New Year's Job Hunting - Job Searching For a Better Year

On the top of many people's lists of New Years resolutions - aside from losing weight - is finding a new job. For some, that may mean just finding a job at all. In order to make 2013 your best year yet, let these following tips help you hit the ground running toward becoming the new you in the new year. 

Leave previous failures in 2012. 
In order to excel in finding a wonderful new job, you have to have the right mindset. Just going with the flow and dragging all your past baggage into the interview room is not going to benefit you. In this case, leave all your past failures from 2012 in 2012 and act as though you've been given a new chance...because you have! 

Put yourself out there like you never have before. 
Perhaps some bad things happened to you in 2012 such as losing your job or being at a job where you didn't feel appreciated, etc. Any number of things can lead people to want to pursue a new career. Moving forward is all about positive energy and optimism. Even something as seemingly trivial the beginning of a new calendar year can be enough motivation to shut the door on past unpleasant experiences and seek after the career you want. 

Set up a new regimen for getting what you want. 
So, maybe the tactics you were using last year didn't foster many results - big deal! We always have the chance to dust ourselves off, get up, and try again. Just make sure that if you're not getting any results for your efforts, try and change things up a bit to see what happens. Sit down and map out how you're going to spend your time each day. See what methods work the best in allowing you to push through a conversation, what your "elevator pitch" (what you would say if you were in an elevator with the head of HR and only had 30 seconds to pitch yourself) for yourself would be, etc. Spend time formulating a plan A, plan B, plan C, and extra. Remember the definition of insanity - attempting the same thing multiple times and expecting different results. 2013 is your chance for a fresh approach!

For additional help in job seeking, HR expert and blogger Alison Doyle has a whole plethora of tips on finding the dream career you've been searching for. For additional help locating a great job, trust the Tulsa staffing services of Barracuda Staffing. Also providing OKC staffing services, Barracuda staffing is excited to back you in finding a great new career.

Get Motivated To Reach Your Goals

Becoming motivated can tough, especially when you're out of the job. Still, any task is attainable with the right planning, preparation, and attitude. Whether you want to find a new job, start your own business, or get started on a hobby project, the right attitude can be what it takes to bring you into the proper planning frame-of-mind. From there, breaking up the big task into several small chunks of work can go a long way towards making the work seem much less daunting. Sometimes, you may not even know what you need to start on first until you define your goal beyond simply "success." What defines success for you? Which changes will you need to take on in order to steer your life towards that definition of success? In order to help you make the most of your goals, Thorin Klosowski of the site Lifehacker has written an article on how to get motivated to achieve your goals. 

Is a rewarding career part of your definition of success? If so, the personnel solutions staffing company of Barracuda Staffing would love to be a part of your plan towards being successful. For Tulsa jobs or jobs in OKC, log in or stop by for more information. Barracuda Staffing is thrilled bring OKC jobs and jobs in Tulsa to the highest caliber employees. 

Marketing Yourself As a Professional

Use a professional sounding email address! 

If you're looking for a new job, you always want to put your best foot forward. Many times, we can forget just how unprofessional we are until it hits us in the face! For instance, take a look at your email address. Is it your name or some ridiculous nickname? Take a listen to your outgoing voicemail message. Does it sound like an eloquent message that sounds like that of a professional or is it mumbling and full of slang? First impressions are everything which is why it is important to take time to make sure you're projecting a professional image on any format that a potential employer may see. This includes social websites as well such as Facebook and Twitter. For additional advice, About.com has the Job Search Toolkit in order to help you market yourself to potential employers. 

For high caliber Tulsa jobs or jobs in OKC, look to the personnel professionals at Barracuda Staffing. Barracuda Staffing is pleased to bring the very best jobs in Tulsa and OKC jobs to the hardest working employees in the area. 

Quitting Immediately

Though leaving two weeks between you and quitting your job is the best thing to do, there are certain circumstances where immediate resignation is necessary. Instead of starting an uproar, causing a scene, or leaving an indelibly bad taste in your former employer's mouth, there is a more professional way to quit in a hurry. From the advice columns of human resources expert Alison Doyle comes a template for a "no-notice resignation letter." For an immediate resignation without burning the bridges so badly, a resignation note is a polite way of stepping out and never coming back.

