what I think those practices must be:

I. Pump Up Your Cardiovascular System .   The heart of your career is your occupational expertise.  Re- imagine yourself as a work-in-progress so that you are always adding depth and tone to your knowledge and skill set.

 

II. Strengthen Your Circulatory System .   The wider and deeper your network of contacts, the more visible you and your capabilities will be in the workplace.  Make nurturing professional relationships a part of your business day.

 

III. Develop All of Your Muscle Groups .   The greater your versatility in contributing your expertise at work, the broader the array of situations and assignments in which you can be employed.  Develop ancillary skills that will give you more ways to apply your core expertise in the workplace.

 

IV. Increase Your Flexibility & Range of Motion .   Moving from industry-to-industry, from one daily schedule to another or even from one location to another is never easy, but your willingness to adapt will help to keep your career moving forward.

 

V. Work With Winners .   Working with s uccessful organizations and coworkers enables you to grow on-the-job, develop useful connections that will last a career and establish yourself as a winner in the world of work.

 

VI. Stretch Your Soul .   A healthy career not only serves you, it serves others, as well.  A personal commitment to doing some of your best work as good works for your community, your country and/or your planet is the most invigorating form of work/life balance.

 

VII. Pace Yourself .   A fulfilling and rewarding career depends upon your getting the rest and replenishment you need in order to do your best work every day you’re on-the-job.  Discipline yourself and your boss to set aside time to recharge your passion and capacity for work.

 

All of us have the inherent capacity to be an alpha career athlete because all of us have an inherent talent that wants to be—deserves to be—discovered.  Humans are the only beings, however, who can willfully choose to ignore their gift.  And happily, they are also the only beings who can choose to recognize it.  So, become the alpha career athlete you were meant to be; put yourself in search of (personal) excellence.

 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

 

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including his latest, Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System .

 

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

 Education is a sure fire way to increase your marketability in the workforce. Yet, if you are seeking a career change, education can be a very time intensive and lengthy process. When considering this change there are many options to weigh.
 

• How long will the process take?
• Do you need a degree or do certificates or graduate programs exist?
• Is there demand for the job, once you are educated?
• What is motivating your change? True passion or a fleeting interest?
   

Education is a commitment, and one you must take seriously. When considering the time the program will take, you must be confident you are happy in your current job. Will you have the patience to wait until the end of your program before you are working in your new a career? 
 

Considering the education options, what is truly needed? Is a full 4 year degree necessary, or will a 2 year degree help you get into the industry? Often passion and enthusiasm for the job will set you apart from others who have formal degrees. Using teaching as an example, you must be certified, so you much complete the degree. Yet, going from business to HR may simply require a certification. Investigate what is truly necessary to get your foot in the door.

 

As you embark on your change, is there a future for it? Fleeting interest fields often see a rise in people in the market and a drop off of demand. This was evident in crime scene investigation, due to the popularity of police shows. Not only ensure that you can gauge a demand for your career once your education is complete, but that you have a true passion for it. A fleeting interest or a fad will not last long.

 

The resources Jobing.com has to offer to help you find a great educational program include JobingEducation. Additionally, if you are seeking the benefit of a graduate degree, Grand Canyon University offers adults great online opportunities.

 

Use education to make a career change – for life.

LifeStream, the new name for Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties invites all healthy residents to give the gift of life Thursday, July 9th, 2009 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30pm at Four-D College, 1020 E. Washington in Colton, 909-783-9331. This is the ninth annual event for Four-D College and a similar event was held at the Victorville Campus on June 17th, 2009, in which 71 people attended.

“We cannot do it alone. Our mission, "We help save lives by connecting donors and patients through the gift of blood," can only be achieved with your support and commitment to our programs. In addition to the more than 500 donations of blood that we must have every single day, your financial support is vital to the continuation of our important work. Each and every gift allows LifeStream to realize its vision and fulfill our mission to the communities we proudly serve,” said Frederick B. Axelrod, M.D., MBA, the President/CEO.

