I am sure you have heard about the value of investing in a resume writer and/or job search coach to help you during your job search. Certainly, this investment in yourself and your job search will pay off in multiple ways including your ability to fully leverage yourself in your industry of choice, making sure you are optimizing your skills and strengths amidst the competition and securing the highest quality interviews.

However there are additional investments you should be making in your job search that lend themselves to rich and rewarding payoffs.

Have you looked at your home, your health and your time-off activities? Have you set up a system for yourself that provides you with adequate job search support?

Here are some examples:

1. Investment in your health. Are you taking care of yourself? Have you been putting off your yearly physical, your trip to the dentist or chiropractor? Do you invest in eating organic food? Do you get out for a few minutes each day for some exercise and fresh air? Your monetary investment to do this is relatively small but your short and long term payoff is vit al to keeping stress under control and your feeling of well being.

2. Investment in activities you enjoy. You have heard me say it before, investing in yourself, in activities you enjoy and that relax you are MORE important and need to be INCREASED during your job search.

Feel like you can’t find the time? Look at where you spend your time during the day, then commit to cutting out ONE activity that you don’t absolutely need to be doing. Replace it with something you love to do, be it spending time with your family, playing tennis, bike riding or reading a book. The more relaxed and balanced you are, the more energy and focus you will have to give your job search.

3. Investment in your surroundings. Is your office or home a mess? Investment in a clean work and living space will add to your feeling of peace. I have a young child and know how hard it can be to keep things tidy! But each morning I clean my office so I can think clearly, and be present and creative for my clients. In other words, your surroundings can mirror your mental outlook.

4. Investment in your clarity. If you are struggling with your confidence and your self worth regarding your job search, then grab a pen and paper and write out 30 valuable skills, strengths and traits that you can bring to your employer(s). Getting clear here will help you get in touch with how much you really do have to offer. We often devalue our profess ional worth, so this exercise will serve to fill in the gaps if you are leaving out any critical points in your resume.

5. Investment in job search “high payoff” activities. Are you licking stamps and envelopes and running to the printer? Why not consider hiring someone to handle these entry level tasks for you during your job search so you can invest your time focusing on your high payoff activities, such as targeting employers, following up with phone calls and preparing for interviews?

You get so much more done with a little help! Your investment in hiring the neighbor’s teenager across the street (or your own, if you have one) will definitely kick your job search results into high gear.

So, what can you invest in this week that makes you feel good, more balanced and less stressed?

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You may not have heard of instructional coordinators, but if you’re in school, they’re helping to determine what you learn every day.

One reason you may not have heard of this career is that instructional coordinators are also known as curriculum specialists, staff development specialists, directors of instructional material or other variations of those names.

While the job title varies, the main focus of this position does not. An instructional coordinator focuses on making sure that educational programs comply with school board and federal, state and local government regulations.

Instructional coordinators engage in a wide variety of duties at all levels of education. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, instructional coordinators “develop curricula, select textbooks and other materials, train teachers and assess educational programs in terms of quality and adherence to regulations and standards. They also assist in implementing new technology in the classroom.”

Most instructional coordinators are employed by the educational services industry, which includes elementary, secondary and technical schools, and colleges and universities. Some also work for state and local departments of education, as well for private companies that develop educational materials for schools.

Trends boosting job growth

The employment of instructional coordinators is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2014. That’s according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many factors are influencing this job growth. Deborah Hardy is the chairperson of school counseling at a high school. She explains the demand for this career. “As schools redevelop curriculum based on state regulations, educators are finding the need to have instructional leaders assist them with professional development, feedback on lessons, creative methods of instruction, identifying new programs and practices based on school and student needs, and developing delivery methods that benefit all students.”

During the next decade and beyond, instructional coordinators will be needed to develop new curricula to meet the changing demands of society and to train the teaching workforce. In order to stay up to date on new developments, more teachers will find themselves going back to the classroom.

An increasing number of schools are providing professional development programs for teachers, says Jeanette McDonald. She’s the manager of educational development at a university.

Teaching centers often include part-time or full-time faculty members, or professional staff members who work with instructors on curriculum initiatives, course development efforts, tenure and promotion, and teaching feedback, just to name a few, McDonald says.

It’s increasingly important that universities and colleges retain faculty and attract new faculty, McDonald adds. Those working in teaching centers help support those efforts.

“Institutional accountability to students, parents, government and other public and private stakeholders necessitates greater attention on teaching and learning,” McDonald says. “A growing literature base on teaching and learning also legitimates a focus on quality education and innovation in the classroom.”

The rise in distance learning at universities is another factor contributing to the growth of the field, says Peggy Brown. She’s the director of instructional design for a university. Her school offers the same graduate programs and certificates of advanced study through distance learning as they offer on campus.

