I got some information from my good (virtual) buddy Jessica Lee yesterday that really blew me away. I’ve blogged about health care here a few times - starting from when I cut my hand open to my thoughts about Obama saving the healthcare system… but this one is really heartening.  And I get to blog about it on the Fourth of July weekend… I can’t help but think how dang American (or COOL, or HUMANE) this is, and how Pfizer is treating us right (I really don’t know much about Pfizer, so if you are a Pfizer hater and think they are not treating us right, leave a comment elsewhere).

I’m going to show you the email I got from Jessica, who is helping spread the word about this… it’s kind of formal, but since it’s about getting free prescriptions I don’t want to paraphrase.  Note, the end the email talks about people who don’t qualify - bottom line is to go to Pfizer Helpful Answers, or call their number (866.706.2400).

This really is the bomb - thank you Pfizer for stepping up and treating us right!  The email from Jessica (with my bolds for emphasis):

I wanted to touch base with you as I’m working with Pfizer to raise awareness of its new patient assistance program called MAINTAIN, which became fully operational on July 1, 2009. MAINTAIN helps eligible unemployed Americans (and their families) who are in financial need and lack prescription coverage continue to get their Pfizer medicines free-of-charge for up to one year or until they become insured, whichever comes first.

Based on your coverage of issues affecting job seekers on the Jibber Jobber blog, I thought you would find this program relevant – and helpful – to your readers.

Through MAINTAIN, more than 70 Pfizer medicines are offered that treat a range of chronic health conditions. It is easy to learn if you may be eligible, by visiting www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com or calling 866-706-2400. The program is user-friendly, with a one-page application that Pfizer will typically process within two to three weeks. The program is expected to accept applications through December 31, 2009.

There are four eligibility requirements for MAINTAIN:

• Applicants must be able to demonstrate loss of employment since January 1, 2009;
• Lack prescription coverage;
• Attest to financial need; and,
• Be on their Pfizer medicine for at least three months prior to unemployment and enrolling in the program.

If you would like more information about MAINTAIN, please let me know and I can put you in touch with someone from Pfizer Helpful Answers.

I hope you will take a moment to learn more about MAINTAIN and to post details about it on your blog. It’s a valuable resource for the millions of newly unemployed Americans who may need help to continue getting their Pfizer medicines, but who may not be aware that this program is available.

Thank you,
Jessica

P.S. Uninsured patients who need a Pfizer medicine but who do not qualify for MAINTAIN may qualify for Pfizer’s other Patient Assistance Programs. More information is available at www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com. For patients who are taking Pfizer oncology or specialty medicine and need assistance, Pfizer Helpful Answers also runs programs designed specifically to meet the needs of those patients including those who have recently lost their jobs and their insurance. These programs include RSVP for anti infective, HIV and PAH medicines, FirstResource for oncology and the Pfizer Bridge Program for endocrine care medicines.

How many other companies are doing something like this? Please help spread the word on this - I think it’s just plain COOL!

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to chat with Mark Hovind, of Job Bait, about this recession.  Mark is a numbers nut… he is very analytical and loves trends and crunching numbers and stuff like that.

We talked about a particular graph he developed showing the trends of the recession… I had seen this graph before but listening to him talk about various points, like times in history, what the trends mean, his predictions, etc. was fascinating.  It was one of those times I wished I had my JibberJobber family/users on the call.

Fortunately, Mark agreed to talk about it on a webinar - there is limited seats available so hurry and register here.  We will do this webinar on Tuesday, July 21at 11am MST (that is 10am PST, noon CST, 1pm EST, and I have no idea what time it is in Arizona - you’ll have to do your own math on that).

If you have any questions for Mark, please leave them in the comments on this blog post.  Otherwise, GoToWebinar will allow you to ask questions during the webinar, but I guarantee we won’t get through all of the questions.

Here’s the graph we’ll talk about (we might go to other graphs):

Finally, I didn’t know what to call this webinar… some of these came to mind:

• Where is the recession headed?
• When will the recession end?
• What should I do in my job search, career, or business, at this stage of the recession?

I guess it could all be summed up with “where are we at, where are we headed, and what does this mean for me?”

