LifeABILITY

The New, Best Way To Find Your Next Job

2009-05-27T06:00:00.002-07:00

Image via WikipediaThere are thousands of job boards on the internet these days - some say as high as 40-50 thousand. Each has it's own source for their listings. In some cases, employers pay to post a job on the website. Others pull jobs from an established job board (Hint: look for "powered by..." statements to identify these). Many of the job seekers I work with find that they must wade

Q&A - I'm 14 and need a job (Part I)

2009-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Image by Paul L McCord Jr via FlickrI get asked "What company will hire me?" often quickly followed by "I'm 14 and no one will hire me. I need a real job."This is actually 2 questions -What jobs can I legally do?What jobs will someone hire me to do?This is Part 1 - and will only look at the first question.Generations ago, a lot of jobs were done by children - dirty jobs, dangerous jobs...it

Dig Your Job

2009-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

DIG YOUR JOB: Keep it or Find a New One by GL HoffmanThere are thousands of job search books on the market. Most of them are simply repeating what has already been said, with a few slight differences. Dig Your Job is different.Most books of this type are specifically looking only at finding a job - but ignore how to keep your job. You can be an expert at finding jobs, but that does little good

Resume Writing 101 - Where to Start

2009-05-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Image by Olivier Charavel via FlickrOne of your first decisions in writing a resume is to decide how you want to start. This decision will greatly affect the final product so your choice should be well thought out.Many people think they should be able to just sit down and write a resume. I often hear - "Anyone can do it - it's not hard...just write what jobs you've held, your education, and

729 Job Search Books for Free

2009-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love to read. I read books for a variety of reasons: about topics that interest me, books that are related to my work, or just for the fun of a good story. While I am able to minimize the expense of this by purchasing many of the books used, it still can add up after awhile.A secondary issue arises in what to do with the books after I have read them. I donate a number of them, but I always feel

Resume Writing 101 - Black Dress Theory of Resume Writing

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of posts about how to create an effective resume. Yes, really....another one of them.I know, there are thousands of resume experts out there competing for your attention. Many of them say the basically same thing, although possibly in different terms. Half make you feel like writing a good resume is so intimidating you couldn't possibly do it on your own - so you

Why we should care about newspapers closing

2009-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of talk recently about print newspapers going away. While they will continue (for now anyway) as online publications, it has caused people to ask themselves if newspapers have reached the end of their life cycle. I think newspapers provide a critical service to all of us, and I am not so sure that other sources of media are ready to step up and fill the gap.Reading a

Which Job Pays More?

2009-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

The folks over at PayScale Resources answer the question: Who Makes More - Blue Collar Jobs versus White Collar Jobs?Do white collar jobs bring home more bacon than blue collar jobs? It's common to assume so. But according to a recent PayScale survey of job duties, salaries and career paths, white collar jobs don't always beat their blue collar counterparts. Let's take a look and compare the

10 Ideas Worth Millions @ Forbes.com

2009-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

It may seem strange for me to suggest taking a look at Forbes article on what is hot in venture capital circles. The finances of multi-millionaires is not something that typically concerns me. However, I think this list can be useful to the rest of us. It lists those ideas, products or services that some pretty smart people think would be a good investment. As the article explains:When money is

Recognizing weakness shows strengths

2009-03-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recently in my travels around the internet I came across the following statement: " sometimes recognizing how bad I am at something renews my appreciation for how gifted my colleagues are at it."I'm not sure if the author meant it to be, but how incredibly profound!It's like Rubin's Vase - the whole picture lies not in just where the ink is, but equally important, where it is not. Too often in

One card to rule them all

2009-03-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

I know this has been out there for years, but I think it bears repeating. Many of us have a wallet full of little plastic cards. Customer cards from grocery stores, restaurants, department stores, gas stations, coffee shops, video stores, and pet stores. Each card is used to identify you as a loyal customer. The perks for being toting their card around vary - from discounts as you are shopping to

The Job Lounge: Career Options for Ex-Felons

2009-03-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

The Job Lounge has a great post today - Career Options for Ex-Felons that addresses the question of how & when to disclose your criminal history to a potential employer. While some of the information is California specific, much of it does apply in other places. I especially like Kathy Knudson's comments on who can see expunged crimes vs dismissed, vs sealed. It was nice to see someone pointing

20% chance your child may be a sex offender!

2009-03-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

In recent news media there have been a flurry of reports about teens as young as 13 potentially being charged as a sex offender. From newspaper reports around the country to national news programs we are hearing more about something called "sexting".Sexting is sexually suggestive messaging via cellphone - including text messages, pictures or video.Sexting has likely been around for years, but the

LifeABILITY

2009-03-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to LifeABILITY!So what is LifeABILITY?From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:Main Entry: lifeEtymology: Middle English lif, from Old English lif; akin to Old English libban to liveDate: before 12th century1 a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead bodyb: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beingsc: an

Locating Health Care Options in Portland

2009-03-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I recently heard about this great website: Coalition of Community Health Clinics. From the website - The Coalition is a network of thirteen private, non-profit health clinics located throughout Multnomah County. These clinics provide health services to the uninsured and under-served men, women and children in the Portland Metropolitan area. In fiscal year 2005-2006, Coalition clinics provided

Q&A - I'm 60, retired, and want a job

2009-03-05T06:00:00.001-08:00

Recently I met with a man in his early 60's who had retired. At first he enjoyed not having to get up and go to work every day, but that was short lived. Now, he was spending more and more time just sitting around his apartment doing nothing. He was getting more and more isolated from friends and family also. Most of the people he knew still had to work all day. He came to me to figure out how

60% don't get the tax refund they deserve

2009-03-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

One of the scariest things that most adults will ever face is the first time they do their taxes. (More about that 60% in a bit) I was lucky enough to be forced into doing them when I was in high school (Thank you Samo) when I was naive enough to not know enough to be afraid of taxes...it was just one more assignment that had to be done.Most people have very simple returns - the more complicated

How did they end up like that? - Oddee.com (funny sleep position, weird sleep position)

2009-02-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

I am generally curious about the world around me. One of the things I find the most interesting are people. For today's Friday Funny, let me share with you a website I recently found that has all sorts of interesting Top 10 (or some other number) list of things that are unusual or funny. Oddee asks the question - How did they end up like that? 15 Funny Sleeping Positions I have long said

When to not use a business card

2009-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

We all know business cards can be a very valuable tool, both for advertising your business and for networking. Even with the most effective tool, you should always ask yourself if it is right tool to use in this specific circumstance. Not all tools work equally well in all situations. Here is a great example of a good tool that was not a good fit for the job at hand:In the news -