Job Outlook Getting Brighter

By Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CMRC, CFRW
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com

It is being widely reported through various media sources throughout the country that our nation’s employment picture may finally be brightening. A recent government report has also showed strong gains over recent months.

Private sector employers added jobs in April for the third consecutive month, according to Automatic Data Processing (ADP). Computer-savvy individuals may have noticed this trend on social or networking Web sites, such as:

• Facebook
• Digg
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• Twitter
• Buzzup
• Email
• other social/networking sites

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas said planned job cuts in April dropped to the lowest level in nearly four years. And TrimTabs Investment Research said the nation added 262,000 jobs in April, boosted by government Census workers not included in the ad report.

The Department of Labor’s monthly jobs figures, scheduled for release May 14, is also expected to show another month of gains. In April, 187,000 jobs were added, compared to an increase of 162,000 jobs in March.

However, the unemployment rate continues to hold steady at 9.7%. There is a general tome that this is going to be a slow recovery, as the economy would have to recoup the eight million jobs lost during the past two years.

ADP, which processes paychecks for one in every six U.S. employees, said private-sector employers increased payrolls by 32,000 jobs in April, marking the third consecutive quarter month of job gains.

This jump was more than economists expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecasted a gain of 30,000 jobs in the month of April. The March private payroll figure was revised to an increase of 19,000 jobs from the previously reported loss of 23,000.

ADP's chief executive Gary Butler said that he is "cautiously optimistic that rising economic activity, coupled with recent legislation incentives to employers for job creation, will lead to continued job growth in the private sector."

More bases to advertise vacancies on USAJOBS

by April Rowden, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs Office

5/12/2010 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Eight additional locations will begin using www.USAJOBS.gov on May 24 to advertise vacancies to current Air Force employees. (USAJobs exclusively posts Government-related jobs. TAOnline.com works with civilian employers looking for transitioning military)

Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.; McGuire AFB, N.J.; McChord AFB, Wash.; Langley AFB, Va.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Andersen AFB, Guam; and the Air Force District of Washington's Bolling AFB and the Pentagon make up Phase II of the Air Force's civilian initiative to use USAJOBS to announce jobs vacancies to internal and external candidates.

Osan Air Base, South Korea; Goodfellow AFB, Texas; and all the bases under U.S. Air Forces in Europe launched the program Feb. 22, 2010.

By phasing in the use of USAJOBS, Air Force officials are able to test system enhancements, verify that the program creates a more timely hiring process, and respond to feedback from the field.

"Above all, we want to ensure we allow time for feedback from our selecting supervisors, local civilian personnel section staff, employees and applicants that this recruitment tool is meeting their needs," said Jamie Beattie of the Air Force Personnel Center. The feedback has been positive.

"Our internal Air Force employees feel they are receiving fair consideration by applying via a resume in lieu of career briefs with skills coding, and our selecting supervisors appreciate receiving only one certificate with both internal and external candidates instead of the two they received in the past," Ms. Beattie said.

Applicants can verify the announcement is available to current Air Force civilian candidates by looking for the "Current Permanent Air Force Employee" eligibility statement on jobs advertised in USAJOBS. Applicants should identify themselves as current Air Force employees in the assessment questionnaire included in the vacancy announcement.

Officials Warn of ‘Phishing’ Scams Targeting Troops

By Lisa Daniel, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2010 – U.S. Strategic Command officials are urging renewed vigilance against Internet-based identity theft after detecting a widespread "phishing" expedition against servicemembers.

Phishing is a term used to describe deceiving people into divulging personal information such as passwords or account numbers over the Internet.

Beginning as early as May 2009 and lasting as late as March 2010, numerous fraudulent e-mails were sent to financial customers of USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union, Stratcom officials said in a recent news release.

The e-mails, which appear to originate from USAA and the credit union, ask the recipient to provide or verify personal information such as name and rank, account numbers, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, address and phone numbers, online account user name and password, credit card numbers, personal identification numbers for automated tellers, and Social Security numbers.

"While these e-mails may appear to be legitimate, it's important to remember USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union will never ask for [personal identification] or to verify financial institution data via e-mail," the Stratcom release says.

Although the e-mails have official-looking logos, headers and signature blocks, "these are all common cyber espionage 'spear-phishing' tactics used to trick recipients," it says.

USAA posted a notice on its website May 4 warning of the phishing attempt.

Phishing scams can reach servicemembers not only through personal e-mail accounts, but also through their official e-mail. Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, Stratcom commander, told the House Armed Services Committee in March that every commander needs to focus on keeping networks secure.

"It should be the focus of every commander in the field, the health and status of their networks, just as they're focused on the health and status of their people, their tanks, their airplanes, their ships, because the networks are so critical," he said. "So, changing their conduct, training them and then holding people accountable for their behavior on the network is important."

Stratcom officials offered these suggestions to keep your personal information safe:

• Always protect your personal identification and be cautious whom you provide it to, especially by phone or Internet;
• Be suspicious of any unsolicited e-mail, pop-up, website or phone call in which you are asked to provide personal information;
• Cross-reference information with the official sites, looking for the "https" secure connection.
• Do not click on any link provided in a suspicious e-mail, and take caution in opening e-mail attachments or downloading files, regardless of who sends them;
• Keep your personal computer’s anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall and other security software running and up to date;
• Regularly review your bank statements for suspicious activity.

Editors' note: Only approved employers or their representatives have access to your TAOnline.com information. TAOnline.com will never ask you to verify your Social Security Number. And, since our services are free to job seekers, we will never ask you to verify credit card or bank statement information

Inaugural Warrior Games Wrap Up

Joseph Bonfiglio

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 14, 2010 – The inaugural Warrior Games at the Olympic Training Center here are now history, leaving in their wake a few hundred happy, but very tired troops, family members and volunteers.

The week-long series of games drew enthusiastic crowds and reached the level of intensity in the gold medal matchups equal to that of the actual Paralympics, officials said.

"I walked in there and it was dripping with intensity. The game was unbelievable," said Charlie Huebner, chief of Paralympics for the U.S. Olympic Committee. "The crowd, the emotion -- it was just phenomenal. Everything we wanted it to be."

For the past week, about 200 servicemembers from across the Defense Department competed as individuals and in teams in Paralympic Olympic-style events such as shooting, swimming, archery, sitting volleyball, cycling, track, wheelchair basketball, discus, and shot put.

The much-anticipated games were announced at the Pentagon only months ago by the Army and its partner, the U.S. Paralympics. The two organizations, along with other partners, quickly through together the financial and logistical support requirements of bringing those troops to the U.S. Olympic Training Center here, along with many of their wounded warrior units' cadre and medical staff. The services quickly recruited their athlete candidates.

"This exceeded my wildest expectations," said Army Brig Gen. Gary H. Cheek, commanding general of the Army's Warrior Transition Command. "I didn’t know that we’d have that kind of emotion and the size of the crowds that are here," he added.

Officials hope that this year’s event will spawn year-round efforts at the wounded warrior units to train for the annual competition. It is an effort, they said, to encourage wounded servicemembers to use sports in their recovery programs.

Both Cheek and Huebner said that the energy from being active in sports spills over into the rest of the troops' lives, making them better spouses, parents and employees. Huebner said not everyone dreams of becoming a Paralympic athlete, but that being active is a piece of the rehabilitation puzzle, and sports skills can help them better adapt when they return to their homes.