It’s Brown’s responsibility to make sure the design for all distance learning and main campus courses flows together within the university’s learning management system. “I wear many hats, which include administration of our learning management system, course development, course design, faculty development/training, instructional resources and multimedia,” Brown says. “Being in this career allows me to be creative and have fun, while working hard.”

A promising job outlook

In the U.S., opportunities are expected to be best for those who specialize in areas that have been targeted for improvement by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) — reading, math and science. That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The accountability dial has been ratcheted up a few notches since NCLB,” says Fran Finco. He’s the director of instructional services a school district in Wisconsin. “Increasing student achievement has always been the goal of schools. NCLB brought into the forefront the need to meet the needs of all children. Instructional services people are needed to be the ‘go to’ people in the districts to lead the improvement movement.”

Hardy echoes those comments. “With the use of data warehousing systems that track assessments and student achievement in the content area, schools are looking for experts such as instructional leaders to work with teachers in innovative ways to deliver classroom instruction or update their library resources,” she says.

Hardy also sees a demand for instructional leaders and staff developers. “Instructional leaders look at the entire needs of students and curriculum, assess what is in place and revisit alternate possibilities related to programs,” she says. “Staff developers assist in training educators in their classroom environments, students and delivery of programs.”

Preparing for work

Those in the field say a career as an instructional coordinator can be rewarding.

“It is a ‘big picture’ position where the needs of the entire district are planned through this office,” Finco says. “You are in on the latest research-based instructional methods, you get to work with teacher and principal leaders in schools, you get to help plan staff development in areas of best practice, you get to facilitate data analysis and school improvement planning, and you get to participate in school improvement.”

The minimum educational requirement for instructional coordinators is a bachelor’s degree, and that’s usually in education. Many in this career begin their careers in teaching or similar positions. They prepare for a job as an instructional coordinator by completing a master’s degree in such areas as curriculum and instruction or educational or instructional technology.

Finco recommends students work on their organizational, technology, public speaking and multi-tasking skills. He suggests first earning a teaching degree and working in the classroom. A solid path of preparation, he says, would be to then earn an administrative degree and work as a school administrator before landing a job as an instructional coordinator.

A well-prepared instructional coordinator will be ready to meet the various challenges of this work, including keeping up on the latest educational initiatives and policies. Those in these positions often work long hours, attend many meetings and give presentations.

“Students need to have an ongoing desire to learn since there is always something new in the field,” Hardy says.

Students interested in working as an instructional coordinator also must be able to work effectively with people, have good communication skills and be a good observer and listener.

Net Sites

The American Association of School Administrators
Information on training programs and lists of colleges and universities offering degree programs in curriculum and instruction

http://www.aasa.org

The International Society for Technology in Education
Society for those advocating for technology in education

http://www.iste.org

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Working to improve education at every level

http://www.ascd.org

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Thu Jun 11, 3:00 am ET

Career coach and Internationally Certified Advanced Resume Writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford has surprising advice for finding your next executive-level job. In a new podcast on Total Picture Radio, Bradford reveals how to tap into the hidden job market. Responding to the tough employment outlook, she generously gives away her Phone Networking ebook.

(Vocus) June 11, 2009 — “The historical data that’s out there right now shows that finding a job today – and this is no secret – is more than twice as difficult as either of the last two recessions,” said Mary Elizabeth Bradford in a new 30 minute interview podcast on Total Picture Radio. Known as “The Career Artisan,” Mary Elizabeth came to her role having spent eight years working as an executive recruiter. She is an internationally certified advanced resume writer and internationally certified master director, (awarded by Career Directors International). Additionally, Bradford is the publisher of the bimonthly ezine, The Career Insider, and the author of two guidebooks: Secrets of the Unadvertised Job Market… Revealed! and Phone Networking Secrets Revealed.

Much of her conversation with Peter Clayton, the producer/host of Total Picture Radio, focused on the strategies used by her clients that are working today to garner job interviews and job offers: “Targeted direct mail campaigns and phone calls… it may sound very old fashioned,” she admitted, “but it will get you far better results than spending all day on job boards.”

“So many new job seekers immediately gravitate to the mega job boards,” Clayton confirmed, “it’s easy, it’s immediate; however, it is not painless. Weeks of submitting your resume on job boards with never getting any response, can be very demoralizing.” Mary Elizabeth agreed. “I talk to a lot of really deserving and intelligent executives that just don’t have the right information to get off the job boards… To tap into the unadvertised job market you really need a system because that’s what job boards are,” she said, “that’s why people fall back on them is because you get out there with this abundance of information and you wonder as a job seeker what am I supposed to be doing? What is the right thing? Why aren’t people connecting back with me, is it me, is it my resume? One of the reasons why job boards are so tempting is because it’s the lack of understanding exactly step by step what to do. That’s why I’ve really devoted my whole career to showing job seekers how to set it up step by step so that doing the right things is as easy as answering job ads. That’s been my goal.”

