While the current economic downturn is affecting many parts of the U.S., the economy in Louisiana has remained particularly robust. According to the Louisiana Department of Labor’s recent report, employment in the state is better now than before Hurricane Katrina hit.  The big question is whether 2008 employment will surpass the pre-Katrina employment numbers of 1.953 million set in 2005. So far, the trend seems to be moving in that direction.

Construction, education & health, information and financial activities job sectors are up, while leisure & hospitality, government, and professional and business services jobs are down. At Frazee, the big push has been for engineering, financial/accounting, and information technology professionals.  The jobs are covering all categories – short term assignments, contract, and direct hire or executive search.  There has also been a big need for Customer Service personnel with the competition for experienced CSR’s heating up.

Louisiana’s unemployment rate for February 2008 was 3.7%, down from the January 2008 revised rate of 4%. With Gov. Jindal’s emphasis on reorganizing the Dept. of Labor and his focus on workforce development, Louisiana is moving in a positive direction. There is still a shortage of highly skilled, technical jobs, but with a new administration in charge at the Dept. of Economic Development, these jobs will surely be in our “not too distant” future.

Source: Louisiana Works Department of Labor

Here’s the dilemma: You’re job hunting, and you have expertise in several different fields.  Will one resume serve the purpose if you are looking in several different areas? According to Jennifer Anthony, Director of Resume ASAP, the answer is an unqualified no! If you are looking in several areas of expertise, reflecting this on your resume can be confusing to hiring managers. “What you need to do is focus your resume to suit a particular career, even if this means creating a different resume for each different job pursuit.”

Although employers want employees who can “multitask,” a generic resume can make you seem “unfocused” to a prospective employer. When filling job openings, employers have a limited amount of time to review the large number of resumes they often receive. You want your resume to stand out and impress the hiring manager that “you’re the right candidate to call in for the interview.” Frazee Recruiters review large numbers of resumes at a time. It’s amazing the number of times we receive resumes that have little or no connection to the job we are looking to fill. It is important to make your skills stand out and relate to the job at hand.

If you are still unsure as to whether you need multiple resumes for various job openings, have a friend or trusted colleague review your resume. If your goals are confusing and your skills across the board, then you definitely need more than one resume.

Now that you have created several different resumes, how can you know if your resumes are effective? According to Ms. Anthony, it’s important to track your responses – “make a spreadsheet or grab a notebook…list the date, the type of resume sent and where it went.” Is one of your resumes garnering more response than another? Are you getting called for interviews? If you’re getting a healthy response, then you know your resume is working. If not, it's time to go back to the drawing board for a bit more tweaking. The goal is to “catch the eye of the hiring manager” and that simply can’t be done with a generic resume.

There are many good resources out there for assistance in creating a resume. Consult the internet. The online job boards www.careerbuilder.com and www.monster.com have good tips on writing resumes. You can also consult the Louisiana Dept. of Labor’s web site at www.laworks.net. Select “Labor Market Information” on the homepage and then select “Career Tools.” This will lead you to list of publications and brochures that assist with resume preparation.

Source: Resumes: Does One Size Fit All?
By Jennifer Anthony, ResumeASAP

Whether it’s a midlife crisis or just time to get out of that same old job you’ve had for years, career transitions can be tough. It’s not just the Baby Boomers who are set on “reinventing themselves” and finding new careers as they approach early retirement age. The “Gen X” generation can be just as susceptible to looking for greener pastures. Certainly, there has been many a teacher who decided to switch from the academic world to private industry after one too many days of classroom stress! When contemplating a career transition, where do you start? How do you even begin to translate the skills you’ve acquired into a new career? Maybe you’re not even sure what you want to do next! What can you do to make a career transition easy and effective? Here are some tips from Connecticut based Hamilton Partners, a boutique executive search and organizational consulting firm:

Start with the Strategy – take time for self-reflection and determine “what do I want and what am I good at.”  Then ask three to five people who you highly respect what they think you’re good at, and what they think would be “the next right step for you.”  By considering your own thoughts and advisors input, decide your optimal job.  

• Set your purpose each day and focus your efforts - create a plan with set goals and targets. Determine what you’re after and have a well-defined plan to get there. Give yourself rewards for achieving critical milestones.
• Positioning and Practice – know your story and what differentiates you from the competition. Practice your story and be comfortable sharing it. Anticipate the objections and how you will answer them. Be able to relate the lessons you’ve learned in your career and anticipate those hard questions as it pertains to your background. It’s perfectly OK to answer those questions proactively-without being asked.
• Network, Network, Network – but know who you need to network with and don’t waste your time or anyone else’s.  Ask yourself if the person or persons you are networking with can move you closer to your objective. Express gratitude for those who help you and return the favor!
• Preparation - go to all meetings, whether they are interviews or networking meetings, having done your research about the companies and people you are meeting with. Use the internet, local media, and whatever resources you can find to learn as much as possible prior to your meeting.
• Show what you know and what you can do – every discussion should be a business discussion. Ask thoughtful questions and practice active listening. Give examples of your background and how it can fit into the context of their environment.

So quit procrastinating and get going - there’s no time like the present!

Source: online article from Hamilton Partners, Inc.
Taking The Next Step... Some Career Transition Tips

Frazee Recruiting Consultants, Inc. has assisted General Physics Corporation with both permanent and contract staff since 2005. General Physics Corporation, the principal operating subsidiary of GP Strategies, is a global provider of sales and technical training, e-learning solutions, management consulting, and engineering services. GP’s solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting, and business improvement services customized to meet the specific needs of its clients.

The company began utilizing Frazee’s services shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. General Physics Worldwide was working with New Orleans city officials in recovery operations and had need for administrative and accounting staff. Frazee Recruiting provided them with personnel who traveled back and forth from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in the early days after the hurricane. Since that time, Frazee has worked with the Baton Rouge office of General Physics in providing Training Specialists to develop training materials for petrochemical companies pipeline operations and maintenance staff. 

Priscilla Hurd, General Physics

These Training Specialists assist in writing plans, policies & procedures for GP’s client. Frazee has also assisted GP with Technical Writers and Editors. General Physics' Strategies clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.