Northeast Tampa Express Job Seekers Blog

For many companies, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to hiring — or worse, employees had to be let go. In fact, an April study by Pew Research Center found that 28% of the 4,917 U.S. adults surveyed said they or someone in their household was let go as a direct result of the pandemic. […]

How we work and look for jobs has changed due to increased connectivity from the Internet. The worldwide lockdowns because of the Covid-19 pandemic have only sped things up and the dynamics of looking for a job have changed for good. One’s online profile has never been more relevant. If you are looking for a […]

COVID-19 has created an extremely unique job market where remote recruiting and hiring has become the new normal. There are definite advantages of hiring through video recruiting, but since it’s new to many job seekers, you may feel you’ll struggle to shine in this digitized recruiting process. Here are the steps you can take to […]

No shame in admitting it, this feels like the worst time to be looking for a job. With many organizations pivoting to remote work, hiring may be put on the back burner. Besides that, with most offices being closed, you’re not about to show up to your interviewer’s house in a suit. Video Interviews to […]

Congratulations! You’ve been asked to complete a one-way video interview. This is a big step towards your next job. You’re used to the “normal” hiring process, with phone screens, in-person interviews, and the like. But, maybe this one-way video interview is a new thing entirely. Or maybe you have done a one-way video interview before, […]

Congratulations! You’ve been asked to join a live video interview. This is a big accomplishment, but it’s important to get it right. You’re used talking to a recruiter over the phone and then meeting for in-person interviews so this live video interview might be a new thing entirely. Or maybe you have done a live […]

When an organization reaches out to connect with you over the phone, you might find yourself replying “Yes” before you’ve even thought about it. Advancing to the next step in a company’s hiring process means some of your nervousness searching for a new position disappears.  If you aren’t expecting it, a video interview invitation instead […]

In the workplace, most people want to be productive. You want to be able to finish your work within the day so you don’t have to bring it home or finish the next day. However, there are a lot of factors that influence the level of productivity that people have in the workplace. Some of […]

There’s a lot to consider as you search for a job. While the first thing to look at should be the job description, it is also important to think about what type of working environment the company has. In your search for compensation, don’t forget to consider company culture. A company’s culture speaks to the […]

It’s kind of crazy how quickly your life shifts between graduation, and post-celebrations. You have tossed your cap, waved your farewells, and accepted all the wishes from professors you got on the good side of… But what comes next? The scary thing is almost 1 in 5 graduates do not go after the job they […]

Despite already having experience with several jobs, many working adults are unable to answer the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our monthly Job Spotlight blog series is designed to help answer that question. In this series, we review all the basics of specific jobs, from pay and duties, to why people do the jobs they do. Mechanical Engineer In this month’s Job Spotlight, we’re taking a look at what it means to be a Mechanical Engineer. The key responsibility of the job is designing, developing, building, and testing mechanical thermal sensors.   Required Education: A Bachelor’s degree is usually required.   Pay: This varies depending on a variety of factors (e.g. experience, geographic area, industry, etc.), but Mechanical Engineers can make as much as $88,430 a year.   What Mechanical Engineers Do: They deal with a variety of tasks, including*: Designing, developing, building, and testing mechanical thermal sensors and devices. Analyzing mechanical issues to determine how thermal and mechanical devices could solve various …

With more people working remotely than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic, workers have to figure out what working from home looks like. For some, working from home enables them to work less hours per day. Others find themselves always on call, meaning they end up working more hours than when they were in the office. We want to know what working from home looks like for you. Are you working more or less hours per day than when you were in the workplace? Let us know by voting in our poll!

Ah, April 1, April Fool’s Day. A day of pranks and jokes where anything posted online is to be looked at with skepticism and doubt. But not here on Job Journey! We’re serious about the job search, and you won’t find any silly tricks or made-up stories here. However, we want to take this chance to keep you from being seen as a “fool” when it comes to your resume. You might think you’re doing everything right, but a slight typo or other mistake could keep you from getting the job. Here are a few resume mistakes to avoid. Terrible Typos and Formatting Fails Hiring managers go through tons of resumes, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. That’s why, as noted by Glassdoor, on average they only spend about six seconds looking at each one. Six seconds is all it takes for them to decide whether your resume goes in the “yes,” “no,” or “maybe” pile. The easiest way to get your resume thrown out? Bad formatting and typos. If you’re …

Here’s the scenario: you don’t hate your current job, but you’ve been keeping your eye on the job market just in case a higher-paying opportunity comes along. After applying to a few positions, you landed a more lucrative position at another company. You’d really like to keep your current job, but with increased pay in line with this new opportunity. Should you just put in your two weeks or is it worth talking things over with your employer? If you really do want to stay, it’s worth letting your manager know. You might be able to negotiate a counteroffer. Here are a few things to keep in mind. Make Sure the New Job is Worth It Before you decide to ask your current employer for a counteroffer, make sure the new position is worth it. Not just in terms of salary, but also in terms of the people you’ll be working with and the culture of the company. The new job should be a good fit, not just a bargaining …

