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Holidays shouldn’t freeze your job search

Thanksgiving is next week. Thursday, so

It’s time for my annual warning to job seekers: Don’t halt your job search during the holidays. You might miss out on something good.

This advice is especially important for those who are unemployed. If your job search efforts stall, you could miss out on a job lead or a job offer. In addition, your lack of progress could lead to feeling upset and maybe even depressed as the old year ends and the new year approaches.

Contrary to a common assumption, December is often an active hiring month. Many companies conduct job interviews during November and December. They keep the hiring process going during the holidays for several reasons:

• December is the end of the fiscal year for many companies. A manager might speed up the hiring process to use funds from the current year.

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• Some managers will have received a budget allocation for a new position for 2007. If the position is important, they want to interview now so the new employee can start as early as possible in January.

• Many managers want to tie up loose ends before the end of the year. If an unfilled position has been ignored for several months, they’ll give it full attention now to avoid getting off to a poor start in the new year.

• In some industries the workload declines during the holidays. Managers use the slack time to interview candidates. They make job offers in December that take effect in January.

Thomas J. Wacker, vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, urges job seekers to keep working at it.

“It’s important to keep momentum into the holidays,” he observes. “Taking a vacation from the job search between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day means missing opportunities. Some jobs are filled during that period, and the hiring process for others is too far along by the time January arrives.”

Wacker adds, “Smart job seekers realize that many of their competitors take the holidays off. They take advantage of that to compete for jobs against a smaller pool of candidates.”

Of course, some companies in certain industries might not do any hiring during the holidays. If you’re getting few responses to your inquiries, use the holiday period for further research on the companies that interest you.

Also keep in contact with the people in your network. Don’t assume they’re too busy. Some might be involved with end-of-the year deadlines, but others might have more time to talk or meet with you because many of their co-workers are gone and they have fewer meetings, client transactions or other demands on their time. Offer to take them to breakfast or lunch.

Accept as many invitations to holiday events as you can. They provide opportunities to continue networking in social settings. Be prepared to interact with people you already know and with people to whom you are introduced.

Wacker advises, “Act like a politician. Meet lots of people. Create a good impression.”

Before you meet with others socially, be sure your “elevator speech” easily falls off your tongue. Be prepared to describe your career and your job-search goals as succinctly as possible, conveying this information in only as much time as you would have to speak to someone on an elevator. Social events are not an appropriate time to conduct lengthy discussions about your job search.

If you are employed and looking for another job, you might not have as much time as usual for job-search activities because of holiday events and other holiday responsibilities. If you need to limit your job-search time, set priorities.

You might need to set temporary limits on making new contacts, but don’t ignore those you have already met. Keep in touch with them. Follow up on the leads you have collected. Write thank-you notes.

No matter how busy you are, or think others are, when you have an interview scheduled make it a priority to call the people in your network to learn about the company and its culture in preparation for the interview process.

If you are unemployed, you could be looking forward to a break from job-search tasks during the holidays. It’s fine to give yourself a break, but don’t totally neglect your search. A few hours here and there can keep your search moving. It will be easier to pick up the pace in January if there haven’t been large gaps in the process. And you’re more apt to avoid the post-holiday blahs.

Employed or unemployed, if you are going to be out of town during the holidays, be sure to give your schedule and contact information to prospective employers. You don’t want to miss out on a good job because you can’t be contacted.

Can Yahoo! and Local Papers Save Each Other?

Yahoo! announced this morning a partnership with a number of large newspaper chains, controlling a total of 176 publications, to share content and functionality. Both Yahoo! and local papers around the US are in a state of crisis, which is amazing if you consider the market and mind shares both still control. Will this partnership make a significant difference for either party? I don¡¯t think it will.

Small, agile, low-overhead local sites that incorporate everything from the authenticity of blogging to the power of video to the immediacy and usefulness of mobile devices are just around the corner. Newspapers will likely retain superior access to other lumbering social institutions for some time, but all parties are going to have to change faster than they will be comfortable with.

