Magic Pot of Jobs

One Arizona school district is taking steps to make sure its volunteers are qualified to work in an educational setting.

Higley Unified School District set guidelines last week for completing background checks on people who want to volunteer at school events.

The school district is starting a pilot program for volunteers, which will group people depending on the type of interaction they will have with students, according to an article by The Arizona Republic. In January 2009, school board members will evaluate the program and decipher how much it will cost the school district.

Read the rest of this entry »

A metal distribution company is investing in Dinwiddie County and creating more jobs in Virginia.

The Earle M. Jorgensen Company recently announced it would invest $6 million to open a metal products distribution facility in Dinwiddie County, creating 16 new jobs in Virginia.

EMJ, which is headquartered in Lynwood, CA., is one of the largest distributors of metal products in the country with 40 service and processing centers, according to a press release from the State of Virginia.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the prevalence of recruiting software and applicant tracking in companies of all sizes and from every industry, many job boards are beginning to team up with software providers.

MyStaffingPro, a full-featured applicant tracking and recruiting software system, recently partnered with four new niche job boards. According to the companies Web site, this move will provide clients with an additional tool to recruit the best applicants.

The first site, JobsInTrucks, is the number one driving job board and the sister site of JobsInLogistics, the largest and most successful logistics and transportation job board, which also partnered with MyStaffingPro.

Read the rest of this entry »

One hospital is making a second round of cuts to jobs in Hawaii.

In August, the Hawaii Medical Center announced it would cut 80 jobs, the hospital’s second round of job cuts in less than six months.

The Medical Center, formerly St. Francis Hospital in Liliha, already cut 89 Hawaii jobs in June, which the hospital did to streamline operations, according to an article by the Pacific Business News.

Read the rest of this entry »

Local government jobs in Houston are on the rise.

According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area’s government industry employed 352,400 people in June 2008, an increase of 1.7 percent from last year. The state as a whole employed 1,754,600 in the government industry, a 1.1 percent increase from last year.

The City of Houston’s government is led by a mayor and all municipal elections are nonpartisan. The city’s elected officials include the mayor, city controller and 14 city council members. The mayor serves as the city’s chief administrator, executive officer and official representative and is responsible for the management of the city and seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced. The city council is made up of nine district-based and five at-large positions, which represent the entire city.

Read the rest of this entry »

Applicant tracking has become extremely popular lately because of its ability to help those who are responsible for keeping track of job applicants and matching them with employment positions.

According to an article on Wisegeek, applicant tracking services can help businesses of all sizes save time and find better qualified candidates for open job positions.

“The purpose of applicant tracking services is to ensure that all qualified applicants are properly classified and logged in the event that positions become available that are right for their skill sets,” the article notes. “From this perspective, applicant tracking services can be effectively used for both the new applicant who wants to come to work for the organization as well as current employees who wish to keep applications on file for the chance to advance within the company.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone loves to experience a relaxing vacation or a night out, and the leisure and hospitality industry-which makes those experiences possible-is creating more Rhode Island jobs.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, the state’s employment as a whole is expected to increase by more than 55,000 jobs through 2014. During that year, it is projected there will be 573,437 Rhode Island jobs, an increase of 10.7 percent from 2004.

Rhode Island’s leisure and hospitality industry accounts for accommodation and food services and arts, entertainment and media occupations. The industry is expected to add more than 9,000 jobs through 2014. This means employment is expected to grow by 18.6 percent, higher than the projected 10.7 percent average growth for all industries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Potential employees subject to background checks should be aware that much of a person’s information can be found amongst online public records.

With the heightening importance of keeping government transparent, many government agencies and courts have begun posting records online. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, some jurisdictions post information to their own Web sites, while others sell public files to commercial data compilers and information brokers, who in turn make the information available for a fee.

Some documents containing personal information that are available online may include: property tax assessor files, motor vehicle records and professional and business licenses. Registered voter files are sometimes available, but are restricted in some states. Court files also may be available, including: case indexes, tax liens and judgments, bankruptcy files, criminal arrest and conviction records and warrants and civil court recordings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Due to the overwhelmingly negative news, many Philadelphia jobseekers may seem some what discouraged. Employers such as Starbucks, General Motors and American Airlines have recently announced that they would be making significant cuts to the number of individuals they employee in the area. There has also been a decline in the number of manufacturing jobs both throughout the city and statewide. Despite this, there are still industries in the area that are not economizing their workforce.

The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that there are several areas that are actually increasing the number of people they employ. Industries that have experienced notable Philadelphia job growth include; information services, education and health services and natural resources, mining and construction.

Read the rest of this entry »

So you want a healthcare job, but don’t necessarily want to be a doctor or nurse. What are your other options?

According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the healthcare industry is expected to grow 22 percent by 2016, adding about 3 million new jobs. This accounts for about 20 percent of the total number of jobs that should be added to the economy through 2016.

Healthcare jobs usually refer to nurses, doctors, physical therapists and other similar occupations. However, there are a few lesser-known healthcare jobs people don’t always consider, according to a BLS article by Tamara Dillon.

Read the rest of this entry »