For quality OKC jobs or jobs in Tulsa, look to the employment experts at Barracuda Staffing. Whether on the look for jobs in OKC or Tulsa jobs that have the potential to lead to major life changes.

Criminal Background and Job Hunting

For workers looking for a career, it seems like the deck is stacked against you. This is even more the case with workers looking for employment with a criminal record. Though a criminal record say seem like an anchor pulling you down, there are ways to lessen the burden and get to establishing a resume that may lessen the bite of a conviction on your background check. In order to help smooth things over, Human Resources expert Alison Doyle brings many different pieces of advice to those looking to escape the past and move on to the future. 

For quality OKC jobs or jobs in Tulsa, the employment specialists from Barracuda Staffing can help Oklahomans get back to work. Whether looking for Tulsa jobs to jobs in OKC that can help you move up in the world, start your search with Barracuda Staffing. 

Searching For Jobs On Facebook

While many are fighting to stay off of Facebook in order to get back to online job hunting, they may not realize that one of the biggest sources for job listings may be right under their nose on the social networking site. Starting out as a service that linked college students together, Facebook has now branched out far beyond such a capacity. Those first college students on the social networking site have since graduated, gone to work for major companies, and are looking for workers. In order to find some of the best listings, there may be little need to sign out. Simply look around for businesses in your area that fit your skill set and check for job postings or send them a message to inquire about any openings. For more information on harnessing the power of one of the world's favorite social networks, Human Resources expert Alison Doyle leads job seekers through the world of Facebook to the land of jobs. 

For a quick source of quality jobs in Tulsa and OKC jobs open for the taking, log on to the official site of the employment services Barracuda Staffing. Linking workers up with Tulsa jobs and Oklahoma City up with jobs in OKC, Barracuda Staffing is excited to help you get your foot into the door of a promising career. 

Making Friends With Recruiters

In times of economic trouble and higher rates of unemployment, staffing agencies play an even more crucial role in helping individuals land a career in the field of their choosing. Most employers employ the use of a staffing company to act as a form of a human resources department, so looking into a staffing companies is one very positive means of reaching out to a company without being tossed around from department to department, trying to find someone to speak to about an open position. According to an article by Jak Phillips from TIME Moneyland, recruiters care an unemployed individual's best friend when trying to land a position. 

In order to meet with the Tulsa and OKC staffing professionals that treat you like a person instead of a number, look to the employment experts at Barracuda Staffing. 

Standing Out With a Professional LinkedIn Profile

With online technology and social networking taking off in the last decade or so, more employers are using professional social media outlets in order to find new job candidates. According to a Recruiter Sentiment Survey, a majority of job searchers are looking to LinkedIn profiles to find potential employees. Just like you'd spiff up what you're wearing in order to make a good impression for a job interview, Human Resource blogger Alison Doyle has written a helpful piece on spiffing up your LinkedIn profile. From using the right keywords to increase the quality of company search results to even the proper formatting, your let Doyle assist you just like you'd allow anyone to assist you with your resume. 

If you're ready for a new career, look to the employment experts at Barracuda Staffing for quality jobs in Tulsa and jobs in OKC. Review Barracuda Staffing's job board for some of the best Tulsa jobs and OKC jobs available. 

Job Hunting For Military Veterans

For veterans getting out of the service, getting back into the swing of civilian society can be profoundly difficult. The private sector world doesn't quite function like the military does and interviewing for a job with a company can lack some of the traits associated with attempting to be promoted to a new rank. This may explain why the unemployment rate amongst veterans is higher than that of the rest of the population. In order to be as successful in the private sector as veterans may have been in the military, there are certain things they need to know as well as certain tips that can help them translate skills they developed while serving in the military. In order to get to make the most of the past military training as well as future job expectations, Gene Link of About.com's Job Searching section provides many tips to help veterans land on their feet when they're not in combat boots. 

