Ever wondered how much your pay might grow or shrink in a different city or state?
Whether you’re thinking about starting a career, relocating, or making a change in your career path, it’s important to do salary research. But average pay can vary greatly depending on where you work. CareerOneStop’s Compare Salaries lets you find average pay for different occupations and different locations.
Visit Compare Salaries to get started. You’ll be prompted to enter up to five occupations and up to five local areas anywhere in the United States. You can view your results in either a graph or a table form—and you can create as many custom graphs and tables as you like.
Competencies are becoming the new currency for job seekers and businesses filling their talent needs. The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has released three new videos in its series, How to Crosswalk Competency Models for Curriculum Development. The video series dives into how postsecondary education is collaborating with businesses in Cybersecurity, Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, and Events Management to determine key academic, personal effectiveness, workplace, and industry-wide technical competencies. Identifying and weaving in-demand competencies into the curriculum and student learning experience have positively impacted programs.
The first of the three new videos, Alignment of Industry Based Credential Competencies with Academic Curriculum, showcases Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College School of IT’s approach to aligning CompTIA, CISCO, and other IT industry-based credential competencies within their entire program. Additionally, they use the USDOL Cyber Security model and the NICE framework to build an in-depth process to ensure the programs/courses meet industry and academic needs at the same time.
In the new Development of Programmatic Curriculum video, faculty members from Sinclair College in Ohio, Dallas College in Texas, and Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana share their specific strategies on creating curriculum using the competency models. These colleges leveraged the industry competency models to guide initial conversations with their business partners and further integrate competencies into course work. Students can demonstrate learned competencies at the end of the course.
The Stacking the Deck for Students video highlights Ohio University’s instructional innovation project that uses a “card deck” of competencies, from the Engineering Competency Model, to motivate and integrate student engagement to increase learning and competitiveness for career opportunities. The “cards” add a layer of gamification for students as students respond to interview questions or work-based scenarios. Once answered, students can create personalized development maps linking where they are now to future goals. This mapping aids new and graduating students to identify acquired competencies and areas for growth.
Online recruiting is a vital strategy to make the most of your recruiting budget, and to access the best range of hiring candidates. But it’s important to choose strategies that suit your organization, employment needs, and local workforce.
Here are some tips to recruit online effectively:
1) You can make a strong start by better understanding the labor pool of the potential workforce in your area. Study up on local demographics and reach out for personal assistance to your local American Job Center to connect with a Business Services Representative for help using online recruiting strategies.
2) You can reach a large share of qualified candidates in your area through free public job banks. Learn how to easily access your state’s job bank and how to post a job.
3) Education and training providers often seek out employers in their area for internships and employment for their students and graduates. Connect with your local schools and training programs, including local community colleges, universities, and short-term training programs to learn how to post jobs on their online tools, or connect with grads through social media.
5) Social media is a critical method for reaching candidates and communicating with them online. Social media platforms provide you with access to a very large pool of potential hiring candidates, whom you would likely never reach through more traditional means, and most are free to use. Learn how to get started using social media for recruitment.
There are specialized niche forums and groups for particular industries and occupations, such as GitHub for software developers, Warrior Forum for marketers, or Quora, a customizable site for shared posts on a wide variety of topics and projects. But for a broad recruiting source for all kinds of businesses, the top three social media sites are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Here’s a quick introduction to these major social media sites and tips on how to use them to find candidates:
LinkedIn
Create a LinkedIn profile for your company and promote your company culture to potential candidates
Search for candidates with the skills you’re looking for; use filters to narrow the list of candidates and view candidates’ education and work histories without requesting a resume
Post a job using the Jobs feature
Send a job opening using a “status” message
Post questions on recruiting issues
Facebook
Create a Facebook page for your company
Announce company news or job openings
Use a Facebook app (or Facebook’s new job function) to post jobs
Search for job candidates
Twitter
Create a Twitter handle and profile for your company
Search for (or follow) candidates with skills you’re looking for
Tweet information (company announcements, job openings, etc.)
Communicate with jobseekers who receive your tweets
For more information about recruiting and hiring employees, check out CareerOneStop’s Business Center website.
One of the biggest reasons we lose our sense of optimism in a job search is that we become convinced there is nothing out there for us. No hope, no real job possibilities that we are qualified for and would actually want.
Although discouragement can hit anywhere along the way, surprisingly, it may occur at the outset of a job search, when it all seems too complicated and overwhelming to even begin. Then you get an idea from someone, or open up a website, or see an opening at an organization you’re interested in, and you feel a glimmer of hope.
