Retired Salesman Returns to the Job-Search Fray

Retired Salesman Returns to the Job-Search FrayRetired Salesman Returns to the Job-Search FrayWith a declining retirement fund, Chuck Jordan took his 28 years of experience and re-entered Californias sales market.Chuck Jordan, 56, welches retired and looked forward to living the good life after 28 years as a federal sales rep for a communications company kusined in California. But as the economy slowed and his 401(k) shrank, Jordan, who lives near Sacramento, began to get nervous.After a five-month sabbatical an opportunity for a high-level sales position at Northrop-Grumman opened up, and Jordan went back to the workforce.After only a year, however, he says he welches back to Square One, as the entire division for which he worked closed. More than 700 people gelbkreuzgas their jobs that day, Jordan recalled, including him.I liked what I was doing, and it was such a shock to think, Oh, well, Im back in the job market again, Jordan said. I didnt want to make a career change and there wasnt ever a question of whether or not I wanted to get back into the job market. I had to do it because of my inability to continue to live comfortably on my retirement funds.Making the pitchJordans first instinct, as with many job seekers, was to blanket the known universe with resumes and cover letters and hope that sheer quantity would sway the odds in his favor.If you looked through my e-mail, there are probably over a hundred different versions of my resume and cover letter that I modified slightly to align with various requirements of jobs I applied for, he said.Jordan signed up for all the different job-search sites, scanned local newspapers and magazines and networked furiously in attempts to land a position. One incident, however, offered him an astounding perspective and permanently changed the way he went about his job search.Id applied for a job I found in the paper with a solar-energy products-manufacturing company, and I realized one day when I was out that I was rig ht around the corner from the address. I decided to stop by, he said. It wasnt a field in which he was interested or experienced, but it was a job, Jordan said. What he found was a nearly empty office space and a lone receptionist.He explained his situation and asked if he could get some additional information about the job, the benefits and salary. The receptionist informed him that the company had received more than 300 applications for the position, and that only $35,000 had been budgeted for the position.That was really sobering to me, Jordan said. A job that wasnt that great, with lousy pay, and they had over 300 applications.But that experience was a blessing in disguise, he added. He realized that it made more sense to rein in his search and hone in on specific markets and companies with which he knew his skills and experience aligned.Youd think that it would make more sense to apply for anything at all you could possibly do, but in reality, if you dont differentiate yourself in some way, one of those other people will get a job and you wont, Jordan said.Deal or no deal?As a sales representative with a career focused on the government market, Jordan says hed been under pressure most of his working life to move to the East Coast. But he was adamant that he could do what he loved and stay where he was.For more than a year, Jordan was employed at a number of companies in California. His first position was with a company that did work for the State of California itself, where he was assured hed be the only salesperson working with the state. When he started work, he realized theyd left out some crucial information.It was a big culture shock, said Jordan, whod worked much of his career in business casual environments or from a virtual home office. And, he said, he discovered that far from being the head salesperson at the firm, hed been hired to handle overflow work from an existing employee. Needless to say, it wasnt a fit.I thought, OK, I work in a cube, I have to wear a tie, and Im a second-hand salesperson I realized shortly that it just wasnt gratifying, he said. After moving to another position, he encountered similar issues.My next company hired me and rehired an employee whod left the company some time earlier. He took over existing accounts in preferable sales territories, and I was given new accounts whod never worked with the company before, Jordan said.To make matters worse, the company appeared on a federal non-approved vendor list because it had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a few years earlier, so most of Jordans efforts were futile.I had new territory with skeptical, hard-to-sell customers that werent allowed to buy from me, he said.Closing the saleAfter 13 months, Jordan signed up for SalesLadder. Out of all the job-search engines he used, he said, Ladders was the most effective, since it allowed him to fine-tune his search and weeded out positions and companies that didnt fit his criteria.It did a lot of th e qualifying and handled the elimination process for me, he said. What was taking me ten hours a day was made so much simpler.His refusal to give up or to give in paid off, when Jordan landed a position as senior account manager/consultant with Valencia, Calif.-based Nexus IS, which works on many federal government contracts. After only four days on the job, Jordan said hes happy about the choices he made and feels hell be content and successful in his new role.While his base salary isnt as high as it was in previous jobs, Jordans not complaining. He said he understand that base pay rates have declined because of the economy, and adds that he has no salary cap in his new position, so his total earnings are up to him.Jordan said the key to surviving and thriving was tenacity and a positive attitude, and he hopes other job seekers like himself will take his advice to heart.Once you realize that complaining and moaning arent going to help, you just have to stick with it and never give up, Jordan said. Once you get past that, fighting depression and suppressing the urge to just give up is the hardest part.

