Wintergrass Festival may move to Bellevue unless Tacoma can convince it to stay.

What’s at stake is not just four days of performances, workshops, and jam sessions, but also our local businesses, our civic pride, and our cultural mojo.

City leaders, hotels, businesses, and the Convention + Visitor Bureau are doing their part to rally to keep Wintergrass a Tacoma institution. Now let’s do ours!

Bring your fiddles, guitars, banjos, dobros, ukuleles, mandolins, lutes, and sitars to Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub on Monday, June 8 from 4 – 6 pm for an community rally and jam session in support of Wintergrass Festival. It’s a hoe-down, not a show-down!

I’ll be stepping down as facilitator of the Seattle and Tacoma Job Club meetings, but will remain for now responsible for all site administration and for Job Club-related affairs.

See? Five months into the job search and I found a job, using a lot of the great advice and leads I received through Job Club. Hang in there — you too will find something you love!

Hi Zak,

I’m in LA with Josh, who is pretty blasted with the fourth round of chemo. We are still hoping that the tumor markers will go down to zero and that he can get the surgery in NY, but the markers have plateaued over the last 4 weeks and that is distressing. If this present dose does not result in decreased markers then the plan is to add avastin and hope that breaks through some barrier. This assumes that the tumor is not resistant to chemo. I am making really great nutritious food, small bites, and adding comfort to the mix. Josh is a trooper, and his friend Flo has been wonderful, too.

I am writing to you because you connect with the jobs group. I bet if you open the discussion about healthcare, you will find that people who never really thought about this issue much before are feeling really threatened by lack of insurance as a real present or future problem, or they know someone who is suffering because they have lost their insurance, either in Washington or elsewhere. A national single payer plan would detach employment from health insurance, and provide healthcare for all. The Senate and the House of Reps are constructing healthcare reform RIGHT NOW, and NO PROPONENTS of Single Payer Health Care have been asked to testify at their hearings. So, we need people to contact the Senators on the Finance Committee and ask them to invite expert witnesses in support of Single Payer. Your Senator Cantwell is one of those people.

Here is some information I received you can use: and I’ve also attached one email that has a lot of updating conversation…feel free to use it as you see fit. I hope you can help propel us into a better future in which people are free from worry about their access to help when they need it, and into a future where we can improve health care quality by using the healthcare dollar for healthcare instead of excessive profit.

Also, take a look at the committee members: do people in your group know folks in those states who would be willing to ask for an expert witness for Single Payer? This is so important, and harder to do than electing a President. They said a black man would never get elected, yet he did….

Please call if you have questions…thanks, Zak
Thanks, Cheryl

—
…A majority of American physicians and the public support the creation
of a national health insurance program that covers everyone (known as
a single-payer solution), and Congress has shut us out of the
discussion. Single-payer health care is the only reform that will
provide universal coverage, and contain skyrocketing costs.

The Senate Finance Committee, led by Sen. Max Baucus, is holding
important roundtable discussions on health care on May 5 and May 14.
The list of witnesses includes Blue Cross Blue Shield and the private
insurance lobby group America’s Health Insurance Plans but not one
single-payer supporter.

We need to tell Congress that this is unacceptable.

TAKE ACTION

Please check and see if your Senators are on the Finance committee
(names and phone numbers are listed below) and tell them to include a
single-payer supporter in the upcoming roundtable discussions. If your
Senator isn’t listed, you can call Chairman Max Baucus at (202)
224-2651.

Washington: Maria Cantwell – (202) 224-3441

You can say:

“Dear Senator Cantwell, this is [your name], one of your constituents
in [your town]. I am calling you regarding the roundtable discussions
on health care reform being held on May 5 and May 14. I was
disappointed to see that the first roundtable discussion on April 21
did not include a proponent of national, single-payer health care, and
that the witness list for the May 5 discussion does not include one,
either. National, single-payer health care is the only reform that
will provide universal coverage and contain skyrocketing costs. The
majority of Americans and physicians support a national health
insurance program like improved Medicare for everyone.”

Congress receives a lot of email, so this is a crucial step!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30322940#30306397

Just stumbled across this while looking up “keywords to describe marketing manager” on Google. A blog called “Confessions of a Recruiter.” Could be useful?

Also, Will has been talking up this site:

SPOKE.COM

http://willneedsajob.blogspot.com/

Let’s get these people jobs!!

If you live elsewhere, start a Job Club! We will give you all the tools you need to start and run a successful Job Club, and offer you access to our blog, your own member pages (for posting resumes and cover letters), and all the latest job hunting advice and ob search strategies.