Healthy individuals at least 16 years of age may donate blood. (Those 16 years of age must provide LifeStream with written parental consent. Parent consent forms are available at any donor center or community blood drive. Donors who have celebrated their 76th birthday must provide LifeStream with annual, written physician consent.) All prospective donors should be free of infections or illness, weigh at least 110 pounds and not be at risk for AIDS or hepatitis. Donors receive a free mini-physical as part of the donation process. Donating blood takes about an hour, yet gives someone a lifetime.   

LifeStream is a private, not-for-profit blood center that has served more than 30 medical facilities throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties since 1951.  They operate five donor centers in San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, La Quinta and Hesperia along with mobile blood drives held daily at local businesses, churches, government agencies and schools.  

If you and your company would like to be a partner with LifeStream please contact Kristy at (909) 386-6928.

The need is constant, the process is simple, the results are priceless.

Sincerely,

June Navarro
Public Relations Liaison
 
 

When is being second better than coming in first? Try business - it's hard to be first and successful. Pioneers have no one to learn from and everything is based on trial and error. Nike, Apple and Starbucks were not the first in their industries, but they capitalized on their predecessors' mistakes to win big. Look at these three steps that prove sometimes second really is best!
 
1) Study your Competition. Don't reinvent the wheel if you don't have to. Look at an established industry leader and follow what they are doing. Most likely they are catering to the same target market as you are. Notice their trends in marketing, customer service and profits. In today's market, we put value on transparency. Take advantage of this by visiting your competitor's website, blog and location (if they have one). Know what you are up against and plan accordingly.

2) Learn from their Mistakes. All the information you gathered from above is only valuable if you apply it. See what's working for them and try it. Simultaneously, assess what isn't working and create a solution for it. Most success stories are not original ideas, but improvements on existing products/services. Use the data that you've collected from your competitor to differentiate what you offer. Learning does not happen in a vacuum, so get out there and attempt various ways to solve a need!
 
3) Do it Better. Many people have great vision, but poor implementation. We can analyze a situation thoroughly, but action is what creates results! This is where feedback and test marketing works well. Share your ideas with others and see what they think. Don't hide your invention, offer it in return for personal opinions. Collaboration ignites innovation. Nothing great is accomplished alone. You are only as great as the team that surrounds you. There's nothing fool-proof, but the more open you are towards taking constructive feedback, the greater chance to avoid complacency and succeed. When you do something at a level of excellence you get recognized. Who cares what "place" you started in?
 
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be the best, but be smart and learn from those who came before you. The best have a great appreciation and knowledge about their industry leaders. They study what their competitors do, then make improvements. The next time you make a significant leap, look back at those who came first and realize sometimes second really is best!
 
For additional help, Contact Growing Forward NOW at (310) 295-0046 or visit www.growingforward.net

It was the kind of morning news headline that made you wonder if you really did wake up when the clock radio turned on: Recession Babies.  The quote from the story, the one that made me pause in the middle of my shave, went something like this:  “I’m out of work, and don’t have any job prospects lined up, and we’ve always wanted another baby, so I figured, what better time?”

The quote was a teaser for a later news program, and what a teaser!  But it got me wondering as I sat in traffic on the morning commute: what if everyone treated their professional development with a similar attitude?  “Well, I’m out of work, and I’ve always wanted to do more than my previous job let me, so I figure, what better time to expand my skill set?”

It doesn’t take much to do this.  Fumbling about with all these new computer programs that people keep talking about at work?  There are plenty of extended education programs that address the big ones.  Recognizing that you could benefit from speaking Spanish at work? Community colleges can give you the basics.  Want to focus on developing your professional skills? Examine what your local professional organization has to offer.

For instance, ASTD National offers a CPLP (Certified Professional in Learning and Performance) Certification. 

The impact of such certification is that such a certification lets employers know that you have real-world, practical expertise that can be applied to any work environment.  The CPLP is rapidly becoming a baseline for workplace learning and development departments.  More than that, anyone with a CPLP has the tools to be the best in the field.  So not only does your extended network know you rock, so do you.