It’s hard to believe it’s already spring! Flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the air smells just a little bit fresher. And as always, the new season brings with it a wave of spring cleaning across the nation as folks dust, buff, and wash their way to a brighter tomorrow. Since spring is all about newness and rebirth, why not take advantage of the season to freshen up your resume? As technology has developed, so too have the trends in resume formatting. What worked in 2000 won’t necessarily work in 2021. Here are a few 2021 resume trends to take advantage of! Make It Mobile Friendly Recruiters are busy, and frequently on the move. That means that they might end up viewing your resume on their mobile phone or tablet. In an interview with Job-Hunt.Org, Executive Resume Writer Donna Svei noted, “your resume needs to be easy to read on a phone. Send your resume to yourself, open the file, and make sure you can easily read it.” …

Organizational success begins with having the right people. And while cultivating a core workforce is essential to maintain production, developing leaders within a company to bring the business to next-level success is imperative in the ever-changing business climate. A company’s workforce could have up to five generations working side-by-side; however, by 2024 41% of the workforce will be over the age of 55, with the majority of Baby Boomers expected to be out of the workforce in the next decade, according to a BLS report. As more experienced professionals retire, the leadership gap they leave behind could be an issue for businesses in North America. Despite the coming demand for leadership positions, a study by the Human Resources Professionals Association revealed that 63% of Millennials feel a lack of leadership development within their organizations. To ensure businesses don’t face a leadership shortage, developing the next generation of leaders is key for future success. Offer Employee Development Opportunities According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees say they would stay …

You’ve been job searching for a while, and finally get an offer for your dream job. The only problem? It’s more than a two-hour drive to get there. It might be tempting to accept the offer right away, but that’s at least four hours every day stuck in transit. If you need a bit of assistance in figuring out if a longer commute is worth it for you, we can help. Here are a few things to keep in mind. How Do You Feel About Transportation? If your commute involves public transportation, how do you feel about being on the bus or subway for four hours a day? If you’ll be driving, are you someone who loves to drive or is it just another chore? And don’t forget driving for four hours a day is going to result in some serious wear and tear on your vehicle (as well as an increased chance of getting into an accident and more spending on fuel), which means higher repair and maintenance costs. …

Given recent discussion about a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour, we wanted to see what our readers thought about it. The poll was a popular question, with over 600 responses. Fifty-seven percent of respondents were in favor of an increase, while 43% were against it. We also asked readers how such an increase might impact their household. Responses included the following: “Historically, large jumps in minimum wage have caused inflation and made the USA less competitive.” “A rise in minimum wage would allow me to have peace of mind.” “The cost of goods and services will increase.” “All I know is, we need the minimum wage to be higher.” There are many opinions on this issue and what it might mean for job seekers going forward, so expect another poll as things develop. Do you have any further thoughts on increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour? Let us know in the comments section below!

Looking for a job isn’t exactly a fairy tale. Getting the job of your dreams requires hard work and persistence. But what if we took some of the most famous Disney princesses and threw them into the modern job search scene? How would they cope? Rapunzel: Taking Breaks is Important! Rapunzel is famous for being locked up in a tower, right? Sometimes the job search can seem like our own towery prison. But she’s always looking for a way to get out there and experience life, just like we want to get past the job search and into the position of our dreams. If Rapunzel had to spend hours a day sending out job applications, you can bet she’d start working fun activities into her routine. After all, she has an entire song about it! She might send out five applications, and then “start on the chores and sweep ‘till the floor’s all clean” or go for a fun activity like adding “a few new paintings to [her] gallery,” or …

How can you have experience when it’s your first job? Applying to entry-level positions is strange. Some of them are less than great and don’t mention experience at all, and others are amazing, claim to be “great for recent grads!” and then ask for three years of experience. How can a recent graduate have three years of industry experience? The answer is complicated. As noted by TalentWorks, after analyzing a random sample of 95,363 jobs, they “discovered that 61% of all full-time ‘entry-level’ jobs require three plus years of experience.” And that’s not all; the study goes on to note that, “for entry-level jobs, the amount of work experience required to get a job has been steadily increasing at 2.8% per year.” That means in the next half-decade or so, recent grads will find entry-level jobs asking for around four years of experience. So then, what is a recent grad supposed to do to get one of these mythical entry-level jobs? Let’s dig in. Start freelancing and interning early. The only …