What do we do in Job Club? Simple:

1) Share resources
2) Network
3) Offer encouragement
4) Provide accountability

What Color Is Your Parachute? says that forming a job club is one of the five best ways to find a job, with a success rate of 84%—and that’s only if you use that method of job searching alone!—so we had better listen if we’re going to be competitive in this job market.

Listen, it’s a tough job market, and you’re not in it alone. Nor should you be. Wolves hunt in packs, my friend…

Grrrrrrr!

Check it out at KPLU NewsRoom.

Because we can’t all be about The Job Search all of the time . . .

This is one of the funniest (and funnest) things I’ve seen in a while. Go ahead: take a few minutes from sending out resumes and indulge. I give you permission.

One person’s recap of Bolles’ advice in What Color Is Your Parachute?

And thanks again to everyone who showed up yesterday, and to everyone who couldn’t show up, but who wanted to — you were missed but well represented — the KING 5 News segment was a hit, generating 221 hits yesterday on this site (considering an average day for us is about 30 hits). Not sure it’s a good measuring tool, but I also got about 40 emails when I got home. And managed to fend off a couple more multilevel marketing pitches (though to be fair, the person who sent me that pitch wrote back to insist it wasn’t MLM at all, and that curious, people-oriented, and entrepreneurial job seekers should go to www.moneyformyhome.com and click on their “webinar” to see for themselves. So go ahead if you like: but just to be difficult, I didn’t make it into a link).

Listen to Zak yak about Job Club on KIRO News Radio!

MEMBERS: Take a bow, everyone. Well done.

CURIOUS READERS: Sign up for a local job club…

…in Tacoma: http://www.meetup.com/job-club/

…in Seattle: http://www.meetup.com/job-club-seattle/

…in Bellevue: http://www.meetup.com/job-club-bellevue/

…in Olympia: http://www.meetup.com/job-club-olympia/

…or contact Zak and propose your own!

With the countless negativity’s the world brings about, how do we keep motivated? Try on the tips I prepared from A to Z…

A – Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Consume yourself with the motivation to achieve tremendous results from everything you attempt

B – Believe in your self, and in what you can do. Motivation comes from within, if you trust in your abilities you will come out on top.

C – Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides. Never say never, there is a way of accomplishing anything if you keep an open mind and never give up.

D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel. The only way you lose for sure is when you quit.

E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy. Maintain a positive attitude under any circumstance. Fill your mind with positive thoughts and the whole world will be your playground.

F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them. So often we look past our greatest treasures, remain motivated to always seek the treasures in your family bonds.

G – Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place? At work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things. Try to give more than what is asked of you, this shows true self motivation.

H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force. Dreams keep us motivated to go after the things that excite us in life. Holding onto your dreams shows a strength in your character of positive expectations.

I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay away from toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success. Surround yourself with positive people and you will all keep each other motivated to seek out the positives in life.

J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone. Believe in your strengths and live by your positive terms.

K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement. Motivation keeps you striving for the best, hang onto the values brought on through positive thinking.

L – Learn to love yourself. Now isn’t that easy? You cannot give love to others unless you love yourself. Learn how to motivate yourself into working on your own personal development. You will never grow as a person until you learn to take responsibility for your own self improvement.

M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes. Motivation is one of the strongest characteristics you can have. When you live your life filled with motivation you become a person who really gets things done.

N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game. A person with a good moral standing will go further in life than an unmotivated cheat. Never look for short-cuts to good things, this will lead to missed opportunities and challenging possibilities.

O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be. Life is full of possibilities, keep the motivation to go after the wonders in the world.

P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes. Maintaining the motivation to work hard towards the things you truly want out of life will bring you more rewards than sitting back and expecting things to happen.

Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?

R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark. The boy scout motto is “Be Prepared” and this is a way of life we should all adapt to.

S – Stop procrastinating. Nothing kills motivation more then procrastination. Choose to spend your time accomplishing positive things in your life.

T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement. When you know what you want out of life and you are motivated to work towards the attainment of your dreams, you will accomplish more then the average person lacking motivation.

U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second. Understanding another persons problems in life and being motivated to offer help to others, builds your own character.

V – Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land. Your mind can bring you whatever you desire in life. Visualize success and success will be yours, visualize defeat or loss and failure will encompass your life. Maintain the motivation to visualize success and achievements.

W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement. When you have strong wants this leads to the motivation to attain what you truly desire.

X – X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on. Set yourself apart from others, stand out in the crowd, hold your head up high with pride and conviction.

Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once. Use the fact that you are one of a kind to excel at everything you do in life. True motivation is for you and you alone, use it to move forward in life, show your uniqueness.

Z – Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!! Never lose your motivation to go after your dreams because living your dreams means you are living your life.

by Howard Platt.  Found at www.tickedbylife.com

Good advice for the current job market from Richard Nelson Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009

Musical chairs, anyone?