Keeping that glimmer alive and turning it into a nicely banked fire – is the challenging work we’ll talk about here. No mistake about it: job searches take time and effort and a lot of psychic energy. We need stamina to keep going when we hit roadblocks or get discouraged.
Many people find this series describes the experience of job search:
No no no no no no
No no no no no no
No no no no no no
No no no no no no
No no no no no Yes!
In effect, there’s no reason to become discouraged by all the “nos” you receive, because each one brings you closer to the eventual “yes.”
Here are some ways to move closer to your own “Yes”, and keep your spirits up along the way.
Consider your skills and experience. Remind yourself of your accomplishments and what you’ve learned from your past school and work experience. If you keep a file of positive comments, thank you notes or testimonials about work you’ve done or classes you’ve taken, volunteer work, or other activities, pick it up and read through it.
It can be uplifting and energizing to communicate with people you’ve worked with in the past. Consider setting up phone, video chat, or socially distanced coffee meetings with former co-workers, managers, volunteer supervisors, instructors, or others who have had influenced your work life or skill development. Or just write a note of appreciation to someone who has supported or recognized your work and feel the immediate reward that expressing gratitude generally endows.
It’s helpful to start the day with a positive or uplifting practice, since the rest of the day often follows the tone of the early hours. Many enjoy these practices: meditation or quieting your mind, contact with nature, taking a walk or other form of exercise, writing thoughts out in a journal, or other activity that clears your mind and feels energizing and boosts your mood.
If you are feeling negative, explore the reasons behind it. There may be a valid point to explore. Or it may just be a habitual thought sequence that happens when you feel down. If there’s a genuine concern, you might try affirming or validating the worry; acknowledge that the worries may have a good point that you can take into account, but that you are making the decision to move forward on a more positive, success oriented note.
Negative self-talk refers to the inner dialogue most of us run at some point that says “you’re not good enough, smart enough, talented enough”, etc. It can be helpful to either speak aloud or write down the facts to dispel the negative inner dialogue, and over time, those thoughts may well come up far less often.
One way we can get stuck is by believing we cannot change, or that we can’t move beyond a limiting situation or past occurrence. Mindset research shows how seeing yourself as capable of change actually makes you far more likely to take actions that do make a difference. If you take one small step in the direction that you want to go, you will likely immediately begin to feel better.
If you can do something about the issue right now, take action.
If you can’t take action now, make a plan for when you can.
If you can’t take action at all, set a time limit to give your attention to the issue, then actively release it.
The classic listing of pros and cons to possible actions or options is classic for a reason. If you are considering a job prospect, or what actions to take next to move your job search forward, make a list of pros and cons to the possible actions before you. The process often reveals insights.
Check the content of your conversations, as well as what you are reading, watching, and listening to. If a lot of it is negative, try “turning the channel” toward content that is more informative, inspirational, humorous, or thoughtful. Positive beliefs and ideas can be contagious – so even if it’s not about employment, aim for content that keeps you more energized.
It can be tempting to voice all the difficulties and fears you may be feeling, but a focus on those topics will tend to feel discouraging. If you aim to share worries and fears for 20% of an interaction, and then focus on what you hope to do, the kind of workplace you are aiming for, how you could contribute, who you’d like to work with, and other positive topics about 80% of the time, your mood and expectations are likely to lift.
Finally, happiness research seems to keep drawing the same conclusion: gratitude is like a super vitamin for improving mood and a sense of possibility. Make a daily practice of noting what you feel grateful for to expand those feelings and make it easier to begin seeing the many positive aspects of your life and future.
You will likely find it easier to take risks, to ask for a meeting or a job lead, or bring enthusiasm to a conversation or interview – when you feel upbeat and grateful. If it’s a struggle to find anything to be grateful for, writing positive words, such as happy, light, cheerful, bright, open, intelligent, successful, prosperous, effective, etc. can even give you a lift.
One way to move toward positive action is to set goals for your immediate job situation or long term plans. They could include some simple steps toward your professional development, or longer term education and training, or focus on specific steps of your job search. If you have special circumstances, you may find CareerOneStop’sResources For… section useful, with targeted information for young adults, older workers, people who have a criminal record, veterans, persons who have disabilities, and more.
Students and others exploring their career options will find CareerOneStop’s newly released career cluster / industry videos a fun and informative way to learn about major categories of work.
