About 19 employers are scheduled for the Job News job fair on Wed., Jan. 18th, at the Signature Grand in Davie, FL.

Comcast, Verizon, The Check Cashing Store, ITR and other employers plan to participate in the job fair, said Jim Nolan, general manager for Job News.

The job fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Signature Grand, 6900 State Road 84 East, Davie, FL.

Pre-register online at Job News Fort Lauderdale. Details can be found under the “job fairs” link.

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible.

And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely,

Thank You and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and Happy New Year.

Here are some frequent mistakes that lead to poor resumes. Double check your resume against these. Does your resume reflect any of these mistakes? Avoiding these mistakes won’t automatically get you the job of your choice, but it will ensure you are on the right track.

Mistake 1: Writing in the 1^st Person.

Your resume is not a personal correspondence, and should not include words such as “I,” “my” and “me.” Use the 1^st Person pronouns in your cover letter. Always put your resume in the 3^rd Person. Start your bullet point with: “Created” instead of “I created…”

Mistake 2: Writing Your Resume Without Specifics.

Give the reader an idea of what you have done throughout your career. List your accomplishments along with quantifiable facts to back up your claims. Saying you were responsible for a 11% growth in overall sales is more impressive than simply stating you managed a sales team or function.

Show your achievements, accomplishments and goals in direct statements (i.e., Managed 20-bed critical care nursing unit with a staff of 15 nurses.) The resume shouldn’t contain every detail. It should only include the information that will help you land an interview.

Mistake 3: Personal Information Overload.

Don’t Do It! Leave the details about your personal life, marital status, hobbies and other interests on the cutting room floor. It may be important to you, but the hiring manager/recruiter or screener for each specific job is not looking for this information. Why give them information to help them screen you out?

Mistake 4: Poor Formatting.

Make your information clear and easy to read to capture and keep their attention. Use consistent formatting for headings and bullet points. Keep your resume simple, bold and professional. While the most important part of your resume is the content, there is no question that the document’s overall look and feel is also important.

To speak with an Expert representative about any of the above mistakes to avoid in your resume, visit http://www.myexpertresume.com/ or call (954) 236-9558.

Comcast, Norwegian Cruise Line, Winn Dixie Stores and about 25 employers are scheduled for the job fair, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Don Shula’s Hotel, 6842 Main St., Miami Lakes.

Employers are hiring for positions including Management and Staff, Customer Service, Retail, Engineering, Accounting, Financial Services, Hospitality, and Drivers.

The event is free to job seekers, who are encouraged to pre-register online at http://miami.jobnewsusa.com/.

 Additionally, a community job fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Hagen Ranch Library, 14350 Hagen Ranch Road, Delray Beach.

Employers at the job fair include JCPenney, AT&T, Office Depot, Plastridge insurance firm, Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, Volen Center, and Palm Beach Tax Collector and Supervisor of Elections offices.

Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, which said it plans to hire 800 full-time workers for its $150 million casino expansion, is holding a job fair from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 5550 NW 40th St., Coconut Creek.

Jobs include both service and skilled jobs. The casino is hiring chefs, cooks, waiters/waitresses, bartenders, cocktail servers, and other restaurant/lounge team members. New gaming employee jobs include dealers, hosts, player’s club representatives, cashiers, customer service attendants, and slot machine technicians. Other jobs are available in security, building/grounds maintenance and housekeeping.

The casino is just east of State Road 7 (U.S. 441) and north of Sample Road. For more information call 954-977-6700 or visit www.seminolecoconutcreekcasino.com.

In West Palm Beach, JobNewsUSA is holding a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West Palm Beach Marriott.

Coca-Cola, Comcast, Macy’s, the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller, and other employers are scheduled for the job fair, according to general manager Jim Nolan. More than 20 companies will be participating, he says, with jobs in management, customer service, accounting, information technology, public safety, and hospitality.

Register online at at www.JobNewsPalmBeach.com

Good Luck!!

The South Florida Diversity Job Expo

MAKE YOUR CAREER CONNECTION

Friday- October 28^th, 2011 

11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. 

