Vocational and Career Counseling

Knowing community resources available to help you find work is essential.  Are you familiar with the Department of Labor Workforce Center?  It’s an agency located in every county in the U.S. whose purpose is to assist individuals find work.  Here is the address: http://www.dol.gov/dol/location.htm.  First, you need to click on your State to be taken to that site.  At your State, identify your city/county and to see what services they have to offer.  They may be listed under ‘Job Seeker’ or ‘Job Search’. 

Depending on your county’s population, you might have a full service center and satellite offices in your area.  At the full service center, you may search for employment on the internet and/or in their job bank, print copies of your resume, fax your resume to employers, and make job search telephone calls, all at no cost to you.  You may also work with a job counselor to assist in your return to gainful employment.    

Give them a call and see how they can help you.  You might have to attend and orientation first.  It’s a brief meeting where they inform all first-timers to the Workforce Center what services they have to offer.   Good luck.

www.TumiPublishing.com

 Now available, Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point, a novel of recovery and redemption

Soar High

Before you walk into an interview, you should know as much about the company and the position you are applying for as you possibly can.  If you found the job through an employment agency, they should be able to provide you with the information.  If not, search the web.

In today’s world of mass communication, there’s no excuse for lack of research.  After you have studied the company, write out a list of questions to ask the interviewer.  Here are some sample questions that apply to all occupations:

Why is this position available? 

Will there be opportunities for training?

What obstacles will I have to overcome to succeed?

How will my performance be evaluated?

Are there opportunites for promotion?

Do you anticipate growth in the near future?  

Remember, you are also interviewing the company to determine if it’s somepalce you want to work; it’s a two-way street.  So buckle up and happy hunting.

Ric Estrada, EdS

www.TumiPublishing.com

No one can predict the exact questions an interviewer will ask, but you can have a good idea.  Of course, the interviewer will ask about your work experience and training, and how they apply to the job you’re seeking.  At the same time, the interviewer will be interested in how you relate to the working environment, your co-workers and supervisors, as well as what are your aspirations, assets and liabilities. To prepare, think about how you would answer the following questions:

Tell me about yourself? (Work related: work experience, education, training, and other strengths)
What do you know about our organization?
Why are you interested in this position?
What are your most significant career achievements?
Describe a situation in which your work was criticized?
How would you describe your personality?
How do you perform under pressure?
How have you improved yourself over the past year?
What did you like least about your last position?
Why are you leaving your present company?
What is your ideal working environment?
How would your coworkers describe you?
What did you think of your boss?
Have you ever fired anyone?
What was the situation and how did you handle it?
Are you creative?
What are your goals in your career?
Where do you see yourself in two years?
Why should we hire you?
What kind of salary are you looking for?
What other types of jobs/companies are you considering?

Have a happy Halloween.

Ric Estrada, EdS

www.TumiPublishing.com

Paco the llama

John Holland’s model holds that different personality types are best suited to different careers. He proposed six basic personality types and then identified careers they were best suited to enter. Holland’s model is a modern trait-factor theory that has been very influential in vocational counseling. It is employed by popular interest inventories such as the Self-Directed Search, Vocational rreference Inventory, and Strong Interest Inventory.  

Holland’s six personality types are arranged along a hexagonal model with opposite work environments across from one another on the hexagon and more closely related work environments next to one another. The Realistic type contrasts most sharply with the Social type, the Investigative with the Enterprising, and the Conventional with the Artistic.  

REALISTIC: these individuals deal best with an environment that is objective and physical. They like stereotypical masculine, outside and hands-on activities. They are most comfortable in work environments dealing with machines, equipment, tools, nature, athletics and crafts. They tend to dislike SOCIAL.

 INVESTIGATIVE: these individuals deal best with an environment that is intellectual. They enjoy working with ideas, words or symbols. They prefer scientific and theoretical pursuits that can largely be pursued through their individual effort. They tend to dislike ENTERPRISING occupations.

  SOCIAL: these individuals deal best with an environment that involves working with people in some helping, teaching, or serving capacity. They enjoy social interaction and being around others. They tend to dislike REALISTIC occupations.

 CONVENTIONAL: these individuals deal best with an environment that is concrete and predictable. They enjoy structure and routine, and often like office practices and computational work. They tend to dislike ARTISTIC occupations.  

 ENTERPRISING: these individuals deal best with an environment that is adventurous, energizing and challenging. They are extroverted and enjoy power, dominance, and persuasive communication. Business and supervisory occupations are chosen, and they tend to dislike REALISTIC occupations.

