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Category: Live Your Life Learning Blog
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Social Success Secret Sauce
People may feel stress during a job search; people may feel they are in a job search alone. Social groups can be a way to reduce the stress of the job search and feel that you are with a group doing the same activity.
Digital and In-person
A person may have choices of doing a social group either in person or digitally. The digital social groups have one advantage that distance is not a barrier in allowing a person to experience the group. Please evaluate in person situations for safety regarding COVID-19 pandemic.
Variety of Social Groups
There can be a variety of different social groups that you can join.
Some of the different social groups can be:
- History
- Sports
- Food
- Writing
- Book Club
- Travel
- Games
Two specific types of social groups that may interest the job-seeker
Job Hunting Groups – (may have other names like Job Search Clubs or Job Clubs). Social group of other job seekers. Job Hunting Groups can have the following advantages:
- People can learn from each other on how to improve their job search
- The job-hunting group may have job experts who can give job search advice
- The job-hunting group may be a effective way to network with other people; the job-hunting group may make a person aware of opportunities that the person alone would not be able to find.
- Job-Hunting group can give a social element to the job-hunting process; gives the person the feeling they are not job searching alone.
People can find job hunting groups be doing a Google search using terminology like “Job-Hunting Groups” or “Job Search Clubs” or “Job Clubs”. A person interested in digital job-hunting groups could add the word “virtual” to the job search.
Career Groups – (may have other names like “associations”) career groups are groups of people in that career profession. A person may attend meetings from career groups without being in the profession. Career Groups can help job hunters by:
- Make people aware of career professional opportunities in that career profession
- Learn about the profession
- Network with other people in the profession
You may learn more about that career profession by volunteering with that career group.
How to learn about Career Groups
You can learn the names of different career groups by searching on Google and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Google Search
You may be able to find career groups by doing a Google search. Type in the career that interests you and the word “Groups” (may have other names like “associations”)
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a government publication that published every two years. Occupational Outlook Handbook gives information on the major career fields in the United States. Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Occupational Outlook Handbook on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. One way to access career group is by category search.
Let’s say you are interested in looking for career groups in the training profession.
Go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov/ooh.
• Look for career categories on the left side of the screen.
• Click Business and Financial Occupations
• You are presented with a list of more specific professions
• You can click Training and Development Specialists
• You get into a particular job career description for Training and Development Specialist
• You can click a box on the top that says “More Info”
• You may get information on career groups from that career profession
Adds Structure to your schedule
A social group that meets on a routine schedule can provide structure to a job seeker.
Person may have structure in their lives related to a job position.
When a person loses their job, they lose a large part of the structure of their day.
The job position loss can mean a loss of structure for a person.
Social groups that meet on a regular schedule (likely meet at the same time weekly or monthly) can provide structure to the job seeker.
The structure from a social group may benefit the job seeker.
Social Groups can give you another source of success besides the job search
Social groups can be a different source of success for a person besides the job search. A person may have no success in the job search. Person may feel frustrated by the lack of success in a job search. A social group can give a person another area of life that they can feel success.
Ways to search for Social Groups
You may be able to search for social groups by:
- Google search – Search the social group you are interested in and type in words like “Group”, “Association”, or “Club” (or another similar name). For example, “Book Groups”. If you want a social group in your local area, you can add the place that you live. For example, “Book Groups Omaha”.
- Meetup – www.meetup.com. Meetup a web site that will list different social groups that one can meet
- Facebook – Facebook may have social group information that may interest a person
A person may be able to use social groups to help reduce the stress of the job search. Social groups can be a useful tool.
Career Exploration and Career Stuff: Current Career Information
Been a busy week so hope you enjoy a previous post.
Series of Blog posts on career stuff. Focus will be on career exploration and Internet job resources. My hope is that you will find the information helpful in your career journey. As with anything you read on the internet, please evaluate the information you read and use the specific information that helpful to you.
Careers can change with time
Careers can change with time. Job positions can fade away, new job positions appear, and some jobs may do different job tasks. As jobs can change with time, you will want to make sure you have current career information.
Make sure you have Career Information Current
Here some ideas to make sure you have current career information you are looking at:
• Book – when reading a book about a career field look at the publication date of the book
• Content created on the Internet – Check the date when content (video, audio or print) created on the Internet (if the content has a date next to it)
• People – you can talk to people about their profession – information likely current unless the person left a career field many years ago; as you talk to people, check to see if the person is still in the field or when did the person leave the profession
• Personal experience – if you left a career field many years ago, you may want to use other career exploration methods to see what changes (if any) have occurred in that career field.
Careers can change with time. A person will want to have current career information to evaluate a career. Current career information needed to evaluate different careers.
Job Hunting Scam
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to search for a job position. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Job Hunting Resources” exit. You plan to use the job-hunting resources in Career City, here are some resources that you can use….
Job Ads Scams
Sometimes when you are job searching; you may encounter a job like this
Job Advertisement
“Very little experience needed! Hire right now
Call the number below and we will hire you immediately
$3,000,0000 dollar salary, great benefits and work only when you want
Call today and you will be rewarded with the loss of your money
Call us today so we can steal from you.”