AT

THE SIGNATURE GRAND

6900 State Road 84

Davie, Florida 33317

Prepare To Meet Many Top Companies, Who Will Be Interviewing / Hiring In All Industries. Here Are Just A Few Of The Companies That Will Be Attending:

•DiversityJobsUSA & Diversity Job Expos (USA)                      

•New York Life

•AFLAC                                                                                        

•American Express Consumer Travel

•Concorde Career Institute                                                              

•The Art Institutes

•Coventry Healthcare                                                            

•C.H. Robinson Company

•Broward College                                                                                

•Strayer University

•AXA- Advisors                                                                         

•Home Depot

•Colonial Life                                                                             

•Sullivan & Cogliano Training Centers

•Hispanic Unity                                                                         

•Cellular Sales

•American Intercontinental University                                       

•Fast Train

•The Flyer Publishing Company                                                      

•The Miami Herald

•The Broward County Urban League                                                         

•WorkForce One

•Natha Communications

Today, job seekers are bombarded with “expert information,” which is usually the same tricks repeated over and over.  Lets take a moment to help you job seekers out there by offering a more in depth explanation of advice that many career-professionals overlook. This advice is works for both active and passive candidates alike.

The job market is always evolving; candidates need to be more creative than ever to catch the employers’ attention. The advice from 10 years ago no longer applies; advice to candidates should keep pace with the reality of the job market.

Here are five tips that job seekers are not often told.

1. Find a mentor, utilize their network and advice.
Everyone should have a mentor. When looking for a mentor, ask for referrals from past co-workers, managers, friends, networking acquaintances, and social media connections. Ideally, your mentor should have a current role that is similar to what you aspire to do and a network that is pertinent to your industry.

2. Make a list of companies you would like to work for and start networking.
Target a list of 5 to 10 companies for whom you would like work. The next step is looking at your Linkedin network to see who you know that works for those companies or who can help you connect with the companies’ key decision makers. This makes it far easier to submit your résumé directly to a person rather than a faceless email address.

3.    Use Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com.
These sites are aggregators, meaning they pull from job boards all over the Internet. This is a great way to see what companies are hiring and for what positions agencies are recruiting. These sites will save you time since you won’t have to check multiple job boards. Keep in mind that it is always wise to connect with at least one recruiter who is a subject matter expert in your industry. Recruiters can have access to jobs that are not posted online and usually know the current market trends.

4.    Utilize and maintain a professional social media presence.
Google yourself regularly. You do not want to find out about bad personal press from a potential employer. If your search shows less than flattering results, make sure to take note of the information and contact the site to see if they will remove the questionable content. Your goal should be to have as much positive press show up as possible. Professional social media sites like LinkedIn are great for demonstrating your knowledge and influence in your field.

5.    Ask for constructive feedback from interviewers, friends, mentors and former employers.
The truth can be hard to face but, without it, you cannot make adjustments that will help you succeed in the future. Before providing references to a potential employer, always know what each reference will say about you. If their feedback contains constructive comments, make sure to take that to heart. Remember at the end of an interview to ask the hiring manager “Do you have any other questions for me or do you see any reason that we wouldn’t move forward?” It is a direct question to ask but this will ensure that there are no misunderstandings between you and your interviewer(s).

Whether you are unemployed or passively looking for a better opportunity, getting a job is never an easy task. The key is to never stop building relationships and always work to improve your skills.

Employers including Florida Power & Light, Winn-Dixie Stores, Marriott Vacation Club, New York Life, TD Bank, Kaplan University and Tropical Shipping are scheduled for a job fair on Wednesday, Sept. 7, in Palm Beach Gardens.    

Dubbed the “West Palm Beach Career Expo” – though it’s being held farther north, the job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel, 4431 PGA Blvd.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/careers/ask-marcia/sfl-job-fair-fpl,0,760406.story

Seven things to consider when deciding whether to hire someone to write your resume for you.

Most people know that when you’re looking for a job, you absolutely positively have to have a great resume.

Where many people go wrong, though, is in misjudging whether they have what it takes to create their own resume, or whether it makes sense for them to work with a professional resume writer.

To me, it’s like the question of whether you should pay someone else to cut your hair for you.

Maybe you can save that money, if you’re a great haircutter and can do a professional-qualty job on it. But if you don’t get it right, you risk looking a little bit off-kilter, and that can cost you. It’s all about what you get for what you spend.

Here are five questions to ask yourself in making your decision about whether to hire a professional resume writer.

1.  Do you understand what makes a great resume in today’s market?

Resumes are not like other documents. They have their own language, and they must deliver certain very specific information in an easy-to-scan and easy-to-understand format. They also have trends and fashions that are constantly changing.

Be honest with yourself about whether you are familiar with the latest trends in resumes, or if you are willing to put the time in to learn more about what makes an effective resume. If not, you may be better off getting some help.

2.  Are you talented at writing marketing materials?

A resume is not just a list of everything you did and every job you had. It’s a marketing piece, a brochure about you, and it has to sell you as the right person for the specific job you’re applying to.

