Well readers, this is it. Today marks my last day as a Chicago Public Radio intern and your go-to girl for information about jobs and joblessness in Chicago. I scourged the Internet for career tips, job fairs and job opportunities and posted what I found to make your job hunt a little easier in these hard times.

In a week I head back to East Lansing, Michigan to embark on my senior year at Michigan State University. At 15 percent, my mitten state has the nation’s highest unemployment rate.  I’ve been away since December, so it’ll be interesting to see how much Michigan has changed in that time.

I’m leaving Chicago, but I won’t be far. I’ll update periodically about life in Lower Peninsula and what it’s like to be a college senior in my generation’s greatest economic downturn.

This is a reminder of the Chicago NW Sales & Management Career Fair Monday, Aug. 24 at the Hyatt Regency, 1750 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, Ill. Dress professionally, bring at least 15 copies of your resume and arrive no later than 5 p.m.

Positions available: Sales Representative, Outside Sales, Inside Sales, Account Manager, Sales Manager, Telesales, Financial Advisers, Sales Consultant, Branch Manager, District Manager, Area Manager, Management Trainee.

To registers, e-mail your resume to deerfield_mstr@uctresumes.com

Miércoles, 19 agosto 2009

6-9 p.m.

¿Tiene usted dificultades pagando su hipoteca cada mes o está en riesgo de perder su hogar? ¿Es difícil saber a quien recurrir o en quien confiar cuando solamente tiene un buzón de voz automático a quien hacerle preguntas? La serie de reportajes y eventos comunitarios, Enfrentando la crisis hipotecaria, está aquí para ayudar.

Participe en un taller gratuito para prevenir el embargo de su hogar. El evento lo traerá frente a frente con expertos que le ayudarán con todas sus preguntas. Tendrá la oportunidad de hablar con representantes de las organizaciones LUCHA, el Proyecto Resurrección y Neighborhood Housing Services o Servicios del Hogar para la Comunidad.

También estará disponible una guía gratis de clases y talleres en su barrio.

La serie “Enfrentando la crisis de hipotecaria” es una iniciativa del servicio a la comunidad patrocinada por Corporation for Public Broadcasting. El objetivo es conectar los residentes de Chicago con recursos confiables y concienciar a la gente sobre la crisis hipotecaria de Chicago.

El Local

Chicago Public Radio Humboldt Park News Bureau
2531 W. Division St.
Chicago, IL  60622

El Presentador

Chicago Public Radio
312-948-2954

Las Entradas

GRATIS

From Chicago Public Radio:

6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19

Whether you are facing foreclosure or struggling to pay your mortgage, it can be hard to know where to turn or whom to trust.  Do you want answers, not an answering machine?   Chicago Public Radio’s “Facing the Mortgage Crisis” series is here to help.

Join us for an evening of conversation at our free Ask an Expert open house.  Chat one-on-one with experts from LUCHA, Neighborhood Housing Services and The Resurrection Project about your mortgage and foreclosure questions.  Spanish-speaking counselors will be available.  You can also pick up a copy of our “Facing the Mortgage Crisis” Housing Resource Guide which lists upcoming classes and seminars in your area.

“Facing the Mortgage Crisis” is a community engagement initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  The series’ goal is to raise awareness of the Chicago foreclosure crisis and to connect Chicagoans with resources they can trust.  The series will launch August 10, 2009.

Venue

Chicago Public Radio Humboldt Park News Bureau
2531 W. Division Street
Chicago, Ill. 60622

Presenter

Chicago Public Radio
312-948-4600

This is a reminder Living Hope Community Church, 15712 Church Drive, South Holland, Ill. is hosting a free job fair 12-4 p.m. Tuesday. The coordinators suggest you bring plenty of resumes and dress professionally.

Vendors scheduled to attend: Securitas, Staffsource PACE, Cook County, Chase Financial, Kaplan University, State of Illinois, H&R Block, Olivet University, Kaplan College, Chicago Police Dept., VC Enterprises, Avon. PCCTI IT & Healthcare, TCM, UPS, Fed Ex and others.

Call Empower to Succeed Network, (708) 362-3125 for more information.

I’m subletting this summer and the girls who live with me love rice – a lot. When I moved in they showed me the rice cooker (a contraption I never thought useful) and said I could help myself to their rice – bags and bags of rice. Now, as time passed, I’ve learned to love the rice cooker even though I still think my 10-minute brown rice works just fine. Although I’d like to think of myself as a cook, I generally end up making the same meals over and over again. (But hey, they’re my staples and they’re easy).  So I bring to you my own take on red (or black, or pinto) beans and rice. I generally cook for myself with enough leftover for my roommate and the next day’s lunch, but I’m adjusting this for four people. My method is pretty free-form so give and take as you’d like.

