It’s that time of year again—the time when many businesses, large and small alike, are beginning to set their sights on hiring a few new seasonal workers. Whether these are retail locations seeking extra help through the holiday season or factories hiring help to keep store shelves stocked throughout Christmas and beyond, there are many industries that hire short-term workers this time of year.

Of course, not everyone who is hired for seasonal employment is interested in ending the gig once the holidays have passed. Here are a few things you can do to increase the odds that you’ll be the employee they’re interested in keeping on permanently once the holidays are over.

Make Your Intentions Clear

One of the most important things you can do if you want to turn this temporary gig into something a little more long-term in nature is to let people know where your interests lie. Let your employer know that you’re interested in full-time work so that he or she knows to keep you in mind if a position opens up. Honestly, the most difficult barrier most people encounter in the workplace is failing to ask for whatever it is they really want. Communication is key to your success.

Show Your Worth to the Company

There are many ways you can accomplish this particular step. Don’t think for a second, however, that it’s an unimportant step because there are so many ways to accomplish this particular goal. A few things you can do to prove your worth to the company are the following:

1)   Provide outstanding customer service.

2)   Volunteer or offer to work extra hours, pull extra shifts, or accept new responsibilities. A “can do” attitude goes a long way when promotions and full-time employment opportunities are being considered.

3)   Keep positive. A positive attitude will impress everyone and get you the favorable attention you’re looking for.

Be Exceptional

This, above all else you can do, will give you the results you’re looking for. Go above and beyond in everything you do on the job and continue doing so once you’re offered the full-time position so that they don’t feel they’ve made a mistake in doing so. Show up for work on time, every time, and have a positive attitude about the job at hand.

These steps are small steps to take but they can make such a huge difference for your opportunity to turn your seasonal work into a full-time opportunity long after the holiday season has ended. Put them to work today and see what a difference they make in the way your employers perceive and respond to you. More importantly, see how quickly it has them seeing you as an asset to the company worthy of full-time employment. For access to a wide range of seasonal temp to perm assignments in MA, check out the latest job postings at The Suburban Group today.

Everybody just wants to be happy. When it comes to a career, however, there can be a lot of compromise. It’s impossible to define what makes one person happy in their job vs. another person who has a similar job but hates it. Very often, people are mismatched to the jobs they end up in, which causes them to feel unfulfilled and wanting something better.

As a job seeker, you may have already considered that the job offer you may get in the near future may not be a perfect fit for your skill set and interests. However, in this economy you cannot afford to reject any job offer. It’s at least a job, right?

The question remains for you to decide – should you take a job you don’t wholeheartedly want, or should you hold out for a job that will make you “happy? Here are some things to consider.

The Not-so-Perfect Job Offer

If you’ve just been offered a new job, but it’s not exactly what you were hoping for, it’s natural to be disappointed. You walked in to the job interview with your best foot forward, delivered an awesome resume and references, and answered the interview questions well. Then you get the call offering you something less than what you expected. Your first reaction could be to get irritated about it and refuse the job offer, but wait—it is for a company you’d really like to get on with. And you have been trying to get a decent job offer for months now. What to do?

Many career experts will tell you that sometimes taking a job that is not exactly what you want can lead you to a better opportunity within a short period of time. Taking a job, even an entry level assignment, can give you the chance to prove your worth to the company which makes it easier for you to slide into a better role. While the job may not be a great opportunity, it is an entry into the kind of corporate culture that you may thrive in, and you’ll have time to hone your skills.

The Double-edged Job Offer

Now, what about a job offer that comes in, but looks like it may be a stress inducing job with grueling work hours, poor compensation, and a demanding boss. Or a job offer may sound good, but in reality the company is sinking or has a negative reputation in your industry. This takes some pondering. You have to consider how this job may affect your lifestyle and especially your family. Is it worth the sacrifice of your time and skills? Or worse yet, your reputation? This may be a time when it’s better to walk away, in pursuit of something a little better.

