It sometimes happens in a career that you hit a dead end, that you find yourself in a job where you see no room for advancement or change.

There are several different strategies you can use to try and address this situation. One is talking to your boss to discuss different options – taking on more responsibilities, for example. Another option is a transfer within the company. If these alternatives don’t work, your next choice might be to look for work elsewhere.

If this is the course of action you are considering, you might also want to think about contingent work. Contingent work is not often thought of as a way to boost your career. Many consider it a stop-gap measure, a way of keeping your skills fresh if you get laid off.

But, while temping doesn’t offer the security of a permanent job, and benefit plans vary, it does have advantages if you are trying to jump start your career.

By working in different companies in different jobs, you get to add to your skills, which can help you down the road in looking for a permanent job. You also get valuable experience in seeing how different organizations work. In fact, the skills you pick up doing the temporary work will make you a better candidate when you do apply for other jobs.

Another advantage of contingent work is that you get to meet people in various companies, allowing you to build up a network that might eventually help you when you look for full-time employment.

A good personal support network is helpful while going through this transition. Family and friends who are supportive can offer the stability to help balance the change in your work life.

If you’re looking to make a change, contact Bayside Solutions. We have many direct-hire, temp-to-hire and short- and long-term temporary assignments with some of San Francisco’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

For many recent graduates, and even for some experienced professionals, the idea of networking is something that goes against the grain. They expect a kind of equal opportunity system, where all jobs are advertised, where there is a level playing field.

They find it somehow improper that people can get jobs just by connections.

But, as much as we may like to believe that all jobs are advertised, the unspoken reality is that many jobs are not in the public domain, or the hiring managers already have someone in mind for the job even before they interview candidates, according to career strategist John Lees.

Conventional wisdom has it that about one-third of all jobs are filled through informal connections. In many industries, it could be a lot higher. This way of finding great employees – and finding jobs – is called the hidden job market.

Employers face conflicting pressures, Lees says. On the one hand, they want to be open and see who they can get for a job. But on the other hand, employers are guided by an even stronger desire – they want to know who they can hire fast and without risk. So, to minimize the risk, they look at people they already know.

So, if you’re pursuing just those positions that are advertised, you’re taking more of a passive approach to a job search. Finding a great job is more likely to come through making connections through and to people the people you know.

You need to connect with as many people as possible. But networking is not about self-promotion or an old-boy network, according to Lees. It is about making new discoveries. If it feels uncomfortable, as if you think you are using people, or that you are humiliating yourself, it means you are not going about it in the right way.

Real networking is not just about you, but about discovering things, gaining knowledge, and making connections.

The hidden job market is not a fair one. But if you think that the job market is available to all on an equal and equally open basis, you are only going to extend the amount of time it takes to find a job. Plus, you may miss out on some of the most intriguing opportunities. The best way to help your career is to ask yourself the question: Who else should I be talking to?

Some people with whom you definitely should be chatting are the recruiters at Bayside Solutions. We have many upon many connections with some of San Francisco’s top companies and we can help you market your skills and qualifications to them. Contact us today!

It is fairly common knowledge that people who are unemployed have a tougher time finding a job than those who are working because of the stigma attached to being out of work.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, recent research has shown that this bias against the unemployed is not influenced by their skill level or how they lost their job.

In the research, people were asked to judge various pretend job candidates. In the study, the same résumé was shown to two groups of people. One group was told the résumé belonged to someone currently employed; the other group that the résumé belonged to an unemployed person. The groups rated the résumé of the employed person more highly even though it had the same information as the unemployed person.

The groups were looking at the same résumé, but they rated the ability of the employed person higher, based solely on the résumé, than the ability of the unemployed person. And the groups said they would be more likely to hire the employed person.

And it didn’t matter how the job applicant lost his or her previous position, whether he or she was laid off, fired, or left voluntarily: the candidate was still viewed less favorably than a person who was employed, even though all of the applicant’s qualifications were the same. The only way to remove the stigma of unemployment was if the loss of the job could not be connected to the person at all, if, for example, the person lost the job because the company went bankrupt.

The research showed that people make psychological connections to being unemployed that leads to prejudice.

