You know I am always looking out for good ideas for job seekers…even if it means branching out and starting your own business!

In that spirit, I want to share some information with you about owning a franchise.

Owning a franchise can give you more flexibility – without you having to start your business yourself-completely from scratch.

My colleague Larry helps match up people with the right franchises.

He also helps people sell or even franchise their established businesses.

I have networked with Larry for nearly 5 years now…(wow time does fly!)

Here is where you can learn more:

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****HURRY – LESS THAN 100 SEATS LEFT!!****

I am so excited to share with you that brand new for 2012, I am personally

hosting a f-r-e-e monthly teleseminar series on various job search topics.

*all topics were directly selected by you, my e-zine subscribers!

My first info-packed teleseminar is THIS Saturday and it is titled:

How to Brand & Market Yourself to Compete in Today’s Job Market

You can sign up here:http://www.job-searchsystem.com/teleseminar.html

BUT there IS a catch:

these calls will NOT be recorded

and there are only 250 seats on the bridge line.

That means if this call is for you, you must act fast.

Get the call details and grab your seat now:

http://www.job-searchsystem.com/teleseminar.html

Inspiring your success,

Mary Elizabeth Bradford, CERW, MCD

The Career Artisan

www.maryelizabethbradford.com

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I truly understand that in today’s world of instant information it’s very easy to become overwhelmed and maybe a little callous. Kind of like giving a hard time to telemarketers that call our homes around dinner time. It is easy to forget it is a human being just trying to make a living on the other end of the line. Perhaps someone’s son or daughter trying to pay their way through college.

A long time ago I decided I was going to do everything I could to be NICE—REALLY nice, to everyone I spoke with—no matter what the circumstances and whether I knew them or not.

Because in my career, I have been on the other end of the stick many times.

And something that just happened to me this morning REMINDED me of my commitment and how important it is for us all to be gracious when we network.

But first let’s go waaayyy back to my days as an executive recruiter. As a job seeker, you will bend over backward to have a good conversation with a recruiter right? Well as a recruiter who continuously had to cold call and have conversations with employed executives—sometimes my call would elicit hostility. Executives would tell me “DON’T CALL ME AGAIN!” or would grill me “HOW DID YOU GET MY NUMBER?!” or, “I AM NOT INTERESTED IN ANY OF YOUR JOBS!!”

It always amazed me. And often a year or two later many of those executives would call me for help because they found themselves in a job search. You can imagine how “eager” I was to help place them with one of my beloved client companies.

Which leads me to this morning’s incident. Interestingly, a recruiter had requested to connect with me on LinkedIn—which I accepted. I always send follow up email to my new connections to thank them for reaching out to connect and I invite them to sign up for my free newsletter. This particular recruiter emailed me back and said “TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST IMMEDIATELY!” I decided to personally email her back and explain she was a connection, and I had simply invited her to sign up for my e-zine with a link.

Here is what my new LinkedIn connection wrote back: “LET ME REPHRASE: DON’T SEND ME ANY MORE EMAILS!!”

I promptly removed this recruiter from my LinkedIn connections.

This is a PERFECT example of what we should never, ever do. As we network, we simply can’t afford to be rude or mean. So . . . here are some networking tips I have found very useful that I would like to share with you:

1. In your career, strive to be nice to EVERYBODY no matter their station or basis of relationship. You just never know when the tables may turn and who wants to spread bad energy around?
2. If you must say NO to somebody, do so as graciously and professionally as possible.
3. If someone or something around you is negative, cut off communication, if possible. Leaders and professionals who are serious about their careers protect their inner circle and filter the information they “let in.”
4. When networking, think: “How can I help?” If you will always lead with thinking about the other person, you will be showing them honor and respect and they will repay you naturally in kind. Long term, this is the true core of networking. It doesn’t matter if your connection is in person, on LinkedIn, Facebook, or phone . . . strive for consistency in all you do.
5. If someone you are talking to is rude or negative—do not get defensive. This includes all the things that can potentially happen to you in a job search such as someone promising they will call you, or invite you back for an interview, but never do.
6. Find a mentor who holds a high visibility position—one whose personality you admire—and then emulate them. If you are lucky enough to know several executive mentors, you will start to see a pattern. Leaders/Mentors generally have a certain likeability . . . a charisma, if you will, for various reasons—some are attractive because they are fair and do the right thing, others because they want to foster the potential in you, and still others because they are warm and kind.
7. Whomever you are speaking to, try to find a positive thing about that person that you can complement him or her on. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to someone new, I LOVE figuring out what that one thing is that I can compliment them on. Sometimes it is their photo, other times it is something about their voice, their personality, or their career. This becomes a good habit and you will find yourself focusing on the positive more versus the negative in your daily dealings with others.
8. If you make a practice of focusing on and helping others, at some point you may feel used or that you have not gotten back what you have put in. This goes with the territory. Don’t let it deter you from your course to develop a good reputation, overall virtue, and will ultimately make you a better person.

I feel fortunate that I have been humbled by the above types of experiences over the years because it gives me an excuse to take a bad thing and turn it around to reflect something positive. I hope you can take one thing from the list above and share the love.

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Senior Economist for the Federal Reserve says construction jobs will increase in 2012 while the fast growing markets of 2011  such as energy will slow slightly.

It is a short interesting article. You can read it here.

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Peruse any newspaper’s employment section and you will find numerous IT job openings. A quick search on Internet sites such as Monster or CareerBuilder may yield thousands of results. Although there are many career options in IT, not all positions are equal, possess the same room for advancement or require the same amount of skill and training.

