Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.

Every week I receive tons of emails from friends and colleagues. While there are way too much for me to read, every now and then one will catch my eye as the aforementioned quote has.

Fear is running rampant and our nation is being called to to live with less while we huddle close and hope the monster of unemployment will pass by our doors. The crisis will eventually pass but the question remains how gracefully will get you get through it?

Just like Marc Cenedella, I urge you to focus on one thing; take control of your career and let go of what is beyond your power. What you can control is:

- Your attitude: Like any other project, every great job begins with an achievable vision.
- Your process: Finding a job that best matches your unique qualifications and skills requires you to create and stick to a strong project plan, schedule and specific milestones.
- Your resume: Always, always, always keep it current. You never know when your next great opportunity will appear.
- Your network -: Creating an active job search team means that you will keep in touch often, be both a generous giver and a gracious receiver. Coach your friends, family, colleagues and peers in the specifics, i.e. your goals and how they can help you achieve them.
- Where you look: When used properly, the internet is a great tool for finding employment. Make a list of employers you are interested in working for and look under the “Careers or Join Us” section of their websites.
- Your knowledge: Whether it is learning a new technology or completing your PMP, you must commit to being a lifelong learner to stay competitive in this market.
- Your image: From your head to your toes present a professional image. Always make sure your shoes are polished, your clothes are neat and crisp, you are well groomed and your smile is broad and welcoming.

THE JOB CLUB:
TRANSCENDING FROM CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY
Wednesdays: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
January 21, 28, Feb 4, 11, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25,
April 1, 15 and 22, 2009
Wainwright House
260 Stuyvesant Avenue, Rye, NY 10580

In a safe and supportive environment, learn how to:
• Embrace change and use it to propel you forward
• Explore and identify career paths that best fit your strengths and interests
• Prevent your Inner Gremlin from standing between you and your goals
• Effectively build and mobilize your network, even if you are shy
• Address spoken and unspoken objections and work around challenges
• Define your Personal Brand for use in your resume, cover letter, online presence,
sound bites and messages that capture the interests of hiring managers and key contacts
• Conduct an effective job search using the Dispatch Method
• Transform interviews from interrogations into business meetings
• Identify and answer illegal interview questions while maintaining your cool
• Negotiate better salary and compensation packages

Pre-registration is required
http://www.wainwright.org/Program_DittaAnneMarie_series.htm
Phone registrations: 914-967-6080, Monday – Friday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
At other times, please leave a message and a registrar will return your call and take your registration and credit card information.
12-week series
$540 for members \ / $600 for non-members

CWNY Job Club Party

Last Friday, I had a small holiday party for the women who attend the my job club at CWNY. I spent some time the day before the party exploring the different miracles associated with Christmas  Hannukah and Kwanzaa.

According to Wikipedia,  “miracle is a visible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker.” Some miracles associated with the holiday season include:

• Christmas celebrates the miracle of the birth of  Jesus to the virgin, Mary.

• Hanukkah commemorates the “miracle of the container of oil” which lasted eight nights instead of one night.

• The 7th principle of Kwanzaa is Imani (Faith) “To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.” Faith is a pre-cursor to a miracle.

• In the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street, a little girl discovers dreams do come true, if you really believe, as Kris Kringle challenges the city’s holiday spirit in a high-profile trial.

Given the impact the Economic Crisis has had on the job market and  unemployment, you might find yourself wishing, hoping, or praying for a miracle.  Therefore, my gift to you this hoiday season is the following questions, which may or may not bring you closer to a miracle happening in your life:

• What does a miracle mean to you?
• What miracle(s) have happened in your life?
• What role did you play in attracting the miracle?
• What do you firmly believe?
• What role has your beliefs played in recognizing a miracle when it happens?
• What do you need to do to be the best employee / professional  / entrepreneur or independent contractor?
• What is one thing you can start doing now to become that person?
• How does the way you see yourself or would like to be seen differ from the way people see you?
• What do can you do to strengthen your professional / personal image?

Wishing you a miraculous holiday!

Anne-Marie, Chief Career Officer

Conventional wisdom amongst readers who responded is employment in the IT sector is anything but thriving. Overall readers agreed that the jobs posted online don’t present genuine opportunities. Additionally the impact of outsourcing and the hiring of those who have an H-1 visa was a frequent cause for concern.

In search of more accurate data, I spent the better part of the evening searching for data to support one position or the other. Nothing I found had contradicted recent reports of rising unemployment figures in the business and professional sectors. Let alone IT.

While you cannot control the job market, you can control how you manage your career. Below are 5 Tips To Survive a Tough Job Market:

1. Use social networking sites such as LinkedIn to grow your network and locate past employers, colleagues, classmates, vendors, etc.
2. Start your own blog to position yourself as a Subject Matter Expert
3. Arrange to have a 360 Degree Assessment conducted to find out what your team, staff, stakeholders and boss really think of you. Use the results to improve your performance.
4. Offer to mentor to someone who really needs your help.
5. Boost your Optimism Quotient by reading something inspirational or spending time with people whose attitude you admire.