When the interviewer becomes the interviewee….

Today I thought I’d explore the odd situation we journalists find ourselves in once all that networking and all those job applications have paid off, and we’ve landed that crucial job interview. The problem is that we’re used to being the interviewer, asking questions of our sources. Recruiters familiar with this situation say journalists must think carefully about how they plan to handle job interviews before the actual interview or they may end up botching it. Here are a few pitfalls and some potential solutions:

Back-to-work grab bag

After a three-day weekend (though I did post yesterday in case you missed it!) I thought I’d catch up with a few things that some email correspondents have mentioned lately. And I’ll include an event, a list serve and a couple of job openings.

Thought it would be appropriate today, as the Senate Finance Committee just approved health care legislation, to mention some good news, at least for now, for many laid-off workers: Continuing your existing coverage under COBRA (an acronym for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, for those who were wondering) will be much less expensive than usual, at least in the short run.  (Federal law requires companies with 20 or more employees to offer laid-off workers the opportunity to stay in their health care plans, but such employees are required to foot the bill for the employer and the employee’s portion of the premium, which typically means huge increases from what employees were previously paying.)

Included in the stimulus legislation Congress passed earlier this year were subsidies that cover 65 percent of the COBRA premium — a huge benefit for those who are not able to transfer to a spouse or partner’s health insurance. Basically, individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage beginning on or after Feb. 17, 2009 and lasts for up to nine months for those eligible for COBRA during the period beginning Sept. 1, 2008 and ending Dec. 31, 2009, stemming from  an “involuntary termination of employment that occurred during that period.”  Check out some helpful information from the Labor Department through the following link:

A journalist’s transition….

Today I bring you the first example of what I  hope will be a regular feature on this blog showcasing journalists who have successfully made the transition to new careers — and their tips for others who might like to do the same. The first featured “transitionee” is Jim Leusner, a long-time, award-winning investigative reporter at The Orlando Sentinel.

Friday grab bag of ideas, leads

Today is a grab bag of networking tips,  a few events and some job leads.  I hope it brings a soft landing to what I know has been a stressful week for many!

Recruiting and hiring experts remind us that the vast majority of jobs are filled not through ads, job fairs or listings on job boards, but by hearing about qualified candidates from people  that hiring managers know and trust. And though networking sounds easy — it’s just talking to people you know and telling them you’re looking, right? — it takes real, targeted work to build up and maintain a strong network. In coming blog posts I’d like to explore some good ways to do that over time. Here are a few immediate tips gleaned from experts and my own recruiting experience:

List serves: Are they worth the time and effort?

As I’ve been spending some time — and I know many of you have — going through “targeted” job list serves and online job boards, I thought it would be a good topic to explore. Obviously, they are attractive because they list real openings. Or do they?? I asked a few recruiting experts about this and they were divided on whether job seekers should pay close attention to job list serves, especially those catering to journalists.

Often when journalists are looking for that “next chapter” in our careers, we’re told that we should consider taking our journalism skills and doing something else with them, especially in this tough job market (which is getting even more crowded — ABC News is the latest to shed jobs, including some in D.C.). But doing that is easier said than done. In coming blog posts, I hope to share some solid advice on how to transition — from those who have done it themselves or are in the business of advising others.

The other day I talked to one such person, Sherry Ettleson, a D.C. executive recruiter who focuses on filling jobs for public interest groups, NGOs and non-profit groups. (Sherry was referred to me by an ex-CQer — gotta love that network!) Sherry made a career switch herself recently and likes talking to journalists, who she thinks have a broader skill set than we realize for getting into other careers. (Sherry, by the way, is happy to get resumes from laid-off journalists to pass along to non-profits, etc.  Email her at settleson@verizon.net.) Here are some of her thoughts:

Welcome to dcworks

Welcome to the dcworks blog. As I said in the “about” category, this blog is being published by me, Jodi Schneider, a veteran journalist, trainer, recruiter and manager. I have just — in the past 10 days — left my position as training director at CQ in Washington, D.C., and will be writing about the world of work in Washington. I also hope to use this space as a clearinghouse for job leads, tips and ideas about finding work — especially for laid-off Washington journalists. As such, I am going to post some openings and ideas about where other openings may occur.

I intend this to be a truly grassroots kind of effort….Please send me leads about jobs for laid-off Washington area journalists, as well as tips on job-hunting and contacts who may be useful. I love the idea of helping each other, in a very human and uncomplicated way, counteract the corporate myopia that led to so many of us leaving jobs we loved and had admirably performed!