I last blogged about the US Department of Labor’s “Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge”. In an effort to learn more about — and then publicize — the best FREE online tools for a variety of job-search related research, the government called on the public to check out more than 600 sites and then vote on them. Vote they* did! Nearly 16,000 registered to rank the submitted sites over a two week period in January. Said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, “My thanks go out to the businesses and organizations that submitted their tools for evaluation, and to the members of the public who offered their input. We called on the public to let us know what they want out of online job tools, and they have responded in great numbers. In the process, we also created a great resource for job seekers.” The votes have been tallied and the top-ranking tools are now posted.
Highlights:
* Do you guru? Since most of Alstin’s clients are Human Resources professionals, we’re curious to see if you like http://http://www.careeronestop.org/jobseekertools/as much as the respondents did.
* Eyeing up your boss’ office? Human Capital Institute offers those interested in the Talent Management arena a “think tank” of free webcasts and alternative educational programs and certifications to upgrade HR skill sets in the Talent Acquisition, Management and Leadership competencies.
* An out-of-office escort is a lousy way to end a relationship. Monster Evolutions offers outplacement services for Employers and Employees with one goal: getting former workers rehired into prosperous new positions or new careers.
* What the military lacks in website naming creativity, it makes up for in preparedness. Current members of the armed forces and veterans can check out www.military.com to get connected to all the benefits of services, great stories of military life or missions, and career and educational opportunities.
* Giddyup! Job seekers nationwide may want to look beyond the usual sites to www.careerstallion.com
* And, last but not least, for the ex-offender nearest and dearest to your heart, there are three (!) sites recommended by the DOL. One, The Next Step/WOTC Solutions is a program that provides services to both offenders and businesses by preparing offenders for the workplace while assisting businesses with a $2,400 tax credit to help hire ex-offenders.
Those are just a few parts of the Challenge that caught my eye (along with the slightly incongruous photo of three co-workers huddled together at work while surfing for new jobs). Dig in and reap the rewards of a government project that was much more worthwhile than the one that studied cow emissions. From resume writing sites to those that help students looking for grant money and retirees who want back in the game, there’s something for just about everyone at www.careeronestop.org (click on Job Seeker Tools at the top of the page).
* Gary Zukowski, founder of TweetMyJOBS noted one alarming problem with the Challenge: “First, there’s no validation of the votes. A person or company can cast unlimited votes with ficticious names and email addresses and dramatically skew the results,” says Zukowski. “For example, we were able to vote using a non-working email with the name ‘Barack Obama.’ Five days later the name ‘Barack Obama’ was still listed under ‘user activity’—a fact that should raise red flags. In addition to no validation on the votes, there is nothing preventing people in other countries from participating. The outcome could be determined by people who are not even citizens of the United States.”
Ah well, you can’t blame a government agency for trying!
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