Tuesday, December 23, 2008

We DO Make Progress!

This is for all the people (like me) who want to get where we are going MUCH faster than we are going!

I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.

- Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A shopping site you can't NOT join! ask me about it.



Fashion Industry Job Sites

I know someone interested in changing careers to enter the design industry, focusing on fashion. I found a bunch of job search sites for the fashion industry. I said to her:

"Looking at the jobs will give you an idea of what is out there and what kind of qualifications you need to have. That information is essential for you to craft a plan for getting to where you want to go."

Starting a career change is as much about gathering information from external sources as it is about gathering internal information about what moves you, challenges you, excites you. So these are places to explore the fashion bug!

www.fashioncareers.com
on-line career center of WWD and Footwear News. Has many jobs of many types, including 144 today in NYC. Lots of footwear jobs, as well as apparel.

www.stylecareers.com
The best companies, the most jobs: "Use StyleCareers to find your next job in the fashion industry"
Many jobs are on this site today including more than 250 jobs in NYC.

www.fashion.net/jobs
the guide to all things chic with "an abundance of hip positions and internships"
Fewer jobs than the first two sites, but still plenty, with wide variety. 14 today in NYC.

www.creativejobscentral.com/fashion-jobs
A CreativeJobsCentral.com site: The best source of fashion industry jobs
Need to give them your e-mail address to enter site. Then you cannot see jobs unless you join the site. Membership costs between $10.50 for each of 3 months and $13.99 for 1 month. They claim 4000+ jobs. Because of the restriction, it's hard to tell if they actually have the jobs.

www.fashion-careers.biz
We have the best opportunities for every type of fashion job! At 24 Seven, we work with some of the top names in the fashion industry. Our clients have hundreds of freelance and full time positions available. Apply today for a career in: accessories and apparel design, advertising, entertainment, action sports, home furnishings, marketing, corporate retail and beauty.
This company does recruiting for the industry and its ads and jobs are also featured on fashioncareers.com and stylecareers.com.

www.fashioncareercenter.com/jobboard
"Browse fashion jobs across the country in a variety of industries, or post your resume for potential employers to see. Your fashion career could start right here!"
76 jobs today from past 90 days were posted. 29 were in LA and 11 in NY.

ww.wellthreaded.com
"careers made to fit"
This site appears to have very few jobs overall, none today in NYC.

www.apparelsearch.com/employment and www.apparelsearch.com
"Apparel Search is an apparel industry directory providing members of the fashion industry with links to virtually every aspect of apparel, fashion, textiles, and clothing."
These sites warehouse fashion jobs from other Internet sites. Today they had 1,459 jobs from around the Web.

www.vault.com
"Vault will be the indispensable provider of information and solutions for professionals and students who are pursuing and managing high-potential careers. We will achieve this goal by delivering the timely and actionable insider information and advice that allows them to define and achieve personal success at every stage of their careers."

You must join the site to see jobs; two levels of membership, Basic which is free and Gold which costs a minimum of $45 ($15 for each of 3 months). While there isn't a "fashion" category of jobs, by entering "fashion" into the search engine as a keyword, it looked like there were 9 jobs in NY today.

fashion.about.com
So you want to do fashion for a living? Find out more about the best jobs and where to find them.
This really is a basic research site to learn more about the kinds of jobs there are in fashion and become familiar with the various companies and hiring agencies. While the site appears to have a job search capability (divided into Fashion, Merchandising, Retail and Fashion Design), the links take you to sites full of advertising. Use only for research!

www.thefashiontool.com
www.themarketerstool.com
www.theretailtool.com
A group of human resources and executive search professionals from different industries.
This also is a membership site. To view the most jobs, you need to join www.fashionjobspro.com. Minimum is $14.95 for one month, $45.95 for six months and $54.95 for 12 months. You can also join at different levels, which may include a resume review and a coaching session (also available for separate fees).

www.clothingindustryjobs.com
Fashion Industry jobs employment careers!
Many jobs are in LA, Hong Kong and Dubai (only a couple in NY).

www.partnerup.com
PartnerUp is a Web 2.0 online community for small business owners and entrepreneurs. We enable business owners and entrepreneurs to connect with other business-minded people. They can get advice and answers to their questions, find helpful resources, or simply chat about whatever issues are facing their businesses.
While it was suggested on several sites for networking, I'm not sure how because I'm not yet familiar with the site's capacity.

