by O'Farrell | Sep 12, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Delighted to report this success story. I had the pleasure of working with Annette recently as a client. We completed the process on 31 July. Just 37 days later she had a new job. The job is a great fit.
Congratulations Annette, I am very proud of you!
– Dave O’Farrell
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Hey Dave,
Hope you had a nice long holiday weekend. I had an emotional roller coaster of a weekend. I had an interview last Wednesday at Georgia Tech for a position as Travel and Expense Manager. Last Friday I received an email from the director that they wanted to offer me the job. I received an email from HR on Tuesday with a contingent offer; they submitted my paperwork for my credit and background check and I am waiting the final offer and start date.
Thanks to your workshop and advice, I can say, “Hey Dave, I got a job.” I am planning to come to JobSeekers tomorrow to say good-bye and thanks to all who helped me through this difficult journey.
See you tomorrow at the meeting.
Annette Ross
by O'Farrell | Aug 9, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Scott Christopher tells the audience how he built his confidence.
We posted a story recently of someone who’d looked for work for 111 weeks without success, got some professional help, and received two offers within seven weeks. This week we have another story of frustration that turns into hope that turns into a job.
Scott Christopher came to JobSeekers last week to say, “Farewell and good luck.” He was one of two people with such great news. Congrats to Gordon Miller as well. Another landed a part-time job – and she moved here only three weeks ago. Congrats to Marty. And I found out after the meeting that someone else is starting a three-month contract that may turn into a full-time job. Congrats to Bob.
I knew things were going well when I saw this post from Karen Kilgo on the OCM Facebook page back on June 6th: “Today, I received a résumé from an O’Farrell Career Management client. Wow, what a breath of fresh air! A highly qualified candidate for one of our open positions. A great résumé; easy to see what the person has done and what his or her accomplishments are. I love seeing O’Farrell-ized résumés! Thank you, Dave O’Farrell, for helping your clients accelerate their job searches. In 21 years in HR, I have to say your clients have the best résumés and presentation skills I have ever seen!”
Scott tells us he was a free agent for over a year. I had the pleasure of working with him as a client beginning on 22 March 2012. The Fb post mentioned above came in 10 weeks after Scott completed his training here at OCM.
In the past several weeks, Scott interviewed with cities and municipalities around the state, so we are pleased he’s found a good job close to home. It’s at the Atlanta Mission as their Facilities Manager.
BTW, while working on this post, Scott called to say that he has an open position on his team and wondered if a certain person who was at JobSeekers last week would be interested. (Good luck Tim!) That’s paying it forward!
Come to JobSeekers this Friday, the place where we beat the odds every week.
Scott, I am very proud of you; congratulations!
– Dave O’Farrell
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Scott Christopher
Dave,
I am so excited to report that I got a job. I start Monday, July 16th. That will be one year and 15 days since my last day worked. I have been reminded of a verse in Daniel chapter 10 that talks about God answering Daniel’s prayer but the answer was delayed because the angel bringing the answer was busy fighting with “the enemy.” It took 21 days. The passage states that his prayer was heard in Heaven on the first day.
I believe God heard my prayer for a new job a little over a year ago but my delay was to be longer. God has indeed answered my prayer; He has also taught me so many things during this transition time. I think there were some things that I needed to learn and maybe some things that I needed to unlearn (old work habits, etc.).
Things I learned include: First of all, I learned that obviously my timing is not His timing. Next, He strengthened my faith (and tested it for sure). And He has shown me the value of humility, how to exercise patience, and finally, how to exercise courage.
Wow, what a roller coaster ride it has been.
So, THANK YOU and everyone at JobSeekers for your help, patience, encouragement, and nudging when needed.
Dave, I can’t emphasize enough how appreciative I am for your help in the workshop with the interviewing skills and all that you do that goes with that. The confidence that I gained is refreshing. I think it has been there, it just needed coaxing out and you guys did it.
Sincerely,
Scott Christopher
by O'Farrell | Jul 12, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Marcia Gibson
Several weeks ago Marcia Gibson told us her accomplishment for the week was getting turned down twice. The way she phrased it was something like, “I was blessed this week when two companies told me I could keep searching for a new position. God got them out of my way so I could move more freely toward the job He has in store for me.”
We all fell out laughing, but I think everyone could hear the certainty in her voice and see the conviction in her heart that she actually believed what she was saying!
I had the pleasure of working with Marcia as a client beginning on 23 May 2012. I am delighted to share her letter with you today. Her message ties in nicely with this week’s inspirational message.
Congratulations Marcia!
– Dave
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Hello everyone,
After submitting numerous applications, having multiple interviews and several rejections after several interviews, God blessed me with not one, but two job offers. He provided me with a choice. I have accepted the position of Campaign Manager with Hughes Telematics with a start date of July 9th.
