My last post was on getting that job. What an interesting topic. An expert in this field had a great post on a study of university grads, talking about how “recent grads found the job hunt to be long, arduos and stressful…” Duh. If they find it to be so hard, why is it going to be any easier to anyone else? I know plenty of folks from all kind of backgrounds, with all kinds of skills that find the same thing. In fact, on Monday I met a guy who had been in special ops, speaks five languages, has worked in a lot of anti-American places, and is finding it VERY difficult to get a job. He thinks that it is because people are afraid of his background – I found this to be really quite interesting considering his broad and deep skillset.

But enough about “getting the job.” The truth is there are jobs, and lots of them. You may need to learn some job-search techniques, and it would be helpful to understand that you’ll need to incorporate them throughout the rest of your career… what? Just remember, the average worker changes jobs every 2.8 years, or 3-5 years or whatever. If this is the case make sure that you are doing things that ensure your time between jobs is as short as possible. All of my job transitions happened because of people I knew… I think some experts call that networking (even though I didn’t know that is what I was doing).

So, why do these transitions happen every 2.8 years? Well, there are a bunch of reasons. I’m sure you’ve read about Intel’s 10,000-person layoff. And that is just one wave of many in a move to reduce expenses. And this has been followed up with Ford’s announcements to cut a bunch of jobs. Of course you know that many jobs are moving overseas. So, one reason is that the jobs are disappearing – this is something that you can’t really change or avoid – it is out of your control.

Another factor for the job changes is that people outgrow their position. I’ve talked to a number of veterans coming back from war that have had life changing experiences that make them rethink their careers. Many are opting to leave what they previously did and put their new skills into practice. That happens all the time, where workers feel that they have reached the top of their game, there are no promotion opportunities, and they choose to look somewhere else. This might be with another company and a different career path or starting their own business.

The bottom line is that the awesome pension and heavy-benefit jobs of yesteryear are just that – history. Today’s worker is more mobile, changing more frequently, and the career we’ll have looks a lot different than the career our fathers had. Here is another Secrets of the Job Hunt post that I think is a great read: what the new job market is.

What do I think about all this? Well, instead of steaming over these stats, I figure we just have to get used to it and figure out how the play the game. Learn how to navigate the job transitions, and figure out how to get the most out of it. There really is quite a bit of opportunity for the person that “gets it.” But make sure you get it!

Search for jobs and careers at JobCentral.

Hey folks, I know that you will go through some debriefing or training or whatever that will spell out the easy steps of getting into a real career. I’m sure it will include getting a college degree, having a sparkling resume and applying to a bunch of jobs. With a hint of “networking” thrown into the mix.

If it is so easy, how come there are so many people that can’t quite get into a dream career path? And I’m not talking about the sluffers – I’m talking about folks that have done the “1-2-3″. Take me, for example – I have an undergrad in CIS and an MBA. I have had middle/senior management positions, and my resume bleeds results. But I couldn’t get a job. And I didn’t go to school for all those years just to be unemployed!

Here are a few examples of this… at Barbara Ehrenreich’s blog there are some great comments about who is ending up unemployed – these are highly qualified white collar folks… out of work – unemployed attorney’s… wouldn’t you think this would be a great career path?

So what’s the answer? I think it is a major paradigm shift. Its clear that the cradle-to-grave days are gone… geez, can you find anyone that offers a sweet pension, like our parents got in the olden days? Did you know that the average job change will occur every 2.8 years? Did you know that the folks that get ahead are the ones that know how to network? And how meaningful is that college degree now… even my MBA is becoming a dime-a-dozen.

There is not a 1-2-3 anymore. You need to develop a sophisticated career strategy. What you want and how you will accomplish it. Your military service is a big part of that, but don’t slack off. Learn more about what you could and should be doing to achieve the success that you are ultimately looking for. Stay tuned on this blog, and subscribe to http://www.JibberJobber.com/blog for daily job seeker tips. I guarantee nobody cares about your career more than you do – or more than you should.

I just learned that I have a corporate recruiter with an immediate need to fill 60 positions in the Midland/Odessa area. Relocation is available. These jobs start between 40k and 50k, with the potential to go up from there.

