NAPM-Central Texas Job Monitor

JOBS

HELP/TOOLS

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ISM Career Center

This is a critical service message regarding your use of NAPM-Central Texas Job Monitor: First and foremost, the purpose and spirit of the NAPM-Central Texas Job Monitor is to network real and honest information regarding employment opportunities and service companies that help people secure employment. This is a service we provide to employers in our area and our membership, as well as potential viewers of our webpage. Regrettably, from time to time, false job postings are received or listed online and used in unethical ways. The placement of such false job postings or misuse of information networked is a violation of the ethical standards of The Institute for Supply Management and their local Affiliates, and is certainly not in the spirit of helping others. The fraudulent use of personal information is a violation of both State and Feceral Law and NAPM-Central Texas will take all steps necessary to stop this abuse and provide a safe environment for our members to perform career management.

No one enjoys looking for work. And, when you are out of work and the bills are piling up it's even less enjoyable. But, if you find yourself in that situation, the best thing to do is to just get started. Like most things in life, success in "the hunt" putting together an action plan and sticking to it. The steps outlined below can provide a starting point for your campaign.

• Get Organized: If you have a spot in your home away from distractions where you can keep your paperwork - get it in shape now. You will find you get more done if you approach it as a job. And, doing "your job" off the coffee table won't be very effective. Get together a stack of manila folders, good resume paper, pencils, pens, notepads, and all the other things you would normally use at your job. Now might also be the time to re-record that message on the answering machine and think about a new email account if yours is anything like "studly@...."
• Check in with the Texas Workforce Commission Even if you have a severance package you should get registered now. This will eliminate any delays in starting your checks when your severance ends and you may actually be able to collect unemployment while you receive severance from your former employer.
• Put together that resume: There are as many ways of putting together a resume as there are jobs out there. If you have a decent printer you can print a few out and modify it as you wish. Another tactic is to go to the local office supply store and have some business cards printed up. You can distribute business cards to your friends and associates a lot cheaper than you can resumes. And, they are much more likely to have them handy when they hear of something that might interest you.
• Look for help: Get out of the house and check in with local networking and mentoring groups.
• Let someone else do some of the work: Hit the web with your new resume and register with some of the on-line search engines. Start with the ISM and Monster sites and let us know if you have any other favorites.
• Begin networking: No matter how you slice it looking for work is no fun. And you won't be the first if you feel there is something wrong with you because you are out of work. The truth of it is that the average time people stay at one job is less than six years! So, if your friends and neighbors have never been in the position of looking for work, they are the exception. Let people know you are looking. Don't be a pest about it and find something else to talk about when you get together with them but make sure they are aware that you are in "the hunt" and ask them to keep their ears open for anything might be of interest.
  
• Get involved: If you are a member of NAPM-Central Texas and haven't been a regular at the dinner meetings, now is the time to start. NAPM-Central Texas Monthly Dinner Meetings schedule can be accessed here:(insert link to schedule). Being an active part of your local affiliate is a very important aspect of your career management. In most cases, these people have insight and knowledge of upcoming positions. Let us know if you are interested. (Remember the old parable "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" or "you can't catch a fish with your hook out of the water) Ok….I added a little flavor of my own. :)
• Join us once a month and get out of the house a little. If you are not a member - join us anyway! Introduce yourself to some people you don't already know.
• Join or start an accountability group. You will work better if you don't feel you are alone in this. Gather a group of people who are also out of work and get together with them once a week for morning coffee. You will have to tell them exactly what you have been doing all week and, if you are honest, you will want to be able to report that you put out 50 resumes and had 5 or 10 interviews during the past week. It can be a powerful motivator.
  

  Let's us know your successes Elton Brock