plus 1, Find a job, get ahead at work, and stretch your budget in 2011 - Syracuse Post-Standard

Find a job, get ahead at work, and stretch your budget in 2011 - Syracuse Post-Standard

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:47 PM PST

Published: Friday, December 31, 2010, 11:41 PM

In the midst of last year's high unemployment, MoneyWise asked local experts to share their advice for finding a job, building a career, and budgeting during tight times. The resulting series started in January and ran into August.

As 2011 gets underway, economic indicators seem to be moving upward. But job insecurity and higher-than-normal unemployment linger. With that in mind, we asked our panel of experts to sum up their advice in the form of short New Year resolutions that you can use.

Here are their resolutions for you to succeed in 2011.

Kick start a job search

Embrace change. Your current or former job may not lie in your future, whether you're an inspector on an assembly line or a chief financial officer. Figure out what skills you have, practice talking about your accomplishments and explore other opportunities.

Recognize networking as the No. 1 job-search tool. Set up a simple plan to cultivate relationships — maybe make one to four new contacts a week. Work the plan.

Dig in and get digital. One word: LinkedIn.

— Anne Messenger, Messenger Associates

Build your network

This year, whether you're happily employed or in the midst of a job search, constantly build new connections and strengthen existing ones.

Use LinkedIn.com to reach out to people working at your dream company. Join professional groups and attend local events. Offer to introduce two members of your network who could benefit from a connection.

Read Keith Ferrazzi's networking book, "Never Eat Alone." A strong, flourishing network leads to career opportunities which may not otherwise present themselves.

— Dan Klamm, Syracuse University Career Services

Cultivate exceptional relationships

If there is anything I have learned in my 20-year career, it is the importance of cultivating exceptional relationships with workplace superiors, colleagues, and subordinates — in addition to acquaintances outside of my job.

This was true even before the explosion of social networking sites such as LinkedIn. In this world of six degrees of separation, you never know who knows whom.

Be careful, however, to get to know people genuinely for who they are and not for whom they know. Avoid office gossip and petty politics. That boss, co-worker, or intern today could be your valuable career connection tomorrow.

— Me'Shae Brooks-Rolling, financial literacy author

Be positive, optimistic

My suggested resolution for job seekers as they enter 2011 is to stay positive and optimistic.

The best thing you can do during a job interview is keep a smile on your face. Show the interviewer that you see the bright side of your past employment and your job hunt. This will prove that you remain eager to work, and also will show that you will be a pleasure to work with.

— Michelle M. Tracy, C.R. Fletcher Associates

Take control of finances

For those still suffering from financial setbacks (and even if you are not), here are six steps to gaining financial control this year.

Set up a spending plan.
Read your contracts carefully.
Determine your priorities according to creditor.
Communicate with creditors before you get behind or before they start collections.
Consider options and revise your spending plan.
Send creditors your action plan.
— Gary Thurber, Consumer Credit Counseling Service

Create a presence online

This year, resolve to adopt social media in your job search, career plan or entrepreneurial venture.

Start a blog to showcase your expertise and use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with others who share similar interests. Your social network may include potential collaborators, employers or even investors.

Make 2011 the year you build an online presence that shows off your abilities and communicates a personal brand you can be proud of.

— Anthony Rotolo, professor and social media strategist, Syracuse University's iSchool

Seize the next opportunity
If you are looking for your next great opportunity, make these five resolutions: "I resolve to. . ."
Really think about and know what I do best.
Focus on job opportunities that allow me to use my strengths.
Consider all related opportunities, whether I think they might be worthy of my experience or not.
Remember that the search process is a marathon, not a sprint.
Not be discouraged if it takes longer than I thought, or even hoped.
— Gary Lim, Aurarius LLC

Use free job-hunting resources

Use the wide array of free programs and online resources at public libraries.

Whether you're seeking job information, educational opportunities, business research, computer access, or social interaction — it's all there. Public libraries are created, staffed, equipped and operated to meet the public's needs — particularly useful in tough economic times.

— Peg Elliott, Onondaga County Public Library

Apply your values to change

I have helped people and businesses work through wrenching change and loss. The individuals who impressed me most were those who accepted change by re-examining their values and using them as a basis for planning their future.

In "Peaks and Valleys: Making Good And Bad Times Work For You — At Work And In Life," Spencer Johnson writes, "You change your valley into a peak when you find and use the good that is hidden in the bad time."

Before you can do that, you have to know what your personal values are, and which are most important to you. Take the new year to reflect on and define what your "peaks" in life would be. You will be better prepared for a change, should it come unexpectedly and uninvited.