These last two years of unemployment have been a journey – one that I will call a journey of self-discovery. Thank you all for the encouragement and your listening ears, the referrals, the job leads, the lunches, the dinners, the laughs and most certainly – your prayers – as God taught me to:
“Be still and wait on the Lord,” because when I “trust in HIM with all my heart, not relying on my own understanding, he shall direct my path” as only he would since “he knows the plans he has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future”
– Psalm 46:10 / Isaiah 40:31 / Proverbs 3:5-6 / Jeremiah 29:11
If I may be of assistance to any of you, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Be blessed, and again, thank you!
– Marcia Gibson
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
– Ecclesiastes 3:1
by O'Farrell | Jul 6, 2012 | Featured, I Got a Job!
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Rudder stabilizer for MD88
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Air Cycle Machine for B777
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Julie George at Fokker Airinc
Employees Maintain All Key Performance Indicators (KPI) as Site Closes Down
Last year Fokker Airinc hired us to provide outplacement consulting for three-dozen people in Fairhope, Alabama when their plant was consolidated with another nearby plant. I was down there three straight weeks; some clients landed jobs before I left.
Here’s a report from a client who has just landed a better job. I’d kept in touch with this delightful lady since the project ended. She’s been doing a lot of consulting and part-time work while she continued to look for a full-time opportunity. She also continued to do volunteer work. As you will see, it paid big dividends. Congratulations Julie; I am very proud of you!
– Dave O’Farrell
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Hi Dave!
Sure hope you are doing well. Just dropping you a line to let you know I start a new job in July in Daphne. I will be a project specialist for a medical billing company.
I met the owner while working on a multi-year high school reunion committee. It pays to volunteer! Patti could see by my dedication to the event that I am a hard worker. I designed, created and had printed 450 name tags with photos using scanned portraits from 10 years worth of yearbooks.
Anyway, I am going to learn a new industry! I will help with IT troubleshooting, marketing, website and more. I even told her about the WIA OJT program that I qualified for and she will get a government grant of 50% of my wages for a few months while I am in training. This is a new position that she created for her fast growing business so I am excited to see how I can contribute.
Thank you again for the guidance you provided at Fokker Airinc. I learned a lot and especially appreciated the assistance with LinkedIn. It is a very helpful resource and I use it every day.
Take care and keep in touch.
Have a great 4th!
– Julie George
by O'Farrell | Jul 6, 2012 | O'Farrell's Blog
Unemployment is unchanged at 8.2%
The unemployment figures came out this morning. Here’s the official report without the media spin:
The Employment Situation – June 2012
Friday 6 July 2012 8:30 a.m. (EDT)
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to edge up in June (+80,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Professional and business services added jobs, and employment in other major industries changed little over the month.
The number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) was essentially unchanged in June, and the unemployment rate held at 8.2 percent. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for blacks (14.4 percent) edged up over the month, while the rates for adult men (7.8 percent), adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (23.7 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and Hispanics (11.0 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.3 percent in June (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.
In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was essentially unchanged at 5.4 million. These individuals accounted for 41.9 percent of the unemployed.
Both the civilian labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio were unchanged in June at 63.8 and 58.6 percent, respectively. The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
In June, 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down from 2.7 million a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
Among the marginally attached, there were 821,000 discouraged workers in June, a decline of 161,000 from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.7 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in June had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
23.4 million Americans are in the underutilized workforce
And here is a chart you won’t see anywhere else: a stacked chart of the underutilized workforce for the past 15½ years. The green area is the well-known unemployment rate, the purple area represents Americans who are working part-time that would rather be working full-time, and the blue area represents those who are marginally attached.
The BLS defines marginally attached as, “Persons not in the labor force who want and are available for work, and who have looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.”
Underutilized Workforce — Jan 1997 to Jun 2012
(Click to enlarge)
As of today, those figures (in millions) are:
- Unemployed: 12.749 Americans or 8.2% of the civilian labor force
- Involuntary part-time: 8.210 or 5.3%
- Marginally attached: 2.483 or 1.6%
- Total: 23.442 or 15.1% of Americans are in the underutilized workforce
Soon I will blog about a large group of Americans who don’t appear anywhere in these statistics. This is a group of people that the BLS would count as a success, but are struggling to get by.
What do you think of all this?
by O'Farrell | Jun 1, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Bill Gray was liberated on 28 March. He’s already on his new job. He had a two-month job search. A short search is possible if you don’t listen to all the naysayers in the media and if you do the hard work necessary. Congratulations Bill; I’m very proud of you!
– Dave
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Dave,
I am sorry that I will not be able to make it this Friday as I will be working! I did get the job at Delta and was able to negotiate a higher salary than what was listed. I received a call the same day as my interview, but chose to keep the news to less than five people for a little while. It is still not what I was making, but it does pay better than the DOL.
I would like to thank you for the help and inspiration you not only provide to me; but all those who seek and need the help. I will continue to advocate JobSeekers to all those who still need it.
My name is Bill Gray – and I am employed!