For additional help in landing a rewarding career, look through the job boards of Barracuda Staffing. Helping Tulsa and OKC workers find jobs as well as companies find employees, Barracuda Staffing employment experts are pleased to help brighten the future for America's veterans with a new career. 

What They Can't Ask: Discriminatory Interview Questions

Interviewing for jobs can be an exciting as well as a nerve-racking process that can leave people confused, dazed, or unsure of themselves. As many applicants feel like the interviewer is in charge of their fate, some make the mistake of feeling the need to respond to questions that they feel uncomfortable answering. When an interviewer is interviewing an applicant, they should be doing so in a professional manner; sadly, this is not always the case. Before you head into the interview room, there are a few things to keep in mind in addition to how to respond to the occasional esoteric mind-stretching question. 

1. Does this question have anything to do with the position?
If an employer asks a question that has nothing to do with the position, the interviewer may have another reason for asking such a question. While, at times, these questions can be just to get a better picture of you as an individual, there are occasions when the interviewer has an ulterior motive for asking such a question. In this case, the interviewer is acting in an nonprofessional manner. 

2. Does this question meet the criteria of being discriminatory?
There is a wide variety of questions that typically do not have anything to do with the position and can border on harassment. If the interviewer asks any questions about your religious beliefs, your race, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or family status, these questions can actually be deemed illegal in certain instances. Still, this brings us to the next point.

3. What is the interviewer's intent by asking such questions? 
Even if someone asks what can be deemed as a discriminatory question, there is a chance that the question was asked in ignorance of federal and state laws that ban such questions. The interviewee may not be meaning any offense, but rather is just ignorantly curious of someone's home life. Other reasons for asking such questions can relate back to number 1; that it has something to do with the position. If your faith requires you to have an unshorn beard of a lose-fitting head covering, this can pose a threat to your own safety in position working with fast-moving machinery or can possibly be in violation of the company's dress code. While hats may be against company policy, one with a religious requirement can typically request accommodation for the faith. 

Before getting bent out of shape over a question that may have been asked without any negative intent, try either changing the subject or politely refusing to answer a certain question. If the interviewer continues to press the issue after you've made it clear that you're uncomfortable with answering the unrelated question, evaluate whether or not you desire to work for a company that allows people to ask such questions. Still, most companies do not encourage such discriminatory lines of questioning. If you feel like you've been the victim of discrimination based on your faith, an unrelated disability, sexual orientation, race, national origin, birth place, or your family status, you can mention this to someone else within the company or file a claim of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 

It is important to remain calm and confident in a job interview; no matter the questions asked. While there are some who feel the need to ask inappropriate questions, most all interviewers will proceed with the interview in a strictly professional manner.

For help finding Tulsa jobs or Oklahoma City jobs, start your search with the employment services of Barracuda Staffing. 


 

The "Thank You" Note

One of the most important concepts to keep in mind leading up to, during, and after a job interview is the fact that the company interviewing you didn't have to, but rather chose, to interview you. While it is important to be confident in an interview, it is also extremely humble and accommodating. One way to be thoroughly humble is to send the company or interviewer a "thank you" note following the interview. Even if you are interviewed and aren't considered for the position, a very simple expression of gratitude for the fact that they were even willing to spend some of their time with you can help leave a positive impression that they may remember the next time another position opens up. In order to learn the ins and outs of a tastefully-professional "thank you" note or letter, read up on the job tips from the experts at Job Search at About.com. In order to open a door to great Tulsa jobs and OKC jobs, log onto Barracuda Staffing Services' website for listings of some great positions waiting for you. 

Finding a Job During the Recession

There's no more difficult time to be job hunting than during a recession. Many businesses are not looking to hire and many industries are extremely picky about who they employ to replace other individuals. Focusing one's efforts is extremely important in making the most of time and resources spent looking for your next career. To make the process of looking for a new line of work easier, the Career-Advice section of Monster.com is pleased to bring this piece on tips for finding a job during the recession. 



For staffing services for workers and employers alike around Tulsa and Oklahoma City, look no further than the experts at Barracuda Staffing.