The first set of 16 videos highlights these popular career clusters:
The first presents an overview to introduce the career cluster/industry, including how the industry functions in the economy, and current trends. A “Quick Facts” section shows important employment and projections data, and gives viewers a feel for what’s coming up or changing in the industry.
The second video in the set highlights careers available at different levels of education in that cluster. A “Points to Consider” section covers unique features of working in the industry such as rewards, schedule, risks, and advancement prospects.
What are career clusters?
Career clusters are defined as groups of occupations with related skills. The framework of career clusters was developed for use in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Middle and high schools and colleges use the framework to design curriculum for college and career preparation.
Industries are groups of businesses or organizations that share similar activities or products. The videos show the relationship of groups of occupations to the types of organizations that employ them.
All of the videos reference data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In total, there will be 36 career cluster / industry videos in the new collection, so check back to see new additions soon!
Did you know you can publish CareerOneStop data directly on your own website?
CareerOneStop offers a wide range of career, employment, and education data as Web API Services, which provide you with quality-controlled datasets and allows you to simply and seamlessly integrate them into your own websites.
What are Web API Services?
Web API services are a way to exchange data and information seamlessly between websites. They are a secure, standardized exchange between different software applications. Data is requested and delivered via the Internet using standardized protocols. Web API customers then have complete control over what and how information is displayed on their own websites to their own customers.
The best part is that it doesn’t take expert software knowledge to integrate an API into your own website; CareerOneStop provides detailed instructions.
Enjoy these benefits:
Get access to a wide range of quality-controlled data sets. CareerOneStop does the work of collecting, verifying, and updating data. You determine how to display and integrate CareerOneStop resources into your own website.
Enjoy seamless integration of new data into your existing website. CareerOneStop provides technical documentation and instructions to assist you.
Reduce maintenance costs and increase your website’s efficiency. You don’t need to reinvent content and data. You can develop your own applications much faster and at lower cost using CareerOneStop’s standardized, tested data sets.
CareerOneStop is excited to announce the new Work Values Matcher—an online card sort that can help you figure out which aspects of your working life matter most to you.
The Work Values Matcher asks you to reflect on 20 statements about different aspects of a job or workplace, and then decide which statements best describe your ideal work environment. Once you know your work values, you can match them to careers you might want to work in, and even learn how to identify employers and workplaces that share similar values.
What are work values?
Work values are our beliefs about what’s most important in our work. For one person, it may be helping others, while for others it may be career advancement, or working independently. When your values line up with how you live and work, you tend to feel more satisfied and confident.
Living or working in ways that contradict your values can lead to dissatisfaction, confusion, and discouragement. So there is good reason to clarify your values, and seek to match your work to them.
The six universal work values
While there are many possible work values, the Work Values Matcher uses a set of six that have been studied, tested, and consistently found to describe universal aspects of jobs and workplaces. These come from the O*NET Work Values dataset, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration:
Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.
Recognition — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.
Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.
Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.
Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.
How do work values relate to an employer?
Every place of work also operates by particular values that create its workplace culture. A company culture might be built around valuing innovation, customer relationships, or speed of service, for example.
Once you understand your own values, you can learn how to find employers and work environments likely to support your values. Most people gain greater job satisfaction, and feel motivated and engaged at work when they share common values with an organization, as well as others in the organization.
How can I use my work values to find a match?
Finding a career match: Once you get your results, you can see recommendations about the types of work to look for, along with lists of careers that relate to each value. Every career listed links to a detailed description about the career.
Finding an employer match: There are specific qualities and activities likely to be found in a job or workplace that supports your top values. For example, if Relationships is one of your top values, these are some features to look for in a work environment:
The organization’s mission contributes to the betterment of the world in some way – others, the environment, etc.
The organization supports employee volunteer opportunities in the community.
Employees are empowered to resolve customer complaints or concerns directly.
There are after work activities such as discussion groups, athletic teams, etc.
The position offers daily contact with the public and/or co-workers.
You can also use targeted questions in your employer research and in job interviews to learn how an employer views your top values, such as:
How would you describe the organization’s ethics?
Would you say that concern for the community and local area is a priority?
Could you describe the opportunities for teamwork in this position?
To learn more, or take the Work Values Matcher right away, visit CareerOneStop’s Work Values Matcher.
It can be hard to find a job when you’re young—especially if you don’t have a degree or a lot of work experience. And this summer, with the unemployment rate soaring across the country, it can seem nearly impossible.
