Job Fair!

Congressman Buck McKeon has announced a job fair at Antelope Valley College on Friday, August 13 from 10 am to 3 pm.  Job seekers should use every available opportunity to find work and a job fair is one of those potentially great options.

A variety of California employers will be on hand looking for new team members in the fields of healthcare, defense, transportation, manufacturing, education, sales, government, finance and more.

He is inviting interested parties to preregister here: Job Fair Registration

The event will be in the college cafeteria. Address of the college is 3041 West Ave K, Lancaster, CA 9353.

International Job Searching

Indeed.com, one of the best overall job search engines, also has the capability to search for jobs in foreign markets.

Log onto the site and look at the links on the bottom of the main page.  You’ll find 18 countries linked there, and if you go to View All (Indeed Worldwide), you’ll get a comprehensive list of 52 nations, in addition to the good ol’ USofA.

Using LinkedIn Connections for Job Searching

If you’re not on LinkedIn, you should be.  Surveys consistently show that using personal connections is by far the most effective way to get–not just a job, but a good career-type job.  In the olden days executives would keep business cards in a Rolodex file. Today, they are kept digitally. With LinkedIn you have not just to your own business cards, but cards of your contacts and their contacts. You can easily have potential access to over 1 million individuals.

Basic membership at www.LinkedIn.com is free.

The video in this link from the NewGradLife blog shows how to get an interview (and, then, a job) using LinkedIn.

Jobs on LinkedIn are easier to find than you think

15 Tips for Success in a Phone Interview

Phone interviews are becoming a common way for employers to screen potential employees during the hiring process. Unlike traditional, in-person job interviews, phone interviews are usually fairly short, require less preparation, and can even be outsourced by the employer if necessary. These features make phone interviewing an effective way to narrow down the list of candidates before scheduling in-person interviews. Unfortunately, many people are not comfortable conducting a conversation of that importance over the phone. If the prospect of a phone interview makes you nervous, these tips can help turn an awkward interview into a confidence-inspiring success.

Check out this article from the NewGradLife blog: How College Grads Can Thrive in Phone Interviews

How’s your handshake?

Apparently running out of really important issues to research, the University of Manchester in northwest England has defined the perfect handshake.

“The rules for men and women are the same: right hand, a complete grip and a firm squeeze (but not too strong) in a mid-point position between yourself and the other person, a cool and dry palm, approximately three shakes, with a medium level of vigor, held for no longer than two to three seconds, with eye contact kept throughout and a good natural smile with a slow offset with, of course, an appropriate accompanying verbal statement, make up the basic constituent parts for the perfect handshake.”

A formula for the perfect handshake

Can’t find work in CA? Consider a move.

California was once the promised land in many ways–great weather, beach/mountains, great economy.  The weather, sea and mountains remain, but other aspects of what once made the state a fine place to live and work have changed.

Sadly, in business climate (which leads to jobs) California is ranked at the bottom nationwide.  The “famine” of 12%+ unemployment is likely to last for awhile.

Number one for business, with an unemployment rate around 8%–well below the national average–is Texas.  And while the population of CA decreased by about 1.5 million in the last ten years, TX gained over 800,000.

Check out your favorite state in this article from ChiefExecutive.net.

Best and Worst States for Business 2010