Interesting group of Job Search sites

I just found this search engine, The Job Tool- really, a suite of search engines focused on different industries.

www.TheEntertainmentTool.com
www.TheExecutiveTool.com
www.TheFashionTool.com
www.TheFinanceTool.com
www.TheGraphicDesignTool.com
www.TheHospitalityTool.com
www.TheInternshipTool.com
www.TheMarketersTool.com
www.TheNonProfitTool.com
www.TheNursingTool.com
www.ThePublicRelationsTool.com
www.TheRetailTool.com
www.TheSalesTool.com
www.TheSportsTool.com
www.TheTechTool.com

Here's what they say about themselves:

We are a group of human resources and executive search professionals from different industries. We agreed that job boards were often hit or miss but certainly not a fad. Furthermore, these sites, this world, had so much promise as a meeting place for employers and candidates that it was impossible to ignore. For two years we studied general and niche job boards extracting positive pieces and excluding the cumbersome. For two years we listened to employers and candidates needs and forecasts. For the last year we found a better, faster and more fluid way to build not a job board but an employment community. We are here, committed to changing with the needs of your business and your career. Our sites are run by niche experts and developed by you.

While you can view a certain number of jobs for free, many of the jobs are for viewing only by members.

The minimum cost is $14.95 for a month, which will renew automatically month after month unless you cancel it. You also can purchase a six month ($45.95) or twelve month (54.95) membership. With a paid membership, the site also offers resume critique (NOT rewrite) for $39.95, 1/2 hour career coaching sessions at $90/hour, and resume creation for $225.

I have not experienced these services so cannot comment on their effectiveness.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Watch TV, Be Less Happy?

There was a recent study that showed a correlation between unhappiness and the amount of TV people watched (see www.reuters.com). The University of Maryland found that "unhappy people watch more TV while those consider themselves happy spend more time reading and socializing."

I wondered if it was true for me. These days, I do watch a little TV, not as much as I did when I lived alone in NYC and didn't have a lot of friends because they moved away to other states. I was unhappy and I watched more TV.

So I moved to the 'burbs to be near my sister and her family. Now I'm happy and don't watch TV very much. I think that how happy I am controls how much TV I watch. I don't know if watching TV makes me unhappy. Of course, when I watch TV, I don't have interaction with other human beings so that may end up making me unhappy.

One exception: I usually watch TV with my 6 year old niece, and we end up having lots more fun later when we sing the songs or talk about the shows and their lessons.

Really, I'd rather be with other people. However, it is certainly a great conversation piece to be able to comment on the latest developments in a certain show. For me, it's Heroes and CSI as well as various home improvement shows and Biggest Loser. Also I watch some news and financial stations. Now those definitely make me unhappy, because I'm taking in bad news (especially these days!)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Reminding ourselves to have better habits

Samuel Johnson wrote, “Man needs more to be reminded than instructed.” So true.

I find that it's important to maintain constant vigilance when I am developing a new habit. I have tons of information and not always the willingness to use it for my own benefit. Developing willingness comes about internally, but it also is helped when I am constantly surrounded by reinforcing messages that I will benefit from using the information.

For example, as I work to let go of my excess weight, I find it very helpful to be reminded that I can do it, that it will benefit me if I do it, and that there are other people out there doing it, too. So I seek out sites and people that provide those reinforcing reminders. So far it's working and I'm changing my eating habits - putting all that "instruction" to good use, at long last.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Coping with loss

How do you deal with loss in a healthy way? Some ways I've found helped me after big losses:

* Talking to people who love me, and finding at least one person who has the patience to listen to me over and over and over and over and over...

* Getting angry, knowing that I will have plenty of time to forgive and I don't have to do it now. Anger is energizing and healthier than depression, IMHO.

* Not turning to food because I end up feeling worse about myself when I overeat, and forgiving myself for any overindulgences while getting back on track.

* Posting here, there and everywhere as a way to vent and process my feelings.

Maybe you do the same kind of things. If you don't, try one or two - it may help you feel better.