If you want to learn more about Mark you can check him out here:

• Mark Hovind (JobBait.com) on Brands, Tag Lines, and “Getting It” (JibberJobber blog post)
• Networking Doesn’t Work (JibberJobber blog post)
• Are you a “Fierce” Job Hunter? (Total Picture Radio interview)

Sign up for this webinar here, and tell all of your friends about it!

One of my favorite HR blogs is Punk Rock HR, written by Laurie Ruettimann.  Laurie just … tells it like it is.  Lots of surprises, and tons of honesty.

A few weeks ago she wrote a blog post about career options for HR professionals, based on a question she got from one of her blog readers.  The reader asks would she “suggest HR as a career?”

Laurie leaves the question to be answered by her readers… and this is where it gets really interesting.  Wonder why they say a job seeker should avoid HR?  Perhaps there is insight in some of these responses (you need to go to the original post to see all the comments, I’m only putting snippets here):

Ben Eubanks writes:

If you are wanting to be in HR because you’re a touchy-feely person, then I wouldn’t advise it.

Jen writes:

I would advise her to think of it as a career in babysiting. I hold hands when people get boo-boos, give them time outs and sometimes have to send them home. You also must have a high tolerence for crying, fighting and cleaning up messes.

HR Chick writes:

There are many days that you feel like someone’s admin assistant, nurse, counselor, mother, and babysitter. The reality is it can be frustrating and can make you jaded (if you let it).

Kerry says:

… HR is a people-watcher’s job, not a people-lover’s job.

There’s a ton more - go here to read the post.  The comments get pretty nasty… not towards an individual but towards the profession… to the point where Kerry says:  “Wow. We’re a really disgruntled group. Perhaps we ALL need ice cream.”

They really say to avoid HR in a job search because HR isn’t in a decision-making role, rather, they are in a screening role… but this post gives insight into another reason why you might want to avoid HR in your job search.

A few years ago branding and marketing experts told me I had to put some kind of guarantee or phrase in my marketing that would promise JibberJobber would help you find a job 30% faster, or get more job offers, or something like that.

It sounded really cool, of course… who wouldn’t want a guarantee to make their job search go faster, or be more successful?

Who doesn’t want a silver bullet for their job search?  Please, just give me “the job search secret,” let me move on to my next job and wash my hands of this unemployment crap.

There was no way I would put any kind of promise, or allude to any such promise, in my literature.  First of all, how do you back it up?  Second, what about the anomalies the economy (which was quite different three years ago), and the slackers?  What about people who weren’t doing a principle-based search (like mine - very not principle-based, and destined to failure)?

Perhaps the problem is my solution (JibberJobber) wasn’t priced appropriately.  For $99/year, what could you expect - a job lead straight to the corner office?  Not hardly.

We all know throwing money at a problem will make it go away - so what if I pay $7,500 to a firm that will find me a job?  Sounds sweet, and that sounds like just the right price (comparable to an amazing vacation, an industry certification and training, a car for my kid, etc…. this is not peanuts - since it costs so much it must work).

In the comments yesterday a JibberJobber Partner, Mike Ballard, wrote:

Another expose that needs to be done is that of so-called ‘Search’ firms that charge exorbitant up-front fees (often thousands of dollars) for their services, in exchange for a guaranteed ‘dream job’. Like the Ladders, these operations traditionally prey upon high-end execs that they figure have plenty of extra cash. Now we at (his employer) are beginning to hear stories of similar operations that are target low-income workers and charge a few hundred dollars for ‘guaranteed’ results. This is even more despicable for someone who may be only a few paychecks from the street.

There’s a big difference between hiring a job search or career coach who will help you along the process, and hiring a firm who will guarantee you a great job.  Can such a guarantee exist?

I can’t remember the names of any such firms right now, but I do remember hearing about some who continually change their names so you can’t find much information about them - my point is, please be careful where you put your money in a job search - and be very suspicous of guarantees or claims that seem to good to be true, even if they do look like your silver bullet to kill this problem.

I came across a listing of the “20 best job search websites,” according to PCMag.com (see Cheezhead’s comments here).  I think this list of sites is… well, junk.

