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You're scrambling in a sweaty frenzy. You just got the pink slip at work, and you don't know where you can go or to whom you can turn. Your work buddies have already tapped your shared professional network, so that route is spent. What do you do? Jobacle readers would know to check out the Master List of Unemployment and Layoff Sites. However, Michael Butler went to church.   In June 2008, Butler lost his job as a consultant. His first response was to join a free career workshop at a nearby church. The group met weekly and discussed job search topics like interviews, resumes, and networking. After getting this refresher course on the aspects of the modern-day job search, he connected to some old contacts and eventually landed another job.   Gerry Crispin, a career consulting firm owner, encourages workers to keep up network contacts even after landing a job. He says, "Are you ever 100% out of the market? Yeah when you're dead."   I think this is a fantastic story of … [Read more...] about Need a Job? Have a Little Faith

Two job offers in one week, and I'm not even looking. I'm not bragging or gloating. My purpose in sharing this information is to illustrate two critical truths.1) The will of the universe is unpredictable, always delivering the unexpected at random times.2) You should not, under any circumstances, get caught up in Recessionitis.I sit here in awe when I think about the dozens (hundreds) of unanswered resumes I experienced when the economy was thriving. Now, amidst dire economic turmoil, and the fact that I am pleased at my current gig, cosmic forces want to have some fun with me. I can't help but laugh at the sheer irony.So what was the secret to getting two job offers in one week? Nothing! There is no secret! Unless you can read the stars or have a highly-effective Zoltar machine, there's no rhyme or reason to this stuff. Much of it is out of our control, regardless what career 'experts' like to tell us. Your job is to take care of the things you CAN control.Good athletes often talk … [Read more...] about 1 Week. 2 Job Offers. What Recession?

I’m not one of those bosses that has to have all the answers. I like to empower my employees, make them feel intelligent and help them find fulfillment and purpose in their position.Instead, I’m talking about how to handle when your employee has the answers because they are TRAINING you. There are many situations in which this could arise, and it can be a tough pill to swallow.In my case, I am a brand new manager being trained by my employee that has been with the company for...28 years. Not a particularly ideal position to be in for a new manager. At first I simply went with it- I treated her as if she were just an objective trainer.But she is not objective. She is critiquing how quickly I catch on, how I react to her instructions, and how I manage her answers. And the toughest part of the process is somehow maintaining authority throughout the training, because technically, she is presently the expert on the subject matter.I can hear you already, Jobacle readers. … [Read more...] about When Employees Train Managers…