The partnership will include the following:

Local content will appear on Yahoo! presumably similar to the way AP content does now. That¡¯s a logical and smart move; though local newspaper content is hardly thriving perhaps an infusion of traffic will help improve it.
Local jobs listings will appear on Yahoo! HotJobs. I don¡¯t think anyone cares about this – there¡¯s such a proliferation of online job listings that no jobseeker is likely to rely on one centralized site. Imagine trying to be the all-encompassing housing listing site – that too would be a losing proposition.
Yahoo will sell ads, provide site search, maps and the Yahoo! toolbar on local news sites. This will mean nothing unless the content on those sites become for more dynamic and compelling.
Comparisions are being drawn in the NYT to Google¡¯s recent partnership with a smaller number of more high profile publications and to similar efforts that have failed in the past decade. Google¡¯s newspaper deal is of course just one of many things they are working on, including selling radio advertising. This Yahoo! deal is too little too late.

It¡¯s a new world and both of these companies face incredible competition. Those competitors, best exemplified by local blogging networks but ultimately just a web of diffused readership, are just beginning to get their game on.

Is there any hope for local papers? The smartest ones are looking to leading examples, like the Lawrence, Kansas Journal World. That local paper has long done incredibly innovative things online – everything from local music blogs to mobile notification of schedule changes for local kids¡¯ sports games. There is hope, but it¡¯s going to require a greater paradigm shift than is represented by today¡¯s announcement of co-operation between staid local sites and a giant portal. The things made possible by new media are just too exciting; this deal will go down in history as a tiny band-aid on top of a massive hemorrhaging in the old media industry.

Yahoo!

Eat Turkey, Find Job

With the recent unpleasantness on the job boards (examples: rate hikes, NASDAQ reporting issues and the Monster Job Board scam) you may not think it¡¯s a good time to take action in your job search. You may be wrong¡­

Even before Halloween started, stockings and Santa hats could be found at local retailers. Now, with Thanksgiving just days away, the holiday spirit is taking over and people are envisioning feasts of turkey, Dallas Cowboys football, long lines at movie theaters, and perhaps even midday naps. It¡¯s safe to say that as the holidays approach, thoughts of the job search can subside. Many people are simply under the impression that companies stop looking for new employees during the holidays. This isn¡¯t the case:

¡°Contrary to a common assumption, December is often an active hiring month. Many companies conduct job interviews during November and December. They keep the hiring process going during the holidays for several reasons:

*December is the end of the fiscal year for many companies. A manager might speed up will have received a budget allocation for a new position for 2007. If the position is important, they want to interview now so the new employee can start as early as possible in January.

*Some managers will have received a budget allocation for a new position for 2007. If the position is important, they want to interview now so the new employee can start as early as possible in January.

*Many managers want to tie up loose ends before the end of the year. If an unfilled position has been ignored for several months, they¡¯ll give it full attention now to avoid getting off to a poor start in the new year.¡± (From JS Online)

Many suggest that the holidays serve as a key search time for unemployed candidates. While this is true, the holidays can also provide quiet candidates with the chance to see what the market has to offer for the upcoming year. It¡¯s also a time when that dream job might not have been picked clean by hundreds of other candidates:

¡°A job search at this time of year might be a bit different, but you can use holiday parties and other potential candidates¡¯ belief that it¡¯s not a good time to hunt for a job in your favor. Add in that the unemployment rate is the lowest since 2001, and it¡¯s a good time to look around.¡± (From the Chicago Tribune)

Hey, we want everybody to eat well, enjoy time with their families, and go back for thirds on pie. But we know that quiet and active candidates never know when the job they need or want is going to surface, so we say welcome the holidays and keep the search going. The two things don¡¯t have to be mutually exclusive.

Shanghai:Time ripe for welfare reform

China’s high savings rate and sound public finances offer the right conditions for the authorities to proceed with social security and healthcare system reforms, People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said.

Speaking to the Xinhua News Agency in Sydney, where he was attending a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, the head of China’s central bank said the nation’s social security system should include all members of society.

Social security fund reform should involve government support, individual accounts and commercial insurance, Xinhua quoted Zhou as saying.

People with adequate savings should be encouraged to invest in personal pension and medical insurance schemes, Zhou said, stressing that the government should offer more support to poorer citizens.

The central bank governor said that pension funds, which are currently mainly held by banks, should be invested in capital markets to increase their value and generate higher returns.

The government is currently working on a plan to transfer 10 per cent of any domestic shares in listed State-owned companies to the national pension fund, the National Council for Social Security Fund.

