WikiHow: How to Keep a Career Journal

WikiHow is a wiki-style site that focuses on how-to articles. Very eclectic. I like it a lot and I have the wikihow gadget configured on my iGoogle home page.

I found the "How to Keep a Career Log" page particularly interesting and relevant.

Whether you're actively looking for a new job or maintaining your current position, it's important to keep a record of the projects you've been involved with, your responsibilities, your skills and training and the people who know your good work and can provide good references.

I can tell you that there are many times that I've said to myself "I wish I had kept a journal of all the things I did at my previous job."

Check it out.

Math and Computer Careers Top the List

I saw a piece in today's Sun-Times (special advertising supplement "EdGuide") which referenced an interesting survey from CareerCast.com. Their survey ranks careers, not just on the basis of the employment outlook (which is, of course, important) but it also took into account the work environment, income, physical demands and stress. You can find the survey results here: http://www.careercast.com/jobs/content/JobsRated_Top200Jobs

I found it interesting that of the top 10 careers, 5 of them were in the math and IT fields:
1. Mathematician
2. Actuary
3. Statistician
5. Software engineer
6. Computer systems analyst

Chicago's Largest Companies

I've always felt pretty comfortable working in a large company. In my experience, they tend to have standard corporate policies, better benefits, more diversity in both the people you work with and the type of work you do, and more room for advancement.

If you're looking for a new job opportunity, it's logical that larger companies tend to employ more people and are more likely to have job openings. Therefore, it makes sense to look closely at those larger companies in your job search.

You can find a list of the largest Chicago-based companies (based on annual revenues) at: http://www.chicagotraveler.com/chicago-companies.htm.

Keep in mind that there are many companies, including my own, that employ many people in Chicago, yet aren't based here. So don't consider this list a definitive source for which companies employ the most Chicagoans.

Advice to Job Seekers

I love to help people find jobs. If I can help you in any way, let me know.

If you're looking for an opportunity because you lost your prior job (for whatever reason), don't worry - it's going to be ok. I know it's tempting to freak out. Feel free to do that for about an hour. Then get down to the business of finding the next great thing that will put bread on your table.

Here's some advice that I offer to most job seekers. Since I've repeated it many times, I decided to put the advice in a list and make it available here on this blog.

1. Send me your resume. My email address is my full name (no dots or dashed) at yahoo dot com.
2. Check out my company's web site at: http://www.wolterskluwer.com/ to learn more about the company and what we do.
3. Search the Wolters Kluwer career opportunities site by going to http://wolterskluwer.apply2jobs.com/. We have openings at many of our offices across the US, especially in Sales and Account Management. If you find something that fits your background and experience, apply online and then send me your resume (which hopefully you've already done in step 1) with the job # that you applied for. You can optionally include a cover email telling me how excited you are about the opportunity and how your skills and experience match the job requirements and description. I'll then submit your resume through our Employee Referral program.
4. Check out the OU job board. They list lots of jobs in all areas of the country. Also, make sure your resume is posted on all the standard places: Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, etc. If you're in IT, post your resume at Dice and ComputerJobs as well. I'm sure there are other industry-specific job sites as well. Review these sites on a regular basis (2x a week) for new posts.
5. If you find an opportunity at some other company, especially in the Chicago area, let me know. I may have someone in my network who can help you get your resume into the right hands at that company.
6. Create a profile on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/), search for me and link to me. That'll put you in touch with part of my network. I strongly suggest that you develop your professional network using some online tool. IMHO LinkedIn is the best. LinkedIn is professional. I don't recommend using social networking sites (such as Facebook, MySpace, etc) for job searches.
7. Consider using a reputable staffing agency or temp agency to place you. These people do the leg work of finding you work (either permanent or contract) and, for their efforts, take a chunk of your billing rate as their fee. If it's a permanent position, they'll negotiate a flat fee, usually based on your starting salary, from your new employer for placing you. It's usually worth it. Make sure you understand how benefits and taxes are handled when you work through a staffing agency. Also, you will never need to put up any money up front or pay a fee of any kind to the agency. The fees are always paid by the employer. If someone asks you for money, politely decline and leave.
8. Do your legwork every day. A new job is not going to fall into your lap. You will have to work to find it.
9. Feel free to email me with any questions you have. I hope I can help you find a new position.

Guy Kawasaki on Using LinkedIn

Author and business guru Guy Kawasaki wrote an excellent article on how to use LinkedIn to find a job. The most important point that I found is to develop your network before you need it.

IMHO, although networking is a great way to find your next opportunity, I don't rely on it exclusively. Other things like building your skillset and developing soft skills are important as well.