Seriously, I would not recommend many of these sites to anyone who is starting a job search.  If you find them on your own, and find value in them, great.  But none of them are on my top list of anything.  Here’s what they are:

1) Beyond.com Beyond claims to be the “largest network of niche career communities” on the Net. It essentially hooks together different organizations like PRJobForce.com and PhillyJobs.com all in one place, which makes it easy to find leads in your community.

2) CareerBuilder.com As the Web’s biggest job site, CareerBuilder gets more than 23 million visitors a month. The company has been around since 1995, and has developed an incredible network of listing sources and job search centers since that time.

3) Craigslist.org The granddaddy of online classifieds gives those who are focused on searching for jobs within their communities an easy way to look. It might be one of the least-polished entities listed here, but the sheer number of local job listings makes up for it.

4) Execu|Search This site looks to be a selective, higher-tier job search property. Execu|Search screens and reviews every resume that is submitted, and helps employers find the best possible candidates for their open positions.

5) Hound Hound’s search engine shows jobs from employer Web sites only. In theory, this cuts out duplicate listings and shows opportunities that are not posted on other job boards.

6) Indeed Indeed works as an aggregator for listings from major job Web sites, company Web sites, associations, and other online sources. Its simplicity and ease of use are its best features.

7) JobCentral JobCentral is a service formed by a nonprofit consortium of U.S. corporations like IBM and Dell, which makes it ideal if you’re looking for corporate job listings.

JobServe JobServe claims it was “the world’s first Internet recruitment service.” In 2008, JobServe advertised more than 2.5 million jobs across 15 industry sectors.

9) Jobster Jobster uses an active approach to help employers and recruiting teams of all sizes find their candidates. The company calls its method “social recruiting,” and it services 24 different job categories.

10) LinkedIn Best known for being a social network for professionals, LinkedIn also has thorough job listings, some of which are exclusive to LinkedIn.

11) Monster In addition to being arguably the best-known global job-listings site, Monster also offers advice on resumes, interviewing, and salary information.

12) Oodle Oodle, which specializes in online classifieds, includes a job classifieds section that finely cuts job opportunities down to job title, category, industry, and company. Did you know, for example, that Best Buy has nearly 10,000 openings?

13) onTargetJobs onTargetjobs owns a lot of smaller niche sites like BioSpace.com and MedHunters.com. Its expansive niche database allows users to find compatible job listings more easily than with general sites.

14) Simply Hired SimplyHired is similar to Indeed, as it also aggregates listings from major job Web sites, newspapers, company Web sites, and associations. However, the site goes a little deeper and allows users to send their resumes out for posting on five other sites for free.

15) SnagAJob SnagAJob is basically the antithesis of sites like TheLadders and Execu|Search, as its focus is on hourly employment only. The site has partnered with companies like 7 Eleven, Red Lobster, and AMF, to bring the most up-to-date hourly job openings.

16) TheLadders This job site has branded itself as the place to look for $100,000+ jobs only. Job seekers have to pay $30 per month to fully take advantage of the site’s services.

17) Trovix Trovix’s free search engine makes the job-search process more personalized. Users input their work experience and qualifications and the site matches results to what info they have given. Trovix also has an innovative feature called Job Map, which allows you to type in your location and see on Google Maps how many jobs are available in your area.

18) TweetMyJobs One of the newest sites to take advantage of social media, TweetMyJobs supplies Twitter users with instantaneous job listings that are derived from TweetMyJobs’ Job Channels.

19) USAJobs.com USAJobs is the official job site for the U.S. government. With the government looking to significantly increase spending during the next few years, looking at federal jobs might not be a bad move if you’re in a tough place.

20) Yahoo! HotJobs As one of the biggest job sites on the Web, HotJobs distinguishes itself by focusing on features such as status (which shows how many times one’s resume has been viewed) and the ability to block companies from seeing your resume.

Out of this list, here’s what I’d recommend:

Indeed (#6) or SimplyHired (#14): using one job board aggregator instead of poking around dozens of job boards makes a lot of sense. For some reason I’ve migrated to Indeed, but I last I’ve seen, SimplyHired is just as good.

