Two kinds of resources can help you to quickly learn the trends, developments, and characteristics of a profession, trade, or industry.  The last entry discussed databases with professional, industry and trade publications. This entry will discuss databases targeted to investors.

There are many resources to help people decide where to invest their money in the stock market. As a job seeker you are an investor too. You are investing your skills, knowledge, time, and energy in an employer and an industry or employment sector such as education or non-profit organizations. In short, you are investing yourself. Shouldn’t you research an employer or field to learn if you will be making an investment that will pay you now and offers you long term employment in the future?

The Free Library has resources for investors that are equally valuable to you as a job seeker. These are databases that provide information about companies that sell stock to the public.

You can learn about the prospects and performance of specific companies and where they rank in their industries. You can also learn about the industries themselves. Some businesses and industries have cycles. Others are volatile or stable. Most undergo changes due to market conditions, innovations, or demographic changes. All of these factors can influence your job and career. The databases described below can help you become informed about industries and fields, or specific employers.

Business and Company Resource Center is a database for researching publicly and privately owned companies, as well as industries.  If you search for a company you will find the following:

*  Company Profile describing of the company’s business and organization if it has subsidiaries or divisions.

*  Newspaper / Magazine Articles about the company’s activities, performance or innovations.

*  History of the company and how it has grown and changed. 

*  Rankings may show where companies fit within their industry by sales revenue, number of employees, or information technology innovations.

*  Products (brand names) the company makes or sells.

If the company sells stock, you can find:

        *  Investment Reports discussing the financial conditions of the company, ratings, and recommendations to buy, sell, or hold the stock. These reports may also include an expert analyst’s discussion of the company’s current activities and performance, as well as predictions for what will happen with the company over the next year. 

Business and Company Resource Center  also offers a valuable perspective on any field in the Industry Overview section.   This section of the database uses the Encyclopedia of American Industry Online, which includes over 1,000 detailed descriptions of manufacturing, service and nonmanufacturing industries and fields. Descriptions include most of the following sections:

*  Overview snapshot

*  Current size and conditions of the industry

*  Industry  organization and structure

*  History and development

*  Pioneers

*  Technological overview

*  Trends and long-term outlook

*  Leading companies

*  Work force and employment outlook

*  A bibliography for further reading

Standard and Poor’s Net Advantage is another valuable database to use in researching industries and companies that sell stock to the public. The Industry Surveys section provides clearly written descriptions of industries that can enhance and reinforce information in Business & Company Resource Center.

Using both of these databases, you can gather a wealth of information to put you on the fast track to prepare for job and information interviews or to help you to plan your career.

You can learn more about using these resources by attending the WORKPLACE Wednesday program, Internet and Library Resources for Job Hunters, on December 22, 2010 in the Tech Lab in Room 14 on ground floor at the Parkway Central Library.

Two kinds of resources can help you to quickly learn the trends, developments and characteristics of a profession, trade or industry. They are magazines and newspapers devoted to specific fields of work, industries and trades, and guides targeted to investors. Both kinds of resources can be found in Free Library of Philadelphia databases. This entry will discuss professional, industry and trade publications.

For almost every field of work there are specialized publications that come out regularly. Some are issued weekly or biweekly; some monthly or bimonthly; and others may be issued quarterly. Some are for specific professions such as nurses, accountants, or engineers. Others are for industries like banking, insurance, real estate, or construction. Finally, there are trade publications for suppliers, distributors, or retailers.

In these publications you can find articles and columns about trends and developments in the fields. The articles might be about technical innovations, legal issues having an impact on the fields or businesses, companies that are growing, or ways to improve efficiency and productivity.

There is usually a section devoted to news that will have the names of people who have won awards, been promoted, or plan to start a new business in the field. Some articles are written by people who work in the field. You may want to contact some of the people mentioned in a publication or writers of articles for advice or job leads.     

The FastTrack Strategy

-Identify publications for your field interest. You can ask a librarian to help you with this.

-ABI INFORM Trade & Industry is a great database for complete issues of many industry trade and professional publications.  Once you have identified a title to read, you can search entire issues, many with pdf full page images.

-Look at the 4-6 most recent issues of the publication. Scan the table of contents for articles and columns of interest to you.  Make notes as you read the articles.

-Next, look at the advertising in the publication. These will promote products or services used by people who work in the field.  An ad might list a company you want to work for, or might promote its product as the “industry standard.”

 Here are examples of each type of publication that you can find in ABI INFORM Trade & Industry.

