Are you or someone you know in need of a job? Find out more information at the below link about an upcoming Job Fair in Nashville - Wednesday, September 22nd
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Looking for a few good projects with the Big Read!
March is our Big Read Month in Columbia, and we are so pleased to support the reading of all things Edgar Allan Poe for the next few weeks. And how appropriate that I write this blog from the city so connected with Poe - Baltimore. What other city is so enamored with their author that their NFL team is named for a short story by the pioneer of gothic and horror novels - The Ravens! Their Raven mascot is even named Poe - how cool!
Let me start by preaching a bit about the Big Read and why the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance is involved. We support anything that advances workplace skills and learning...and reading is certainly a basic workplace skill - perhaps the single most important one in the workforce. We take this skill for granted, yet employers will very specifically identify reading for information as required and necessary! In 2000, an American Management Association survey of midsized and larger businesses found that 38% of job applicants taking employer-administered tests lacked the reading and math skills needed in the jobs for which they applied. And, like any other acquired skill, you must practice the skill to stay sharp and improve. Fits our mission of providing the support for the South Central Tennessee workforce to take better care of their families by increasing their skills and therefore their wages.
And, how long has it been since you just picked up a good book and read for leisure? Studies for years have shown that Americans in all age categories are reading for leisure less and less, at an accelerating pace, and this is why the National Endowment for the Arts established the Big Read. We have participated from the first year, and "Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" joins the list of our previous Big Read Selections: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee (and my all time favorite book!); The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. We have had wonderful and creative partners in this venture - Columbia State Community College, the Maury County Library, the Giles County Library, Martin Methodist College, and the Lawrence County Library. Patricia Lymon keeps us all straight and sees that the books get distributed to the counties. And this year we will be visiting Lewis County with an event as well as Lawrence, Giles and Maury.
Watch our SCTWA Facebook page for events in Maury, and the NEA Big Read website calendar (www.neabigread.org/events/). There are so many chances to nab one of our free books and readers guides - we are providing 3,000 copies of Poe's writings through the grant! And, we want you to come up with ideas to help us celebrate and draw attention to picking up a good book to read! How about organizing a Read-A-Thon at midnight of the Tell-Tale Heart? Or a showing of old Vincent Price movies at a community center? Or a discussion led by authors of their mystery writings? We welcome your volunteering to organize an event.
Let me close by advertising one very special event at the end of March. On Friday, March 26th at 7:00 pm, join us at Rippavilla Plantation for a special evening of Poe - A Journey Through the Mind presented by Will Stutts. Tickets are $20, includes Wine & Hors d'oeuvres prior to the performance and a reception with Mr. Stutts following the performance. Profits benefit Project Learn, the literacy provider in Maury County. Call 931.375.4201 to reserve your seat. This performance is in a small intimate setting, and is one of the highlights of our Big Read season!
So much more coming in the next few weeks....please leave me thoughts of your favorite Poe stories and poems!
Let me start by preaching a bit about the Big Read and why the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance is involved. We support anything that advances workplace skills and learning...and reading is certainly a basic workplace skill - perhaps the single most important one in the workforce. We take this skill for granted, yet employers will very specifically identify reading for information as required and necessary! In 2000, an American Management Association survey of midsized and larger businesses found that 38% of job applicants taking employer-administered tests lacked the reading and math skills needed in the jobs for which they applied. And, like any other acquired skill, you must practice the skill to stay sharp and improve. Fits our mission of providing the support for the South Central Tennessee workforce to take better care of their families by increasing their skills and therefore their wages.
And, how long has it been since you just picked up a good book and read for leisure? Studies for years have shown that Americans in all age categories are reading for leisure less and less, at an accelerating pace, and this is why the National Endowment for the Arts established the Big Read. We have participated from the first year, and "Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" joins the list of our previous Big Read Selections: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee (and my all time favorite book!); The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. We have had wonderful and creative partners in this venture - Columbia State Community College, the Maury County Library, the Giles County Library, Martin Methodist College, and the Lawrence County Library. Patricia Lymon keeps us all straight and sees that the books get distributed to the counties. And this year we will be visiting Lewis County with an event as well as Lawrence, Giles and Maury.
Watch our SCTWA Facebook page for events in Maury, and the NEA Big Read website calendar (www.neabigread.org/events/). There are so many chances to nab one of our free books and readers guides - we are providing 3,000 copies of Poe's writings through the grant! And, we want you to come up with ideas to help us celebrate and draw attention to picking up a good book to read! How about organizing a Read-A-Thon at midnight of the Tell-Tale Heart? Or a showing of old Vincent Price movies at a community center? Or a discussion led by authors of their mystery writings? We welcome your volunteering to organize an event.