The longer a person has been out of work, the harder it is to find a job – this is also well known. But researchers have thought this was mostly because hiring managers were concerned about skills eroding among the long-term unemployed. But the research showed that even when there is no evidence of a skill downgrade, unemployed job applicants still face discrimination.

It is this psychological stigma attached to unemployment that can help explain why those who are out of work have fundamentally less opportunity of getting back into the working world.

If you’ve been out of work for a long time, working as a temporary for Bayside Solutions can help you show employers that you have the work ethic they seek. We have many short- and long-term – and even direct-hire – positions with some of San Francisco’s best companies. Contact us today and get back to work!

Today, temporary employment is being used more than ever, and for more types of jobs than ever before. Because of the volatility of the economy, companies are turning to contingent labor, and for some companies temporary labor has become a significant part of their workforce.

For workers, temporary labor can provide flexibility in location and hours, provide employment after a layoff or between jobs, and help gain job experience.

But if you have been a temporary worker and are now applying for a full-time job, how should you portray your contingent work experience on your résumé?

The first thing to think about is whether you really need to list your contingent work experience. If you only worked as a temporary worker for a few weeks or months, it may not even serve any purpose to include it. Also, your résumé generally highlights your most recent work experience, as well as the work you have done that most directly relates to the job for which you’re applying. If your temporary work does not fall in either of those categories, it might be best to just leave it out.

If you do include your temporary experience, be sure to include the staffing agency you worked for as well as the client company (or companies) at which you worked.

If you have had several temporary work stints with one staffing agency, it would be best to combine those experiences into one item on your résumé. Here again, list the staffing agency as your employer. By combining your work periods, it will help to show some continuity in your work history.

And, as with any work experience you list on your résumé, focus on your accomplishments, what you did and what you achieved. Focusing on accomplishments, even with temporary assignments, will have a much greater – and positive –  impact on a prospective employer.

Remember the basics about putting together good résumés: keep them short, no more than one page unless you are someone with many years of experience, use active verbs in short punchy phrases to emphasize your achievements, try to tailor the résumé to the job to which you’re applying, check your spelling and grammar, use good quality paper, and don’t overuse gimmicks.

Need help with your résumé? Bayside Solutions can work with you to craft a document that will help our Bay Area client companies stand up and notice! Contact us today!

Looking for a job really is all about taking action. Few, if any of us, have ever received a job by sitting at home.

To help you rev up your search for a new job, follow the five tips below:

1) Before you hit “submit” on the online application, be sure you’ve already had a little heart-to-heart with yourself to clarify your goals and what it is job- and career-wise you really want to accomplish. What exactly are you looking for in a job/career? What precisely do you bring to an employer? Knowing what you want and what you offer will help you focus your efforts and make it easier for you to be selected for the position you choose.

2) Get the names and contact information of people in the companies you want to work for. You also should get names, etc. of the movers and shakers within your chosen industry. See if you can get an information meeting with these individuals so that you can learn about hiring trends, potential jobs/careers as well as any skills you’ll need to acquire or update in order to land that dream job. In addition, tell everyone you know that you’re looking for work. Everyone. You never know who knows someone who knows someone else who knows a hiring manager looking for someone with the exact background and skills you offer.

3) Organize your job search. Place all of your job search materials — employer and career research, names and contact information, résumés and cover letters, etc. in one place. Place paper documents in a binder. Use the binder to keep track of your progress.

4) Find a mentor. That is, find someone you trust who can help you with your job search. Choose someone you feel has been successful in his or her career and who will provide you honest feedback as he or she helps guide and advise you as you wend your way through the job search process. Aim to meet with your mentor regularly (at least monthly, if possible).

5) Bring your résumé to Bayside Solutions. If you’re looking for a position in the technology, managerial, scientific, construction, manufacturing or green sectors in the San Francisco area, we want to her from you! Contact us today.

It’s bad enough being unemployed; now new research shows that employers tend to discriminate against hiring unemployed persons….because they’re unemployed!

In fact, recent research conducted by the State University of New York-Stony Brook and UCLA found that unemployed individuals in the U.S. are discriminated against in ways that are unrelated to their skills as well as how/why they lost their previous job.