Of particular interest are diesel mechanics and electronic technicians. And anyone with an E5 or higher is highly preferred.

If you have a GED/high school diploma, and can pass the usual screening (read: clean record, no DUIs, etc.) and want to enter into what could be a great career path opportunity, get in touch with me – jason@jibberjobber.com.

Please pass this on to anyone that you might think is interested – and let anyone serving in Iraq know that there are jobs ready and waiting for them when they return! These just happen to be exceptional opportunities… more to come.

Visit Recruit.net to find Australia jobs.

So I’ve never been in the military. I went to school on an Army base outside of the country, and my father-in-law just retired from the Airforce. And my wife’s cousin is in the national guard (got back a few months ago from Iraq). But not me – I’m just a keyboard pounder

That’s why I got an e-mail from someone in the Marines telling me that Marines are not soldiers – rather, they are Marines (and be sure to put it in uppercase). So for all of the e-mails I sent out, the press releases, etc., let me apologize, and set it straight. In the past when I said “soldier”, what I meant was:

Marines for the Marine Corp,
Sailors for the Navy (and Coast Guard?),
Soldiers for the Army, and
Airmen for the Air Force.

And I’m not completely sure about that – I wonder if there are exceptions. But it doesn’t matter – no matter what you are, you are serving my country, my children, and our future, and I appreciate it!

The offer still stands for all soldiers, all Marines, all Airmen and all Sailors! Go to JibberJobber and click on the Military Special Offer button.

This week I met with a corporate recruiter (which means he only recruits for one company) to discuss opportunities for soldiers coming home. He is anxious to talk with you, and wanted me to convey some opportunities that he has.

I can’t share the details of this opportunity online, but here are some details. Note: there are literally over 1,000 openings each year – so if you are qualified and interested there is a very high chance of getting on with this company when you get back

• the company is one of the largest in the U.S. – very stable
• the industry is petroleum services – so it will be around for a while
• the type of work is “physical labor”… kind of like construction work, it is outdoors, etc.
• in some locations the schedule is something like 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, or 3 weeks on 3 weeks off
• there are locations all over the place (even international), with a relocation allowance
• benefits are in-line with what you’d expect with a big company like this
• the pay starts between 40k – 50k and can go up to about 100k – apparently E5s can get to 80k-100k within a year or two

This is a great opportunity. There are three specific job titles that he needs to fill. They are looking for leadership and ability, and the only education needed is a GED or high school diploma. I will have this in a more traditional job board presentation in a few weeks. For now, if you are interested I need to know:

1. when you are available (ie., when are you coming home?)
2. some pre-screening questions (about felonies, DUI’s, drug use, etc.)

Drop me a note (jason@jibberjobber.com) and I will reply personally with more specifics. Note that I will only communicate this information to JibberJobber users right now. Go get a free account at JibberJobber (click on the Military Offer on the right, and then sign up for a free account) and then shoot me off an e-mail.

I’ve gotten great interest about some specific job opportunities for deployed and returning soldiers. For now I will only share these opps via e-mail – so read on. Here’s what I need you to do:

Register with JibberJobber through this link: http://www.jibberjobber.com/affiliate.php?id=8 Make sure you put your e-mail address in so that I can communicate with you when I need to. I only do it when I need to, don’t worry, I won’t spam you, and no one else has access to my e-mail list. Read the instructions on this page so I can group you with others within this military special.

Follow my blog (http://www.JibberJobber.com/blog) for general job seeker information. I know you’ll can go through the Transition Assistance Program and get great training for transitioning back – consider the reading my blog to be a primer. I spent about 6 weeks wasting my time doing bad stuff in a job search and finally broke down to begin learning what the right stuff was. I keep up with that stuff on my JibberJobber blog. On the top left there is a place for you to put your e-mail in and you will get a daily e-mail of my posts (usually Mon – Fri) – so you don’t have to come back every day – just read it in your e-mail.

Tell others about this special military offer – I need more signups from soldiers (from any country, as long as they are fighting on the same side as the U.S.) – I have plenty more capacity. Other soldiers? Friends and family? Anyone with a military blog? Yep. Tell everyone.

