Executives were asked, “If you were considering changing jobs, which one of the following people would you most likely approach first for advice when evaluating a potential job change?” Their responses:

		2007		2002
Spouse or significant other		46%		42%
Mentor		41%		28%
Coworker		4%		13%
Other family member		4%		5%
Friend		3%		11%
Someone else		2%		1%
		100%		100%

“The advice of mentors, colleagues and other confidants helps when weighing the pros and cons of a career transition, but a job change has personal and family implications,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Job Hunting For Dummies. “A spouse or significant other is not only familiar with a partner’s overall priorities and motivators, but also has a stake in the outcome of his or her career decisions.”

Along with seeking advice from family, friends and mentors, Accountemps advises professionals to consider the following questions before making a career transition:

• Is the grass really greener? If you once were satisfied in your present job, what changed? Will the new position be more fulfilling, or would you be better off trying to enhance your current role so it includes more of the duties you enjoy?
• Will you have room to grow? When considering a new position, ask about advancement potential. If a career dead-end is prompting your desire to make a change, you want to be sure you don’t end up in the same situation at a different company in a year or two.
• Have you done your homework? Is the firm in good financial condition? Have you researched the industry, and the company’s mission and values? Try to determine if the new work environment will appeal to you.

Here’s a sample of a non-”keyword loaded” summary:

Achievement-oriented with 15 years of successful experience and proven ability to meet objectives, communicate with clients, and quickly excel in new industries.

Here’s a “keyword-heavy” sample:

Achievement-oriented sales professional with 15 years of success in international trade and global marketing. Skilled in developing marketing programs, coordinating new product introductions and providing customer support. Proven track record in cold calling, new business development and key account management.

Keyword Optimize Your Resume « Web Worker Daily.

More nominations and a wider range of occupations eligible

Edmonton… An expanded Alberta Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) could help reduce the province’s labour shortage, by allowing employer applications for newly graduated international students and workers in the transportation, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

The program, administered by the Alberta government in conjunction with the federal government, began as a pilot project in 2002 and processed about 100 nominees. Now a permanent program, PNP is expected to handle about 2,500 nominations this year and more in the coming years.

“The increased number and type of immigrant coming through this program is just one of the many outcomes made possible by the recently signed Canada Alberta Cooperation on Immigration Agreement,” said Iris Evans, minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry. “Alberta currently receives about 20,000 immigrants annually and I expect the expanded Provincial Nominee Program will help increase and speed up the flow of immigrants and help address our labour shortage.”

A new focus of the program will be on applications from international student graduates who are being offered permanent full-time employment from Alberta companies. The international graduate must have obtained a diploma, degree or graduate level credential from a public post-secondary institution in Alberta or Canada or from a private institution authorized to grant degrees in Alberta.

In the past the program reviewed applications from employers with foreign workers seeking permanent residency in occupations requiring post-secondary education such as physicians, nurses, educators, managers and trades people. The program now includes jobs in manufacturing, tourism and trucking.

“This expanded program is only one part of the Made-in-Alberta Immigration strategy,” said Evans. “Alberta needs the right workers, at the right time, with the right skills. We are also working on new international marketing activities, improved internet information and expanded settlement services.”

This program expansion is part of Premier Ed Stelmach’s plan for managing growth pressures. Other priorities for the government are to govern with integrity and transparency, improve Albertans’ quality of life, providing safe and secure communities and to build a stronger Alberta.

For more information on the program call 1-877-427-6419 or go to www.alberta-canada.com/pnp

Expanded program will help increase immigration flow

1. Extremely tight deadline dates
It’s seems obvious: the more time that your job posting is visible, the more people will see it and have time to apply. However, some employers expect applicants to see the postings and apply to it in as little as two days. By extending your deadline, you will have a greater pool of applicants to choose from. A minimum of at least two weeks from the time the job posting is available to the deadline date is appropriate.