Perhaps one of the best ways to “try on” careers, particularly if you are not sure what you want to do when you grow up, is to take contract assignments through a staffing agency, like The Suburban Group, that can place you with growing companies. You’ll be able to gain valuable insight from this experience and work with a recruiter who cares about your suitability for the assignment. This can lead to more happiness and a career that is better matched to the professional you are.

Sometimes, you just know the job you have isn’t right for you. The wrongness of it all blinks at you like a huge neon sign from the moment you walk in the door to work each morning until you leave at the end of the day. Other times it’s a little subtler. It doesn’t reach out and grab your attention in a “Three Stooges” sort of way, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Here are a few of the less alarming signs that the job you have might not really be the one that’s right for you.

1)   You’re not proud of the job you have. A lot of people are in this position right now. You may have been riding high before the economic downturn, or just living with high expectations regarding your next career move. Now you’ve discovered that the job you have, while it may pay the bills, doesn’t give you a reason to hold your head high and proclaim your career move to the world. Truthfully speaking though, it’s hard to be happy in any role very long if you’re ashamed of it. It’s time to dip your toe back into the waters of the job market in search of a job you can really be proud to do.

2)   The job overwhelms you. This is another position many people are finding themselves in since the economic downturn. People in businesses in all sorts of fields are suddenly being asked to do more with less. Fewer bodies are there to relieve the pressure and it can leave you feeling like you’re going to blow your top or lose your cool any minute now. Then there’s the other side of the coin when you’re in a job that isn’t necessarily suited to your skills, talents, and/or interests. These jobs can leave you feeling like a fish out of water and it’s hard to be happy when you’re always bombarded with feelings of inadequacy. Now is the time to start looking for a job where you can shine and excel and be proud of your accomplishments on the job.

3)   There’s no room for advancement. Very few people want to hold the job they have now five, or even ten, years from now. If there’s no room for advancement with the organization you’re working for, the only way to move up is to move on.

None of these situations mean you need to quit on the spot but they are good indications that the time to move is coming. Now is the time to start polishing up your resume and put your ear to the ground to explore other career opportunities that may be lurking just beyond the horizon.

Enjoy a related article from The Suburban Group

Do You Have Enough Experience for that Job?

Being a leader comes with great responsibility, but also great rewards. Leaders are generally regarded with respect and admiration by their peers. They are also more likely to be recommended for promotions and the chance to work on challenging projects that can be very stimulating. If you are ready to climb the ladder of success as a leader, then you must work on yourself to improve your expertise and skills on the job.

To be an effective leader who is destined for success, here are the key skills to develop now:

1. Communication – Leaders today need to be able to communicate well in many different mediums, from written emails to spoken presentations delivered via webinar. No matter where you go in your career, being able to communicate well in written and verbal format can help you be perceived as a leader.
2. Organization – Being a leader means being able to stay on top of a variety of tasks and responsibilities. To do this, you need to develop strong organizational skills. Because leaders keep order in their teams, being able to organize time, people and things can help you rise to the top.
3. Collaboration - Another key to successful leadership is building a network of other leaders who are there to support your efforts. This can come from joining professional associations, leadership councils, and getting personal development coursework under your belt.
4. Delegation – Leadership does not mean being the smartest or doing everything alone. It means leading others to be the very best they can be. Tap into the collective talent in your teams; recognize the unique abilities that your subordinates have, encourage your mentees to take on new projects.
5. Responsibility – Ultimately as a leader, others will look to you for answers and guidance. Be sure you are ready for this responsibility by taking on bigger commitments over time and learning how to manage them.

There are many ways to pursue your career as a leader. First, take the time to learn what your strengths and weaknesses are, so you can improve them. Second, become a lifelong learner and take courses and attend seminars about leadership. Associate with other leaders in your field and transfer this knowledge to the next generation of leaders. Develop your career potential by taking on a new challenging job as a manager.

Mixing business and pleasure is rarely a wise choice. Today though, the lines are often blurred in the wonderful world of social networking.

