I have added a Google Group in order to provide file storage, web pages and general discussion.
The group is located at: http://groups.google.com/group/j4j-jobseek
The files section is here: http://groups.google.com/group/j4j-jobseek/files
I have uploaded a JobTip1.doc file which is over 100 pages of well written articles I obtained from the Web, categorized, and built into an outlined word document. For easiest use, download and view in MS Word in outline mode where you can navigate the various categories and read the articles of most interest.
As I have time, I will upload other files of interest. I plan to build a few web pages under the Google Group to more easily navigate local (NE Ohio) and general (any location) information.
NOTE: Was tagged BlogAnn, Links, Tips
Showing posts with label Dated. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dated. Show all posts
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Employment Connection Online
The main Employment Connection Web site is: http://www.employmentconnection.us/
On this page Click Jobs (upper left).
On the job seeker page you will find two squares.
When you click on this square you will go to http://empyraoneflow.com/cuyahoga/
From this page you will be asked to Login or Register Now
When you register it will ask for your name, address, phone, and to select a userid & password
Be sure to click "Print/Email Login Info" as proof that you are registered.
This does not appear to work in the Firefox browser, if you use Firefox, you can login in on Internet Explorer, update preferences and then Print Email Login Info.
You will then go through a "Pre Orientation Screen" that will end up at a Main Menu that has:
My Documents allows you to upload files to Employment Connection, presumably for them to view. This does not seem to be working well under Firefox. My intent is to upload background info on myself (how I became unemployed and the barriers to employment I have run into), my current resume, and a general cover letter.
This facility has a timeout, so be sure to login from a high speed link and stay focused on the updates you are doing.
When you click on this square you will go to http://www.ccrsc.net/enroll.asp
This site asks your name and phone number, it does not have a userid or password.
Click Next and it shows a list of classes and allows you to enroll. Under Firefox it seemed to only display the first page of workshops and giving no way to navigate to the later pages.
Be aware that there are many complaints on people enrolling then the info disappears and the client can't see what they just enrolled in, and if they print it first, then even if they do print it, then when you show up for the enrolled class, they have no record of it. This may be partly do to paper sign up sheets that are maintained.
Click on jobseeker in the upper banner strip to go here
http://employmentconnection.us/en-US/jobseeker.aspx
for an overview of Employment Connection Services
Employment Connection Services include:
Go here to get the Workshop schedule...
Click on the hyperlink "Employment Connection Quarterly Calendar"
for Fall 2008 click here.
for Winter 2009 click here.
Click Employment Events to see important hiring opportunities here
http://www.employmentconnection.us/en-US/Employment-Events.aspx
Don't rely on the events list being complete, the very significant and well run jobfair at Cleveland State University was not listed, while the jobfair at Lakeland, a smaller college, fewer employers, in a neighboring county is listed.
I'd supplement this list with the Career Center at the Maple Hts library branch. The Career Center has a large collection of books and has a large set of handouts and announcements. I haven't found these online yet, but their site http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/careerexpert.aspx includes other very useful information and workshops that are an alternative or supplement to those offered by Employment Connection.
On this page Click Jobs (upper left).
On the job seeker page you will find two squares.
First square - Employment Connection online
When you click on this square you will go to http://empyraoneflow.com/cuyahoga/
From this page you will be asked to Login or Register Now
When you register it will ask for your name, address, phone, and to select a userid & password
Be sure to click "Print/Email Login Info" as proof that you are registered.
This does not appear to work in the Firefox browser, if you use Firefox, you can login in on Internet Explorer, update preferences and then Print Email Login Info.
You will then go through a "Pre Orientation Screen" that will end up at a Main Menu that has:
- Interactive workshops/Sessions for you to complete
- Completed documents you may want to view/print
- My Recommendations
- My Documents
- My Preferences
My Documents allows you to upload files to Employment Connection, presumably for them to view. This does not seem to be working well under Firefox. My intent is to upload background info on myself (how I became unemployed and the barriers to employment I have run into), my current resume, and a general cover letter.
This facility has a timeout, so be sure to login from a high speed link and stay focused on the updates you are doing.
Second square - Enroll
When you click on this square you will go to http://www.ccrsc.net/enroll.asp
This site asks your name and phone number, it does not have a userid or password.
Click Next and it shows a list of classes and allows you to enroll. Under Firefox it seemed to only display the first page of workshops and giving no way to navigate to the later pages.