Trade Publications: Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Progressive Grocer, Drug Store News

Industry Publications:  American Printer, Electronic Design, Beverage Industry

Professional Publications:  Food Engineering, Pharmaceutical Executive, Contract Management

Another source of articles in trade, industry and professional publications is the publication’s website. In most cases, you won’t have access to full archives of articles but you’ll be able to view parts of recent issues without having a subscription.

These articles can help you gain some insight and knowledge about industries, trades, and professions. You may find particular work settings or employers within a field that will be a good fit for you.This knowledge will also help to prepare you for job interviews.

You can learn more about using these resources by attending the WORKPLACE Wednesday program, Internet and Library Resources for Job Hunters, on December 22, 2010 in the Tech Lab in Room 14 on ground floor at the Parkway Central Library.

My last entry discussed U.S. Government resources for career assessment. This entry will feature resources that can inform you about the world of work. An important part of career decision-making is understanding what kinds of jobs and careers reflect what you learned through self assessment, and the U.S. Department of Labor has great resources that can help you find jobs that are appropriate for you in the real world.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is Uncle Sam’s career bible. It provides essential information on hundreds of occupations, and each occupation is presented in its own "statement," which describes the type of work performed, the work environment, education and training requirements, possible advancement, the employment outlook, and typical earnings. The Occupational Outlook Handbook also lists professional and trade groups that you can contact for more information. This valuable resource is revised every two years and has other features of interest to job seekers. A chapter called “Tomorrow’s Jobs” discusses statistics and trends in the labor force and features easy-to-understand charts of the fastest growing and declining occupations.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly
This magazine is published four times a year and serves as an update between revisions to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It offers the latest information on jobs and careers, and articles are written in straightforward, non-technical language and cover a wide variety of career and work-related topics, such as new and emerging occupations, training opportunities, salary trends, and results of new studies from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the first place where the U.S. Department of Labor’s 10 year employment projections are published.

The Occupational Outlook Quarterly has two sections that appear in every issue. The “Grab Bag” has short articles on varied topics related to careers with links to agencies and organizations to contact, and “You’re a What?” offers a day in the working life of real people. Examples include a solar panel installer, an auctioneer, and a voice actor. Another great feature of this resource is the online 10 year archive of issues. You can search by topic, regular features, or charts. All of the articles and data can be downloaded to your computer.

Career Guide to Industries
A companion to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Career Guide discusses careers from an industry perspective and highights the relationships between different occupations and how they cooperate within industries. This allows you to see a range of opportunities and career paths within different industries. The 2008-09 edition of the Career Guide discusses more than 44 industries, including manufacturing, transportation, financial services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, government advocacy and grant making, construction, and natural resources.

For more information on how to find a great career, check out WORKPLACE Wednesdays, which kicks off again with How to Write a Résumé on November 4 at 6:00 p.m. at the Parkway Central Library.

Don’t forget the Job Fair at Northeast Regional Library takes place on Tuesday, November 10, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.!
 

You’ve been on the internet for weeks applying for jobs. But you never hear back from employers. Or maybe you had a great interview last week. You’re anxious to hear about the job, but there hasn’t been a response from the hiring manager.

 What should you do? Follow up with each employer. Find out if the job is still open or if it has been filled. Once you know the situation, you can take one of the following actions: cut your loss and move on; reconnect with the employer about the specific position or others you are qualified for; or request a second interview to reinforce your interest in the position. 

 What should you say in a follow-up? When following up regarding an online application, your message might be something like:

My name is John Jones. I applied for a medical billing clerk position posted on your website on August 15. It is now August 30, and I have not received a response from you. Please let me know if the position is still open, or if the position has been filled. If the position has been filled, I assure you that I’m still interested in working at name of company or organization).

Thank you for time. I would greatly appreciate a response.

When following up regarding an interview, your message might be something like:

Thank you again for interviewing me for the medical billing position at (name of company or organization) on August 15. You thought a hiring decision would be made within two-three weeks. Since that time has passed, I would like to know if the position has been filled. If so, I assure you that I’m still interested in working at (name of company or organization). Please keep my resume on file and contact me for any position for which I’m qualified. If the position is available, I would be happy to come in for a second interview to review my qualifications with you.

Thank you for time. I would greatly appreciate a response.

Why should you follow up? It demonstrates that you are a serious and persistent job seeker. It puts your name in front of people who are responsible for hiring again. It eliminates false hope about jobs that you think are still “possibilities.” You will know that you have done all that you can to reach out to employers. This will give you confidence to be assertive and determined in your job search.

Good luck !

This week's WORKPLACE Wednesday is Résumé Critique. The workshop on October 7 is Job Hunting Tips & Techniques.  Both workshops are in the Skyline Room at the Parkway Central Library at 6:00 p.m.

Tags: Reviews, WORKPLACE, careers