Log In | Register
I'm Eve Tahmincioglu, career and labor columnist for MSNBC.com, author of "From the Sandbox to the Corner Office", and CareerDiva.net blogger. In this economy, everybody needs a little bit of help when it comes to their career, their workplace rights, and their job search if they've been unlucky enough to be laid off. I'll be on Newsvine Tuesday, June 16, to help offer all of you a career-enhancing hand. Feel free to ask questions here. Also, remember to vote on the questions you like best.
Newsvine Q&A with Career Columnist Eve Tahmincioglu
Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:42 PM EDT
- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (22)
You seem too young to give a serious advice. I have always wondered how can a charity account be set up on line to help the poor in the world? A lot of good could be accomplished in this way. There are millions of people who can barely tell their right hand from the left out there in the world, waiting and hoping that a Good Samaritan comes their way! Is this not what being human is about? If you don't know the answer, just ignore the question.
#1 - Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:45 PM EDTHello Desert Voice:
I'm actually quite older than I look.
There are quite a few charities set up online. Some are run by big non-profit organizations and others are small, grass roots operations, as small as one person. Often I come across people on Twitter.com who are trying to raise money for a variety of causes, and all you need for that is a Twitter account.
If you decide to start a non profit yourself, there are quite a few legal issues you need to keep in mind. Here's a good overview to get you started from the Foundation Center.
Good luck! And good for you for wanting to do something to help people.
I live in Central Florida. I am not old enough to retire.
I have been out of work since Sept 2008. I am a Database Admin, and have been for 27 years. I have Oracle and SQL Server experience.
I have never been without a job until now.
My question is how do I get an employer to interview me and how do I get hired again?
Thanks
#2 - Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:25 PM EDTHello Stephen,
I'd like to know a bit more about your job search. Without that, I can only comment generally on what you might need to do.
First off, figure out if knowing Oracle and SQL Server is enough for you to compete in the IT job market right now. What are employers looking for?
If you have the skills and the experience, but are still not getting interviews, then you should review your job-search basics.
Has your resume been spruced up since you last applied for a job? While traditional resumes are still the norm, more and more individuals are looking to multimedia resumes as a way to make themselves stand out. Here's a story I wrote recently that will give you some information on these newfangled resumes.
Also, make sure to stress not only your experience in your resume, but things you did to save the company money, or how you contributed to a major project. It's all about what you can produce right now.
The main thing I'd concentrate on is networking, either through friends and family, or social networking sites like LinkedIn.com. You need to be using cyber social networking sites, especially given you're in IT. Hiring managers want to know you're on top of the latest technology.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Two days before my 1 year probationary period was up my employer fired me. He said there were "issues" with me. When I asked what the issues were he said he didn't have to tell me anything...and he didn't. I asked why I was not told sooner as I had been there almost a year. He refused to answer. To this day I do not know why I was fired as there were never any complaints about my work, no verbal or written reprimands or warnings, and many glowing emails and verbal compliments for the good job I was doing. I never received any type of performance evaluation or explanation, and he hired his best friend for my position after I was fired.
The statute of limitations has expired for me to file any type of discriminatory claim - and I couldn't quantify any category of discrimination to claim. Do I have any recourse?
#3 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:03 AM EDTHello Lee:
You need to let go of this pronto and move on my friend!
It's been at least six months since you were fired given the statute of limitations on most discrimination claims, and that's just too long to be pinning over a job that is now gone.
If you thought you had a solid discrimination claim I suspect you probably would have filed it by now.
Chances are you have little if any recourse, especially if you work in a "right to work" state, which pretty much means an employer can fire you for any reason, other than because of your race, gender, religion or disability.
I know you're mad and want to know what happened, but there is little you can do.
Time to focus on your job search and find an employer that will appreciate how great you are.
And what ever you do, don't use this employer as a job reference if you can help it. Since you don't know why they gave you the boot you definitely don't want a hiring manager calling this person for a reference.
Let it go, please. Good luck!
Hi Eve,
I just finished at a UC with a B.S. in biochemistry, even though I'm considering graduate school in the distant future, I would like to establish a career first and pay off some of my student debt. Where do I start? Thanks.
#4 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:04 AM EDTHello Juan,
Are you asking where do you start as far as figuring out what specific career to pursue? If so, you should head right to your school's alumni office and talk to folks there about opportunities in the biochemistry field. I'm sure the school has a pretty solid network of alumnus who went on to pursue careers in this field. Try to connect with one of those alumnus that are doing something you'd like to do or working for a company you'd like to work for.
