Kicking someone when they're down

According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, the unemployed are currently being targeted by identity thieves, either through online job postings, or using low/no tech methods at job fairs.

But job-search identity theft can also be low tech. Some companies hold job fairs where they have job seekers provide their Social Security numbers and other basic information to recruiters. Even when the company is legitimate, that can pose a security risk for job applicants...

If you are giving job seeking training, you may also want to include a heads up on the scam artist. And no, they are not limited to Craigslist ads. According to the story, scam artists are using Monster. Monster, in response, has a tips for avoiding scams.

Job scams are old and the FTC has a Caution Job Scams portal. The Better Business Bureau in both the US and Canada can be used to keep you up to date on scams of all types.

Slaying Monsters?

Response to Will Monster.com go the way of newspapers?

I think it is too soon to suggest that Monster will go the way of the newspaper classifieds, for a few reasons:

• Vertical search engines currently aren't charging employers to post with them; most of them make their money with Google adwords
• Why not charge employers? Because they would need to have a whole host of staff to market their service, as well as an accounting department to deal with invoicing and hunt down the people who don't pay for their ads
  
• Most vertical search redirect the job posting not to the employer site but to the original posting on a job board. Monster never redirected a job seeker to a local newspaper because the classified service just dealt directly with employers and got paid for it.

Yes, it is possible that free (and not all are free to for-profit companies) will replace paid, but not for a while yet. Monster, and other job search services, also have other tools--such as resume handling, automatic response, and testing--that streamline other HR processes which no newspaper service ever did.

Whoa, knelly.

SimplyHired's Job Listing Report

SimplyHired, one of many vertical search engines for job postings, has released a Q1 report on job searching and frequently used keywords in job search, based on information from their engine.

Now they have indicated that job searches are up, and, yes that can be due to unemployment, but it can also be due to the fact that people are

• dissatisfied with their current employment and are looking for new jobs
• can see the writing on the wall with their current employer, or
• are just trying to stay ahead of the pack
  
• one of the popular keywords is part-time, so this could indicate that people are looking for extra work or returning to the workforce

Now, why might you can about this, except to use SimplyHired to find a job? Because the report mentions the appearance of prevalent keywords, which could help you creating search strings, and it also tells you the locations where job postings are up. Handy.

Recommendations for who to follow on Twitter for a job

This post comes from a roundabout curve, from a post on College Recuiter, to the post from Amanda Hoffstrom, about tweeting for a job with recommendations on who to follow on Twitter who tweets about job searching. If you want to use Twitter to look for work, this may be a place to start.

LinkedIn benefiting from the economy?

Is LinkedIn benefting from the downturn in the economy, with more employers supposedly:

• Using connections on LinkedIn to fill positions?
• Job seekers using LinkedIn to look for work?
• Mean that increased traffic could lead to a high profile buyer?

If you are thinking about adding LinkedIn to your tutorials on how to use the Internet to find work, make sure that you also investigate how active local groups and alumni associations are, not just what the LinkedIn tools include.

Cross posted at Coagitating

But what kind of work?

ERE has a hopeful post, Not Hiring? Tell That to the 4.4 Million who Found Jobs, possibly in response to the news that 300, 000 jobs were lost in March. The post does point out that some people did get jobs, but then suggests that because WalMart is hiring clerks that this is compensation for the loss of a stable, middle class salary-paying job, probably with health insurance.

Now I do think it is important to talk about the World of Good News (go to the Hour for more) but the argument that one job is just as good as another, now take your castor oil, is just silly. This doesn't take into account that some of the hires were probably part-time trade downs from full-time employment--so even if you were classified as the exact same type of worker, 22 hours a week is not the same as 40 hours a week. You can't just trade a job for a job--they aren't alike. For crying out loud, at least read Nickel and Dimed if you have never had to take a minimum wage job.

Rant over.

Anyway, I do want to draw people's attention to some of the interviews on Metro Morning about laid off workers--mature workers who are having a hard time either finding equivalent work to what they have lost. Or they have remade themselves, by exploring some of the skills they haven't used in a while. I agree that we should no longer use the term McJobs--like you're showing your age if you use dude--because it is no longer cool and is demeaning to people who need to work to eat.

You don't need to interpret tea leaves stuck in a cup

To understand that people who work sitting down get paid

more than people who work standing up.

from Will Consider Situation by Ogden Nash

Podcast: Career Tips from the Wall Street Vet

BNET Useful Commute podcasts are short interviews, usually less than 8 minutes, about business topics. Many of the interviewees are business writers--promo for their books, obviously--and this interview is no different.

This interview, Career Tips from a Wall Street Vet, has to do with self-evaluation and reflection on performance, making yourself better at work--a good idea if this is your first placement, or if your job is temporary or a contract and you want to seem career minded.

[Update] I also have to add this one from the FTPress, Three Tips for Surviving the Recession, because of No. 1: Stay focused on facts. This is the hardest to do if you spend any time watching the news. It is really easy to get a severe case of CNN poisoning.

Both podcasts will take about ten minutes from your day.

