TAOnline Transition Insight Newsletter

Businesses added a solid 195,000 jobs in August

U.S. businesses added a healthy 195,000 jobs last month, a sign companies are still hiring at a solid pace despite the Trump administration’s trade war with China. Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that hiring occurred broadly among small, medium-sized and large businesses, compared with recent months when large firms had dominated. Health care, restaurants and hotels, and professional services all added jobs at a robust pace. Manufacturing added 8,000, despite other data that shows factory output is contracting. Strong hiring, as long as it continues, can fuel solid growth in consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy. That would propel growth even as businesses have cut back on spending and exports ... Read More

Why you should never say, “I can do this job” in an interview

The most common phrase in an interview that candidates share with their interviewer is, “I can do this job”. Believe it or not, this is a phrase you want to avoid in your interviews. This is one of the last phrases you want to share with your interviewer and we will provide a number of reasons why this is the case. The hiring manager has a team of folks already doing the job and we don’t know the skill level or experience of their team. It isn’t our opinion that counts, it is the hiring managers opinion that really matters. So, when we say “I can do this job”, we take a big chance that we are putting the hiring manager into a thought process that is not supportive. We don’t want the hiring manager thinking, “I have the best team in the company with an average tenure of 15 ... Read More

Protect Your Privacy and Reputation On Social Media

By Hannah Morgan, Career Sherpa - Reprinted with permission -

What are you doing to protect your privacy and reputation on social media? See where you rank in comparison to social media users and what you can do to improve your reputation and enhance your privacy. What steps or precautions do you take to ensure your social media profiles reflect the best information about you? Whether you are actively or passively job hunting, your reputation on social media is being assessed. So, in order to gain attention and stand out (for the right reasons), carefully consider what you share on social media. Let’s look JDP’s findings from “How Job Seekers Curate Their Social Presence.” By the way, JDP provides employee background screenings and their study ... Read More

Financial Planning for Senior Veterans: What the VA Covers and What it Doesn't

By Kelli Brewer deploycare.org- Reprinted with permission -

Are you preparing for retirement? Before you leave the workforce, it’s important to revisit your finances. A strong financial plan protects you and your family as you age, but a lack of planning could leave you struggling in the later years. If you’re a US veteran, there are a variety of benefits you can utilize during the senior years. However, veterans benefits don’t cover everything, so it’s important to understand which veterans benefits you’re eligible for and what gaps are left for you to cover. Military veterans may be covered by VA health care or TRICARE after leaving the service. TRICARE is the government’s health insurance program for military members. ... Read More

Police Officer - New York - NY
Marketing Representative - Annapolis - MD
Great Park Senior Project Manager - Irvine - CA
Service/Refrigeration Technician - Louisville - KY
CDL Driver - Homer - AK

Click here for a complete list and description of organizations of TAOnline.com growing Partners!

**TAOnline Virtual Career Fair * The Big Virtual * October 22, 2019**

The Big Virtual is a TAOnline Virtual Career Fair where U.S. veterans and security cleared professionals can connect online with military-friendly organizations. The event will take place from your computer October 22nd from 11 am to 3 pm (ET). This event is for anyone seeking nationwide opportunities and is for all ranks and branches of service, including active duty, Reserve, National Guard, and individuals with a security clearance (including civilians). More information will be available soon.

Military-Friendly Job Fair September 27, 2019 - Springfield, VA

Meet face-to-face with dozens of hiring companies at the September 27 Military-Friendly Job Fair at the Waterford Reception Center in Springfield, Virginia. Interview with Leidos, SAIC, LMI, Booz Allen, ARServices, Newport News Shipbuilding, First Command Financial Services, Preferred Systems Solutions, Wells Fargo, Edward Jones, OBXtek, Prince William County Police, and many more! Job fair hours are 9 am to 12 noon, with an Employer Panel discussion for job seekers starting at 8 am. To ensure you receive the job fair Employer Directory in advance, pre-register at http://corporategray.com/jobfairs/409. And if you upload your resume, the participating companies will have early access to your credentials. This job fair is especially for transitioning service members across all ranks and branches of service.

