Career Advice for Job Seekers

Career Experts And Bloggers Unite To Help Job-Seekers In Third Annual Job Action Day

Steven Rothberg AvatarSteven Rothberg
October 19, 2010

Job Action Day 2010 LogoAs the unemployment crisis slogs on, it’s clear that the new world of work involves far fewer full-time, permanent jobs with benefits than in the past. Job Action Day 2010, the third-annual initiative spearheaded by Quintessential Careers and being held this year on Nov. 1, addresses this new world of work by exhorting job-seekers to look at innovative ways to create opportunity. A cadre of career experts and bloggers are joining QuintCareers in helping job-seekers confront the new realities of the workforce on Job Action Day, held annually on the first Monday in November.

Some key indicators of this new world of work include:

  • Fifty percent of the workforce added in 2010 will be made up of one form or another of contingent workers, says the report The Emerging New Workforce by Littler Mendelson, P.C., which provides employment and labor-law solutions. “As a result,” the report states, “approximately 25 percent to as high as 35
    percent of the workforce will be made up of temporary workers, contractors, or other project-based labor. The numbers of professionals working in temporary or alternative work arrangements will continue to rise. Flexible work schedules and telecommuting will increase as companies turn towards practical solutions to efficiently complete tasks while retaining talented individuals.” [Similar sources: Freelance Nation: Why Permanent Jobs May Not Come Back by Charles Hugh Smith, DailyFinance; Need a job? Contract work could be new normal by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC; One-in-Five employers to hire full-time, permanent staff in Q4: survey by International Business Times]
  • A looming skills mismatch is preventing some workers from obtaining jobs even as employers increase hiring. During the recession, employers had to make do with fewer workers, and those workers took on more functions. “Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements,” reports Christopher S. Rugaber in an Associated Press article. Technology has also added to the skills mismatch. [Similar source: The Stagnating Labor Market by Arjun Jayadev and Mike Konczal, The Roosevelt Institute]

“The workforce as we’ve come to know it will probably never be the same,” said Dr. Randall S. Hansen, founder and publisher of QuintCareers. “Job-seekers must develop a whole new mind-set to thrive in this new world of work. That’s why our 2010 Job Action Day theme is ‘Create Opportunity,'” Hansen said. “The theme has a double meaning; not only must job-seekers create opportunity, but we encourage employers and the government to find ways to create opportunity, as well.”

Adds author Jay Block in an article published on QuintCareers.com that sets the tone for Job Action Day 2010: “A finite number of jobs may be available, but an infinite number of opportunities are waiting for people to tap into.”

On Job Action Day 2010, Quint Careers will disseminate information from experts on how to create opportunity*:

  • The Proteus Solution: Surviving and Thriving in a Transformational Workplace, by Jay Block, executive career coach and author, West Palm Beach, FL.
  • Create Opportunity by Targeting Companies, Not Jobs, by Laura Levine Labovich, chief career strategist, Aspire! Empower! Career Strategy Group, Bethesda, MD.
  • How Temp Workers Can Creating Opportunity for Full-Time Hire, by Maureen Crawford Hentz, U.S. manager of talent acquisition, development and compliance at OSRAM Sylvania, Danvers, MA.
  • Creating Opportunity in the Nonprofit Sector, by Heather Krasna, speaker and author of Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service, Seattle.
  • Breakthrough Belief Strategies to Bust Up Limiting Beliefs, Bolster Confidence, and Bring Opportunity to Your Doorstep! by Susan Whitcomb, author, as well as founder and president of The Academies, including Career Coach Academy, Job Search Academy, and Leadership Coach Academy, Fresno, CA.
  • Creating Opportunity by Financing and Budgeting for a Career Reinvention, by Randi Bussin, founder and president, Aspire!, Boston.
  • Career Myopia: A National Epidemic, by Kristin Cardinale, PhD, author of The 9-to-5 Cure: Work on Your Own Terms & Reinvent Your Life, Milwaukee, WI.
  • Getting Paid What You Are Worth — Especially in Today’s Recession, by Don Orlando, career coach and owner, The McLean Group, Montgomery, AL.
  • Are You a S.M.A.R.T. Worker? Five Compelling Career Strategies to Make You More Valuable, by Billie Sucher, Billie Sucher Career Transition Services, Urbandale, IA.
  • Accelerate Executive Job Search With Personal Branding: A Personal Branding Worksheet, by Meg Guiseppi, “the C-level executive job coach,” Andover, NJ.
  • Outsiders On The Inside: Creating A Winning Career … Even When You Don’t Fit In, by David Couper, author of a book of the same title, Los Angeles.
  • Creating Opportunity with Your Entrepreneurial Mindset, by Nancy Miller, LifeWork coach and director of the Center for LifeWork Design, Sacramento, CA.
  • Career Assessments: Tools for Lifetime Career Management, by Susan Guarneri, “the assessment goddess,” Three Lakes, WI.

Bloggers who plan to support Job Action Day 2010 with posts on or around Nov. 1 include*:

*subject to change

In addition, the Quintessential Careers family of blogs, including the Quintessential Careers Blog, Career Doctor Blog, Quintessential Resume and Cover Letter Tips Blog, and A Storied Career, will feature Job Action Day entries.

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