2 cups rice (white rice, brown rice, basmati rice, long-grain wild rice? Whatever you have)

1 can beans (any kind will do)

1 onion

2 peppers (I use whatever I happened to buy this week: green, red, yellow or orange)

A few shakes of dried red pepper flakes

A few pinches of chili powder (more if you like it spicy)

Fresh cilantro (If I’m lucky, I add this)

1 tablespoon of oil (I only have olive oil, but canola or vegetable oils work too)

Start cooking the rice (it’s OK if it’s done before the rest). Chop onions and sauté in oil in a frying pan. Chop peppers and add to onions. Cook vegetables until slightly tender – about seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Add red pepper flakes and chili powder. Stir in beans and let simmer for five minutes. Add cooked rice to pan and stir until evenly distributed. Frying pan not big enough? No problem, spoon serving sizes onto plates and top with rice with vegetable mixture.

Makes About 4 Servings

Wait, what? How can I do that? Larry Stybel at the Harvard Business Review tells us it’s possible. You could be fresh out of college or newly unemployed, but Stybel tells us we can beat that old Catch-22: “You can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job.” He says it takes a little “creativity and humility” and he even tells readers what he did (clinical psychology) to get to where he is now (business consulting).

I couldn’t get business experience without getting hired. I couldn’t get hired without business experience. What to do?

Stybel decided to help out an organizational psychologist who wanted to market a new product. The man had a solid idea but no money so Stybel offered his resources in return for a job title, a good reference and contacts. Although the business proved unsuccessful, Stybel’s experience landed him a job at a talent management-consulting firm.

Here’s what he says you can do:

1.      Look for a company with a great idea and no money to do it.

2.      Be specific about what you will provide. Stybel said he’d make calls and set up appointments. He didn’t say he’d generate sales because he didn’t think he could.

3.      Be specific about what you will receive. Stybel wanted a job title, references and introductions to potential employers.

4.      Be specific about time frame. Be sure your commitment doesn’t hinder your job search or present job performance.

In Stybel’s case, he willingly went from one financially unrewarding job to a new, better paid job. We at Hard Working know that won’t always work these days.  However, his tips can help you out, especially when you add social networking to the mix. The important part is that you put your best foot forward and be flexible and open to other markets.

Take a look at these people who changed fields. All three left their jobs to try something different and Alexandra Levit of the Wall Street Journal answered their career questions.

Did the recession take your career on a different path? Tell us. We want to know what you did and how you did it.

This is a reminder Ricoh Americas Corporation is hosting an open house 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at 2250 W. Pinehurst Boulevard in Addison, Ill. The open house features positions for accounting executives and outside sales representatives.

With no job and no income, it can be hard to maintain that “clean cut” look while navigating the maze of unemployment. That’s why Charles Martin at Salon 64, 1064 W. Bryn Mawr, is now offering free hair services for the unemployed.

“I thought it’d be a goodwill thing to do because so many people are hurting for money, especially now. It’s a really rough time right now,” Charles told me.

The first 20 people to schedule an appointment will receive a complimentary haircut, shampoo and blow dry. To be eligible you must provide unemployment documents and proof of a job interview. Call (773) 728-1128 to make reservations. Salon 64 is open seven days a week and the free services are available through August 20.

But that’s not all. Chicagoans can find free haircuts all over town, especially if you’re willing to take on a dramatic new look. Salonapprentice.com lists salons seeking hair models and the site is also a good source for free haircuts and styling.

Did you snag a complimentary new ‘do? Tell us where and we’ll pass it along.

Recently laid-off Chicagoans, this is for you: Julie Sullivan at the Chicago Work-Life Balance Examiner writes about what to do as soon as lose your job. The article is hyper local so you can find all the resources right here in Chicago.

First things first: file for unemployment. Sullivan suggests filing for unemployment benefits the first business day after you’re laid off.

For those who might see shame in filing for unemployment – are you aware that this is NOT a handout, and that this is a benefit that you have earned by your hard work?

With updated technology, it’s easy to apply for unemployment online at the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

2. Take a look at Illinois Skills Match. You can make a profile and see what jobs match your skills.

3. Update your resume. This can be done any time, but if yours has been collecting dust for a while, update it immediately. Tips for perfecting your resume can be found in our previous posts.

4. Reevaluate your health care options. If your employer provided medical insurance, check out continuing coverage choices with COBRA. Also find more information at the Illinois Department of Insurance.

5. Sullivan suggests taking it easy. Now we don’t mean lounging by the pool all day, but take a deep breath and just breathe.

This probably had nothing to do with you and was a business decision that you are not supposed to take personally (though you probably did). Hopefully, you did not cry in the office – but feel free to do it now. A lot of our identity, good or bad, tends to get caught up in what we do on a daily basis or where we are in our careers. There are potentially a lot of emotions going on inside you, and they may change rapidly. It’s OK. Don’t get upset with yourself too badly if you aren’t in the greatest of moods or feel like retreating. It’s awful and not at all fun to go through this stuff. Luckily, time moves on and this too shall pass. If you can try and adopt the “door shuts another great one opens” philosophy, it may make that time even shorter.