Let me close by advertising one very special event at the end of March. On Friday, March 26th at 7:00 pm, join us at Rippavilla Plantation for a special evening of Poe - A Journey Through the Mind presented by Will Stutts. Tickets are $20, includes Wine & Hors d'oeuvres prior to the performance and a reception with Mr. Stutts following the performance. Profits benefit Project Learn, the literacy provider in Maury County. Call 931.375.4201 to reserve your seat. This performance is in a small intimate setting, and is one of the highlights of our Big Read season!
So much more coming in the next few weeks....please leave me thoughts of your favorite Poe stories and poems!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Getting By With a Little Help From Our Friends
My compliments to The Daily Herald for announcing their offer to provide free classified ads to job hunters as space allows to advertise their skills and qualifications at no charge.
The Tennessee Career Center offers so many excellent tools for job hunters. Our staff is among the best and brightest in the field of workforce development. Yet, in times like we are currently experiencing, where so many are out of work and need advice on where to turn for a job, there is action we can all take to help each other out. So, let me offer a few suggestions to those of us who know someone currently looking for a position.
1. Think creatively with a friend. Help him think beyond the typical employers he has typically worked with. For example, a customer service representative has skills that transfer across industries and shouldn’t limit him to the one industry he has worked in. If a job hunter has a passion for sports, then apply for a customer service position at a stadium, university, or professional sports organization. And, people with a passion stand out among the many applicants when interviewing for positions.
2. Make sure a friend has an excellent elevator speech. A jobseeker must be able to articulate concisely what makes her specially qualified and the best person for the job. The job hunter may not even be aware of her best qualities, and you can help identify those strengths.
3. Offer to review a friend’s resume. You may notice something he has missed. We all can use constructive criticism and a fresh pair of eyes when trying to capture our best assets and strengths on paper.
4. Practice interviewing with a friend. As with any skill, practice improves our skill level. And, practicing all types of questions can better prepare a job hunter for any question she may be asked. Better to have at least thought through potential answers prior to the interview!
5. Offer to share your network with the friend if appropriate. Most jobs are never advertised but simply filled through word of mouth. If you have contacts that can assist someone in a particular field, share them, and encourage the job hunter to use you as a reference if appropriate. Networking is likely the most effective method to land a position in such a labor market as we have today.
6. Encourage a friend to volunteer or work in an unpaid internship. Why sit at home unemployed when valuable experience can be gained even if in an unpaid position? Suggest to a friend organizations or companies where he can work as an intern or volunteer, especially to gain experience in a field in which they aspire to work, or can gain new skills and contacts. Many unpaid interns become paid employees!
I challenge each of us to step up like The Daily Herald and put your ability to help into action. Each of us possesses the ability to assist someone, and what better friend can you be than to help someone take better care of their family! Think about how you can help, and then do it! I’d love to hear from you on a way you assist someone with a new job, and will post a few of the best ones in a future blog. Now, go out and be a friend. Our community, and your friend, needs you.
The Tennessee Career Center offers so many excellent tools for job hunters. Our staff is among the best and brightest in the field of workforce development. Yet, in times like we are currently experiencing, where so many are out of work and need advice on where to turn for a job, there is action we can all take to help each other out. So, let me offer a few suggestions to those of us who know someone currently looking for a position.
1. Think creatively with a friend. Help him think beyond the typical employers he has typically worked with. For example, a customer service representative has skills that transfer across industries and shouldn’t limit him to the one industry he has worked in. If a job hunter has a passion for sports, then apply for a customer service position at a stadium, university, or professional sports organization. And, people with a passion stand out among the many applicants when interviewing for positions.
2. Make sure a friend has an excellent elevator speech. A jobseeker must be able to articulate concisely what makes her specially qualified and the best person for the job. The job hunter may not even be aware of her best qualities, and you can help identify those strengths.
3. Offer to review a friend’s resume. You may notice something he has missed. We all can use constructive criticism and a fresh pair of eyes when trying to capture our best assets and strengths on paper.
4. Practice interviewing with a friend. As with any skill, practice improves our skill level. And, practicing all types of questions can better prepare a job hunter for any question she may be asked. Better to have at least thought through potential answers prior to the interview!
5. Offer to share your network with the friend if appropriate. Most jobs are never advertised but simply filled through word of mouth. If you have contacts that can assist someone in a particular field, share them, and encourage the job hunter to use you as a reference if appropriate. Networking is likely the most effective method to land a position in such a labor market as we have today.
6. Encourage a friend to volunteer or work in an unpaid internship. Why sit at home unemployed when valuable experience can be gained even if in an unpaid position? Suggest to a friend organizations or companies where he can work as an intern or volunteer, especially to gain experience in a field in which they aspire to work, or can gain new skills and contacts. Many unpaid interns become paid employees!
I challenge each of us to step up like The Daily Herald and put your ability to help into action. Each of us possesses the ability to assist someone, and what better friend can you be than to help someone take better care of their family! Think about how you can help, and then do it! I’d love to hear from you on a way you assist someone with a new job, and will post a few of the best ones in a future blog. Now, go out and be a friend. Our community, and your friend, needs you.
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