Military-Friendly Job Fair October 16, 2019 - Virginia Beach

You're invited to meet with dozens of military-friendly companies at the October 16 Military-Friendly Job Fair at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Interview with Newport News Shipbuilding, Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, Edward Jones, ARServices, U.S. Capitol Police, The GBS Group, Foley Cat, Carter Machinery, LMI Government Consulting, Sentara, and many more! Job fair hours are 9 am to 12 noon with two free employment seminars from 8 am to 9 am. To see the list of participating companies registered-to-date, and to ensure you receive the job fair Employer Directory in advance, pre-register at http://corporategray.com/jobfairs/412. And if you upload your resume, the participating companies will have early access to your credentials. While especially for transitioning service members and veterans, this job fair is free and open to all job seekers.

Military-Friendly Job Fair January 23, 2020 - San Diego, CA

Save the date to meet with dozens of military-friendly companies at the January 23 Military-Friendly Job Fair being held at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego, California. Interview with many top employers who are seeking to hire military-experienced candidates! Job fair hours are 9 am to 12 noon, with an Employer Panel discussion for job seekers starting at 8 am. Pre-register now via http://corporategray.com/jobfairs/424. Be sure to upload your resume so that the participating companies will have early access to your credentials. While especially for transitioning service members and veterans, this job fair is free and open to all job seekers..

FREE U.S. Veterans Magazine Subscription for TAOnline Members!

U.S. Veterans Magazine (USVM) Is the premiere resource magazine for transitioning service members, service-disabled veterans, veteran business owners and their spouses and families. USVM is the link between the qualified students, career and business candidates from the ranks of our nation’s veteran organizations, educational institutions, corporate America, and the federal government. Subscribe for FREE today!

Businesses added a solid 195,000 jobs in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added a healthy 195,000 jobs last month, a sign companies are still hiring at a solid pace despite the Trump administration’s trade war with China.

Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that hiring occurred broadly among small, medium-sized and large businesses, compared with recent months when large firms had dominated. Health care, restaurants and hotels, and professional services all added jobs at a robust pace. Manufacturing added 8,000, despite other data that shows factory output is contracting.

Strong hiring, as long as it continues, can fuel solid growth in consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy. That would propel growth even as businesses have cut back on spending and exports have fallen amid the trade war.

The ADP’s figures don’t include government hiring and frequently diverge from the government’s official report, which is scheduled to be released Friday. Economists expect that report will show 160,000 jobs were added.

The job gains in ADP’s report are well above the roughly 100,000 that are needed each month to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which compiles the ADP data, said that hiring of at least 100,000 a month, on average, would be enough to keep the economy growing and avoid recession, even with the current tariffs in place.

Those tariffs and China’s retaliatory duties have hurt manufacturing companies, farmers, and the shipping industry, but the rest of the economy has so far not been heavily impacted.

The next round of tariffs on Chinese imports, scheduled for Dec. 15, would target about $160 billion of consumer goods. If they are put in place, “that would do significant damage,” Zandi said, potentially causing consumers to spend less and businesses to hold off on hiring and even cut jobs.

Yet other data shows that layoffs remain low. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose just 1,000 last week to 217,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Unemployment benefit claims are a proxy for layoffs and the current number is near a 50-year low.

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Why you should never say, “I can do this job” in an interview

The hiring manager has a team of folks already doing the job and we don’t know the skill level or experience of their team. It isn’t our opinion that counts, it is the hiring managers opinion that really matters. So, when we say “I can do this job”, we take a big chance that we are putting the hiring manager into a thought process that is not supportive.

We don’t want the hiring manager thinking, “I have the best team in the company with an average tenure of 15 years, my team can do this job”

But “I can do this job!”

There will be situations where you may have done a job and are interviewing for a similar job and have a high level of confidence you can be successful at the job. Even in this case, we don’t want to say, “I can do this job”.

Remember, most hiring managers are looking for negatives as much as they are looking for positives in your candidacy. We don’t want to encourage a situation where the conclusion is “negative”.

2 reasons the hiring manager is looking for a negative

* The hiring manager is putting their name and credibility on your future performance. Managers want a sure bet. They don’t want a high percentage bet; managers want a sure bet. With this in mind, most managers are not in the mindset of trust, but of doubt. We don’t want to encourage a lack of trust mentality. As a candidate, you can move the hiring manager from a mentality of the doubt to a mentality of confidence with just a few changes in how we present ourselves.

* We don’t want to put ourselves into a no-win situation where we are compared to the employee(s) that are the star performers. All teams have superstars and this hiring manager is no different. They may have one superstar or 10. Either way, you don’t want to be compared to this top-ranking employee. Especially when we haven’t done this particular job.