It can sometimes feel like a juggling act to try to walk the fine line between professional decorum and keeping up with friends and family in the fishbowl that social media and networking has become. But there are times when using the social contacts you’ve made can prove beneficial in your efforts to secure a job—provided you go about asking in the right way.

1)   Don’t dive right into the “ask.” In many ways this is like wooing a romantic interest. You have to start with dinner and perhaps a movie before you dive right in to a full force romance. The same holds true with social contacts while looking for a job. You don’t want to call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while and dive right into asking them to help you find a job or connect you with someone they know. Connect and build first and your friend or contact is likely to offer to help you.

2)   Be reasonable with your expectations. No one who hasn’t worked with you is going to be willing to provide you with a professional reference. It demeans you and your friendship to even ask and it really puts that friend on the spot. Also consider the fact that this will be a weak reference at best since you haven’t worked together in a professional capacity and your friend isn’t likely to know much about the type of work you do, the specific skills you have, or your particular work ethic. It really puts your credibility as well as the person offering an endorsement without actually having worked with you, in jeopardy.

3)   Don’t assume your friends’ connections are yours for the taking. Your friend may be willing to introduce you to some of the connections he or she knows but you shouldn’t assume that a degree or two of separation assures you of an introduction. It’s always nice if you have a friend who knows someone and you are comfortable asking for an introduction or a resume “hand off.” It’s something else entirely to assume that your friend is going to be willing to do so. You should always respect the feelings of your friend and hold no ill will or grudges if the friend doesn’t share your resume or make the introductions you were hoping for.

Always remember that friendship is a two-way street. Networking, like friendship, is an activity where you get more from the endeavor by giving more to it. The more you put into the relationship the more you’re likely to receive.

Finding a job in the current economy can be somewhat intimidating. It can make even sane, intelligent people make rookie mistakes. These are a few of the big “dumb” mistakes you definitely don’t want to make as you search for a job.

1)   Don’t make it all about you. Humans are self-motivated creatures. You have your eye on the prize and a nice long list of goals to keep your busy. More than anything else though, you’re uncomfortable asking for help. As a result you decide to bite the bullet and get right down to it. Then you firmly plant your foot in your mouth by using the “here’s what you can do for me!” approach instead of the “what’s going on in your world?” approach that works infinitely better as an ice breaker.

2)   Practice friendship first. The big thing about using friends for business connections is that it’s easy to overlook the fact that this is your friend—first and foremost. How would you want your friend to approach you if the tables were reversed?  Think long and hard about how you’d feel or react in various scenarios you play out in your mind. Try several different approaches and decide what works best for you. Above all else, you want to come across as genuine so that your friend doesn’t wind up feeling misused in the entire ordeal.

3)   Don’t ask people who know little, if anything, about your work, your field, or your work ethics for endorsements. You’re not only asking them to place their credibility on the line for you but you also run the risk of casting an unfavorable light upon yourself in the process. Most people don’t take recommending someone for a job, or even an interview, lightly. Recommendations should be offered willingly and not requested.

Once again, think of how you’d feel if someone you didn’t know all that well asked you to put your credibility with your company on the line in order to help that person get a job? It’s not the most comfortable situation to find yourself in, is it? It might even have you feeling a little used by someone who is supposed to be your friend.

Finally, remember that while your mind is planted firmly on your job search, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is walking around dreaming up ways to help you search for a job. You can drop subtle hints that any help is appreciated for your job search. People generally want to help. They simply want to volunteer that help rather than be pulled, poked, and/or prodded into giving it. Give this approach a try and see what kind of wonders it can work for you.

Let Suburban Group help you land a great new job in the Grafton, MA area!