Now, ASTD National is not a local professional organization.  So while you will get your CPLP from them, it’ll be tough if you just work with them, because they don’t offer many practical, real-world tools to help you prepare for your certification.  There’s info on their website, of course.  And they offer study guides at a cost.  But if you’d want to work within a community of like-minded people to prepare for your CPLP, then my recommendation is that you find your local ASTD Chapter.  They will be the ones who have experienced workplace learning and performance professionals, able to provide the support network to help you get your CPLP.

I’ll give you a for instance that is blatantly marketing our own chapter.  ASTD-Orange County is re-starting its CPLP Special Interest Group (SIG), and invites all members who are interesting in furthering their professional development, and their career, to attend its inaugural meeting this coming June 25.  Details for the event are just beyond this link.  The CPLP SIG plans to meet monthly, and at each monthly meeting explore one topic that is tested on in the CPLP Certification Exam.  It’s been an invaluable study group for the people who joined the CPLP SIG last year, and we were proud to report that some members did pass the exam, while others opted to take the exam at a later date.

How does this help one’s professional development in a recession?  Well, ASTD-Orange County lends, library style, the same resources that the ASTD National would sell to you. ASTD-Orange County provides its members a community of like-minded individuals who will support and encourage you. The primary investment made by the recession-afflicted person is time, and that’s admittedly at a bit less of a premium than before.  Imagine working full-time, raising a family, and studying at the same time.  Some of you may have done that already, and found that you were stretched further than you really wanted to be.  Now imagine how less of a burden doing two out of three would be.

So: developing your skills during a recession maximizes the time you’d spend between networking and job interviews.  Connecting with a professional organization to help you achieve your goals will maximize your return on your investment. 

You’ve always wanted to expand your skill set.  What better time?

If you found this interesting, you may wish to check out:

   *  ASTD-Orange County Special Interest Groups

   *  CPLP SIG Introductory Meeting (This is free, by the way. No cost to check us out!)

  *  Does Your Resume Need New Acronyms? (CNN.com article)

Today’s job market is tough. Millions of people are looking for jobs for the first time in years.  They’re looking for jobs that don’t seem to exist. Recruiters don’t return phone calls. Job seekers are fed up and frustrated. They wonder if all the effort is ever going to pay off and if it’s time to change careers. You might be wondering the same thing. But, it seems so risky in this economy. 

If you are experiencing these feelings, it might be time for a career change:
• You’ve always been interested in other career areas but went with the “safe” route and now you feel burned out
• You don’t enjoy your work anymore and you wonder what other options are out there for you
• You feel stuck and stagnant
• You are finding fewer and fewer jobs available in your industry
• You’re over-qualified for the jobs that are available in your industry
• You feel the effort to get a new job in your industry is more than you want to undertake

How do you know if now is a good time to change career direction?

The reality is that job loss and job creation are natural components of the world of work. It happens all the time to varying degrees.  So there probably isn’t one perfect time to change jobs or careers. The decision depends a lot on your personal situation.

Before launching a job search or career change, though, there are several important steps to take which I also outline in my career guide and audio program, Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love.

Gaining Personal InsightBefore you change careers, you need to figure out what you want. By assessing your current situation you can determine what you need in your career to be satisfied. Analyze your values, skills, personality characteristics, interests, and lifestyle preferences. It’s also useful to take inventory of your financial situation, especially if the career you’re considering might require additional education and training or relocation.

Getting a Reality CheckA critical mistake in making a career change is making the leap without getting enough career information. By exploring career possibilities you’ll be able to identify options that are best suited to your personal attributes and preferences. There are online and print resources you can use to learn about job outlooks and industry trends. The people in your network can also be great sources for information about trends and opportunities in various career fields. In addition, they can make introductions and give you referrals.

Charting Your Career PathAfter you’ve done some self-assessment to learn what you want in a career and done career research to generate options, you have to make a decision about next steps. Your transition and job search plans will guide you to successfully getting the job you want and expanding your professional network. You’ll also need to update your resume, cover letter, and other support materials and fine-tune your interviewing and networking skills.
People change jobs or careers in search of greater satisfaction. By following the steps outlined above, you  will increase your chances for finding a career that better suits your personal goals and uses your talents in meaningful ways.