The council, which had total assets of 230 billion yuan (US$29 billion) at the end of August, currently invests mainly in bonds and bank deposits and is planning to start overseas investment in the near future.

Zhou said the current healthy state of the nation’s finances also offered good opportunities for further steps to be taken in foreign exchange rate reform.

He added that the nation’s financial sector was now in a much stronger position than it was three or four years ago, noting that it was now better equipped to cope with interest rate reform and a more flexible yuan.

In another development, the People’s Bank of China announced yesterday it had opened a representative office for the South Pacific in Sydney.

The office will improve communications with monetary authorities in the region and promote financial co-operation, the central bank said.

Systems Administrator

Company Introduction:
A top foreign Medical System Company

Job Description
1: Systems support & administration for China and Taiwan
2: Support CHINA subsidiaries and other Asia/Pacific subsidiaries in infrastructure planning/development and Technical Support

Responsibility:
1.Manages IT support of local Sales/Service office systems and infrastructure, and provides support for remote users.
2.Provides, with European and US peers, a knowledge pool for technology based issues.
3.Configure and maintain remote access to company’s business systems.
4.Maintain a high level of IT support for local subsidiary and remote users in Japan
5.Manage the daily operations of RS/6000 POP based E-Mail system, local File/Print sharing and Backup.
6.Working with company’s Information Systems, provide time zone support for VKN and other corporate facilities.
7.Assist with IT support for the Asia/ Pacific region when required.
8.Manage the maintenance, loading and support of software on the company’s PC’s, in accordance with Corporate and Business Unit requirements. Ensure hardware standards and licensing compliance.
9.Contribute to, and implement corporate standards and direction.
10.Keep informed about applicable industry standards and directions.
11.Maintain a good level of expertise in the data communications field
12.Provide support of other Japanese sites as required.
i.Travel: Periodic visits to other China and Taiwan subsidiary offices.

Qualifications:
1.Degree, or equivalent, in Computer Science
2.Minimum of 2 years practical systems support experience, including:
3.Local Area Network administration, using Ethernet connectivity.
4.LAN Protocols especially TCP-IP
5.Operating systems Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2000 and 2003 server.
6.Management of Cisco Routers and Remote Access servers
7.Personal Computer Hardware and Software installation and support
8.Systems Administration of IBM RS/6000 midrange computer.
9.Communications maintenance, including Leased Lines, ISDN, Broadband and A sync. Modem.
10.Good spoken and written English required
11.Knowledge of MS Active Directory advantageous

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_it081sh@dacare.com’

Is a Job Move Worth It? How to Weigh Your Options

Two years ago, then 28-year-old Valerie French experienced a culture clash when she moved from southern California to Washington, D.C., to work at a major art museum. “I loved my job, but I just hated living there,” she says. She found the nation’s capital too conservative, “the kind of place where if you wear Banana Republic you’re cutting edge.”

So, after just a year, Ms. French started looking for a new job that would have her move again. “Your environment is so important,” she says from New York, where she is now happily settled.

Moving for a job, especially when you’re just starting out, can be the springboard that launches your career. But weigh your options carefully. Where you move is just as important for your happiness as the job you move for, many career managers and recruitment professionals say.

Occupational Horizons

Moving to a new locale is risky because there are so many unknowns. Add in a new job and you set yourself up for a pretty stressful time. So make sure that the job on the other end is worth it.

Think about what your career prospects will be five years from now if you take (or don’t take) the position. A new job, especially if it requires relocation, “should mean greater opportunity coming in the door and greater opportunity looking at that five-year horizon,” says Brian Sullivan, head of Christian & Timbers, an executive search firm based in New York.

Obviously, the last thing you want is to move and then be let go. Ask what happened to the person who formerly filled the slot. High turnover may be a red flag. Is your position new or part of a new program? If so, you may want to think extra hard, because the company could change course and eliminate the post, says Cathy Goodwin, a career consultant in Seattle.

Figuring Your Finances

“It’s not all about salary,” says Anne Moore, a career specialist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Consider the cost of living in a different locale as well.

Say you live in New York and make $40,000 a year. If you move to Atlanta, which has a 44.8% lower cost of living, according to Salary.com, you could earn just $22,090 a year and still maintain your current standard of living. Match your current pay in Atlanta, and you’d feel like you have lots more money to save or spend.