A number of emerging IT opportunities include a hybridization of skills which include, but are not limited to some level of detailed IT knowledge. With the great diversity of options available, it is important to weigh the options and be aware of emerging job profiles.

Entry Level Options

Many two year colleges and online certificate programs provide the necessary training for entry level positions such as data entry, help desk assistant, entry level programmers and database administrators, as well as numerous entry level software developers and web design workers. Every industry utilizes IT professionals and many emerging job descriptions include a wider set of skills with an emphasis on team building and communication to better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse global marketplace.

Career Advancement

Since the early 1970’s when Macintosh computers utilized the first microprocessor chip in mass production of desktop computers, the field of Information Technology has grown exponentially to include thousands of job descriptions. Many companies offer advanced certificate training or reimbursement for continuing education. Professional organizations offer networking opportunities for professionals to explore a great diversity of careers. From the health professions to the auto industry and from the entertainment field to the construction industry, IT jobs are available in every discipline with a number of career advancement opportunities in a myriad of specialty fields.

Emerging Opportunities

For professionals seeking cutting edge IT jobs, the growing field of cyber security offers quick advancement and ample opportunity. The competition is intense for top jobs that require high security clearance and Masters degrees or higher. But there are entry level jobs that can lead to bigger and better opportunities over time, many with governmental as well as private entities.

While many opportunities exist in Internet and database security, there are other emerging IT job descriptions that require a combination of skills and experience that can be obtained in a variety of ways including on the job training, internships, online degree programs, and other forms of advanced training. Feel free to browse this resource for more options.

While there are many fields that promise rapid growth, IT offers over three decades of ongoing growing opportunity in nearly all fields. In recent years IT professionals have become valuable components of team problem-solving initiatives that span a wider range of skills than traditional IT jobs of a couple decades ago. Emerging opportunities in cyber security and the integration of tech fields with corporate communications and more integrated customer support will continue to offer the next generation of IT professionals continued opportunities within the expanding setting of global business.

This post was provided by Villanova University’s online programs. Villanova offers IT security training 100% online which will also help individuals prep for their CISSP certification exam.

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This year, many of my clients asked me about starting

Their own part or full time business.

Some of my clients feel that the security of

working for a big company is no longer there.

And those clients realize that

working FOR themselves could be a fantastic investment

IN themselves.

And I agree!

So I (literally) jumped through hoops to set up an

interview with 7-figure small business coach

Kendall Summerhawk to discuss how people (just like you)

start and run profitable and satisfying

part or full time businesses, and specifically, how to tell

if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur.

You can listen to this brand new 60 minute interview here:

http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/W7tFrnCk

PLUS Kendall put up a special video series you can

access too titled: Money Blocks & Breakthroughs

and she has given us all permission to view it for free.

You can access it here:

http://tinyurl.com/MaryElizabethVideos

If you have ever wondered about starting your own business

you definitely want to hear this VERY candid interview and

watch this video series!

Normally my “Ask the Expert” teleseminar calls are

only available to Job Search Success System members

(www.job-searchsystem.com), but I am gifting this

to everyone on my list because I believe this call

is going to help a lot of people.

Merry Christmas!

Mary Elizabeth Bradford, CERW, MCD

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Want to know how my clients are getting their dream jobs and dream salaries right NOW in this economy?

Just download a copy of my latest ebook (for free!): The 21st Century Job Search at www.thecareerartisan.com.

Please feel free to pass this book on to your friends or family who might need help in their job search right now.

-Mary Elizabeth

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I am so excited to announce that my bestselling program, The Job Search Success System, has just won the 2011 Career Innovator Award through Career Directors International!

I would like to thank Career Directors International for acknowledging this powerful online home study course that has helped so many job seekers take control of their job search by tapping into the hidden job market in both good and bad market climates!

To celebrate, if you sign up to access the Job Search Success System before Friday (tomorrow) I will personally critique your resume as part of the package to make sure you are looking good there!

P.S We are currently sold out of the VIP packages for the Job Search Success System but you can still get the home study course ($97 package) here.

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I just released my brand new ebook in my Career Artisan Series! Its titled: The 21st Century Job Search.

You can buy it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but I would rather give it to you for free here:

www.thecareerartisan.com

If you like it, please consider writing a short review on  Amazon kindle, okay? Please help me spread the word that there is a BETTER way to conduct a job search in today’s tough market…one that actually WORKS! Lets empower jobseekers everywhere….

ENJOY!

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FINALLY! I am hosting a very special call for my list titled:

Overcoming Job Search Hurdles.

Last month I received hundreds of responses to my question: what troubles you most about your job search? In this upcoming call I have been preparing to reveal to you solutions that will help you overcome your job search challenges PLUS a couple VERY special surprises including something I have been working very hard on that I am going to give to you for free.

Sign up here:

http://www.job-searchsystem.com/teleseminar.html

Your questions answered:

Are you feeling discriminated against due to your age?

Not landing any interviews – feel like there are no jobs out there?

Having a hard time conducting an effective job search while currently employed?

Is your job search dragging on forever?

Can’t find leads in the hidden job market?

Having a hard time changing industries?

Hate to network?

Depressed and demotivated?

Boy have I got some news for you…

You can sign up here for free now:

http://www.job-searchsystem.com/teleseminar.html

Can’t wait to see you on the call!

-Mary Elizabeth

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