The research consisted of recruiting a cross section of Americans online and then asking them to look at fake job candidates. Researchers found that participants rated “applicants” who were “unemployed” lower than “employed” candidates.

In one instance, participants were asked to rate the résumé of a job applicant. Half of the participants were told the “applicant” currently had a job while the other half were told the “applicant” was unemployed. Research participants then ranked the “applicant” on different personal qualities.

Even though all participants had the same résumé, they believed that the “jobless” candidate was less competent and proactive than that of the “employed” applicant. Study participants also said they would be less likely to hire or even interview the “unemployed” applicant.

Results were similar when participants viewed a videotaped job interview. Half were told the applicant was employed while the other half were told the candidate had no job. Study participants thought the “employed” candidate was more impressive than the “unemployed” applicant.

Researchers also said that the how or why the unemployed applicant lost his or her job had little impact on participants’ perceptions. That is, the fact that the unemployed “applicant” who left a job on his or her own volition was looked upon just as negatively as someone who had been fired or laid off. The only time an unemployed individual wasn’t looked down upon was when the circumstances surrounding the unemployment was perceived to be totally out of the individual’s hands, such as an employer going completely out of business.

Researchers said that economists had believed that long-term unemployment was because of a job seeker’s perceived or assumed deterioration of skills or laziness when it came to looking for jobs. Their research apparently shows that there’s a real stigma to being unemployed and that the longer an individual remains unemployed, the harder that stigma will be to overcome.

If you’re unemployed, don’t let yourself remain that way for long — let Bayside Solutions become your employer. We can place you in temporary and temp-to-hire positions with some of San Francisco’s best companies while you look for work. We also can help you find a full-time position with one of our direct-hire placements. Contact us today!

Stretching the truth when filling out a job application is almost a sure way to guarantee you won’t be hired.  (Or, if are hired, getting fired as soon as your employer discovers your “stretch.”)

The risk of getting caught through a background check is too great to begin with. In addition, there are now pre-employment tests designed to tell if an applicant is being less than honest in his or her responses. These special questions are designed specifically to detect falsehoods and exaggerations.

Ouch.

It should come as no surprise that studies show people tend to exaggerate information on tests. Test takers in one study group were told in advance that some questions were designed to catch someone giving a false answer. Those who were told about the “honesty” questions were warned that less-than-honest answers would affect their chances of being hired. Not surprisingly, their responses were more honest than those given by a second group that was not privy to the special questions. The test was seeking individuals’ feelings related to customer service, safety and absenteeism.

Even without these built-in mechanisms to detect falsehoods, honesty is still the best policy when it comes to your job search.

Nearly half of the hiring managers in a recent study said they believe that job candidates “pad” or embellish their résumés. A padded résumé is likely to contain exaggerated facts or outright falsehoods for the purpose of making the job candidate appear in the best possible light. Conversely, just a bit more slightly more than 10 percent of job candidates admitted to participating in the practice.

While most job applicants assume that potential employers are going to verify information in an application, they are unsure to what extent the verification process goes. According to one study, two-thirds of job candidates said they believe employers check some information on a résumé. Another one-fifth of job candidates said they believe employers check the entire résumés. The remainder did not believe anything on the résuméwas verified.

This last group should be aware that almost half of employers in the survey said they check references, while about one-third verify past employment and schools attended. Some employers, about one-third, attempt to verify this information during the hiring process in talks with the job candidates.

And even if you happen to slip under the radar and get hired, most companies, 80 percent, have written policies addressing false information given on job applications – immediate dismissal.  Is it really worth the risk?

You’ll face little risk when you bring your résumé to Bayside Solutions. We have many wonderful opportunities with some of the Bay Area’s best employers. Just send your “non-padded” résumé to one of our recruiters and come in for a chat so that we may learn more about your career goals.

LinkedIn and other social professional/career networks can be powerful tools to use during a job search.

Of course, there are certain unwritten rules regarding how to comport yourself on these networks. Here is a short primer of do’s and don’ts to help you navigate them successfully.