Don't be put off by an entry level job where you have to pay dues. Those are the types of gigs you'll often learn most from.
If you have no idea what you'd like to do, you need to do some career soul searching. I'm big on lists. Write down what your best traits are and figure out what type of job would best suit those. You can also take a free personality test online, but don't put too much credence in those. Tests should be a tiny piece of your overall assessment.
Working before you go to graduate school is a good idea because you'll be able to figure out if this career path is really right for you without dropping a ton of money on further education.
Good luck!
hello eve,
I read and enjoy your blog.
I was recently laid off - 2/25 from a job in advertising, I was an assistant media buyer. I was looking for jobs as an administrative assistant since I have most of my experience in that field but I have had zero luck. I have worked a lot on my resume and still have had no feed back at all. I will be going back to school in the Fall but I still need to work. I then decided maybe I should take a break and look again after the Summer. Do you think that is a bad idea? I don't know what else to do.
Thank you,
Jennifer
#5 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:51 AM EDTHello Jen,
Glad you enjoy my CareerDiva.net blog.
As for you job-hunting brick wall, I'm getting a bit of conflicting information from you. First you say you need a job, but then you mention you are considering taking the summer off.
If you know you need to have a paying job come this fall, I wouldn't stop looking for work right now.
I would, however, reassess what you're doing in your job search.
What have you done to your resume? How are you making your resume stand out? Have you considered a multimedia resume? Also, are you getting your resume in the hands of the right people, not only via major job-posting sites, but also via your contacts?
You worked in advertising, so I assume you met quite a few people in the field. Go back to people you got to know and ask them to connect you with contacts they have at companies you want to work for.
Are you on Twitter? There are tons of advertising and marketing folks on that social networking site. Start writing interesting tweets and build your followers there. I constantly read about people connecting each other with gigs, or passing along opportunities on Twitter. (You can follow me on Twitter if you like at www.twitter.com/careerdiva.)
Target one or two companies at a time so you can really focus the search. Just posting a resume online won't cut it today. You want to get the name of a key person at a company who will look at your resume or pass it along to someone that's hiring.
It's all about connections in this economy.
Good luck!
Hey Jen,
Just looked at your Visual CV. I love that you have one.
My few points you can take or leave:
* The two sections that you have at the top "My Value" and "Career Highlights" need to be one section and shortened to about half, and put the info in two to four easy to read bullets.
* I'm not loving the "My Value" title. I'd go with something simple like "Summary" or "Career Summary."
* There are too many colors and too many sizes of text. Keep it looking uniform and easy to read, maybe just black and blue copy.
* Where you describe what you did at the jobs you held try to include something about how you helped the office, maybe reorganized the filing system, or streamlined patients on the computer system. "Distributed mail" just won't cut it. Take out minor tasks like that and focus on the big things. (Here's a link to a blog post I wrote on conveying what you did on the job.)
* And where is your email and contact info. It should be at the top. Don't make it hard for the hiring managers to contact you.
Just my two cents.
Hi Eve,
I'm a former newspaper editor who quit the newspaper business for better hours. I'm currently working in a printing/publishing dept. in a field that doesn't offer much opportunities. I have a degree in journalism, but in Omaha, NE, I'm not sure where to turn for better opportunities and hours, any advice on jobs or better yet, careers that may be slipping my mind?
thx
#6 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:42 PM EDTHello Ben,
I was in Omaha recently to speak at a women's leadership conference and let me tell you, it seemed like a place with lots of opportunities. You don't have to be in N.Y or L.A. to find good opportunities, especially in today's Internet age.
There are an endless number of news websites always looking for copy, but editing jobs seem to be few and far between. There may be opportunities editing content for corporate sites since almost every business in America is looking to beef up their Web presence. You could check out some major employers in the area and see what they're doing online.
On the news side, lately I've noticed the newsletter that used to get rained on and driven over in my driveway is getting thicker and thicker. Advertisers still want to reach local folks and they're turning to these micro-local publications. I know a few out of work reporters that have gotten gigs at these local papers.
But it sounds to me like you're looking for something different, but something that fits with your skills. And you want great hours. Boy you ask a lot. ;-)
I few of my colleagues who have left the industry have opted for public relations jobs, but those can be few and far between lately. And others have chosen to work for universities, writing/editing internal publications, or alumni magazines. Education is probably faring better than most sectors right now.
Have you considered any jobs working for the state or local towns. Government is also still hiring, and almost every municipality is trying to get stimulus money, and that means lots of proposals having to be written and edited.