Be aware that there are many complaints on people enrolling then the info disappears and the client can't see what they just enrolled in, and if they print it first, then even if they do print it, then when you show up for the enrolled class, they have no record of it. This may be partly do to paper sign up sheets that are maintained.
Click on jobseeker in the upper banner strip to go here
http://employmentconnection.us/en-US/jobseeker.aspx
for an overview of Employment Connection Services
Employment Connection Services include:
- Self-Directed Services
- Orientation
- Job Search and Placement Assistance
- Workshops
- Training
Go here to get the Workshop schedule...
Click on the hyperlink "Employment Connection Quarterly Calendar"
for Winter 2009 click here.
Click Employment Events to see important hiring opportunities here
http://www.employmentconnection.us/en-US/Employment-Events.aspx
Don't rely on the events list being complete, the very significant and well run jobfair at Cleveland State University was not listed, while the jobfair at Lakeland, a smaller college, fewer employers, in a neighboring county is listed.
Career Center
I'd supplement this list with the Career Center at the Maple Hts library branch. The Career Center has a large collection of books and has a large set of handouts and announcements. I haven't found these online yet, but their site http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/careerexpert.aspx includes other very useful information and workshops that are an alternative or supplement to those offered by Employment Connection.
Retro Web site
Wow, I had to do a double take. I was going through the large variety of web sites surrounding our local unemployment office. The United Labor Agency (ULA) runs the Employment Connection program.
When I first visited the ULA web site http://www.ula-ohio.org/ and navigated through its upper menu bar, I noticed that more than half was a placeholder and referred back to the home page. I looked at the source HTML code and noticed a bunch of updates in 2007.
I commented to a few ULA employees, partly in jest, but also somewhat serious, "Hey ya need some help on that web site, I'm unemployed, I could use the work".
So when I just looked at the site again tonight as I was trying to navigate their web site maze, I thought, "Oh, they heard me the site looks completely different". Then I noticed the Labor Day announcement. Hmm, in Oct 2008 the site was 2007, if they updated it in Nov 2008, why would they announce a labor day event. Well just a little more looking and I notice a © 2004.
What!!! They rolled out the 2007 web site in favor for the 2004 site. At least the header banner goes to real pages instead of all pointing to the home page like the 2007 site, but wouldn't it be nice to remove 4 year old announcements?
ULA, contact me, please. I need the work, and you sure need the help! Are you paying for your web maintenance? I'll beat their price and their service.
2012 Update: Well it looks like this obsolete website is now offline, the domain is still used to email employees at the Employment Connection, but won't load as a website. One would think that an organization this big that has a contract with the state of Ohio would have a functioning web site.
When I first visited the ULA web site http://www.ula-ohio.org/ and navigated through its upper menu bar, I noticed that more than half was a placeholder and referred back to the home page. I looked at the source HTML code and noticed a bunch of updates in 2007.
I commented to a few ULA employees, partly in jest, but also somewhat serious, "Hey ya need some help on that web site, I'm unemployed, I could use the work".
So when I just looked at the site again tonight as I was trying to navigate their web site maze, I thought, "Oh, they heard me the site looks completely different". Then I noticed the Labor Day announcement. Hmm, in Oct 2008 the site was 2007, if they updated it in Nov 2008, why would they announce a labor day event. Well just a little more looking and I notice a © 2004.
What!!! They rolled out the 2007 web site in favor for the 2004 site. At least the header banner goes to real pages instead of all pointing to the home page like the 2007 site, but wouldn't it be nice to remove 4 year old announcements?
ULA, contact me, please. I need the work, and you sure need the help! Are you paying for your web maintenance? I'll beat their price and their service.
2012 Update: Well it looks like this obsolete website is now offline, the domain is still used to email employees at the Employment Connection, but won't load as a website. One would think that an organization this big that has a contract with the state of Ohio would have a functioning web site.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Employment Connection
Our Unemployment Office in Cleveland, Ohio is called Employment Connection.
These specifics only directly bear on people in the Northeast Ohio area . For other's who came here from the net, this post will be a basis for you to ask questions of your own Unemployment Office.
Resource Center
This gives you access to computers, printer, fax, and phone. At my center there isn't a copier which is inconvenient, nor do they have wireless or Internet jacks for laptops. The job postings are what the local person thinks will be of interest, it in no way is comprehensive. More can be done with your own job search profiles.
To get access to the resources of the center you will need to register, attend a two day orientation and a four day workshop. Then you will be allowed to schedule a meeting with a career coach (on their business card, called a "case manager" by some of the staff).