If you know how to write headlines, and how to describe your experience in a way that’s engaging and keeps the reader wanting to know more, that’s good. But if you struggle with writing, then you are better off getting some professional help.

3.  Are you experienced at designing and laying out beautiful documents?

Be really honest with yourself on this one. Here’s a quick test: When you want to indent, do you know how to do that without ever hitting a tab? Do you know what style sheets are? Do you understand how to adjust line spacing and the use of white space for additional readability?

If the answer to any of these is “no,” then you will end up with a much more professional resume if you get some professional help.

4.  How much is your time worth?

I’m always amazed when someone who makes $100K a year hesitates at paying a few hundred dollars to have someone do their resume for them.

Creating a great resume will take you at least four or five hours, and probably longer if you count in your time to do research. Your time is probably better used doing what you’re great at, and then investing that into hiring someone whose talent is in creating resumes to do that for you.

5.  How much will it save you if you get a job sooner rather than later?

Again, what’s your time worth? If you make $100K a year, that’s $2,000 a week. I guarantee you that a great resume will get you more interviews, which increases your chances to get into that new job quickly.

If you save even one week’s time, you’ve paid for a pro to do your resume several times over, and you’re working much sooner.

6.  Are you in a competitive market?

Many jobs today get hundreds of responses, and if you want any chance at all to stand out in that crowd, you need to have a “wow” resume, or you’re never going to get the interview. I’ve seen people go from a zero percent response rate to an 80% response rate just by investing in a fantastic resume.

7.  Are you looking for a position that is involved in any way with creating great business documents?

If you wait tables or drive a truck, a strong resume will still help you get the interview, but a weak resume doesn’t necessarily reflect on your ability to do the job well.

However, if you’re an admin worker, an entrepreneur, a senior executive, or in the marketing field, it is entirely fair for the reader to assume that the quality of your resume is a reflection of the quality of your work, so invest in making sure it shows you in your best light

http://work.lifegoesstrong.com/should-you-pay-professional-write-your-resume

If you’re feeling frustrated in your job search, it’s easy to blame it on the poor job market or the fact that employers are inundated with resumes. But if you really take a look at how you’re job searching, you might realize you can make certain changes to yield better results.

Do any of the following sound familiar?

1. You’re job searching not company searching

Do you find yourself typing in your ideal position into job boards and aggregators, only to discover you’re not really finding the listings you’d like? Searching for a position, such as Sales Manager, instead of targeting specific companies, can make for an unfocused job search—and you’ll waste a lot of time looking at jobs you’re not interested in.

What to do instead: Do your research to discover the places you’d really like to work. Then, target five to ten ideal companies and focus your job search efforts on those organizations.

2. Neglecting your online presence

Maybe you have a Facebook profile that’s public, which lets employers see your unprofessional Wall posts and photo albums. It could be that your Google presence is nonexistent, making employers wonder why they can’t find information about you online. Whatever the case, you need to be aware that employers are looking at your online presence—and you need to take charge of it yourself.

What to do instead: Set up a professional portfolio, website, Twitter, or Google profile, anything you’ll use for promoting yourself professionally. Then look at what might negatively affect your job search and try to remove it.

3. Applying for jobs you’re not qualified for

While you should work toward attaining your dream job, that dream also needs to be realistic in terms of skills, qualifications, and experience. You’re wasting your time if you don’t meet the minimum qualifications for the job opening.

What to do instead: Look for jobs where you meet the minimum qualifications. Or, if you’re set on a specific type of position that you’re unqualified for, consider additional education or skills training to meet those requirements.

4. Acting beaten down or depressed

No one will argue with you that a job search is tough stuff. It’s stressful, time-consuming and energy draining. But it’s a Catch-22: If you start acting negative or beaten down, you’ll probably start to see less results, and you might not land a job for several more months. A positive attitude can be the key to standing out in the screening and hiring process.

What to do instead: Find a source of support to vent your job-search frustrations and get advice. Talk with a friend or family member, join an online group, chat or community, or enlist a career coach. You might also consider taking up a hobby you enjoy or exercising to keep your motivation up.

5. You’re prepared to take any job at this point

No one likes desperation—especially hiring managers. Failing to have a focused, specific job-search strategy can actually hurt your chances of landing a new job. It also confuses your personal and professional network, and those folks are often the key to learning about unadvertised job openings and receiving referrals.

What to do instead: Be specific in your job hunt. Take some time to research positions you’d enjoy working in and organizations that fit with your values and interests. By being specific, you can more easily build your personal brand and leverage your existing network.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/07/29/5-job-search-habits-to-break