(Well, maybe the last two lines would not be in an advertisement)
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
If an ad sounds too good to be true, it probably is – if you find a job position that says earn a million dollars working at home in a short period of time while working only part-time hours – you may want to evaluate it before applying.
Some details about job scams can be found at
The Federal Trade Commission
(https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams)
In a web site page called “Job Scams”:
The Federal Trade Commission has some good information on their web page to give ideas about Job Scams
Some jobs may be scams that can have you lose your money. Be careful with the job positions that you read; evaluate the job positions so you can reduce the odds of being scammed by a job position.
Certifications: Way to learn a career field and master content
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to explore a career. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Careers” exit. You plan to use the explore career resources in Career City, here are some resources that you may find useful.
Certifications: Ways to learn a career field and master content
Certifications can be a way to learn about a particular field. Certifications can be a way to show that you can mastered a particular content area. Certifications can come from a variety of places like career associations, educational institutions, and government agencies.
Example the Association of Talent Development (ATD)
Let’s look at an example of certifications from a career association called the Association of Talent Development (ATD). The Association of Talent Development (ATD) is a training association designed to help people learn. Details about the association is found at www.td.org.
Certifications can be a way to show the world that you have mastered a level of expertise in the Learning & Development Profession.
Association of Talent Development provides the following certifications for people.
(1) Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD)
Experience needed in field before can take exam: 5 years
What certification based upon:
Certification based upon the Talent Development Capability Model.
The model gives information on what a person needs to know in the Learning & Development field.
The model has 7 capabilities.
Each capacity will vary between 4 to 10 knowledge and skill statements.
Details at https://tdcapability.org/#/personal/lifelong-learning.
Cost: $900 for members of ATD; $1,250 for non-members
Specific information can be found at:
You can find information on the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) on the following web site page https://www.td.org/certification/cptd/introduction
Handbook can be downloaded:
A person can download a handbook that explains the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) as “2021 CPTD Certification Handbook” located at https://www.td.org/certification/cptd/eligibility
(2) The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD)
Experience needed in field before can take exam: 3 years
What certification based upon:
Certification based upon the Talent Development Capability Model.
The model gives information that can help a person understand what required in the Learning & Development field.
The model has 7 capabilities.
Each capacity will vary between 4 to 10 knowledge and skill statements.
Details at https://tdcapability.org/#/personal/lifelong-learning.
Cost: $499 for members of ATD; $699 for non-members
Specific information can be found at:
Specific information on The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) can be found at https://www.td.org/certification/aptd/introduction
Handbook can be downloaded:
A person can download a handbook that explains The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) as “2021 Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) Certification Handbook” located at https://www.td.org/certification/aptd/eligibility
These are some of the examples that you can obtain from certifications from a career association.
Interview Practice
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to search for a job position. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Job Hunting Resources” exit. You plan to use the job-hunting resources in Career City, here are some resources that you can use….
Practice Interview Skills
People can take part in interviewing as part of the job process. Interviewing a important process where the potential job seeker is evaluating a potential employer and a potential employer is evaluating a potential job seeker. Interviewing is an important process in the job search.
https://www.interviewworkout.com/.
A career Internet resource that may help people in interviewing can be the web site called https://www.interviewworkout.com/.
I looked at two web pages, the two web pages were:
https://partner.interviewworkout.com/
https://www.interviewworkout.com/
The www.interviewworkout.com web site uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to have people be able to practice their interviewing skills. The web sites uses Google Assistant to have people practice their interview skills. Computer system will ask questions, people can then give responses, and then the computer system can provide feedback. People may be able to improve their interviewing skills with this tool.
A person can access the interview feature by using a computer device that uses Google Assistant. A person can go to the www.interviewworkout.com/ web site, and then go to the “Try It Out!” section of the web site and then click the “Click to Try” Red Button.
I access the interview feature using my tablet. I used my Chrome App on my tablet. I went to the web site on the Chrome App. I went to the “Try It Out!” section of the www.interviewworkout.com web site. I clicked the “Try It Out” red button. I could use the interview practice feature.
A person does need to pay for this service.
A career service provider can buy a subscription service that will allow their clients to use the system. The details are found on https://partner.interviewworkout.com web site in the “Plans” section. The “Plans” sections list three subscription plans to choose from; they are “Single”, “Team”, and “Enterprise”.
An individual person can pay for a Customized interview. A Customize interview adjusted to meet the needs of the specific individual doing the interview. The details are found on the www.interviewworkout.com in the “Customize” section.
Interviewing can be important skill to develop as people search for job positions; a resource that may help people interviewing skills can be the www.interviewworkout.com web site.
I learned about this career resource from people giving me feedback on helpfulfeedback@yahoo.com e-mail. If people want me to explore a particular career resource on the Internet, just let me know. You can offer a idea or suggestion at helpfulfeedback@yahoo.com e-mail.
Thanks for your suggestions and ideas.