Believe it or not, Twitter can be an important tool to keep in your job search arsenal. Face it, in this tough economy, every edge you can get is one well worth guarding. It’s hard for a lot of people to see how a quick little blurb consisting of 140 or fewer characters can make all that much of a difference while searching for a job. But the truth is it isn’t one Tweet that makes the world of difference. In fact, all the Tweets in the world won’t amount to much of anything if you don’t have a solid strategy behind your job search efforts on Twitter. Here are a few hints to help you get started.

Don’t Tweet Blindly

When you’re searching for a job Twitter can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you don’t plan it out properly your efforts will go down as an “epic fail” in your job search history. However, if you come up with the appropriate strategy and practice a little bit of patience in order to see things through, you might be marking a huge mark in the “win” column instead. These are the things your strategy needs to include:

1)   Follow leaders in your industry. These are the people you want to know because they are industry leaders. But, you also want to get your name out in front of them as much as possible so that you’re familiar to them if and when your resume happens to cross their desks.

2)   Follow the companies where you’d like to work. The best way to learn about career opportunities, job openings, and specific needs within the organization is to follow the information they share on Twitter – religiously. Social media is the way of the world today and your research on any given company isn’t complete until you’ve subscribed to all their social networking feeds.

3)   Contribute useful information in conversations that are relevant to your field. This doesn’t mean to regurgitate old facts and numbers. It’s not the idea to come across as a know it all either. But it is an excellent opportunity to get your name associated with your industry in a positive light if you use this opportunity to do so.

4)   Keep it PG. While it’s important that you come across as a real person and not just someone interested in making a name in the industry, there’s a difference between keeping it real and providing too much information. Business owners today conduct social media searches before the interview in many cases to find out a little about you as well. Make sure your Twitter feed gives them something positive to see.

Twitter is not just a fly-by-night operation that’s likely to be gone tomorrow. In the attention deficit world of the Information Age it has proven to be quite resilient and popular. In the world of professional job searches it can be quite useful as well. For added support in your job search efforts, be sure to sign up with The Suburban Group or temporary and permanent assignments.

Before you hit that “apply now” button on a job advertisement, stop and consider if you really have enough experience for the job, or not. This simple step can save you, and the hiring manager, from wasted time and effort.

There are many gray areas when it comes to the job application process. Some HR departments do a good job of writing job descriptions that accurately describe the job requirements and duties. Others create job ads that are somewhat vague, making it hard to determine if you have the right skills and experience.

Remember that the goal of an effective job search is to land an assignment that is well-matched to your skills, education, experience, and personality. While some job seekers apply for every job under the sun hoping just to get an interview, this is not a positive way to find meaningful work. Instead, it’s better to focus on the actual job descriptions and requirements to land a job that’s perfect for you.

Here are a few ways to evaluate if you have enough experience for a job you are thinking about applying for.

• Read the job description carefully, noting special educational or license requirements needed to be considered.
• Evaluate if the job is entry-level, mid-level or upper management in scope of responsibilities and experience – then review your own work history to see if you meet or exceed the requirements.
• Consider any relocation requests and if you have what it takes to take a job in a new cultural region given your background, family and personal lifestyle.
• Do a search for salary ranges for the specific industry and job title to see if you are willing to work for the wages and benefits being offered in the job ad.
• If you are changing careers, decide if you have up-to-date skills and training in the area for which you are applying for opportunities.
• In client facing assignments, consider if you have developed strong interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills to excel in the role.
• Ask yourself if you can see yourself working in that role 10-years from now, or if you have your sights set too high or too low?
• Decide if you have the ability to manage other people or clients the way that the job description says you will be required to.

Applying for work can be challenging when there are so many opportunities that seem right for you. The reality is that sometimes the job description can be misleading or omits information that you need to make an informed decision. If in doubt, pick up the phone and call the main corporate number to inquire with the HR department on what the job fully entails, before you zip off a resume.

When searching for a new career, it’s also often a better idea to get support from a quality employment agency, like The Suburban Group, to help you be more successful in a job search. Taking a moment to get objective guidance from a team of skilled recruiters can help you get closer to being matched to an assignment that’s right for your unique skills and education.