Reinforcing Clayton’s comment about job boards, Bradford became more specific: “Why does this work? Because as you know Peter, 85 percent or so of jobs are filled before they morph to that place where they need to be advertised, so this gets a job seeker into that window of opportunity where there is less competition, more open jobs and actually, when you flush out the numbers, works much, much better than conducting a job board search, which usually yields only a 1 to 3 percent response.”

Bradford’s eBook, “Phone Networking Secrets Revealed” framed a good portion of the interview. Clayton stated, “As you know, Mary Elizabeth, many job seekers are terrified of making phone calls, especially cold calls.” She agreed. “My clients tell me that this is one of the top three most difficult things to do. And, of course, the more executive you get, the harder it is.” Again, her background as an executive recruiter helped Bradford to develop her skills and techniques on cold calling, and getting through to decision makers.

Those in career transition will find a wealth of advice on resume writing, job search techniques, getting past the corporate gatekeepers, and how to conduct an executive level job search without wasting hours of time, by spending a few minutes with Mary Elizabeth Bradford on Total Picture Radio. A full transcript of the interview is included on Mary Elizabeth’s feature page on Total Picture Radio, along with a very generous offer to receive Phone Networking Secrets Revealed — for free!

# # #

Total Picture Radio
Peter Clayton
203-870-6900
E-mail Information

Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceCopyright/IP Policy

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Source: Excerpt from CareerProNews

It’s clear we need to change our power sources. But so far, the answers are expensive. Alternative energy researchers are trying to find new ways for natural resources to power our lives at lower costs. Natural renewable resources — like wind, solar and geothermal power — renew quickly and are cleaner alternatives.

But there aren’t enough qualified people to work in the field of alternative energy, says Craig Dunn. He is president of WellDunn Consulting, a geological consulting firm for the energy industry. He says the demand for alternative energy is going to increase. Companies involved in alternative energy are going to keep growing. However, at the same time, the workforce is getting older.

“I would suggest the engineers and scientists that are willing to venture into the youthful alternative energy industry will have skill sets that will put their services in demand in future,” says Dunn.

What needs to be done?

“There are a lot of areas that need to be improved, from developing better technologies, to figuring out how to get that energy to the places it’s needed,” says Bonnie Jonkman. She is a scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “In the U.S. right now, there is an effort to increase wind energy to 20 percent of our total energy mix. To meet that goal, we will need more people working in this field.”

Investors have caught on to alternative energy, and green is the new gold. Although renewable energy produces only a small percentage of the world’s total energy, it brings in 18 percent of the world’s investment in power generation. That’s according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2007. Wind generation is bringing in the most investment, with solar and biofuel energy technologies growing quickly as well.

Energy blowing in the wind

Wind turbines take energy out of thin air. The wind turns the blades of a turbine to generate electricity. Compared to other sources of renewable energy, the wind sector is fairly mature. The UNEP says money is pouring in to develop new technology, and to manufacture and sell it.

“Wind turbines are getting larger all the time (with rotors bigger than a Boeing 747), and the number of wind turbines being installed is increasing every year,” says Jonkman. “It will require a large workforce with a variety of skills to address the technical challenges and to meet the demand for more turbines. We need construction workers to erect wind turbines, maintenance workers to keep the turbines running, engineers and scientists to solve the design challenges, and politicians to develop sound policies.”

Energy in plants

Biomass is plant matter grown for use as biofuel. Researchers in this area try to find out whether burning plant matter, such as corn and sugarcane, is better for the environment than burning traditional fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas.

Biofuel is second only to wind power in the amount of money being invested, says the UNEP. It says there was a huge growth of interest in 2006. Interest was due in part to the growing corn-based ethanol industry in the U.S.

Although energy can be harvested from corn, the method for doing so is inefficient. Alternative energy researchers must refine the method to make ethanol. It must become more efficient — and less expensive — before it can compete with gasoline as a fuel source.

Energy beaming down on us

Heat from the sun produces solar power. Photovoltaics is one device that can harness the sun’s energy. The energy travels through an electrical circuit to power anything electronic — from your calculator to your home.

Photovoltaics has been around since the 1970s. However, in the past decade prices on solar power have dropped. Scientists hope the next generation of photovoltaics will keep shrinking the price-tag on solar energy.

Experts predict that in the next 10 years, alternative energy researchers will be able to cut the cost of solar energy to make it competitive with petroleum. Solar energy has the potential to meet the entire planet’s electric and fuel needs. That’s according to chemist Harry Gray in an article entitled, “Expert foresees 10 more years of R and D to make solar energy competitive.”

Energy from the depths of the Earth

Geothermal energy is heat taken from far beneath our feet. Although the surface of the Earth is cool, the base of the Earth’s crust is about 1800 F. This heat can be converted into renewable energy.

