Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the April 26, 2004 issue of
QuintZine.
Now's the time for working parents and other employees to make a pitch to the boss for
a part-time schedule or a compressed workweek. WorkOptions.com, a Web resource for negotiating
a flexible work arrangement, suggests proposing a three-month trial period for such an arrangement,
so if you sell your boss on the idea in May, the trial period can extend through the summer.
A 32-hour workweek (part-time) or 40 hours in fewer than five days
(compressed workweek) can mean Fridays off in the summer,
allowing working parents more fun-filled days with their children, while allowing other employees
more time for personal activities.
A successful trial period of the modified work schedule during the summer sets the stage
for requesting an extension, should the individual employee want a longer-term flexible arrangement.
The WorkOptions.com Web site offers free planning tools -- which The Wall Street Journal labeled
"excellent homework for wannabes" -- for redesigning one's job to fit a shorter workweek.
Readers can download the
free worksheets. (Worksheets for telecommuting and job sharing are also available.)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the following as the 10 occupations with the
largest job growth 2002-2012:
1. Registered nurses
2. Postsecondary teachers
3. Retail salespersons
4. Customer service representatives
5. Food preparation and serving workers
6. Cashiers, except gaming
7. Janitors and cleaners,
except maids and housekeepers
8. General and operations managers
9. Waiters and waitresses
10. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
Industries with the fastest wage and salary growth 2002-2012:
1. Software publishers
2. Management, scientific and technical
consulting services
3. Community care facilities for the elderly
4. Computer systems design and related services
5. Employment services
6. Individual, family, community and
vocational rehab services
7. Ambulatory health care services
8. Water, sewage, and other systems
9. Internet services, data processing
and other information services
10. Child day-care services
Looking for a sector with bountiful job openings? Consider
the federal government. Currently, some 17,900 open positions are listed on the
Office of Personnel Management Web site. The agencies
with the most openings are:
No. 10: Didn't it feel great to be interviewing; primed for a job offer and being active
on your own behalf? Continue this process until it feels comfortable for you. Follow leads.
Keep in touch with your support network. KEEP PRACTICING!
You are now leaving the exploratory stage to one of more positive decision-making. Please, please,
remember to send thank-you notes to everyone who has helped you.
Now's the time for working parents and other employees to make a pitch to the boss for
a part-time schedule or a compressed workweek. WorkOptions.com, a Web resource for negotiating
a flexible work arrangement, suggests proposing a three-month trial period for such an arrangement,
so if you sell your boss on the idea in May, the trial period can extend through the summer.
A 32-hour workweek (part-time) or 40 hours in fewer than five days
(compressed workweek) can mean Fridays off in the summer,
allowing working parents more fun-filled days with their children, while allowing other employees
more time for personal activities.