Attention, Job Club members: I want you all to start blogging! Lord knows we have time on our hands. Let’s get VISIBLE!

-Zak

Have you ever walk into a business establishment where the host, salesperson or customer service provider makes you feel so special that you love going back, even though you could have gotten a better deal elsewhere? The difference is more than the product, services, quality, price, terms, availability or delivery dates. It is the charisma, personality, manner, charm & presentation of these people.

The chemistry & actions of people can either repel or attract you to do business with them. All of us have to do some form of selling in every area of our life, whether we are aware of it or not. The principle of charisma, charm & a positive personality is contagious, & it attracts people to you like a magnet at work & at home.

Self- confidence
When you feel self-confident, you naturally carry with you a level of charisma & charm to the forefront. To get self-confidence going for you every morning, start with dressing for the part you want. If you are leaving for work, dressing up professionally not only makes you look good & feel great, you are more apt to conduct & present yourself in a professional manner. Chances are when you feel good about yourself; you will do your best & hence be more confident.

Focus
Maintain your focus & refuse to allow yourself to be distracted by issues other than the task at hand. This is crucial especially when you want to actively listen to your partner, your prospects’ challenges, needs & objectives. For instance, when speaking to your clients over the telephone, do not read your emails at the same time. Active listening requires your full & uninterrupted attention. Remember you are not in a meeting to give a sales pitch, but to help your customers solve their problems or achieve their objective, & you cannot do so until you know what it is. So give them your undivided attention.

Interest & Attitude
So what makes people attracted to you? Psychologists have researched & explore many factors for years, including physical qualities, cooperativeness, intelligence & many others. One strong finding is that people are attracted to you when you share the same attitude about life, such as parenting, work ethics, values & philosophy, relationships, welfare, legislation, even movies, smoking & drinking. It affirms a person’s ability to be sensible, to interpret the world correctly, and to make good predictions about the future. Another reason is people naturally assume that those who share similar interest and attitude will like them, which in turn make them like you. So if you want to be favorably received, see if you can look deeper & find where you agree rather than disagree. Everyone prefers to hear that ‘you are right’ rather than ‘you are wrong’.

Sex appeal
Another interesting fundamental is sex appeal which adds flair to your personality. Even if you are a warm, interesting & approachable person, your interactions with others can be flat if you don’t show at least a little sex appeal. Sex appeal goes beyond sexuality. It’s different from the sheer physical attributes of showing skin or flaunting your body. It is a sign of openness to engage others by becoming interested in what they do & how they think & feel. It is a healthy & natural part of yourself that you display, in all settings; whether it’s business, social or romantic. The process is the way you show your appeal, through your appreciation & attraction to others with your sense of physical confidence.
Even supermodels can lack appeal if they lack interest in others & are unresponsive.

Responding to others
“People do not want to be sold a product or service. They want to deal with people who they think have their interest or who care about them.
- J. Oliver Crom, CEO, Dale Carnegie

Showing people, however subtly that you find them unique & interesting makes them feel good about themselves, and thus they feel good about you. Giving them your full attention is a good way of building rapport & creating a momentary exclusive world of ‘you & me’. Some easy ways to show attraction is through eye contact, a warm handshake and displaying special interest & appreciation in others.

Reaching out
Another way of showing attraction or interest is with touch. Subtle touches are good if you are careful & sensitive about the norms as to what is appropriate and comfortable to most people. People generally like to be touched likely even in nonromantic settings. A gentle, light & sincere touch somewhere between the shoulder and hand such as the elbow area can have a powerful positive impact on your feeling about that person even when he or she is a stranger. When meeting someone the first time, you can touch others casually as a gesture to get their attention, or to direct their attention somewhere else. The message usually is: I like you & I am a warm person. However, we need to exercise caution that going overboard may make others feel uncomfortable resulting in an adverse effect.

Be comfortable in your own skin
Your self-image & how you feel about yourself shows in how you carry yourself, your posture and your gait. The way you exhibit your body emotion is contagious much like a smile or a yawn. You can hear your own voice but you can’t see your own mannerisms and body the way others can. Hence you need to be conscious of your physical presence and the way you hold yourself. Even though you may not have control over your physical attributes, your physical presentation, your body movement & body language are noticed by other people which you may not be aware. Avoid displaced energy such as fidgeting and nervous movements. Being comfortable with who you are with confidence is how you want to be perceived. When you embrace your body & dress appropriately for the occasion, you will feel attractive and tend to present yourself positively. In turn others will feel good in your presence & thus find you more attractive.

Article contributed by Betty Kan, a Singapore based trainer and personal branding consultant.

Please take a few minutes right now to right about one paragraph — keep it brief! — and shoot it over to me. I’ll publish it as soon as I get it.