Project confidence, not arrogance

If there is one thing that will result in a candidate being declined, it is a lack of confidence. This doesn’t mean you have to be a showboat. Just check the boxes. Look the interviewer in the eye, speak up, and smile. This may not be the illusion of confidence but it will check the boxes. Of course, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. There is also a way to prove you can do the position of interest without sounding like a blowhard.

Instead of saying “I can do this job”, come to the interview prepared to share how you have done similar work and been successful with similar tasks using quantitative answers. As we mentioned, it is very easy to compare you to the hiring managers experienced team and become judgmental. A manager will have a hard time questioning your success rate at a prior company when they weren’t working in your department and not seeing you in action.

What to say

Let’s say you are interested in a bank teller position but lack actual bank teller experience. We could make statements like the following:

Yeah, I know I can do this job.

I am confident I will be successful in this position.

OR, we could make statements like the following:

1. I was very successful when I ran the cash register at the restaurant I worked for. I closed out the cash register every shift and always had a zero balance at the end of the day. This was a high volume establishment and involved a lot of customer interaction.

2. I have a lot of experience working with customers in face to face interactions. At my prior role, I met with candidates on a regular basis and was able to upsell what they purchased from us on their prior visit. On average, each associate had 40 interactions a day.

3. At my last position, I had to learn a number of new products. The restaurant I worked with had 15 specialty entrees and the choice of 5 side dishes. I not only had to memorize all of the specialty entrees but which ones had specific ingredients and how each could be cooked. We wanted to make sure that our customers didn’t have allergic reactions and were able to pair their side dishes with their entrees. I believe I can learn the bank products because I was able to learn the 75 combinations in my last position.

Why it works

In the first example, we know that a bank teller will work with money and customers. In our answer, we have proven that we have both customer service experience and can be responsible for cash. The name of the establishment doesn’t matter, and the amount of money involved isn’t an issue. We are emphasizing customer service and accurate financial transactions.

In the second example, we reinforce that we have experience with face to face interactions and specifically experience with unhappy customers and up-sell opportunities. Both are qualities that are required with the position of a bank teller and quantitatively reinforce our success.

The third example takes two very different positions of a bank teller and waiter and figures out not only how to relate the two training programs but reinforces that success as a waiter is a good indicator future success as a bank teller.

Ultimately, the methodology that most recruiters use to interview candidates is “Behavioral Interviewing“. The thought process is prior success is the best indicator of future success.

You are excited and were successful

Next time you are in a job interview, don’t tell the hiring manager “I can do this job”. Tell them you are excited about the position and show how you were successful in prior positions and relate that success to the position of interest.

See you at the after party,

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Protect Your Privacy and Reputation On Social Media

By Hannah Morgan, Career Sherpa - Reprinted with permission -

What steps or precautions do you take to ensure your social media profiles reflect the best information about you?

Whether you are actively or passively job hunting, your reputation on social media is being assessed. So, in order to gain attention and stand out (for the right reasons), carefully consider what you share on social media.

Let’s look JDP’s findings from “How Job Seekers Curate Their Social Presence.” By the way, JDP provides employee background screenings and their study surveyed 2,007 US workers in July 2019.

As you look at the findings, I hope you will be thinking of new ways highlight your positive attributes and successes where ever you are active on social media.

Social Media Is Used By Employers & Recruiters

The survey reports that 84% of users believe social media regularly impacts hiring decisions. They are correct.

In fact, in 2018, a CareerBuilder report found that 70% of recruiters use social media to evaluate candidates. And of those recruiters, 57% found content that caused them not to hire candidates.

You’re not alone if you think this is an invasion of your privacy. 50% of the JPN respondents also said they didn’t think employers should be able to look at candidates’ social media.

However, the reality is, your information is out there. So you have several choices.

1. Clean it up

2. Use social media to your advantage

3. Lock it down

But here’s the rub. 47% of HR/recruiters say that if they can’t find a job candidate online, they are less likely to call that person in for an interview, according to that CareerBuilder study.

Privacy Settings ON

43% enable privacy settings to keep material hidden from current employers and future social media screenings.

TIP: The majority of social media users do not adjust their privacy settings. Become familiar with settings, be very aware of what you share and know who is in your network.

Google Yourself

46% searched for their names in Google, Bing or some other search engine which resulted in their hiding incriminating social media posts.

TIP: Recruiters/HR will search for your name too, so take proactive steps to clean up what they’ll find, especially on page 1 of search results. For more help, check out Job Seeker: Get On Page One.