To check out different cities at Salary.com, scroll down to “Salary Data” and click on “Cost-of-Living Wizard.”

The financial equation is far more complicated if you are moving with a spouse or other partner who has to leave a current job and take a chance on finding a new position in your destination city.

Also weigh the costs of making the move and ask how much of that your new employer will pay. More than 90% of U.S. companies will cover some if not all of a person’s relocation expenses, which may include house-hunting trips, temporary housing and closing costs on a new home, according to Worldwide ERC, a professional relocation association. Unreimbursed moving expenses may be tax-deductible. Check out www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc455.html online.

Location, Location…

Saying yes to a job in a small town when you live in a big city — or vice versa — involves big changes and may require sacrifices. Weigh factors such as cultural offerings, sports and recreation opportunities, traffic and the pace of life. Even “the weather can really influence people’s happiness,” says Ms. Moore of Johns Hopkins. The question: Can you live with the differences?

Ms. Goodwin recommends making two trips to get a feel for a new place. Pay attention to local customs and “try to connect with real people” while visiting, she says.

“It is very easy to get seduced by the idea of something new,” notes Mr. Sullivan. But particularly if you are moving away from your home city, consider how you’ll fare away from family, friends and the social supports that you’ve relied upon in the past.

Top 10 Tips for Salary Negotiations

Negotiating a better salary package has put more than a few stomachs in knots over the years. Remember, we all go through it sooner or later. Try to keep these 10 basic tips in mind when it¡¯s your turn to ask for a sweeter deal.

1. Be Persuasive

It¡¯s hard to force your boss to increase your compensation, and trying to do so can potentially damage your working relationship. Think about the process as trying to convince him that it might benefit the organization to pay you more.

2. Aim High and Be Realistic

Many researchers have found a strong correlation between people¡¯s aspirations and the results they achieve in negotiation. At the same time, you want to suggest ideas to which your boss can realistically say yes.

3. Start Off with the Right Tone

You want to let your boss know you will listen and try to understand his views. At the same time, you expect your boss to do the same for you so you can work together to address this issue. Avoid ultimatums, threats and other coercive behavior.

4. Clarify Your Interests

Your compensation should satisfy a range of needs, not just salary. Make sure you have thought about other points of value to you as well ¡ª like profit sharing, stock options that vest immediately, a bonus, greater work responsibilities, a quicker promotion schedule, increased vacation or flexible hours.

5. Anticipate Your Boss¡¯s Interests

Just like you, your boss has needs and concerns. To persuade him to say yes, your ideas will have to address those things that are important to him.

6. Create Several Options

Joint brainstorming is the most effective way to find ideas that satisfy everyone¡¯s interests. It works best when you separate it from commitment ¡ª first create possible solutions, and then decide among them.

7. Focus on Objective Criteria

It is far easier to persuade someone to agree with your proposal if he sees how that proposal is firmly grounded on objective criteria, such as what similar firms pay people of like experience or what others in the company make.

8. Think Through Your Alternatives

In case you cannot persuade your boss to say yes, you need to have a backup plan. Part of preparation is creating a specific action plan so you know what you¡¯ll do if you have to walk away from the table.

9. Prepare Thoughtfully to Achieve Your Goals

This is the only aspect of your negotiations you can completely control. To take advantage of all of the above advice, you have to invest a significant amount of your time and energy.

10. Review to Learn

The only way you can really improve your ability to negotiate is to explicitly learn from your experiences. After you finish negotiations, reflect on what you did that worked well and what you might want to do differently.

Hiring Manager Secrets: The 5 Smartest Interview Moves

Ever wonder why you don’t get called back after that first interview? What’s holding you back from that great job while others are getting hired after shorter job searches?

It could be something you DIDN’T do.

Careerbuilder.com recently asked hiring managers what the smartest things a candidate can do in an interview. What are the traits of a good candidate? How can you make a good impression? Here are the top five ways to win over your interviewer and get a leg up on the competition.

1. Demonstrate or communicate your experience and skills.
The number one thing a candidate can do in an interview is intelligently and clearly articulate professional experience, capabilities or knowledge. Hiring managers are most impressed when a candidate is able to “think on their feet” during the interview – this demonstrates competency. They’re also impressed when a candidate takes an active role in helping a customer or rectifying a situation right on the spot, whether posed by the interviewer or introduced by the candidate.