2. Missing information
When applicants read a job posting, they need some basic information. All too often, jobs are posted that are missing the basics. Use this easy check-list:
- job title
- job description (including duration and conditions)
- qualifications that the employer is looking for
- a contact person (with an e-mail and/or phone number)
- a deadline date
- where to send the application package
- brief information/history about the organization

3. Posting is too short
Employers may want to be concise and to the point when they write job postings. Or, perhaps they want to be very general so that they don’t exclude any interested applicants. Whatever the reason, job postings shouldn’t be too short. Applicants are more likely to apply to job postings that give a clear and detailed idea of what the job entails. On the other hand, be cautious of including too much information – you don’t want applicants to stop reading.

4. The elusive employer
In this hot market, employers may be extremely busy and under a lot of pressure to hire quickly. However, they need to be careful not to lose that human touch. Applicants are less likely to respond to general application e-mail addresses, a posting that does not include a contact name or company name, or a posting that directs them to a website to see descriptions and to apply. Although it might take a bit more time to directly handle questions and applications, it is likely to save you time in the long run by finding the “right” candidate that much faster.

• Job clarity
• Materials and equipment
• Matching strengths to jobs
• Recognition and praise
• Caring about the people you work with
• Mentoring
• Valuing employee opinions
• Connection to a noble purpose
• All for one, one for all
• “I have a best friend at work”
• Regularly talking about individual progress
• Opportunities to learn and grow

• Five Worst-Case Interview Scenarios – and how to recover from them.
• Twelve Rules for Self-Management – Rosa Say reminds us, before we can presume to manage others, we must learn to manage ourselves. If you want to move your life or career forward, you need to see how you are meeting these 12 rules.
• 10 Ways for HR to Think Different – Challenge ingrained practices.
• Balance: The New Workplace Perk –  Forbes.com adds a piece on work-life balance.
• Five Recommendations for Employee Satisfaction Surveys – Get results you can depend on.
• The Office on NBC: Tell Toby about your HR issues. Did your coworkers pull a prank? Did you experience a Diversity Day gone awry?
• The No Asshole Rule – some quotes from Bob Sutton’s book, The No Asshole Rule.

CV writing – CV ideas and tutorials on how to write the best CV for your situation.

To enter the contest, you have to create a resume using a mind map. (If you’re not familiar with the concept, you can read this entry on mind mapping.) Dragos even implies the finished product could be used to apply for a job. As a side question for recruiters, “How many of you would consider a resume submitted as a mind map?”

I’m not planning to enter, as I’m already a registered user of MindManager, but I’m tempted to update my resume using a mind map as part of the process.

For those who might be interested in entering, here are the rules:

* You must submit a mind map for a resume. Think how you can use mind mapping to make a resume not only easy to read and understand, but also interesting, challenging, and interview-prone, so to speak. And yes, it could even be your resume, how about that for a self-promoting technique!
* You must submit a real mind map, not an image of your mind map. You can keep your copyrights as you see fit, just make sure you clearly put this somewhere on the mind map
* You must have a blog. I think everybody today has a blog, from your aunt Amelia to the best geek in the hood. If you still don’t have a blog, maybe that will be an incentive to create one, who knows?
* You must display the badge below on your blog, linked to this post. It can be in the sidebar, or only in a self-promoting post of yourself in this contest, in the footer, in the header, wherever you see fit, as long as it pings this page.

MindManager contest: mind map your resume for a better job .:. eDragonu – the choice of a personal path

While the handbook is written by the Alberta Government, for employers in Alberta, there is lots of useful information to be culled by anyone looking to recruit and retain employees.

It presents:

• the business case to consider the cost of employee turnover
• information to help you plan how to attract, recruit, select and retain workers
• positive practices and strategies to help you attract, recruit, select and retain workers
• further information and resources.

This publication is available on-line through the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS) website – Alberta’s leading on-line source for career, learning and employment information.

To access this and additional publications, visit www.alis.gov.ab.ca/careershop

Employers who are able to find and keep valued employees gain the upper hand in today’s labour market.  Finders & Keepers provides proven strategies and practical tools to help small- and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit organizations attract, recruit, select and retain employees.