Are there specific areas you're interested in? You can email me if you like and we can continue the conversation: telleve@hotmail.com. That goes for all of you out there who want some job or career help.
#7 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:25 PM EDTI currently have a MBA and a BS in Accounting. I'm trying to get my foot in the door in the healthcare industry in administrative or finance departments. Is that usually feasible without going back to school to get another degree or certification in healthcare?
- 1 vote
#8 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 4:24 PM EDTHello Morning54,
The one thing the healthcare industry needs now more than ever are people who understand the money side of the business. With all the expected changes in the healthcare system proposed by this administration, medical providers are going to be scrambling to figure out how the numbers are going to play out.
That said, it's always tough to get into a new industry if you have no background in that industry. That means you may have to work your way up from possibly a low-level job in an accounting office in order to figure out the ropes. The woman in this column I wrote did just that.
Also, you don't need another degree, but a class or two may help your resume and show hiring managers you're really serious.
Here's a link to a story I wrote a while back about this issue.
Good luck!
Dear Eve,
I graduated 1 year ago university with a professional degree in Chemical Engineering. With that I have over 2 years of experience on internship and contract work. However, over the past year since graduation, I have tried and tried, oh lord I tried to land any job that I could take. I first applied to many, if not all, entry-level position that were the slightest related to my degree. I had several interviews, but none panned out, most due to business decisions to cut back on workforce, etc.
For the past few months I have seriously considered my options on whether or not to continue my job search throughout the rest of 2009, complete a masters degree, or the next option:
I have recently become interested in health care and medical technology. However, the programs that I have researched, namely medical imaging technology and radiation therapy require 3 to 4 years of schooling resulting in another bachelors degree. I have job shadowed for these positions and I am thoroughly sold on it so to speak. The job prospects are great in Canada as those professions will be in demand for the years ahead and are virtually recession proof. (Unfortunately, my previous education has little to no bearing on shortening those years as most of the courses in the medical programs are very specific and unrelated to my education.
As mentioned before, I have looked at my options carefully. I have decided that a masters degree in my field is not appropriate for me since I do not have a strong passion to further pursue any interests in that field. I have looked at other 1-2 year medical/health care programs to "put my foot in the door" but there is no assurances nor guarantees that this could lead to a job. In Canada, health care is strictly regulated and one needs to have the proper certifications, degrees, or diplomas to work in the area they desire to be in.
My question to you is: Do you think it is worth going back for another 3-4 years in university to just get another bachelors degree or somehow try and get an advanced degree such as a masters or an MBA, or continue to job search without further pusuing education.
Thank you kindly.
Sincerely,
Jim Bevans
#9 - Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:15 PM EDTHi Eve if i can call you eve im trying to start a business in "Mediation" but this is the thing, WHERE, HOW, AND WHO do i look to to get started i'm in the state of Ohio ?
#11 - Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:05 PM EDTIf there is a nursing shortage then why am I having such a difficult time trying to change employment? I have 21 years of expierence and I am an excellent nurse.
#12 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:11 AM EDTHi Eve,
This is a particularly embarassing story.
We were having a company meeting a few weeks ago. I had bad gas that day and, unfortunately, let it out the wrong end quite loudly in the middle of the meeting. It was loud and, judging by peoples faces, didn't smell like cherry cupcakes either.
I am afraid my reputation in the department has been badly damaged. Is there anyway to rid myself of the 'fart guy' reputation I have earned?
#13 - Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:16 PM EDTUnfortunately I had the stupidity to contact Eve Tahmincioglu to tell her about my situation. We talked on the phone and she wrote a nice blog about me. And few days ago she removed the post with no explanations. I am out of work, I am going to be on the streets and this woman does not seem to care about these things or anybody. It seems to me that she is very unprofessional, very mean and nasty. She send me a crazy email this morning saying it was her decision to remove her posting and asking me not to contact her anymore. She seems to have a serious attitude problem. She is being very mean and nasty to me. I never heard about her until I contacted several columnists asking for help. I am a good person and I really hate it when people act like this with no reason. She seems to play game with people. She does not seem to be very serious about helping people. I feel sorry for her. She does not seem to be who she pretending she is. Her attitude is unprofessional, rude, nasty, mean and unacceptable. Please do not contact her. There are other career columnists more professional and nicer than she is. I do not have any orders to give to anyone. Just be careful. Do not trust this woman. I am not angry, I just feel sorry for her.
#14 - Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:00 PM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