LinkedIn (#10): of course. No explanation needed. If you don’t get it then buy my LinkedIn book or get the new LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD.

The Ladders (#16): I think their resume reviews are shady (more on that later), and not everyone is getting value out of them, but many are. Not free, but could be valuable if you are a six-figures person.

That’s it… from my last 3 years in this space I can’t say that hear any career experts evangelize any of the rest (and some are harsh on The Ladders)… I’m kind of surprised at the suggestions in their article but this seems on par for articles like this.

What sites would YOU suggest?

One of my favorite premium features in JibberJobber is the Get Contacts List page, which allows you to export your contacts from JibberJobber into various formats, including a .csv file (which opens in Excel).  This is what I use when I send my newsletter to bloggers, or to family/friends, etc.

This allows you to slice and dice your data.  You can see a two minute video here.

I asked my Twitter network how to merge a csv file and a Word document and my California buddy Walt Feigenson was kind enough to create a whole blog post out of it.  You can read his post, How to use Microsoft Excel and Word to send multiple emails, at the link.

Why is this important?  Because it helps you send newsletter-like emails to your contacts.  This is HUGE and something I think every job seeker should do.  How? Read this post on newsletters for job seekers.

What’s more, every PROFESSIONAL should do this, imho.  In The Google Story it talks about how the Google founders sent their friends and family newsletters announcing what they were doing, their projects, etc.  This was a personal newsletter.

Whether you have “the next google” or not, you should reach out to your contacts with a newsletter.

(thanks Walt, for the awesome post)

My JibberJobber Partner Brad Attig wrote a post in reaction to my Job Search Tip: Get A Coach (someone who will hold you accountable) post from last week.  It’s a great peek into the mind of a professional job search coach - spend a few minutes on his post - it’s worth your time!

I saw a tweet from Scott Ingram that caught my attention, where he asks about General V:

I’ve read a number of comments on Penelope Trunk’s blog about generation Y vs. the baby boomers, and of course my generation, the forgotten generation, Gen X.

There’s a lot of animosity, and blame.  I see the millennials (GenY) blame the Baby Boomers for this financial mess (recession) we are in, while the baby boomers are saying “we’ve worked for what we got, and why did you go into debt to get a big screen TV?? Something we didn’t do… and on and on.

If you want to get your generational thang riled up go read the comments from Reason to give thanks: There is no job shortage for young people and 3 Ways work will change when Gen Y is in charge.

As my wife would say, it’s enough to “make my tired ache.”

Every generation has their strengths and weaknesses.  And all younger generations, including those to come, think that the older generations are a bunch of know-nothing has-beens.

I think it’s hilarous to generalize that all young people know technology and all old people don’t … I find that to be untrue, especially in the workplace.

I am still amazed to ask a room full of college students who is on LinkedIn (hardly anyone) and who is on facebook (hardly anyone).

The stereotypes just don’t seem to be true, as with most stereotypes.

Can’t we all just get along??

That’s where this Generation V thing might come in… and if it isn’t Generation V, perhaps there is something that will help us step out of the hurtful stereotypes.

You can read more about Generation V at:

• Tekrati - Generation V will have a profound influence on culture, society and business, says Gartner
• Information Literacy Weblog - Generation V
• Marketing Charts - ‘Generation V’ Defies Traditional Demographics
• CIO Mind - Generation V
• Ad Week blogs - Check your email. Generation V says hello.
• Virtual Worlds News - Gartner Says Generation V Will Shift Business to Virtual Experience

And here are a few recent posts from this blog about Age Discrimination…

What does all of this mean for YOUR career?

If you are a professional, being on LinkedIn is NOT an option.  Facebook is optional. Twitter is optional. A blog is optional.  Yahoo! Groups are optional.

LinkedIn is not optional.

With that in mind, there are three things you need to know about:

The second edition of my LinkedIn book is shipping, even from Amazon.

It’s been a long time coming!  I wrote a post on my LinkedIn blog yesterday with all kinds of juicy information, INCLUDING information about how to get a FREE LinkedIn eBook!  How, you ask?  If you purchased the book from Happy About you will (or already have) receive a link to download the second edition, for free!  If you purchased the book through Amazon please go to the blog post from yesterday and follow the instructions, and we’ll get back to you with what to do to get the second edition LinkedIn eBook for free (it’s simple).  The cost is free for the eBook if you purchased the first edition, OR 11.95 for the second edition LinkedIn ebook, or 19.95+S&H for the LinkedIn paperback (or whatever Amazon charges).