Actions Taken For Privacy

In order to keep your private life private what do you do? Here are several steps the study points out:

50% removed old profiles or posts to protect professional reputation

And 66% were more likely to do so on Facebook

1 out of 3 refuse to connect with co-workers on social media

Social Media Platforms Considered Private

When asked which social media platforms users thought should be off-limits to employers (aka private) this shows that Facebook is in top place.

Facebook – 45%

Twitter – 35%

Reddit – 33%

Instagram – 28%

Personal website – 27%

YouTube – 16%

LinkedIn – 9%

And as a result, some found a work-around. 27% created an alias Facebook profile.

Self Promotion

Social media platforms help get the word out about you. And little self-promotion never hurt.

25% actively present themselves to attract employers by liking, posting, or following industry-relevant material

And which social media platforms do they choose to self-promote/engage on?

LinkedIn – 32%

Facebook – 26%

Twitter – 19%

Instagram – 16%

YouTube – 6%

TIP: If you haven’t thought about engaging with industry profiles/material or target company updates, this would be an easy way to stand out since so few users take this approach.

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Financial Planning for Senior Veterans: What the VA Covers and What it Doesn't

By Kelli Brewer deploycare.org- Reprinted with permission -

If you’re a US veteran, there are a variety of benefits you can utilize during the senior years. However, veterans benefits don’t cover everything, so it’s important to understand which veterans benefits you’re eligible for and what gaps are left for you to cover.

Health Insurance

Military veterans may be covered by VA health care or TRICARE after leaving the service. TRICARE is the government’s health insurance program for military members. Retirees and veterans with service-connected disabilities may be eligible for TRICARE. Veterans with Medicare are enrolled in TRICARE For Life, which serves as the secondary insurer.

VA health care provides care at 1,700 hospitals, clinics, and care facilities. Under the Veterans Choice Program, certain veterans may use VA health benefits at community-based healthcare providers. Many veterans are eligible for VA health care; however, veterans are subject to a priority system that determines their copay.

As a senior, you’ll also have health benefits through Medicare. Veterans can’t use Medicare at VA health centers, but they can apply Medicare benefits to care outside the VA system. If you’re in a low-priority group or don’t live near a VA health center, most of your care will come from community healthcare providers. For that reason, it’s important that senior veterans also have sufficient Medicare coverage.

Seniors with both TRICARE For Life and Medicare can skip Medigap and Part D plans, as TRICARE For Life includes prescription drug and cost-sharing coverage. However, seniors may want to consider a Medicare Advantage plan for dental and vision coverage, which neither Original Medicare nor TRICARE For Life offer.

Housing

The VA offers several resources to support seniors experiencing limitations at home.

Four grant programs help senior veterans build or buy an accessible home or make accessibility modifications to an existing home: the Specially Adapted Housing grant, Special Housing Adaptation grant, Temporary Residence Adaptation grant, and Home Improvements and Structural Alterations Grants. Learn more about these grants at USA.gov.

Senior veterans may also receive help with long-term care.

Aid & Attendance and Housebound benefits supplement pension payments for disabled veterans. These payments may be used to pay for in-home help or nursing home care.

Depending on the priority group, veterans may also receive long-term care support. VA health care may fund care in nursing homes, community living centers, and state veterans homes, as well as in-home care for seniors aging in place. Only veterans enrolled in VA health care are eligible, and eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis. Veterans should contact their VA social worker to determine eligibility for long-term care services.

Funerals

Veterans are eligible for burial at national or state veterans cemeteries, including a headstone and marker at no cost. Veterans buried in private cemeteries may also receive a headstone and marker at no cost. However, veterans are responsible for placement costs in a private cemetery.

Veterans burial benefits don’t cover other costs associated with a funeral, such as a casket, embalming, viewing, or transportation of remains. The VA offers small allowances to offset funeral expenses, but not enough to pay for a funeral in full.

Since these expenses make up the bulk of funeral costs, senior veterans should make financial arrangements in advance. In the absence of a life insurance policy or cash to finance a funeral, burial insurance is the best way to pay for funeral arrangements. Burial insurance is available at a variety of coverage amounts; seniors may buy a policy with just enough coverage for funeral expenses or opt for more coverage to pay other outstanding debts.

Veterans benefits provide valuable support for seniors, but that doesn’t mean older veterans don’t have to worry about money matters. As you prepare for retirement, take stock of the veterans benefits you’re eligible for and identify the gaps that exist in your financial plan. By assessing where you stand, you can make the right financial decisions for your senior years.

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