My Career Voyage! Charting The Course

By Steve DeVane
SteveDeVane.com

I recently heard an excellent presentation about making the most of our talents. It included this old proverb: “If you want to know what you’re doing in the future, tell me what you’re doing right now.”

As I thought about it, the wisdom of the statement stuck with me. So often we go through life hoping things will get better. But if we want our lives to change for the better, we have to change for the better.

By Patty E.Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

With the highest number of layoffs in decades, many unemployed workers are seeking assistance from career services professionals to help them find jobs faster.

One type of career professional that can help is a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) . GCDFs provide career facilitation and guidance in a variety of settings.

David Spickard
CEO, Jobs For Life

On Saturday, April 28, I completed the Country Music Half Marathon - a 13.1 mile run through the streets of Nashville, TN with 32,000 other runners committed to making it to the finish line. It was hot! Miles 11-13 were brutal, and yet once I reached the Cumberland River bridge and could see the finish line, I knew I was going to make it. There's nothing like the feeling of crossing the finish line with the satisfaction of completing what you started and knowing your effort will impact lives for generations to come.
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By Patty Edwards Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

Shortly after President Obama took office in January of this year, he announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) would provide COBRA premium assistance to workers who have been laid off since Sept. 1, 2008. Many of these workers may have felt relieved at the news of paying only 35 percent of the cost of health care insurance. Family health care plans typically cost more than $1,000 per month. That’s a lot of money to pay out, especially with little or no income coming in.

Whether you are graduating from school or college or making a career change, how do you know for sure what occupation to choose? How and where can this information be found? The information is out there. And its free.

By Patty Edwards Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

Does the thought of selling yourself when applying for a job seem like a foreign concept to you? When looking for a job you are, in fact, marketing yourself. In the current economy it’s absolutely necessary to use a strategic marketing approach in the job search. “How do I do this?” you ask. In Résumé Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Résumé Writer author, Susan Britton Whitcomb, waves her magic wand and reveals how to design a résumé that sells.

Bobby Ross Jr.

Christianity Today

Tax exemption means layoffs hit congregations' employees harder

During the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, grueling choices confront church leaders in places like Granger, Indiana, where the unemployment rate has approached 20 percent.

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By Patty Edwards Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

With the nation experiencing the highest unemployment rate (8.7 percent; N.C. 10.9 percent) since 1983, Churches and non-profit organizations are facing financial challenges. Many are cutting budgets and salaries, freezing pay and cutting employee’s hours. Others are forced to lay off personnel and close their doors, which means 89 percent of these workers, nationally (NC 99%), may not be eligible for state unemployment benefits.

Religious organizations exempt

By Patty E. Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

A résumé is a marketing tool that can help you get your foot in the door of a potential employer. A résumé should be designed to present your personal inventory of skills, experience and accomplishments and education. It should emphasize your job qualifications and personal strengths.
The job seeker uses a resume to make a good impression on a potential employer in order to get called in for an interview.

By Patty E. Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

Now that you have an appointment scheduled with an interviewer, you must be prepared to sell yourself. Are you ready?

You have seconds to make your impression, so be sure to smile and give a firm handshake when you meet. Body language is 55 percent of the communication process, tone of voice - 38 percent and words seven percent.