Are you currently out of work in San Francisco? Searched all the job boards more times than you’d care to recall and sent off hundreds of resumes without so much as a peep? Don’t be discouraged. It’s actually time to shut down your computer and rejoin the real world. Career Mojo (sponsored by Emerging Blue- a leading creative services agency) is hosting a full day workshop that will help you refocus your job search and get back on track. It’s important not to get too isolated when you are unemployed. It’s very easy to feel lonely, isolated and like you’re the only one going through this struggle. But the good news is that you’re not alone, and by networking with other job seekers you will both feel much better and there’s a good chance that you can actually help each other out.

The event is on Tuesday, April 29, 2009 from 12:00pm-4:30pm at the SF Library Koret Theater. Different sessions include “Laid Off: What’s Next?”, “Resume Revamp & Interviewing” as well as networking and other helpful topics.

So if you’re sitting there wondering if you should motivate to go, the answer is YES! Get out, meet some people who are in the same boat as you are, and learn from the professionals how to navigate this tough economy and navigate where you want to go.

SIGN UP FOR CAREER MOJO AT: http://emergingblue.blogspot.com/2009/04/career-mojo-seminar-april-29th.html

The View (yes, a la Barbara Walters) had a very good program on Tuesday 4/14 about how to get a job, so for those of you who missed it, I thought I would give you the highlights. There were several guests who spoke about everything from the state of the overall economy to practical tips on how to earn money from home. There are currently around 13.2 millions unemployed people in the U.S. according the Bureau of Labor Statistics and there are estimates that unemployment will rise as high as 10% by the end of 2009. So even if you are not currently unemployed, you may want to sit up and pay attention. I’ll give highlights on the show in order of the guests who appeared:

ANDY SERWER, MANAGING EDITOR OF FORBES MAGAZINE
Andy was the first guest and he went through a review of which industries are hiring, which are not and blamed greed for the current state of the economy.
Industries That Are Not Hiring

Construction (with no one buying new houses, no is building either)
Manufacturing (sales are down)
Mining & Logging
Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities
Real Estate, Rental Leasing (we all know real estate is in the crapper)
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

Industries that Are Hiring

Retail (mostly food like supermarkets- gotta eat!)
Health Care (nursing)
Finance & Insurance
Professional & Business Services
State Government/Local Government (new jobs in education, technology coming through the stimulus package)
Accommodation & Food Services (think McDonald’s)

MARGARET LEWIS, PRESIDENT HCA’S CAPITAL DIVISION
Next up was Margaret Lewis who says that HCA has 9,000 open positions at hospitals for jobs like nursing, x-ray technicians and physical therapists. They are looking for people who are passionate about working with others and love what they do (no big surprises here- when has an employer ever looked for someone who absolutely despised what they do?). She said where there are hospitals, there are jobs. I guess people keep getting injured and sick even in a bad economy.

GISEL RUIZ, SVP OF PEOPLE, WALMART
Gisel said that Walmart hired over 33,000 new people last year and that they are in process of building over 150 new stores this year alone. Business is booming at Walmart! The types of positions they are hiring for are: pharmacists, store management, HR managers and sales clerks. Walmart is looking for enthusiastic people with a strong work ethic and people who are willing and ready to serve Walmart’s customers (again- no surprises- you won’t see “slacker” as a prerequisite on their job postings). Walmart claims to provide training to new hires.

MARCUS BUCKINGHAM, CAREER EXPERT AND AUTHOR OF “THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU”
I thought Marcus actually had some very good advice. He apparently works in lists of three so get ready for the following three lists:

The Three Phases of Job Searching
1) Get Clean- sort out your finances. It takes an average of 120 days in this economy to find a job. That’s 4-5 months, so you’ve got to make your money last.
2) Get Ready- hire a headhunter, treat this as your new job. Set up a desk and plan your day from 9-5 around job searching.
3) Get a Buddy- you want to create an accountability plan, so have a job buddy who you schedule time with once a week to keep you on track.

The Three Questions You Will Be Asked In An Interview
1) What are your strengths?
Never say “I like working with people”- everyone says that you want an active verb like “selling to people, organizing people, motivating people, etc.
2) What are your weaknesses?
Don’t try to turn you weakness into a strength- it sounds lame. Fess up to it. Your weakness is something that you can still do well but that drains you. And you can talk about what you’ve done to address the fact that it drains you.
3) Why should I hire you?
Answer this by laying out how you think success will be measured in that job, what your strengths are, and how your strengths will contribute to that success. He also added that you should be ready to ask questions back when the interview asks you if you have any. It looks bad to just shrug and say “no”.

The Three Things NOT To Do In An Interview
1) Never be rude. (This includes being late).
2) Never lie. (The truth will eventually come out).
3) Take all the credit for your accomplishments. (Share credit for your achievements. Companies like team players).
Another obvious tip was to be careful what you post online on sites like Myspace and Facebook. It all becomes part of your personal brand.

TORY JOHNSON, CEO WOMEN FOR HIRE AND AUTHOR OF “WILL WORK FROM HOME”
Tory reminded us that there ARE jobs out there- we just need to make an action plan to go and get them. She created Women for Hire to help women get back to work and it sounds like she tries to help out new grads. Go Tory! She had a lot of energy and great suggestions. Her first suggestion was to join a Job Club, which is basically where several job seekers from an area get together to support each other, network and make you accountable on a weekly basis (much like Marcus’ job buddy idea). She made the valid point that if you ask your close friends and family if they know anyone who is hiring the answer is probably “no”. So it’s probably through extended contacts that you will actually find work. Sounds like Tory works in fives, so here is:

5 Mistakes People Make on Their Resumes

1) One size fits all (no- you need to have several different versions of your resume)
2) Responsibility rehash (don’t just list out what you used to do- you need to call out your successes)
3) Outdated & overblown (you only need to go back 10-15 years. make it current and concise).
4) Unexplained gaps (don’t have them- you need to account for your time- they WILL notice!)
5) Submit and wait (you really need to be proactive in this market- submit & hustle is her motto).

And lastly Tory gave some innovative suggestions on how stay at home moms can earn money from home.

• Direct Sales (there are tons of products that you can sell direct to friends/family/whoever (although the average income from this activity is $2,500 a year, so it’s more supplemental income)
• Online Selling (ebay, amazon, craigslist- sell stuff lying around the house, clean out your closets, etc)
• Sell Your Skills (sites like elance, guru or odesk or liveperson.com where you can freelance your services over the internet to earn money).