 ARTISTIC: these individuals deal best with an environment that allows for creative self-expression. They like music, drama, literature, fine arts, and other self-expressive activities. They tend to dislike CONVENTIONAL occupations.

  Ric Estrada, Ed.S.

www.TumiPublishig.com

Statue of Liberty

When composing a resume, Work Experience is the preferred category over Employment History to capitalize in all the work you’ve done, paid employment, volunteer work, and unpaid internships.

Volunteer work is just that, work.  So if you have volunteer experience, you have Work Experience.  Also, anyone who’s done unpaid internships knows internships are hard work, often comprising of work the staff would rather shift to someone else.

 If you have unpaid work experience in your work history, then categorize that section Work Experience and place (Volunteer) or (Internship) next to the job title.  And even if you happen to forget, you’re still covered, listing the section as Work Experience.

 How do you categorize your work experience?

  www.TumiPublishing.com

Now available, Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point, a novel of recovery and redemption

Niagara Falls, click

When making a job or career change, it is critical to find a job or career with ample opportunities for growth, now and in the future.

Are you familiar with the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)?  If not, here is a brief introduction.

The OOH (http://www.bls.gov/oco/) is a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the world of work in the United States.  The current 2008-2009 edition includes employment projections thru 2016 for hundreds of different types of jobs-such as Marketing Representative, Nurse, Electrician, etc.  The OOH tells you:

1.      The training and education needed for the particular occupation 

2.      The expected earnings for the occupation   

3.      The expected job prospects in that occupation

4.      What duties workers perform in that occupation  

5.      The working conditions of that occupation 

In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more.

Let me know what you think of it.

Ricardo Estrada

www.TumiPublishing.com

Now available, Sticks of Fire:The Turning Point, a novel of recovery and redemption

St. Petersburg Pier

People make job and career changes for many reasons.  Maybe you’re making a job or career change because you no longer find it meaningful (lack of internal reward).  Perhaps you’re making a job or career change for financial reasons (lack of external reward).  Or perhaps because you’re burned out due to that demanding job or career; although these stressors are the result of the work environmnet, it’s a well known fact that it’s easier to burn out in a job or career with limited internal rewards.  

Most of you know someone who has a low paying job (maybe working for a non-profit) which they find meaningful and are very happy; many even restructure their lives so that they can live on what they earn as long as they can continue to work in the job or career they love.  But this is not for everybody.  What you need to do is find a happy medium.  That is, find a job and career where you feel you are making a significant contibution to your company, your profession, or society.  And as long as the new job or career allows you to earn what you need to maintain the lifestyle you desire, then you’ve hit a wining combination and are ahead of the pack.

Have you evaluated the internal and external rewards of the new job or career you’re considering? 

Please let me know, I’d like to hear from you.

Ricardo Estrada

WWW.TumiPublishing.com

Tumi (Peru)

I am Ricardo Estrada, EdS, founder of Tumi Publishing.  This Blog is dedicated to individuals returning to work after a period of time due to illness, disability, or homelessness.  Areas to be convered in the Blog and open for feedback are: Vocational & Career Counseling, Interviewing Skills, Job Search Skills, and any other issues limiting or faciliating your goal.  I encourage your comments to my postings and hope you share your story of triumph with me and others who read this Blog. 

I have spent my professional life working as a Vocational, Career, and Mental Health Counselor.  During my career, I have worked with thousands of individuals from alll walks of life.  Hopefully, the experience we shared has been as benefical from them as it has been for me.  The biggest benefit of my professional life has been what I’ve learned from the individuals I was hired to help. 

The insight gained while working at an alcohol and drugs recovery halfway house, helping residents find employment, inspired my first novel Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point (WWW.TumiPublishing.com).  Please see Book Review to the right under Links. It is a novel of recovery and redemption that illustrates what can be achieved when we work for it.  It is a story of triumph of the human spirit and of overcoming all odds, and about what can be accomplished when people are given a second chance.  I hope you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point .

While I was writing the novel, I decided to donate a percentage of the profits from each book to the homeless, because they are the most needy in recovery.  I am proud to say that Tumi Publishing has donated and will continue to donate a percentage of the sales of each book to the Homeless Coalition.  

I hope you find this Blog beneficial and of assistance.

All the best,

Ricardo Estrada, EdS

Tumi Publishing