If you're thinking about a career change, purchase the Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love career guide and audio program today. You will go through a step-by-step exploration and planning process by completing several exercises, so you can get clear about your career direction.

Special thanks to Andrea Delgado for contributing to this article. For more than 10 years, Andrea, was a program manager at an international development organization during which time she held multiple positions involving program and grant management and administrative support.  Andrea has been networking to find employment opportunities and has considered a career change into the private sector. Her dream job would take her into the international financial arena analyzing economic policy and regulations. Andrea has her M.A. degree in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University; a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Politics & Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a B.A degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst."

Andrea can be contacted on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrea-delgado/10/3b6/717

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Markell Steele is a career counselor, owner of Futures in Motion, Inc. and author of Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love. She helps frustrated job seekers find career direction so they can get the job they want in less time with less stress. Request the free SPECIAL REPORT: 6 Tips for Discovering the Work You Love by Working With a Career Counselor

 

 

     Join the ICBCC Wednesday June 24 from 6pm - 9pm

                                        For our

                                 Mega  Mixer

                             Hosted by

                        Maximum Results Training

                                   9774 Crescent Dr

                                      Rancho Cucamonga, CA

                                    Special guest speaker

                                      Mr Marion Douglas

 

      Home based businesses, Small business owners,

                                     Fortune 500 businesses

                               All are invited to attend

   Information/Exhibitor/Vendor booths available for $25                          

       please bring your own 3`x 3` or 2`x 6`tables) Limited space available, please

  Rsvp @ 909-961-3677 or email Lennell@blackchamberofcommerce.org (for booth space)

                              Non chamber Members are encourage to attend

Other invited chambers include, Inland Empire African American Chamber, Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Fontana Chamber of Commerce, Colton  City Chamber of Commerce, Pomona Chamber of Commerce.

 If you are and entrepreneur, business owner, Fortune 500 Corporation, or Home based business, You must attend this event!

 

 Please Rsvp with us so that we can have an accurate head count  909-961-3677 or email Lennell@blackchamberofcommerce.org  (Non Rsvp `s are welcomed to attend)

Invite your business associates and friends, learn how to get the competitive edge and be in the forefront of the new era of today`s business society. We anticipate well over 100 people that will be joining us for this event.

Mega Mixer entry fee $ 5 donation    -      Please bring plenty of business cards

This event Sponsored by “Jazz To Be Green” The Ultimate Jazz Festival August 22 & 23rd  @ Fairmount Park– 2601 Fairmount Blvd, Riverside, CA 92501

Visit– Www.theultimatejazzfestival.com

 

 

Get off the couch, grab your resume and join L.A.’s top recruiters with jobs to fill, for an evening of business networking in cool style. Need a job? Don’t be blue. Pink Slip Party L.A. is here to help.  Pink Slip Party L.A. and sponsor, Blue Velvet Restaurant & Lounge are here to help get your career out of the blue and into the pink.

Beryl Smith, President, BCS Staffing, Inc, a recruiting firm specializing in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources and Administration Staffing is hosting Pink Slip parties throughout California.

Pink Slip Party L.A. brings job seekers and recruiters together in a casual, social networking environment, where everyone feels empowered rather than uncomfortable, and job seekers can get advice that will help them return to the workforce.  Pink Slip Party L.A.‘s mission is to help get California back to work city-by-city.
 
Join Pink Slip Party L.A. at Blue Velvet Restaurant & Lounge, 750 S. Garland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90017 on Tuesday, June 16, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  for a fun, relaxed evening of networking with recruiters, meeting new friends and taking your career to new heights. Admission:  $5.00 at the door RSVP (www.pinkslippartyla.com). There is street parking or valet parking for $8.              

$5 Specialty Drink, “The Pink Velvet” and Seasonal Summer Appetizers will be available for purchase.
 

If you’d like more information on Pink Slip Party L.A., or to schedule an interview with Beryl Smith please call her at 310-691-2178, or email her at beryl@bcsstaffing.net or www.pinkslippartyla.com