Let me know what you are interested in – what kinds of jobs and where. Are you willing to relocate? I have e-mails come in regularly that are asking returning soldiers that have specific types of skills in specific locations (like Navy in Kansas??? Yep.) I am in contact with a recruiter that has over 1,000 jobs each year, every year (with one company – this is super legit, not hype). And he wants YOU. I am getting more details from him – as far as I understand he pays well and the positions are in a bunch of different places.

Let me know what blogs you keep up with. Two of my favorites (because of their consistency in posting, their messages, etc.) are YankeeMom and SomeSoldiersMom. But what do you read?

There you go. Lots of exciting things going on back home. Unemployment is super low right now but that doesn’t mean the transition will be cake. That’s why I have this blog going, and allow you to use JibberJobber as a tool!

Contact me with the form at http://www.jibberjobber.com/contact_us.php with any info from my requests above. I’ll reply back with

BIS provides background checks to global employers.

When I began my job search it quickly became obvious that there were useful ideas… and lots of noise. I read articles and listened to counselors and realized that there are certain principles that job seekers subscribe to. It was good to learn these things, but it became apparent that there was something missing for the job seeker.

There were no real tools readily accessible for me as a job seeker. Even CareerBuilder’s “Tools” section had…. more articles.

So, I created JibberJobber. JibberJobber is light on the advice and heavy on the tools. It provides, for free, the same types of tools that HR, salespeople and recruiters have to do their jobs effectively. JibberJobber takes all of the advice and allows you to put it into practice.

Further, JibberJobber’s value to you grows as you use it. For example, when I entered my job search I said “I don’t know anyone.” I had just moved to this town two years ago and spent the entire time being loyal to my employer. I didn’t even know where the big company’s headquarters were!

I hear this a lot. If you don’t know anyone, one of the first things you’ll start in your job search is listing out people in your network (and adding to this list) and companies you want to apply to. Right now that list is pretty sparse. But let’s say you use JibberJobber to put all of the new contacts in. Within a month you can have over 100 new contacts or prospective companies.

Let’s say you get a job after a month. Of course in 2.8 years you’ll be back in the job search, but this time you won’t say “I don’t know anyone” – you’ll say – I have over 100 contacts in JibberJobber, with phone numbers and even notes of the last conversations I had with them.

What a difference! If you keep adding during your employment, you could have a very rich network – not just a list of contacts but strong relationships with many of them!

I’m offering the premium version of JibberJobber for deployed troops during the entire time they are deployed, and twelve months after they get back. This should help alleviate some stress about what they’ll be doing when they get back.

Please spread the word about this special offer for the troops. Just have a soldier go to http://jibberjobber.com/affiliate.php?id=8 to begin… e-mail this to whoever you want, or if you have a blog, please blog on it.

No strings attached – this offer is valued at over $300 per soldier (if they are deployed for 18 months). And since it is web-based, a spouse or loved-one can work on the system (i.e., put prospective employers in) while the soldier is serving.

My name is Jason Alba, professionally unemployed – make that, entreprenuer. I have never served in the military but I have lived overseas (for 2 years I was in Mexico with no visits home, no family, and a job to do). I know that living overseas for a while puts you out of touch – or at least you feel out of touch (I was also lived on an Island south of Cuba for 4 years – but that was with my family!).

While I don’t think I’ll ever be able to serve in the military, I believe that I can serve my country by contributing to free enterprise. Developing the economy and business should strengthen our country and provide jobs for those that come back.

TransitioningHome.com is a dedicated to helping accumulate good information for deployed soldiers that are on their way home. Of course, it will be an interesting read to anyone that is overseas for a period and wondering what is waiting for them when they get back.

This blog will cover things like starting your own business, networking, cool sites that you should know about, military blogs to keep track of, and of course job opportunities that aren’t listed anywhere else (except JibberJobber.com).

You can visit this blog regularly, link back to it if you are a blogger, or subscribe to the e-mail feed to get posts right in your mailbox.

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TransitioningHome.com is sponsored by JibberJobber, who offers free access to deployed (and recently returned) soldiers to help them in their job search and career management. Please help spread the word about this to soldiers so they can get their career moving (e-mail this link to people: http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/?p=26)!