Why Your Credit Score Matters

Here is the first chapter, courtesy of FT Press, for the book, Your Credit Score: Your Money and What's at Stake. I'm sure if you have or are working at a reference desk, you have gotten questions about credit scores: what they are and how to get them, and this sample chapter gives you a brief history and explains how to get your score.

You might also want to get your own credit score, since it can affect so many aspects of your life, such as buying a car, a house and even renting an apartment, since some (many?) apartment managers check credit scores before accepting a rental application. Apparently, there are some employers that check credit history before making a job offer, but I am not sure how many libraries do it (though, as the article explains, it may be a matter of course for a government job offer, or if you need security clearance).

• In the US, Fair Isaac has the website, MyFico.
• In Canada, CBC's Marketplace has done a special called Card Tricks, about credit cards, and getting your credit score is on page 11, which also explains the factors that affect your credit history.

You should actually check for errors on your credit reports. The reports from the two agencies can be different, as I discovered when I applied for a mortgage. If you have had more than one credit card, or changed your address recently, I really recommend checking it.

WRK4US discussions: Technical Writer

WRK4US has just kicked off a new discussion, one for careers in technical writing. If you are interested in that career path, you may want to subscribe to the list so you can follow the discussion.

If you don't know about WRK4US, it is a listserv that discusses careers outside of academia for graduate students (and the current academic workforce) about careers outside of academia. Discussions in the past have included careers in publishing, librarianship, and freelance writing, just to name a few. It is worthwhile to sign up if you are a graduate student in the humanities, if only to find out about new discussions. Traffic is light on the list, nowhere near YALSA-bk, but very worthwhile.

Newsweek: Reading into the future

This article is from a public librarian in Detroit talking about how much time she spends in her library answering questions about careers, information on unemployment, living acommodations, small businesses and just general "keeping my money" questions. She says:


Fortunately, we have all had comprehensive business training. Without it we wouldn't know where to start—especially now.

Based on her article, how would you rate yourself in these information literacy skills. Some of these areas also include suggestions on how to beef up this skill.

• Assisted patrons in obtaining an email address 
• Provided instruction on accessing email from a library Internet access terminal
• Have experience using a vertical search engine to look for job postings
• Have you showed a patron how to subscribe to job alerts for keyword searches in vertical search engines that offer this service (Indeed, SimplyHired, as examples)?
• Have you showed a patron how to use an RSS feed to create a job alert?
  
• Showed a patron how to use Google Local (or another mapping service) to find out how to get to an interview, or  how to get driving directions to their new employer?
• If the patron is looking for a new place to live and their main means of transportation is public transport or walking, have you used your local transit service to plot a route, or used Walk Score to find out about the community? A Walk Score can also be used to research potential local employers.
  
• Assisted patrons in navigating online application forms--for employment or EI--provided that the ability to deliver this service is also part of the library policy. You have to worry about accessing someone's personal information, as well as patrons who ask can you just fill this out for me, and your supervisor may not be too keen on librarians getting in the middle of this service. Using plain English, can you help patrons fill out this form? Do you have speakers in the community, or has your library provided an information session on these topics?
  
• Can you provide the above services in Spanish or additional Language Other than English?
• Did you help with the research, promotion and delivery of these services?
• Remember that these services and the information can vary from state to state, or province to province.
  
• Identified reputable community resources to assist with finding affordable housing
• Have access to information from local Landlord and Tenant office, including phone numbers and upcoming sessions
• Identified and provide a pathfinder for local and reputable sources on securing a loan for small business, as well as resources on how to write a business plan
• Do you know of an accountant or other reputable financial professional who is willing to provide these services free or low cost to patrons? Money advice, like medical and legal advice, may best be left to the experts in some cases.
• Identified major and reputable resources on personal finance, budgeting and credit within the library collection.
• Start with One Economy to get more information. Consumer.gov is also a great gateway resource for consumer financial information.
  
• In Canada, take a look at the free information from the Canadian Bankers' Association (you might want to get some of this information for yourself). In addition, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has fact sheets and links to publications from bank account to payday loans. Your province may also have some additional information through their provincial government site, so do some research there as well.
  

How'd you score?

Yep, the government is still hiring

Or hiring more, depending on who you're reading. I've posted before about what NACE says about government hires and I even mentioned when the new US administration arrived that there would be help wanted signs put out. According to an article on Reuters, the delivery of the stimulus package will require the assistance of many more workers, especially professionals. Since the stimulus will affect all levels of government, spread your search amongst the federal, state, and municipal governments and their various agencies. This could take a while, so try to narrow your search to the feds, a preferred state (not deranged) and two desired cities. Expand if you have no luck with your first choices, but remember that government work searches take time: you apply, get tested, get interviewed--usually twice--get selected, and then get an offer.

There are opportunities in public service in Canada as well, and I even have a post about how to find them.

Career-savvy information professional

Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science is offering an online course for Career-savvy information professionals. This is a new course according to the website, and if you feel that you have a gap in your career management knowledge, you might want to consider taking this course from them. At least they will put career management into the context of the library profession.

I have taken one other course from them and really liked them. I can't recommend this specific course, but I was happy with their online course delivery.