And yet many employers are still hiring. And you can find a job, even in today’s economy. If you’re a young adult facing barriers to success, you can find free support at a local youth employment program. You can find and contact a youth employment program near you, and ask about services they offer. Most offer services to anybody age 14 to 24, while others focus just on people dealing with homelessness, a criminal record, or other issues. You might be able to:
Get help looking for a summer or full-time job
Learn about high-school equivalency options
Find out about local training or education programs
Talk to a counselor about other career, training, or job search help
Get referrals to other services such as mental or physical health treatment, housing or food support, or more
While many youth programs may be temporarily closed due to covid restrictions, many are also offering virtual services by phone or video. Find out what services you might be eligible for by contacting a few programs near you. And good luck on your job search!
Want more tips or information to help with your career, education, or job search? Visit CareerOneStop’s Get My Future.
Have some friends and colleagues who would value a chance to expand their networks?
Just graduated from college and looking for contacts to help you find job leads? Or know some new grads?
On the lookout for new talent to hire for projects or a position?
These and a
variety of other networking goals may be met with one strategy: organize a
networking event via video conference using these ideas inspired by “How to Host a Virtual Networking
Event,” by Dorie
Clark and Alisa Cohn.
It’s an
established fact that networking is a prime means to make connections that can lead
to a job. And that given social distancing it can be challenging to make those
connections. So setting up a virtual networking event that creates an
atmosphere of inviting conversation and productive interaction – can be a
strategy to put the pieces together for job seekers and habitual networkers
alike.
How to create your event:
Plan the intended end result of your event and develop your meeting agenda accordingly. Do you want the group to share skills? Explore gig opportunities? Make connections to employers? Or just keep it open to give participants a chance to get to know each other. It’s important to provide a framework for the conversation that brings out meaningful stories and qualities from participants.
Choose the people you want to invite. Events are likely to be more manageable with a smaller number involved, perhaps 5-8. Keep in mind participants’ needs; if you have an idea of what they are looking for you may match-make based on those interests. You might include some people you know well, some acquaintances, some who know each other, and some who haven’t met anyone else in the group before.
Set a schedule. Early evening often works well for most participants – but be mindful if you have participants from different time zones. Somewhere between 60-90 minutes in length, depending on how many prompts or questions you plan to ask, and number of participants. Aim to give everyone plenty of time to talk and hear from others.
Once you have connected with potential participants and garnered their confirmation and OK to share contact information, send out invitations with a link to the meeting, and offer a brief explanation of how to use the video conference tool you plan to use, covering all the bases such as failed audio / video / getting locked out, etc.
Write up an introduction of each participant and send out to the group shortly before the meeting day. Include confirmation details and expectations for the meeting.
As an event host, when the meeting begins it’s important to greet participants as they arrive on the video call to welcome them and provide an explanation of what will happen.
At the event, invite each participant to introduce themselves – and then keep the meeting moving using your questions and ensuring each person gets the floor. Questions should be open ended and provide insight into participants’ values and professional as well as personal interests. It’s helpful to keep the group focused on the agenda and each other vs getting tangled up in a review of the week’s news or other topics that can prevent guests from getting to know more about each other specifically.
Send a follow-up email to all participants after the event to provide contact information for all attendees, thank them for participating, and follow up on any connection or request. You can also encourage them to follow up with one another – a helpful step especially for new graduates or others who may be new to networking.
Like most industries, the healthcare sector took a big hit during COVID-related shutdowns this spring: the U.S. Department of Labor reported that 1.4 million healthcare jobs were lost in April alone. But unlike in many industries, there were, and are, some positive spots in healthcare employment. If you’re looking for a healthcare job, read on to understand where your best prospects might lie.
One big impact of COVID and the related shutdown was that it
practically split the healthcare field into two distinct job pools. As providers
throughout the country cut back on elective procedures, many many jobs were
lost. Hospitals and clinics that suddenly had no revenue coming in had to furlough
or lay off workers.
This employment spiral took place in nearly all healthcare specialties except one: critical care. Rather than spiraling, employment demand in critical care skyrocketed. As hospitals starting seeing or preparing for an increase in acutely ill coronavirus patients, many needed to quickly ramp up hiring critical care practitioners and support teams.
Critical care employment demand
Several emergency- and critical-care related occupations saw employment growth in midst of the COVID shutdowns, including:
Intensive Care Nurse
Hospitalist
Certified Nursing Assistant
Licensed Practical Nurse
Medical Doctor
Respiratory Therapist
Pharmacist
Emergency Medical Technician
Emergency Room Nurse
Physician Assistant
Visit CareerOneStop’s Job Finder to find job openings near you for any of the above jobs.