— Joey Nigro-Nilsen, CNY Works

Learning is transforming

Explore the opportunities and possibilities of lifelong learning at local colleges and universities. It's OK not to enroll in an entire degree program if you're not ready. Taking even one course to enhance your professional development can transform your skill set and allow you to compete and remain marketable in today's challenging job climate.

Remember: Taking that first "step" may lead you in a new direction. But it's up to you to make that move. Your New Year could start with just a phone call.

— Katherine Perry, Onondaga Community College

Embrace your experience

Senior citizens who want to work should not sell themselves short. Every employer is looking for the same three things:
Will this person be honest and dependable?
Can this person learn on the job?
Will this person fit in to my organization?
Overwhelmingly, seniors meet these requirements. Embrace your experience.

Don't go it alone. If you are an older adult and need help finding a job or stretching your resources, Onondaga County's Department of Aging and Youth can help: 435-2362.
— Lisa Dunn Alford, Department of Aging and Youth

Resolve to turn the corner

If you are still looking for job after six months, resolve to do the following:
Stop chasing your old position and embrace a new one.
Assess your skills and see if you need a tune up to be competitive in the job market.
Interview yourself, would you hire yourself? If not what can you change in your presentation?
Review your resume — makes sure it makes an accurate and compelling case for you to be hired.
Exhausted your network of contacts? Join some new business groups and local civic organizations.
In every job interview, communicate what skills you bring to the table as you are selling yourself as an asset and a solution not a liability.
Smile — employers like to hire friendly people with positive energy.
— Jeffrey Garber, 360JobInterview.com

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Interim Camden fire chief to retire to save someone else's job - Philadelphia Daily News

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 02:38 AM PST

Posted on Sat, Jan. 1, 2011

Camden's interim fire chief, David A. Yates, would have liked to stay on the job a few more years, but he figured he could do more good by retiring.

Yates, who has been acting as chief since June, officially retires Saturday, ending a roughly 25-year career with the department. He hopes the elimination of his salary from the payroll will benefit one of 67 firefighters who face layoffs.

"My hope in leaving is that I will preserve a job for someone who has a mortgage and a family," Yates, 51, said Thursday. "If I can do that, then I can walk out of here with my head held high."

Yates said he is worried that cutting firefighters will compromise public safety.

"I oppose the cuts," he said. "The companies we have, we need. If we didn't need them, we wouldn't have them."

By Jan. 18, Camden could lay off up to a third of its fire department and half of its police force. The city recently received $4 million of an overdue payment from the South Jersey Port Corp., a quasi-state agency, that could reduce the previously announced number of layoffs.

According to a formula city officials have used in union negotiations, $4 million would save 58 of the 247 police and fire positions slated to be cut. City spokesman Robert Corrales said the city has not yet determined how many jobs might be preserved.

Mayor Dana L. Redd has appointed Michael L. Harper, 48, of Lawnside - deputy fire chief of administration and a nearly 24-year department veteran - as acting fire chief, Corrales said.

Harper's promotion is pending approval by the state Department of Community Affairs. His previous jobs in Camden include battalion fire chief and deputy chief tour commander, according to the city.

Yates, who will collect a pension, said his own job had not been in jeopardy. He said several factors, which he declined to discuss, contributed to his decision to retire. But the primary motivation, he said, was to save someone else's job. He encouraged other veterans to follow his example.

He made the decision about two months ago, when layoffs seemed inevitable, he said. His letter informing the city of his retirement was dated Dec. 1.

"The reality is that this isn't a scare tactic," he said.

Yates has been outspoken about the effect layoffs could have on emergency-response times in the city.

"Less manpower and fewer companies means longer response times," he said. "The ability to complete the tasks at hand becomes more difficult."

Camden has one of the few fire departments in the state with paid personnel, and is surrounded by towns staffed with volunteers. The city has been leaning more on those volunteers for mutual aid since temporarily closing companies to reduce overtime, he said.

Yates joined the department in 1985 after working five years as a machinist at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. His late grandfather worked for the Camden Fire Department for 35 years, he said.

"I grew up around it with my grandfather," he said. "It was pretty much in my blood."

Yates' starting salary was around $13,500. As chief, he made $150,704, according to the city.

During his time as chief, the department has secured about $1.4 million in federal grants for a ladder truck, along with fire safety gear, a station generator, and training, Yates said. A $350,000 state grant is pending to buy a pumper.

Harper recently submitted another federal grant proposal for $5 million over two years to retain firefighters facing layoffs.

The department also has initiated a verification policy to curtail unauthorized use of sick time, he said.

Yates lives in Long Beach Township in Ocean County. He and his wife have a 28-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old son, and 12-year-old twin boys.

Yates is not sure what's next for him professionally. Firefighting, he said, "was a lifetime dream."

Contact staff writer Darran Simon at 856-779-3829 or dsimon@phillynews.com.