2. Act professionally.
A candidate who is professional during the selection process will stand out among fellow job seekers. When a candidate communicates intelligently, uses proper grammar, makes eye contact, listens and asks intelligent and relevant questions. This demonstrates how that person will act within the parameters of the position with coworkers and clients. A hiring manager will want to choose a candidate who will represent the company well.

3. Prepare.
Skimming the company’s website five minutes before you leave won’t help you at all. Simple steps to prepare for the interview include researching the company, market and opportunity, arriving on time and dressing appropriately. Bring extra copies of your resume and work samples, as well as your portfolio. And, don’t forget names of references and letters of recommendation. Thorough preparation for an interview can make or break your chances of landing the job. As someone once said – Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

4. Exhibit enthusiasm.
Go ahead, be an eager beaver. Hiring managers are impressed when a candidate shows enthusiasm for the job and want to hire someone who is gung ho. The candidate who is ready and willing will likely carry those traits into the position. Plus, it demonstrates an eagerness to learn. This doesn’t mean you need an overly peppy personality with perma-grin, but zeal for the position, the company and profession will show you’ll go the distance.

5. Be honest.
The candidate was honest and showed integrity. A candidate’s honesty was important to hiring managers by being sincere and truthful about the past. Be candid and open about past jobs. This doesn’t mean you have to churn out all the dirty details of previous employers or supervisors. If you are coming from a bad experience, think of ways to put a positive spin on your previous situation. For example, if you were let go from your last job, be truthful without being negative and highlight your strengths or how you learned from that situation.

Grads can’t find major-related jobs

Nov.19 – About 1.24 million Chinese college graduates have failed to land jobs that require their qualifications upon graduation this year, the county’s top labour official said.

A total of 4.13 million students graduated from higher education institutions this year, 750,000 more than last year, as the country enters its ninth year of expanding college enrolment.

Tian Chengping, minister of labour and social security, said on Thursday he estimates about 70 per cent of college graduates have been employed since graduation, according to the China Youth Daily.

He said the central government has set up an inter-ministerial joint team, including the Ministry of Education, to help address employment problems.

Meanwhile, the Labour and Social Security Ministry has established a mechanism to provide guidance and training for unemployed graduates, the minister said.

Only 22 per cent of China’s new jobs last year were for college graduates, estimates a ministry study of 114 urban labour markets.

Tian said the country should create more jobs in the process of economic development and urged college graduates to work in grassroots units and undeveloped areas where they are most needed.

China’s official registered unemployment rate stood at 4.1 per cent in the first nine months of 2006.

The demand for college graduates was down 22 per cent in 24 provinces and 15 major cities from last year, said a report issued by the Ministry of Personnel in March.

A survey showed 52.14 per cent of bachelor degree holders considered lack of experience as the biggest obstacle in finding work.

Colleges and universities should organize internships to prepare students for employment, said Lin Zeyan, a researcher with the Development Research Centre of the State Council at a forum this month.

The country needs to develop its service sector and promote small and medium-sized enterprises to create more jobs, said Mo Rong, deputy chief of the Labour Science Research Institute.

Foreign insurance agencies booming in China

Chinanews, Beijing, Nov. 18 – “Currently (before November 15), there are 121 branches of 47 foreign insurance agencies from 47 countries and regions in China,”said Li Kemu, deputy director of China Insurance Regulatory Commssion, at the 4th Sino-US Insurance Talks.

China’s rapid economic growth has injected unparalleled vigor into its insurance industry, and allowed it to grow at an average annual rate of 17.3%. In fact, insurance is one of the fastest-growing of all industries in China.

Last year alone, insurance made a revenue of 49.27 billion yuan, and it will surely gain more by the end of 2006. The total capital of all the 100 insurance agencies in China is as much as 1.84 trillion yuan, an amazing figure.

However, there are problems in China’s insurance industry. First, the market conditions are not perfect, thus regulations and laws must be made as soon as possible to bridge the gap of transparency and fairness of the market between China and developed countries. Second, local insurance agencies must work hard to improve the quality of their services, and the general public should know more about the importance of insurance.

As Chinese only spent 376 yuan per capita on insurance in 2005 (much lower than the average international level), the market will boom even faster in the future.