I created a video that looks at the https://www.interviewworkout.com/ on the Live Your Life Learning YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4laf2-7KoPFoQh2rRg4NNQ
Feeling Stress from the Job Search
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to search for a job position. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Job Hunting Resources” exit. You plan to use the job-hunting resources in Career City, here are some resources that you can use….
Take a break from the job search
A person searching for a job position may be under stress.
The stress of the job search may be managed by doing another activity besides the job search.
You can take a break from the job search.
You can be re-charged when you approach the job search.
Activities you can do
You can take a break from the job search and feel energized when you start job searching again.
Each person will have their own activities they like to do, here a list of possible activities to consider.
(a) Watch your favorite movie – give yourself time to watch your favorite movie
(b) Read one of your favorite books
(c) Take a walk
(d) See a favorite low-cost or free destination in the place that you live in; Places could vary based upon where you are at and what you interests in; Could be a park, museum, library or some other type of place
(e) See a play at a low-cost theater in school or community theater. School theater could be colleges/universities or in the public school system
(f) Get into a new hobby
(g) Have conversation with friends and family
(h) Travel to a new place – explore something new
(i) Do a new activity – explore something new
(j) Exercise
You could do a Google search of “free things to do” and the place you live in. The Google search may give you ideas.
Spend some time in doing something besides the job search. Do something that you can enjoy and take your mind away from the job search. You may be able to reduce the stress of the job search and be able to get re-charged when you get back into the job search.
Course syllabus and track assignments
Been a busy week so hope you enjoy a previous post.
Series of Blog posts on career stuff. Focus will be on career exploration and Internet job resources. My hope is that you will find the information helpful in your career journey. As with anything you read on the internet, please evaluate the information you read and use the specific information that helpful to you.
Sometimes when you are a student at an educational institution – you will read sometimes called a syllabus that will give you more of a description of the course. The syllabus can be a guidebook of how to successfully complete the course. The syllabus may have information like when does the course meet, who is the instructor, and grading policies.
As you read the syllabus, you may find it helpful to create outline or list on a calendar when the different grading projects are due. You may find it useful to track your assignments. That way you may be able to plan out ahead of time when the different assignments from the course are due.
Be-sure-to-connect-at-the-right-time. Time Zones
Been a busy week so hope you enjoy a previous post.
Series of Blog posts on career stuff. Focus will be on career exploration and Internet job resources. My hope is that you will find the information helpful in your career journey. As with anything you read on the internet, please evaluate the information you read and use the specific information that helpful to you.
Lets image the following:
- you receive a message that requests that you call an organization at 2:00pm for an important meeting.
- the organization based in New York City in the state of New York. New York City would be in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States.
- you live in Kansas City in the state of Missouri. Kansas City is in the Central Time Zone.
- The message does not say if it is 2:00pm Eastern Time Zone or 2:00pm Central Time Zone – how do you know the correct time to call? Is the location that you are calling have Daylight Savings Time that could affect what time you are to call the organization?
You want (if possible) create an agreement with the organization as to what time to call. (Let’s say in the example it was 2:00 pm Central Time Zone). Time Zones can sometimes create confusion as to when two people should connect over the phone.
There can be different Internet web sites that can give guidance on time zones. Here one potential web site that may help.
A web site called www.timeanddate.com can help you will time zones. The web site will give you the correct time of two different locations. You can use the following:
Click the web site: www.timeanddate.com
Then click
Time Zone (a link in the upper part of the screen – the third link from the left)
You will then get a menu of choices will appear
Then click
Time Zone Converter
You can then type in two cities and the time of one of the cities.
The web site will then give you the time of the other city.
Web site mentions will adjust for Daylight Savings Time.
Time Zones may can create confusion as to when people should contact each other. The Internet can help people to know the information when to call each other between time zones.
College Career Courses; Ways to explore a career
Been a busy week so hope you enjoy a previous post.
Exploring careers while in college
Do you have an interest in a particular career? One way to explore a particular profession is to take a college course that will explore a particular profession. I call these types of courses, college career courses; a course that will survey a particular profession so that you can learn more about that particular profession. A college or university may offer a college career course to give you an opportunity to explore a particular profession.
Look at a catalog
A catalog at a community college can give a idea of the number of college career courses taught. A catalog a publication from a college or university that gives the coursework, polices and information about that college or university. I looked at my catalog from my local community college called Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska. The following courses comes from a 2019-2020 Metropolitan Community College catalog. I am looking at a section in the catalog called “A Place to Start” on page 50. Some of the courses that are listed are:
- Introduction to Carpentry
- Introduction to Criminal Justice
- Introduction to Corrections
- Career Orientation/Culinary Arts
- Introduction to Social Work
- Introduction to Engineering Design
- Introduction to Electronic Health Records
- Introduction to Health Information Technology
- Introduction to the Trades
- The Paralegal Profession
These are some of the career college courses that a person can take to explore a particular profession. One way to learn about a particular career is to take a college course that explores that particular career.
The address to the 2019-2020 Metropolitan Community College catalog is the link below.
https://www.mccneb.edu/getattachment/Academics/MCC-Catalog/Past-Catalogs/2019-20120-Final-catalog-PDF.pdf.aspx
I looked at page 50 in the catalog.