Tomorrow you have the chance to learn from THE most connected person on LinkedIn.

Ron Bates is the man!  He has the largest first degree network on LinkedIn, and anyone who has a ton of connections and wants to grow their network knows who Ron is (the guy to beat :p).  Ron is offering a free webinar tomorrow, 12/10 - here’s the link to register, and here are some details (there is no cost):

If you are not able to attend the complimentary events coming up make sure to register anyway!!  Even if you’re traveling, in a meeting, or unplanned events cause you to miss the webinar, as a - no-show - you’ll receive a follow-up email with a link to access a recording at your convenience.

Do people really know how good you are??
December 10, 2008 (1pm EST) - How to Communicate Your Executive Value Proposition
Presented by Ron Bates - LinkedIn’s most connected member with over +44,000 direct contacts

Next week, Dec 17th, I will do a webinar for Experts Connection called LinkedIn & Facebook Essentials for Executives: Using Both Platforms as Professional Networking Tools.

I did a LinkedIn for Executives a month or two ago and it went really well - next week we are doing another one, and I’m really excited about this one.  Sponsored by Netshare and Career-Resumes (who does LinkedIn makeovers for $200), this is one of the most exciting presentations I’m doing this year - Netshare always puts on awesome events).  The cost for the 90 minute webinar is $50 (click here to learn more).

You better be on LinkedIn.

And you better have a LinkedIn strategy.

Do you?

Find your next job at Job Search USA.

Many of you know my story, and why I started JibberJobber.  I got let go from a company where I was the general manager and couldn’t get a job, tried to figure out the job search, and eventually came up with JibberJobber, which is an awesome job search organizational tool, and a great long-term relationship manager.

Before I worked for that company, I was the IT Manager for a much larger, very successful building maintenance company.  I was the first IT Manager they ever had (first IT professional, in fact), and I was able to realize some significant wins early on.  I was given a lot of responsibility and absolutely loved every aspect of my job.  The commute was awesome (about 7 minutes), my boss was terrific and well-positioned in the company, the salary was right, the company was growing,… etc etc.  It was awesome, and I was in heaven.

Within a couple of years everything changed.  I got involved in promoting an acquisition of our ERP vendor, and my perfect little job came crashing down on me over the next few of years.  The acquisition happened and I moved over to that new subsidiary in a senior leadership position.  There were some red flags, but I didn’t have much of a choice.  And I never guessed the differences in company culture would be so strong.

That’s when I feel my career started to become destroyed.  And shortly thereafter (3 years?) I was let go.

I was let go over the phone, by my old boss who was so awesome, and the president of parent company.  I was warned “don’t burn any bridges” by the guy who I had been so very close to.  It hurt to hear that warning, as I wondered who the heck he thought I was, to even have to warn me to not be a jerk.

The so-called family company kicked me out of the family.  Spending years at a “family company,” and then getting voted off the island, was very painful.

I felt kicked in the teeth.

And I’ve held onto this pain for a long time.  I’ll never trust an employer like I trusted that family company leadership again.  I’ve learned, too many things can change, and job security is a farce.  And, I kind of felt that getting rid of this chip on my shoulder would make me lose my ability to blog passionately (funny, I know :p).

I came across WE GOT FIRED! by Harvey Mackay.  I like this type of book, as it chronicles stories of people who have been fired, or kicked in the teeth, and what they did after.  All of the stories are about people who have become rockstars in their own world, people who I recognize as fabulously successful.  But reading their experiences, and feelings, and actions, and attitudes, has been therapeutic for me.

I feel like listing everything I’ve learned from this book would sound too cliche, but for me, and my attitude, reading this book has been one of the best, most important experiences since I’ve been let go.  If you have a chip on your shoulder, or are wondering what is next for you (with some fear and trepidation), I strongly encourage you to find a copy of WE GOT FIRED! by Harvey Mackay.