Best regards,
– Bill
by O'Farrell | May 25, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Donna Anderson
Back in 2006 I had the pleasure of helping Bill Anderson land a good job in our community. He works for the same company to this day. Our success story this week comes from his wife Donna. Job loss and career transition are a part of life, and can have a tremendous impact on the family. Things are turning out great for the Andersons. I’m proud of them, and wish them all the best. Congratulations Donna!
– Dave O’Farrell
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Dave,
I wanted to let you know that I took the job at LVS and will start tomorrow.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and help me with my job search. I believe my job search this time was shorter because I went through your workshop and learned the different techniques of obtaining another job.
Thanks again for everything.
Donna Anderson
by O'Farrell | May 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
And speaking of springs in central Florida (in this week’s inspiration section), Ray Hudson accepted a great position with a company that is headquartered in that region – in a city that is known for their bottled water. Ray was at JobSeekers a couple of Fridays ago to say “farewell and good luck.” He’s on his second week on his new job.
I had the pleasure of getting to know Ray better about eight weeks ago when we began to work together as coach and client at OCM.
Congratulations Ray!
– Dave O’Farrell
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Hey Dave,
As I summarized in our conversation, RTD Construction of Zephyrhills, Florida offered me a position that is just as good as my old compensation and benefits package at Ruby-Collins. I will remain here at travel to job sites in the region. I’m thrilled.
I start work on Monday May 7th.
Sincerely,
– Ray Hudson
Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
Environmental, Health and Safety Director
by O'Farrell | Apr 21, 2012 | I Got a Job!
I was thrilled to receive this message on Monday evening from Tracey Christensen. Social media is a very competitive field – a field that is flooded with people who know how to market themselves. Some of them seriously bend the rules of etiquette and decorum to get noticed.
When Tracey and I began working together on January 3rd, we crafted a résumé and developed a marketing plan that was designed to get Tracey noticed. On January 9th, she wrote to me to say that she was offered a 10-week contract. Referring to the company president Tracey said, “He didn’t interview anyone but me BECAUSE OF MY IMPRESSIVE RESUME (his words, not mine).”
That opportunity turned out not to be a good fit for Tracey – and that is typical of the ups and downs of job search. So, if you are having a down week, take heart in Tracey’s message. You too will be “over the moon” soon.
Tracey has been a big help to me during this time as well, and I want to extend my thanks to her from helping me create three Facebook pages and two websites in the past four months.
Thank you Tracey. I am VERY proud of you!
– Dave
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Hey Dave, I got a job!!!
This morning I accepted a job offer from Piedmont Hospital, and it goes without saying that I am over the moon! Like any job seeker, this has been a trying process and I know I’ve bent your ear more than once in frustration. My family was fortunate that my husband survived a round of layoffs at his job soon after my “liberation” but I couldn’t seem to find the right fit for me, despite numerous interviews over the past six months. But, I knew each interview prepared me for the next one and the next one and so on.
When I interviewed for this job over lunch just one week ago, I finally felt the connection I had been missing. And… the hiring manager mentioned how much she liked my résumé – the résumé you created for me. While a couple of connections sent my résumé to the department where I’ll be working, the interview actually came from the in-house recruiter vetting me from my online application. I know responding to online ads is about the least effective way to get a job, but that, combined with a lot of prayer and your workshop, worked!
This job is the one I’ve been waiting for and it’s a huge blessing. The offer came in two hours after I sat in silence and asked God to put me in this position IF that was his plan. Now, I know it is. A friend of mine also prayed for me this morning so now we’re debating which one of our prayers was heard – maybe it was both!
Many thanks to you and the Crew for all of your support and knowledge. I’ll miss you all but plan to come to JobSeekers on Friday to say a final good-bye.
– Tracey A. Christensen
by O'Farrell | Apr 11, 2012 | I Got a Job!
Scott and Chip Gjertsen were both at JobSeekers last week to say “farewell and good luck” to everyone. I am so proud of both of these guys. I don’t mind sounding like a broken record when I report that five of the last six people who have been published in this section have reported raises. Praise the Lord, good luck and God bless you Scott!
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Hey Dave, I got a job!
I will be the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of McMinnville, Tennessee. It is a promotion and a raise. The opportunity to continue to work in my field is a true blessing. It only took 5½ months. Your job search workshop was a tremendous help, and the support received from JobSeekers was awesome. God has a plan and sometimes he doesn’t share it with us and we try to go it alone.
My daughter left a message on my computer one weekend when she was home, “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.” I kept a bible verse on my dry erase board for a reminder of God’s willingness to help us, Matthew 21:22 – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Amazingly when I began feeling discouraged, I always seemed to get a phone call for an interview.
Thank you for everything you, the Ship’s Crew, and my fellow JobSeekers have done.
– Scott McCord
Delighted to report this success story. I had the pleasure of working with Annette recently as a client. We completed the process on 31 July. Just 37 days later she had a new job. The job is a great fit.
