Top Companies of 2009 in Kansas City, Part 4

Kansas City Business magazine announced the best companies in Kansas City in 2009. Some of these companies are hiring in Kansas City and should be part of your job search in Kansas City.

Sole Patch Barbershop - http://www.solepatchbarbers.com/index.html

Straub Construction Company, Inc - Careers page (not hiring in KC) http://www.straubconstruction.com/contact/careers.html

Sunlight Saunas/Sunlight Day Spa - http://www.sunlightdayspa.com/

Tasso's Restaurant - http://www.tassosgreekrestaurant.com/TassosGreekRestaurant.html

Teva Neuroscience, Inc - Careers page (hiring) http://www.tevaneuroscience.com/careers.aspx

The Management Networking Group - http://www.tmng.com/

The Surplus Exchange - http://www.surplusexchange.org/

The University of Kansas Hospital - Employment page (hiring) http://www.kumed.com/default.aspx?id=1205

Time Warner Cable - Careers page (hiring) http://www.timewarnercable.com/kansascity/#

TruHome Solutions - retail mortgage lending - http://www.truhomesolutions.com/

Truman Medical Centers - Careers page (hiring) http://www.trumed.org/TruMedWeb/careers/careers.asp

U.S. Bank (KC) - Careers page http://www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/careers/careers.cfm

United Way of Greater Kansas City - Employment page (no openings now) http://unitedwaygkc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=47&Itemid=91

Top Companies of 2009 in Kansas City, Part 3

Kansas City Business magazine announced the best companies in Kansas City in 2009. Some of these companies are hiring in Kansas City and should be part of your job search in Kansas City.

Lankford + Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc -Employment page http://www.lankfordassoc.com/pages/Employment.html

Lockton Companies - Careers page (hiring) http://tbe.taleo.net/NA7/ats/careers/jobSearch.jsp?org=LOCKTONCOMPANIES&cws=1

M&I Bank Kansas City - Careers page http://www.mibankcareers.com/

Mail Print, Inc - Careers page http://www.mailprint.com/CustomerService-Careers/Index.htm

MedTrak Services LLC https://www.medtrakservices.com/index.asp

Missouri Bank http://www.themissouribank.com/

Muller Bressler Brown (Advertising agency) http://mbbagency.com/

Object Technology Solutions, Inc - Global Information Technology (IT) Services and Solutions company - Job Openings page (hiring) http://www.otsi-usa.com/current_opening.html

Portfolio Kitchen & Home - http://www.portfolio-home.com/

QC Holdings, Inc - payday loans - Careers page (hiring) http://www.qcholdings.com/applicant/careers_main.aspx

Top Companies of 2009 in Kansas City, Part 2

Kansas City Business magazine announced the best companies in Kansas City in 2009. Some of these companies are hiring in Kansas City and should be part of your job search in Kansas City.

Ferrellgas - Careers page (hiring) http://www.ferrellgas.com/Careers

Freightquote - Careers page (hiring) http://www.freightquote.com/Public/AboutUs/FQ/Careers.aspx

Henderson Engineers, Inc - Careers page (hiring - but not in KC) http://www.hei-eng.com/careers.html

Highland Outdoor - http://www.highland-outdoor.com/index.php

HMS Beagle (a science store in Parkville) - http://hms-beagle.com/

Hotel Phillips - Employment opportunities http://www.hotelphillips.com/contact_us/contact_employment.asp

ICOP Digital Inc an industry-leading company engaged in advancing digital surveillance solutions. Careers page http://www.icop.com/careers.htm

Inergy - propane and propane supplies and equipment - Careers page http://www.inergypropane.com/about/careers.asp

Integrated Systems Inc - national product and service provider specializing in data, telecom, and business communication and production systems - http://integratednational.com/index.html

International Materials of Design - http://www.imdtile.com/index.htm

Top Companies of Kansas City of 2009, Part 1

Kansas City Business magazine announced the best companies in Kansas City in 2009. Some of these companies are hiring in Kansas City and should be part of your job search in Kansas City.

A.L. Huber General Contractor - http://www.alhuber.com/

American Century Investments - Careers page (no current openings ) https://www.americancentury.com/careers.jsp

Asiatica (Clothing, Home Decor, Accessories) http://www.asiaticakc.com/main.html

Butler National Corporation http://www.butlernational.com/ Employment opportunities - hiring - http://www.butlernational.com/employment.htm

Cafe Trio http://www.cafetriokc.com/

Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics - Career page - hiring - http://www.childrensmercy.org/careers/

ColorMark Printing http://www.colormarkprinting.com/default.aspx

Deloitte LLP - Careers page (hiring) http://careers.deloitte.com/gateway.aspx

DLR Group (Architectural and Engineering) - Careers page ( warning - it requires allowing a Javascript pop up - sigh...) http://www.dlrgroup.com/#/5.4/

Free Online Skills Training

Thanks to Thomas Crow for this tip.

http://www.gcflearnfree.org/ offers online training in variety of subjects of interest to job hunters and others including Resume Writing, Cover Letters, Career Development, Budgeting, etc.

