Honing Your Skills

People are increasingly looking for training opportunities, says Bryan Barnes, workforce development supervisor with the Missouri Division of Workforce Development. They may want to update their basic software skills, earn their General Education Degree, refresh their associate or bachelor’s degree or go back to school to earn a master’s degree.

“There are some people who have been in our economy who obtained their jobs when GEDs were not that big of a deal,” he says. “Now employers take a very serious look at basic education. We give them the resources to pursue that so that they are more employable. So training is a big thing that people are looking at to improve their employability.”

Likewise, the Columbia Area Career Center’s short-term health care classes also showed a dramatic increase of 134 percent since 2008. People have heard that health care offers solid employment, says Barbie Banks, program coordinator for the center’s professional and community education program. Oftentimes, she says, the Career Center’s connection to the public schools makes classes less intimidating for people who haven’t gone to school in a long time.

“I really see a lot of people who have come into our (certified nursing assistant) program that say, ‘I used to work in construction, and there’s no work for me now, so I have to do something,’” Banks says. “‘I could go get a job in a nursing home just as easily, and I’m not afraid, ashamed or worried about wiping someone’s butt.’”

A salesperson for yourself

Although training can be valuable, and employees should take advantage of it when an employer offers it, Anne Williams, president of Job Finders Employment Services, says she is skeptical that pursuing an extra degree in tough times will translate into a new job. But training to be a better salesperson for yourself pays dividends when trying to land that new job.

“Going back to school at 40 or 50, unless you are totally changing careers, I just don’t see the need,” she says.

Polishing your personal sales presentation is important, Williams says. In a tough job market, recruiters are busy, and Williams is no exception. In the past few years, she says her company has doubled her business, generated $5 million in contracts and grown from about 35 employees to 180.

“In my world, the economy is great,” she says with a laugh. She adds that she enjoys teaching people how to market themselves better in a tough job market.

Learn to compete

After hearing horror stories from a friend who could not find a job for three months, one of Williams’ clients, Renee Aslanidis, lucked out and received two job offers in her first week of unemployment. The payroll and human resources specialist worked at Corporate Management for the past five years and started a similar job July 9 with Job Finders.

“I sent out two blind emails,” Aslanidis says, indicating that she was somewhat embarrassed to have found a job so soon when several colleagues had struggled to find one. “I got a nibble, and it turned into a job offer.”

Maybe it’s a sign of good things to come. Boone County’s May 2012 unemployment rate of 4.7 percent, the latest figure available from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, is lower than the central Missouri average of 6.4 percent and nearly half the disappointing national figure of 8.2 percent in June, whichremained unchanged from the previous month. But experts suggest that Boone County’s low number might be a two-edged sword because it attracts people from other areas with much higher unemployment rates.

To compete, the experts say, freshen up your skills. “The vast majority of employers look at skills,” Barnes says. “So pinpoint the employer, and then show what skills you have and what you have to give to an employer. Focus on a job that fits your skills, and pursue it.”

Although the recession has eased somewhat in Boone County, it appears people are still tightening their belts and doing just that. The Career Center’s first year of its new do-it-yourself classes in such topics as plumbing, automobile maintenance and appliance repair have been filled to capacity, possibly indicating a need to broaden practical skills or a desire to save money on maintenance that people might have paid for in the past.

Search engines won’t get you hired

So what should a person do to develop his or her career in a tough economy? The first thing is to make sure you have good documentation of what you’ve done, Williams says. Make sure your resume, cover letter and references are in order, and touch base with your references and former employers to make sure they remember you.

“I often tell people to write an email or letter to their supervisor saying, ‘Remember when we did this, this or this?’” she says. “They might not really know you or remember what you did.”

Above all, don’t rely on search engines to get hired, Williams says. “If your resume isn’t exactly what the search engines are looking for, you’re going to get tossed out. But if you take your time and do your homework, and you can send your resume and a cover letter to the hiring manager, and they’ve met you and like you, they can get you back.”

Aslanidis puts it even more succinctly. Her secret to getting a job: “Just be persistent.”

Of course, she acknowledges that it’s not hard to be persistent for a week. It usually takes more time than it took for her. It may take time to find the right person who can make the hiring decision, perhaps interviewing with different supervisors, Williams says. And it might take a little fresh training to hone your skills.

“Have the basics, the Word and Excel, those kinds of things, especially if you’re looking toward a management job,” Williams says. “Even a warehouse manager needs Excel. Make sure you are familiar with the newest software version for your field.”

Williams suggests asking for an informationalinterview if an employer is willing because her clients have been hired after doing them. “Remember, it’s a sales presentation when you do an interview,” she says. “It’s the biggest sales presentation of your life.”

Training and education are merely ways to help get you to the next step in your career, says Linda Rawlings, director of the Columbia Area Career Center. “Certificates and skills get you in the door. But it really always comes down to the soft skills like communication. That’s how you keep your job.”

In fact, some employers look for maturity and experience, Barnes says. “They want an adult who can make adult-type decisions. It’s a matter of finding the right type of employer who matches your skills.”

Above all, Rawlings believes that employees need to buy into the idea of lifelong learning. “They need to seek it, pursue it and embrace it,” she says. “And that can be a large thing for people.”