To get access to the resources of the center you will need to register, attend a two day orientation and a four day workshop. Then you will be allowed to schedule a meeting with a career coach (on their business card, called a "case manager" by some of the staff).
Orientation
The first day they breeze very quickly through the programs. You will be lucky to keep up. The second day is TABE testing which will determine what workshops may be required of you before you can access some of the services. See my other post on this test.
Career Workshop
The four day workshop covers the following topics
- Stress and Preparing for the Job Search
- Skills/Accomplishments
Skills Review, 30 sec commercial, Skills Talk, Star Stories - Job Market Skills
LMI/Onet, Resumes, Cover Letter, Interview - Self Marketing/Networking
Professional Dress, Building Skills
Initial Career Coach Meeting
After completing the workshop, you should gather the following things to bring with you for the initial meeting.
- Completed "Guide to Employment" or "Power Packet" from the Career Workshop
- Idea of any job retraining you may need
- Resume
- Cover Letter
h3
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h3
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Status: Rough Draft - Last Updated 12/07/08 9 PM
Will be actively updating as I go through this program
Friday, October 10, 2008
Blog vs Discussion
I will discuss the capabilities between Blogs and Discussions. As with anything, each has its pros and cons.
Group Features
Many people in the CCPL have LinkedIn and are interesting in extending their capabilities further by using a Group Function.
As it stands now LinkedIn only provides a discussion forum. Other group facilities offer more, like file hosting calendar, etc. Jim is concerned about maintenance activities. Because of spamming abuse all Group features strongly suggest or even require an administrator to approve each member. This isn't difficult but it does require some time sensitive response. LinkedIn, being a professional forum is less likely to be abused by spammers so the maintenance needed should be minimized by not dealing with spammers that would be found on other more general and popular services.
Ken has defined a CCPL Job Club group and I have asked to join and am awaiting his approval. In the mean time I have defined a CCPL Test group so I can test the group functions of LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Group Capabilities
LinkedIn is not attempting to be a major force in Group Services, it offers only a basic discussion forum. LinkedIn does not show email addresses unless you are connected to the other member. By joining a group, you can send a broadcast email to all other group members even if they are not connected to you. Each group member has the choice of how often they receive notification of new discussions.
To join a group, select Groups from your LinkedIn sidebar menu, click Find Group and type in the name (CCPL) and click Search. Click Join Group. The Group administrator must logon to the group on a regular basis and approve member requests. Once approved, the members can post discussions at anytime with no further action be the administrator.
It appears that the owner of the group can be changed and that the members can be promoted to administrators. Using the last feature, Jim could name an active regular member as administrator and that person could offload the approval process from Jim.
Other Group Services
Major Web Service providers (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) have a Group capability that is more full functioned then LinkedIn's basic features. How much use the features would be is uncertain. I will review these extra features here in the coming days and would like your feedback.
Yahoo
Yahoo remains one of the most feature rich Group services. If you are a member of CVJS you have seen an example of their features. Yahoo offers the discussion service that LinkedIn does and so much more...
Files - allows files to be stored for the members to access. CVJS has many helpful files.
Photos - allows photo albums
Database - allows simple database tables to be defined. Another way to accomplish this would be to build a Word table or Excel data table and store it in the files section. But the user would have to have Office to update it or Office Viewers to view it. This feature is a simpler way to view and update simple database tables.
Polls - Allows a convenient way to solicit opinions from the group members.
Calendar - Allows a way to post events on a calendar for the group.
I have used a google group to supplement this blog. I chose google because with one sign on I could update both web sites. Google isn't as functional as Yahoo, but it does offer some improvements over LinkedIn Discussions. Google offers the standard Discussion feature and...
Pages - This allows you to actually host web site pages in the group. It doesn't offer much in the way of helping build the pages, so to take advantage of rich content you will need to build the content in HTML and paste it into the Edit HTML editor. You could use a full featured editor like KompoZer (NVU follow-on) or a simpler editor like PSPad to help build the HTML.
Files - This is a very useful group feature that allows files to be stored for group members.
Microsoft
Microsoft is in a transition as it relates to its group offering. The long standing, MSN Groups will be shutdown in Feb 2009. They are offering a smooth transition to Multiply.com which does not offer file storage. They are also enhancing their Windows LIVE spaces and groups offering. As of Jan 2009 major layoffs were announced at Microsoft so its unclear how these areas will develop.
Status: Second Draft - Major Revision 01/06/09
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