June 16 Job Fair and Career Workshops in Lawrence

Time: June 16, 2009 from 1pm to 6pm
Location: Pinnacle Career Institute
Organized By: Brian Corcoran
Event Description:Event includes
Job Fair for local companies to staff a booth and discuss job openings with attendees
Career Workshops: See brochure for listings and short descriptions with each one
More info here:http://communitycareerconnection.com/
http://communitycareerconnection.com/CCC-Brochure.pdf

Friday Open House for Women in Career Transition starts June 12

Free Fridays’ Fun (open house for any woman out of work)

Hosted by Women's Woods

8600 W. 95th St. Suite 102
Overland Park,
KS 66212
913-967-5940

Beginning Friday, June 12th, from 11am to 1pm, please come by for camaraderie and networking. Being unemployed or in transition is a spiritual and an emotional thing. Notice we didn’t say ‘financial’ but we know there’s that. It is a time to go deep, get inspired, and make the most of this time. Bring your brown bag lunch if you want- we’ll have bottled water, a snack, and inspiration. Hope to see ya! Each Friday during the summer! No need to reserve, just come on over: northeast corner of 95th & Antioch in the Valley View Professional Building.

Special Program on Job Search Strategy June 9

Time: June 9, 2009 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Location: Lees Summit UMC - Room 118
Organized By: Bob Carpenter
Event Description:Linda will be sharing developing and executing a strategy for your job search and will discuss other topics related to your hunt.The parking lot is on the corner of second and main and Room 118 is south of the parking lot behind the worship center.
See more details and RSVP on Woods Chapel UMC - Crossroads Career Network:http://crossroadswcc.ning.com/events/event/show?id=3288976%3AEvent%3A884&xgi=8mpCD97

Using Alumni Career Services in Your Job Search

The Wall Street Journal, in its "Laid Off and Looking" blog, published this recent article about using Alumni Career Services in your Job Search.

I also did a post about alumni career services, focusing on some local Kansas City alumni career resources. Check out my article with practical advice on using alumni career services in your job search, Alma Mater Matters in Job Searches - Using University Career Services in Your Employment Search

Improving your job search references

I used to feel a moment of panic whenever the interviewer would ask for my references. Not that I didn't have great references, it's just that I wasn't always prepared.

Since I knew that interviewers would probably not change, I realized I had to become more organized. I put together a file of references with their contact information and what our working relationship was and I always took it with me. One of the first things I did when I was laid off was to contact people I trusted at my employer, thank them for their support over the years and ask if I could use them as a reference.

Here is an article with even more great tips for improving your job search references:
Reference Improvement Guide

Thanks to Dave Templeman of Crossroads Career Ministry for this tip.

Adding your full resume to LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great professional network but it's often difficult to fit your resume in their profile space.

But you can use the Applications available on LinkedIn to post files including your resume on linked.

Two LinkedIn Applications that you can use to upload your resume to LinkedIn are Google Presentations and Slideshare.

Access either Application by clicking on Applications in the left menu of your LinkedIn home page.

Google Presentation allows you to create a slide presentation online. You can use this to paste/create your resume in slide format and then post to your profile. You can also upload Powerpoint files.

Slideshare, which I use on LinkedIn, accepts many file formats including doc and pdf, so you don't have to have Powerpoint. I personally use OpenOffice and have uploaded my presentations using OpenOffice Impress. I will say that I've found the system to be kind of touchy -- some times I have to try several times before my presentation "takes":
Max. size: 100MB.
Filetypes supported:
Presentations: ppt, pptx, pps, ppsx, pdf, odp, potx, key (Keynote 09 only). Apple Keynote (05,06,08)-upload as zip or pdf
Documents & Spreadsheets: doc, docx, rtf, xls, odt, ods & pdf.Keynote and Office 2007 users save as pdf or ppt/doc

Thanks to Darlene Thompson at Right Management for this idea.

FREE training on how to use LinkedIn for your job search

LinkedIn offers free webinars for anyone who wants to learn how to use LinkedIn in their job search:

Learning how to complete a LinkedIn profile
Using LinkedIn to get a new job (perfect for candidates)
Using LinkedIn on your mobile phone
Answers to all of your important LinkedIn questions

Then this website is for you: http://learn.linkedin.com/training/

LinkedIn also provides free web sessions to help everyone get started using a LinkedIn account or to learn more about the features and functionality that LinkedIn offers. See below for the upcoming web sessions:
LinkedIn 101: The basics of LinkedInWhen: Wednesdays at 1 pm CST
Job Seekers: Tips for using your LinkedIn Account to help you land your next great opportunityWhen: Thursdays at 1pm CST
LinkedIn Subscriptions: Get the most out of your premium subscriptionWhen: 2nd Tuesday each month at 1pm CST
To register for any of these webcasts please click on the link associated with the session you are interested in. Please note that you must register at least 24 hours in advance for the webcast you would like to attend.

Thanks to Darlene Thompson at Right Management for this tip.