That’s what Craig Dunn works towards. “We are offering opportunities to improve and solutions for the next generation,” he says. Research is the first step, he adds. He warns that newcomers to alternative energy need courage. Alternative energy is all about venturing into new research areas.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty in the energy industry in general and with emerging or alternative solutions. And there is no clear cut solution for North America’s energy needs. Continued education is fundamental to your work if you hope to stay ahead of the curve,” says Dunn.

Energy flowing in rivers and oceans

Water is key to a few types of alternative energy. Hydroelectric power comes from moving water — often a dammed river. The water drives a turbine and generator. This generates electricity. The flow of the river constantly renews the energy needed for hydroelectric power. That’s why it’s a “renewable” source.

Similarly, tidal power uses the natural energy from tides — the rising and falling of sea levels. Also, waves create energy on the surface of the ocean. This energy is being captured too.

In the U.S., there is a lot of potential to develop more hydropower plants, according to the National Hydropower Association. It estimates that 5,400 sites could be developed. This would boost hydroelectric generation by more than 50 percent in the U.S.

There are always new technologies being developed to capture energy more efficiently and cost-effectively. Opportunities will flow to alternative energy researchers in the hydroelectric field.

Imagination is important

“I think [the alternative energy research field] is just going to get bigger. It’s a growing job. The word ‘green’ is bigger than ever. You see it all over the news and in so many industries. It’s a huge market,” says Jay Gill. He is the national sales manager for Global Resource Corporation.

Global Resource is a petroleum research, engineering, development and manufacturing company. It discovered a way to use microwave technology to harness the energy in automobile tires to make oil and gas. Yep, that’s right — they zap old tires to create energy.

So the limits of alternative energy research are really only limited by researchers’ imaginations. Ever dream of being a superhero? Alternative energy researchers work every day to save the world — and they don’t have to wear tights.

Net Sites

Energy Kid’s Page
Find games and fun facts about energy

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/

Climate Change Kids Site
Read about climate change from the United States Environmental Protection Agency

http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html

TIME for Kids
Read a special report on global warming

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/articles/0

,6709,1113542,00.html

Bytesize Science
Watch or listen to educational podcasts for kids

http://feeds.feedburner.com/bytesizescience

Careers in Wind
Search the job board from the American Wind Energy Association

http://www.jobtarget.com/home/index.cfm?site_id=77

0

American Wind Energy Association
Learn more about the association for wind energy companies

http://www.awea.org

National Hydropower Association
Learn about “blue energy”

http://www.hydro.org/

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·     What industries are hiring

·     Two powerful strategies to quickly and easily get in front of hiring managers

·     How to get past gatekeepers when making follow up phone calls

·     What to say if the hiring manager says “Were not hiring right now”

·     What most people leave out of their resumes that are must-haves

·     How many pages a resume should be and the difference between chronological and functional styles

·     Vital tips to compete in todays job market

Listen to the 20 minute interview here:

http://www.totalpicture.com/shows/success-strategies/mary-elizabeth-bradford-the-career-artisan.html

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I was recently reading Joan Stewart’s “The Publicity Hound” ezine, and noticed a tip on how to set up email subject lines for small business owners to garner media attention.

Joan writes:

========================================

3. Email Subject Lines

========================================

When you email a pitch or press release to the media, you have one or two seconds to catch their attention with your subject line.

Publicist Michelle Tennant, of Wasabi Publicity, sometimes flags the media by using these phrases in her subject line, just before the actual headline:

–Last-minute:

–Look:

–Media alert:

–Local:

It works. Michelle, one of the first graduates of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, has an outstanding track record of scoring major media hits for her clients in top-tier media outlets.

=============

…This got me thinking about applying the same strategies when in a job search. To grab a decision makers attention, you could state:

Local:

Attention:

Operations expert:

Candidate:

Available for interview:

…just a few ideas off the top of my head. Can anyone think of additional attention catchers?

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Program Overview

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act, serves persons with low incomes who are 55 years old or over and have poor employment prospects. The program has two purposes: to provide useful community services and to foster individual economic self sufficiency through training and job placement in unsubsidized jobs. Services provided include:

up to 20 hours a week of part-time employment in community service assignments
job training and related educational opportunities
opportunities for placement into unsubsidized jobs

Community service assignments include the following activities:

social, health, welfare, and educational services (particularly literacy tutoring)
personal assistance, including tax counseling and assistance and financial counseling
library, recreational, and other similar services
conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources
community betterment or beautification
anti-pollution and environmental quality efforts
weatherization activities
economic development; and
such other services essential and necessary to the community as the Secretary of the Department of Labor, by regulation, may prescribe.

To locate a program near you, please call Louis C. Stone at (615) 741-8777.

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