8 Reasons You Should Try Gen Ys Best Job Search Skills - FlexJobs

8 Reasons You Should Try Gen Ys Best Job Search Skills - FlexJobs8 Reasons You Should Try Gen Ys Best Job Search Skills -11Todays guest post was written by Megan Totka. Megan is the Chief Editor forChamberOfCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips andwrites business news.Many people look on the current generation as shut-ins who have lost the value of face to face communication. While this is certainly the case in some areas, in many areas Generation Y has the right idea. One of those areasGeneration Y gets it right is in job searching.They have mastered the complexities of the Internet and social media and learned to leverage these to their advantage. Here are some of Generation Ys best job search ideas that could help you land that next great job.Best Job Search Ideas from Generation YThey Understand and Use facebook incIt is easy to say that Facebook has replaced an in person visit with a relative or old friend and has taken away our need to get outside. W hat Generation Y knows about Facebook is that it can be used to find a great job. According toJobvite, 92% of all companies use social media sites to find new employees.They Open BusinessesVarious studies show that Generation Y is mora likely to open a new business than any other generation.In one survey, nearly 50 percent of those aged 18 to 29 either opened or were in the process of opening their own business. There is something to admire and learn from this type of ingenuity. Opening a business means you will no longer have to rely on someone other than yourself for a paycheck and it could mean the difference between unemployment and prosperity.They Work TogetherGeneration Y is known for working together and sticking together. Their inter-connectivity through social media and other outlets has led to this natural conclusion of collaboration. Older job seekers can learn from this and use social networking to help them land the perfect job or start the right business.They Are On th e MoveGeneration Y tends to stay in a job for about two years compared to five for Generation X and seven for baby boomers. Some say this is due to no loyalty from the modern generation but a further look could reveal a more useful purpose to job switching. Many companies no longer offer the huge retirement plans of the past and retirement planning is left to the individual. This tends to free workers to move on when necessary. Frequent moves between opportunities means that person is constantly learning and expanding their horizons. If you want to keep your employees, especially Generation Y, this post explain the secret to finding, and keeping, top talent.They Are FlexiblePerhaps reading a book while listening to the stereo and surfing the Internet has made Generation Y masters of multi-tasking. Whatever the reason they seem more capable on working on multiple problems at one time. The next time one of your kids has the stereo on during homework, take notes and maybe you can gain some of this flexibility in your job.They VolunteerIt stands to reason that the Internet has made people more socially aware than in the past and this could account for the rise in volunteerism among Gen-Yers. There is no doubt that the importance of internships and leadership opportunities has increased thanks to modern business practices. If you are having trouble finding a job, you should look at somecommunity tafelgeschirr opportunities.They Look Beyond the PaycheckPaychecks are our primary motivation for finding a job. Lets face it, without income life can get pretty rough and ugly. Generation Y workers, however, also look for satisfaction in their employment. They even do this rather than taking the higher paying job they are not passionate about. Job satisfaction can easily outweigh higher pay in the long run.They Apply CreativityFamiliarity with the Internet and things electronic tends to create people who have a unique view of the world and the way things work. Due to this, Gen-Yers tend to apply more creative solutions to problems faced on a daily basis. This creativity makes them appealing to employers. Seek out ways to enhance your own creativity and do not be afraid to show it when necessary.The task of finding a job is never an easy one unless you happen to be in a profession that is in high demand. For the majority of people a job search is a career in itself. Keep your mind open and look for new ways to enhance your value to employers. Dont fear learning from the examples set by those younger than you you just might land that dream job.Readers, what do you think are the best job search ideas from Generation Y? Let us know in the comments section below

The Ascent of the Hot Air Balloon

The Ascent of the Hot Air Balloon The Ascent of the Hot Air Balloon When we think of humankinds first forays into flight, two brothers come to mind, named Orville and Wilbur. However, it may be more appropriate to think of two other siblings from back in the 1700s Jacques-tienne Montgolfier and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and their invention of 1783, the hot air balloon.The purpose of the fabrics is to contain the air, says Andy Richardson, owner of hot air balloon manufacturer National Ballooning LTD in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The balloon has a load building structure and the webbing works almost like an exoskeleton. When youre designing balloons you take into account stressing of the fabric, the cables the balloon runs to, and the basket.The first balloon welches made mostly out of silk and paper, he says, and was hand-stitched together, using smoke and wood fires to provide the heat but only the heat on the ground was used and the ride was very short.Model of the Montgolfier brothe rs balloon in the London Science Museum. Image Wikimedia CommonsPopularity SoarsDespite success centuries ago, it was only as recently as the 1960s that the hot air balloon truly became popular. The U.S. government hired Ed Yost to see if he could create balloons for getting troops over the Iron Curtain. But the balloons could only be so quiet. But while it may not have worked for military purposes, Yost didnt lose the balloon itch. He helped form Raven Industries to make it a leiaya sport and the hot air balloon is now known for that as well as being a leading source of marketing.So how are the balloons created today?It used to be fire on the ground to get it going but that was replaced by propane, Richardson says. The burners are loosely modeled on the thrusters from the space shuttle. The burners have coils and when you hit the blast on the burner, he says, it allows the propane to go out of the tank, through the hose, and into the burner. The propane goes to the top and runs dow n the bottom of the burner where the jets are. It superheats the propane and gives you three times the amount of power if you just took raw propane and set it on fire, he adds.One helpful addition was the parachute valve added in the mid-1970s, which allows air to escape through the parachute for an easier landing. It just pulls the parachute down from the webbing on the balloon, he says. Before that it had a looped velcro panel at the side of the balloon, but the whole balloon deflated. But now the air pushes it closed so it resets itself.The panels for the balloon are designed by CAD programs, doing stress analysis to make sure the fabric isnt overstressed. Each gore of panels on the balloon has anywhere from 8-17 trapezoidal panels. Most companies are using AutoCAD or Rhino 3D computer programs for designing, he adds.Interestingly enough, one area thats still the same is the basket. It was rattan then and rattan now, he says. They tried using fiberglass, aluminum composite materi als, but they had it right the first time.A typical hot air balloon ride is one hour starting at either the first few hours at sunrise or the last few before sunset, and can range in height from treetop level to 3,000-5,000 feet. While a balloon goes relatively slowly, its possible for wind speed to take it to 120 mph. Even then it can seem like youre not even moving, he says.Richardson says the FAA wants a future designer to intern with a certified balloons instructor for 18 months to learn the entire process from start to finish before pursuing balloon building, a craft centuries in the making.Eric Butterman is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionThey tried using fiberglass, aluminum composite materials, but they had it right the first time.Andy Richardson, National Ballooning LTD