Along with staffing agencies and online job postings, social searching is becoming one of the hottest ways for job seekers to find suitable employment today. By using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, job seekers from new college grads to Baby Boomers are using this method conduct keyword searches for new opportunities.

Twitter is, by far, one of the most productive of these social searches, because of the quick access to job postings from everywhere on the Internet all in one convenient place. The only hitch is that it can be challenging to know what Twitter feeds to follow, because there are so many of them!

To help you get started on the path to success with your Twitter job search strategy, here is a run-down of some of the best Twitter accounts to follow.

Suburban Group https://twitter.com/#!/suburbangroup of course, we want you to follow us on Twitter! The team at Suburban Group frequently posts job leads, access to cool career articles and information you need to be successful.

Ask a Manager  https://twitter.com/#!/askamanager  Allison Green helps you gain valuable insight into the minds of managers, and how to ask for a raise or a promotion the right way. Or how to peek into the world of managers to ace your next interview.

Brazen Careerist https://twitter.com/#!/search/brazencareerist a no-holds-barred environment where job seekers and career pros gather to talk about anything and everything relating to careers.

Career Rocketeer  https://twitter.com/#!/search/%40CareerRocketeer Jam packed with multiple feeds from career experts and job seeker extraordinaires, you’ll also find job leads plentifully posted.

Recruiting Blogs https://twitter.com/#!/RecruitingBlogs gain valuable insight as you hear it directly from the other side of the hiring table, as recruiters keep it real and talk about the dos and don’ts of job search and interviewing.

Resume Strategy https://twitter.com/#!/resumestrategy Get timely advice and feedback from Karen Siwak about the most important aspect of your job search – your resume.

While these Twitter accounts are just scratching the surface of all the great resources out there on the social media highway for job seekers, we encourage you to share your own favs in the comments feed below! If you need a great job, get in touch with the Suburban Group’s team of caring staffing experts, and feel free to follow us on Twitter too.

The recent recession and the overhaul of the employment market as it current stands has created a scenario in which there are thousands of people looking for jobs who are older. Many people at the age of 50 or older are finding it more difficult than ever to find the types of jobs they want and need. The problems run deep but there are steps you can take to get the job you want and need even if you are old enough to be the HR recruiting manager’s parent.

Know the Facts

Age discrimination is illegal. Nevertheless, it happens. Older workers are likely to spend more time looking for a job, even though they have the experience necessary to get a job and run circles around any entry-level employee. There are some preconceived notions working against these individuals as well.

• They are not up to date in the industry.
• They do not have the latest technologies mastered
• They require higher salaries because of their experience.

To overcome this, you will need to push aside the anxiety and worry over applying and take steps to show the recruiter that you are a real find and benefit to the company. How can you do this effectively?

Countering the Age Bump

The following are a few simple things you can do to ensure that your age does not stop you from landing the position you want. The goal here is to show the prospective hiring manager or employer what you can offer.

• First, make a good first impression. Have positive energy. Ensure your cognitive abilities are present.
• Emphasize your ability to meet any technology requirement. This may include computer skills and even social media abilities. Be sure you indicate your ability to stay up to date in the industry, too.
• Be sure to show you are willing to be flexible with management. You are willing to work with someone younger than you. You are willing to develop new skills. These are all factors that can help you to show the company you have what it takes.

From this point, you need to invest more time in finding the right companies to work for and that means expanding your job search. To do this, focus on building your network. You’ll find that many times, you know more people than you thought who could help you to land the position you desire.

Another tip is to look for the small companies. Many times, a smaller company needs experienced professionals. There are 20 times as many smaller companies than there are larger ones. Further, most are less concerned about age and more concerned about experienced professionals stepping in to do a great job from the start.

The process of finding a job at the age of 50 or older may take longer. It may be one of significant “why” questions asked. It could even be a time when you become frustrated. However, you can find the job you want and do a great job overcoming any challenges you face by focusing on the right employers and giving them what they want and need.