No Title 2522
Supplement to “Reinvent Yourself”
How do I get a job in this economy?
Soft skills are important, too
A once-in-a lifetime opportunity at Fort Knox
To see occupational projections indicating occupational growth/decline trends, wages for occupations, and educational requirements, go online to www.workforcekentucky.ky.gov and scroll down to “Kentucky Occupational Outlook to 2018” and “2006 to 2016 Kentucky Career Path” to download an electronic file. For occupational outlooks for Kentucky’s Area Development Districts, locate “ADD Area Outlook to 2016.”
You’ll find a wealth of information online at www.workforcekentucky.ky.gov. Click on the “Labor Market Info,” then “Resources,” and you can “Compare Two Occupations.”
Download the chart of the Top 50 Kentucky Occupations, ranked by total annual openings due to growth and replacements. Kentucky Living’s February 2011 “Reinvent Yourself” feature story included the jobs that primarily require college training at Top 50 KY Occupations chart. However, the entire chart contains all 50 occupations. You may need to work while going to college, so this chart shows you fields where there may be openings for jobs not requiring college degrees.
How do I get a job in this economy?
If you decide to go back to college, you’ll likely need a job to support yourself or your family.
We hear the terms in the media every day—labels like “jobless recovery” and the “Great Recession.” But how bad are the times economically and, more importantly, what can people do if they have lost their job?
“To put it mildly, we have never lost as many jobs as in the current recession,” says Chris Tidball, author of Kicked to the Curb. “Not during the Great Depression, not after World War II—never. What’s worse is that we have never been confronted with such a perfect storm of government, mandates such as healthcare, and the inevitable cap and trade tax that could permanently derail any glimmer of hope.”
Now a career coach as well as a business consultant and writer, Tidball says his analysis isn’t meant to scare people, but rather to motivate them.
“I have developed 20 rules that are designed to help people get back to work,” he says. “The key thing is to look at getting a job a little differently. Instead of just looking for work, look at your household as a business, and look for revenue opportunities. They may exist in odd jobs, freelance work, starting a new business, getting a part-time job to begin with—or any combination of those things. Worry less about jobs, and think more about revenue.”
Tidball didn’t develop his rules in a vacuum. They actually evolved from methods he used in the same situation. Tidball had worked in the financial industry for 20 years. When the Wall Street bubble burst, Tidball’s boss called and told him that they were both in all likelihood about to be out of a job.
In the process of figuring out what to do next, Tidball says he found networking to be the most important step and his number one rule.
“As someone who has been through this myself, without exception, networking is the most essential thing you must do,” he says. “Once you are out of work, you are working in a new job—selling yourself. You have to use social networking sites, track down decision makers, and sell exactly like you are trying to make it big with any product. There is nothing more important than networking.”
Some of the other rules are:
Have a Plan—We’re all guilty of not planning, of not saving for that rainy day, and it may seem too late after you find yourself without a job. Not so. Look at your savings, your retirement accounts, and all your resources. Examine the job opportunities available, from the least attractive to the most attractive. Develop your tactics for outreach, and stick to the plan.
Forget Fear—Fear can motivate, but it can also paralyze. Certainly, it can derail a job interview faster than showing up late. Fear can prevent you from executing your plan, and it can prejudice people against you as a job candidate. It forces bad judgments. Remember, things WILL get better.
Don’t Let Up—Perseverance is one of the keys to success. You will knock on a lot of doors, and you may bloody up your knuckles, but you better your odds with every new door that you knock on.
Tidball also encourages job seekers to trust their gut, seek inspiration, take chances, and shoot for the top.
“At the end of the day, the idea is to be courageous,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to do something you haven’t tried before. Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself. When people get kicked to the curb, it’s typically the lowest point of their lives, but if they pick themselves up and attack all the opportunities open to them, in many cases they discover that being kicked to the curb was the best thing that ever happened to them.”
The key to a satisfying job is to find one that matches your interests and personality. Sometimes, that is not as easy as it sounds. Dr. Victoria Berling, executive director of educational Outreach at NKU, suggests these Web sites as a way to learn more about what field might a good match.
A vocational interest survey: http://www.onetcenter.org/CIP.html.
Mini Myers-Briggs, which is a personality type indicator:
www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.
Job titles and qualifications needed: www.wave.net/upg/immigration/dot_index.html
Soft skills are important, too
Learning the nuts and bolts of a new career is essential, of course, and that is where formal education and on-the-job training come in. But to succeed, you need soft skills as well—the ability to work well with others, communicate, and act professionally. Kentucky Educational Television has produced a series of videos called Workplace Essential Skills that delve into developing these skills. Kentuckians can watch the programs free anytime on the Internet by going online to www.fastforwardky.com. The programs are also broadcast on KET. Check your local listings or www.KET.org for episodes and broadcast times.
This federally funded program provides up to $5,000 stipends to help military personnel who meet certain criteria become certified to teach. Bonuses of $10,000 are also available. Recipients must agree to teach for three years in a school located in an eligible district. For more information, contact Wayne Eccles, Kentucky Troops to Teachers program coordinator, at (502) 564-4606 or e-mail him at
Wayne.eccles@ky.gov.
A once-in-a lifetime opportunity at Fort Knox
Fort Knox is undergoing a transformation that began when the Department of Defense announced a sweeping Base Realignment and Closure reorganization. As a result, Fort Knox is now home of the Human Resource Center of Excellence and will house most of the Army’s human resource-oriented operations.
The realignment will generate hundreds of high-paying human resource and information technology jobs, and the job opportunities on Fort Knox are greater than what U.S. Army Human Resources Command has available, according to Lt. Colonel Stacy Bathrick.
The Army’s Civilian Personnel On-Line (CPOL) Web site, www.cpol.army.mil, is the best resource for finding out more and applying for Department of Army civilian job vacancies on Fort Knox.
To read the Kentucky Living February 2011 feature that goes along with this supplement, go to Reinvent Yourself.