First, remember — and remember it well! — that these are professional networks. You must always act in a mature manner. Never post messages with profanity, never call anyone an idiot, never lie. If you wouldn’t want your current — or future — boss to read what you say on a professional network, don’t put it there.

Echoing the don’t lie tip, don’t fudge your work experience or education. LinkedIn, for example, allows you to list your jobs and accomplishments as well as your educational background. It’s very easy today for a potential employer to find the truth about prospective workers. If you brag in your description about how you literally saved a company from going under and someone in your network sees that lie, he or she could out you in a very public and extremely humiliating way online, for everyone to see. Very bad for your career. Very bad.

LinkedIn allows you to “connect” to many former colleagues in your profile. If you’d like to approach someone in their networks, be sure to ask permission first. Explain why you’d like to contact the person (and be sure there’s a legitimate, professional reason to do so). If you do so, your connection very well may give his or her connections a “head’s up” — with praise about your background — that you’ll be e-mailing them shortly. Be sure to thank your connection for the introduction and be sure to let him or her know the results of the connection.

Don’t get huffy and send whiny e-mails if your connection either doesn’t respond to your request to an introduction or tells you he or she won’t introduce you to the connection. If you don’t hear anything back from either your connection or the person to whom you wished to be introduced, don’t hound anyone with e-mails or calls — there could be very valid reasons for a non-response. Constant e-mails and/or calls does nothing  but show that you’re a) desperate and/or b) immature.

In essence, look at LinkedIn and other online networking sites as virtual professional business meetings, the type where one exchanges business cards with other professionals. You’d conduct yourself in an extremely professional manner at these functions, wouldn’t you? You always should do the same online.

Network your way to a terrific Bay Area position with some of San Francisco’s best companies by connecting with BaySide Solutions. We can help place you in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement positions with some of San Francisco’s finest companies. We look forward to hearing from you.

The advent of social media truly has turned what can be a tedious process — the job hunt — into something…less tedious.

But seriously, used correctly social media can help you connect with potential hiring managers more quickly and more easily. It also allows you to market your skills in a very targeted manner, helping you show those hiring managers how well you fit a position. Social media also can help you network so that you can learn of positions before they even become posted on a job board or company’s website, helping you get a leg up on any competition.

Yet, while social media is an incredible job search tool, don’t hide behind your computer screen just sending Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn updates. You’ll need to make some actual phone calls and meet with actual people to really see your search shift into high gear.

So look at social media as just one of several tools in your job search toolkit. You also should contact Bay Area staffing agencies about positions, approach directly those companies in which you’re interested, and work to get in-person meetings with people in your field for leads.

Here are some tips on how to use social media in your San Francisco job search:

• Google yourself. What comes up? Is it pretty much positive, or is that pic of you chugalugging on spring break in Cancun still up there? Be sure to clean up your own pages. If you find negative or “touchy” information/pictures when you search your name, ask friends to remove that information from their Facebook, MySpace sites, etc.  If that’s not possible, you may be able to mitigate the damage by asking your friends and former colleagues to post positive comments on their pages (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Speaking of LinkedIn, if you don’t have a profile there yet, spend some time today crafting your professional summary. Place as professional a photo on your profile as possible. Check with former colleagues, teachers and supervisors to write recommendations. Check out their LinkedIn profiles to see to whom they are linked, and ask for what the site calls an “introduction” with people (hiring managers in your field, potential future colleagues) you feel may be helpful to your search.
• Approach companies in your field directly. LinkedIn is a great tool for this. Search for companies and then try to connect with people at those companies with a targeted message that explains a bit about you, your interests and background. Ask for advice — information about the future of the industry, etc. — do not ask for a job
• Start Tweeting. Join Twitter and start searching for people in your industry. Tweet helpful posts about your industry. Comment on others’ helpful posts. Remember, everything you tweet stays online forever; be careful what you post.

While you look for a job on your own, be sure to contact Bayside Solutions, one of the Bay Area’s premier staffing firms. We can help you land the perfect job. We also can keep you working on assignments while you job search. In fact, long-term assignments often turn into regular, full-time employment!

And last but not least, follow Bayside Solutions on both Twitter and Facebook to be the first to hear about new job opportunities available.