Author Steve Tobak, in his recent BNET article, “5 Characteristics of Successful People”, researched successful people and discovered some universal characteristics that appear in the personal resumes of those he investigated.

Characteristics of Successful People

Fortunately for aspiring and committed managers, all of these proven success characteristics can be learned and integrated into your persona.  These are not magic bullet actions, but behavioral mindsets you can adopt to leap on the fast track to career success.

• Be opportunistic. Seek out and/or be ready to identify opportunities that could be lucrative and change your life.  Prepare yourself to act decisively when these career opportunities arise.  Be prepared for numerous trial and error experiences.  Adopt an entrepreneurial attitude, even if you work for a mega-corporation.  You will be amazed how significantly your “luck” improves when you are opportunistic.
• Network tirelessly.Even if you’re not a natural schmoozer or salesperson, you can increase and strengthen your personal network.  Chatting with peers, family, friends, and acquaintances in a friendly and casual manner will help you earn extra consideration when career opportunities appear.  networking, not the “social media” type, is rewarding from both personal and professional perspectives.  For example, job seekers learn of many more real opportunities via their personal networks than any job board they favor.  Similarly, successful professionals receive many more benefits (promotion considerations, referrals, opportunities, etc.) from members of their network than any other single source.
• Adopt a “can do” attitude and commitment to excel.Develop an overwhelming positive attitude.  Eliminate all thoughts that embrace ” the glass is half empty” thinking.  Use the Law of Attraction or any philosophy that delivers a positive and optimistic mindset.  Combine “can do’ with a “never give up” philosophy and the riches–psychologically and monetarily–will begin to flow your way.  your enthusiasm and positivity alone will attract others to help you succeed and treat you as a superior leader.
• Be honest and open. Telling people what they want to hear or blowing smoke at employees and supervisors may–emphasize the “may”–result in minor, short-term benefits.  However, long-term success comes to those who are honest and forthright.  There is a simple reason this characteristic works.  Other successful people love this characteristic and will gravitate to you.  These winners can help you join their exclusive circle faster and more effectively than getting “help” from 10 times as many “yes” people.
• Search for answers and learn how things work.Curiosity may have “killed the cat” (do you understand that cliche?), but successful people are relentlessly inquisitive and are on a tireless mission to learn how things work.  Seeking the answers to important–sometimes, even insignificant–questions is a winning characteristics of all successful people.  The joy is in the  journey, not the destination.  However, reaching the destination, after experiencing the joy of the journey, is also rewqrding and valuable.

Embracing these characteristics, even if they do not come naturally to you, will result in career success.  Like the amazing success stories of others, yours will earn a place at their table.  These are not characteristics of the one, but of the many.

Spend some quiet time thinking about which of these characteristics you currently have and those you may want to acquire.  Be prepared to “fake it till you make it.”  You’ll find that by practicing these attitudes and characteristics, you will soon learn that they have become components of your personal and professional personality.

You will also learn that your success track is accelerating and your career is progressing at a fast pace.  Even if you’re a bit skeptical now, be patient.  You’ll see that these characteristics have proven to work.  If you’re new to the  management fraternity, have faith.  What has worked for Bill Gates, Stve Jobs and many others, will work for you

Source:

http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/5-characteristics-of-successful-people/6973?tag=content:drawer-container

The Senate on June 9 gave final approval to legislation that would prevent employers from getting hit with a $750 million increase in Unemployment Insurance (UI) payroll taxes on July 1.  Lawmakers sent A-3819 to Governor Chris Christie in an effort to avoid this huge tax increase, which would have averaged $300 per employee.

Under state law, if the UI fund does not have enough money to pay benefits, payroll taxes on employers increase automatically.  The fund has been broke since last March, forcing it to borrow over $1 billion from the federal government.

The bill also would raise the UI fund reserve ratios to build up a larger fund balance as a cushion against future recessions.  The bill sets the reserve-ratio triggers at FY 2003 levels.  This would permit UI taxes to be reduced as reserves accumulate, and those reserves would be subject to less fluctuation during economic downturns.

Some interesting reading for job seekers:

You Appear To Be Overqualified For This Job! Won’t You Get Bored? http://internsover40.blogspot.com/2009/10/8-interview-questions-answers-for-older_31.html

Memorial Day May 30^th 

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.^[1] First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Have a Safe Memorial Day.  Remember our troops

Data: WANTED Analytics | Analysis: StaffingU

 http://staffingu.net/wordpress/2011/05/18/top-25-jobs-the-staffingu-market-demand-report-10/

Although texting while driving is so dangerous, it is becoming one of the leading reasons for accidents.  Please take a moment to view the video on this link from AT&T Wireless.  The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQbbS0AQ80.

The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, both conference champions and at-large selections.  The tournament, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was the brainchild of Kansas coach Phog Allen.  Held mostly in March, it is informally known as March Madness or the Big Dance; the tournament, and especially the national semi-finals (the Final four), has become one of the nation’s most prominent sporting events.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Championship

Accepting a Temporary Job does not “Mess Up” your  Unemployment:  At a Legal Symposium for Members of the NJSA, a representative of the Dept. of Workforce Development explained that once you have been determined to be eligible for unemployment, you can collect for 26 weeks within a calendar year.  If you take a temporary position during the 26 weeks, you can resume your unemployment at the same rate when and if the temporary assignment ends.  Companies are starting to slowly add staff.  Hiring authorities are interviewing more candidates than they used to for each position and are taking longer to make decisions.  Job seekers should be open to joining a company on a temp to hire basis since some firms are choosing to use this option for bringing in new talent.  Accepting a temporary position is also a good way to make contacts which can lead to fulltime employment.

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions.  The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasiu;s I in 500 AD.  It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted.  It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery and sending greeting cards (know as “valentines”).  The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High  Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. 

Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves and the figure of the winged Cupid.  since the early 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentines_day

It is the beginning of a new year and hopefully a turnaround in the economy.  At Bryant Staffing we are seeing a slight increase in client requests for new employees.  They are reviewing more resumes for each position and taking longer to make an offer or decision to start a temporary employee.  With this in mind, now is the time to review your resume to make sure it is a good representation of you and your skills and experience.  Although some of the tips below sound elementary, the reason we list them is due to the frequency we see the same mistakes.

• Make sure your resume is easy to read – use bullets rather than paragraphs to describe the duties of the job.  Don’t make it sound like a novel
• Use the same tense throughout the resume: if you left the job use the past tense but if you are still working there use the present tense.
• If there are big gaps in your work history, give an explanation for the gaps in your cover letter or email.
• If you are listing your computer skills only list those you have actually used – not those you learned several years ago and have not kept up.  Most likley you will be tested and you don’t want to appear deceitful.
• Email your resume to yourself and someone else you trust so you can make sure the format is exactly as you want it when they open it.