New Blog

Dear Blog-o-sphere,

This blog will no longer be in use as of April 15, 2009.

It has been great working with you for the past two years. Please visit my new domain at journeysthoughjournalism.com. I look forward to speaking with you through that avenue in the future.

Best regards,

Jackie

Tips in Job Searching

 

Thought it was time to dig deep with a post about the economy…again. I know you’re stressed, or at least have some anxiety about the future of the US economy. In my neighborhood, Oregon and Washington have some of the highest unemployment rates in 25 years!

 

Here’s the catch. There are still jobs. There are still employers looking for help. There’s no way the world would survive without some form of cash flow. The difference between you and the rest, or you and the best, are the methods they use to market to the right person. This is tricky, but I have to keep this positive thought in my head to avoid depression.

 

Here are some tips that I picked up in a little research that pertain to all job seekers from Careerbuilder.com:

·         Include a career summary at the top of your resume:

o   It’s important to catch the employer’s attention immediately. Listing this at the top will give managers an immediate snapshot of your skills and accomplishments.

·         Keep it up to date:

o   Always have a recent and up-to-date resume on hand. Update your resume when you accomplish something significant.

·         Use key phrases: With focus, you’ll say those words that trigger a light bulb for employers. Tracking systems are used to eliminate those resumes without important key phrases.

o   Here are some from Sweet Careers you may find useful:

§  Examined issues of age, ethnicity, and gender in relation to communication.

§  Developed communication portfolio for St. Mary’s Hospital in collaboration with three other students.

§  Wrote several university press releases, including news of $2.5 million gift.

·         Use a functional resume:

o   List experiences that can be utilized in multiple work environments. This shows proficiency in multiple categories.

·         Include all experience:

o   It’s important to get to the point in your resume while listing what’s most important. Find the best ways to explain the most pertinent information in an appealing light.

 

You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again. Take the time to buckle down and make a job out of finding a job. It’s not like is used to be because instead of competing with a few others, you’re competing with hundreds.

Captivating Painter

This weekend was a time for households throughout the nations to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. As I was preparing to leave Portland for Easter weekend I turned on CBN at the perfect time. Performance painter David Garibaldi prepared to captivate his audience with entertaining artistry.

 

 

 

His art is all about rhythm, color, culture, energy and while watching him paint, the audience experiences all four aspects. In 2003, Garibaldi began to turn his illustrations into canvas paintings and showcase his performance live at urban jazz sessions, nightclubs, and hip hop events for direct influence by the music.

 

“In the studio I can create images that tell an inspirational story, but when I paint on stage, I can be an inspirational story,” says Garibaldi.

 

His inspiration grabbed my attention at this time of celebration. The energy is worth the experience.

Growing Network

Remember your first experience on Facebook? My first log-in was in a college dorm at University of Oregon where a group of friends told me how important this social networking tool was because of its ability to connect you to friends, view photos, meet people, and join campus groups. Now, as a fifth year member, I can congratulate Facebook for reaching 200 million members.

“We will welcome our 200 millionth user to Facebook sometime today,” wrote Zuckerberg, who’s just over a month away from his 25th birthday. “Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we’ve always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice.”

When I joined, the primary target was college students. Now, Facebook has expanded to members of all ages, backgrounds and personalities. Some members were hesitant for this change, but apparently it proves to work for Facebook now that its member total reached the 200 million mark. Like any other business though, the company goal is continued growth for the future.

Want to tell your story to other Facebook members? Visit the Facebook for Good page created for members to share their experiences with the tool.

Enter this communication realm today!

Top Five for Alaska Airlines

Sure, the economy stinks at the moment. Businesses are failing, banks have stopped lending to at risk clients, credit companies are in crisis mode, etc.  People still need to live, right?

 

Living for me includes traveling. I’ve really had a travel bug since moving to Portland as working two jobs has limited my free time. There are places in the world that need to be experienced and I wish I had time for them all.

 

While this travel itch has needed a scratch, I read about Alaska Airlines moving up in a 2008 quality survey. I haven’t heard positive news in the airline industry in a while, so congrats!

 

Alaska Airlines moved up to fifth place from seventh in a national survey of U.S. airline quality. The areas they improved are on-time performance, customer complaints, mishandled baggage rate, and passenger bumpings.

 

 Alaska Airlines is committed to caring for its customers, its communities, the environment, and their team.  For over 75 years, Alaska Airlines keeps its focus on corporate values like integrity, professionalism, caring, resourcefulness and spirit.  

 

Improvement is always key at a time of hardship. Guess I’ll be looking at flights through them in the future. Roundtrip vacation to Daytona Beach, Fl. in June is only 600 dollars. Let’s go!

Here Comes the Sun!

When the warm weather comes to Oregon, I am in a better mood. I love the fresh smell, the outdoor activities, and the mood the nice weather puts most people in.

The great places in downtown Portland, Ore. I visit when the sun comes out include:

Parks:

Washington Park: Features the international rose test garden with over 6,800 rose bushes in 557 varieties, tennis courts, nice outdoor amphitheater, picnic tables, views of downtown Portland and great area for pets and high-active games. This park is also located near the Japanese Gardens featuring five gardens in-tune with nature.

 

Waterfront Part: Features a boat dock, beautiful views of the Willamette River, boardwalk, fountains, biking, large grass areas for outdoor sports and visitor attractions.

 

Tea and Coffee:

Tea Chai Te: A quiet location to enjoy over 100 varieties of tea from SCRATCH! Located conveniently on 23^rd street, you can take your tea to go and enjoy fun window shopping or stay on the deck to soak in the sun.

 

Markets:

Portland Saturday Market: Centered in Portland’s historic Old Town, the market is a unique opportunity for customers to meet artists and shop at over 250 booths. What’s really fun is the live music and eclectic food.

 

Portland Farmers Market: A location to buy healthy, local food with music and top chefs.

 

As you can see, there are many places to explore as the sun comes out. I’m new to Portland though so these are just a few of my discoveries. If you have more suggestions, feel free to comment and let me know what to try!

Sidebar

Check out my sidebar with new twitter updates! It’s a fun new widget for wordpress.

Also, you can follow me @jvoth1.

Visit Liz!

Want a hot, new hairstyle? Check out Vanity Junkie, where it’s good to be vain. I’ve been going to Liz forever and she always provides the best looks.

 

Recently, she turned my black hair up-side-down to create a fun blonde hairstyle for the spring and summer. Tell her what you want and she will provide.

Another great quirk is she’ll let you sit and have wine, beer, coffee, tea or water as you get your style. Free of charge! There’s even a garage door in the main boutique that they open when the sun begins to shine and the fresh air blows just so you can enjoy it.

Liz F. (503) 235-2411

901 SE Hawthorne
Portland, OR 97214

Oh, no Paula!

When I need time to space out, I turn on the Food network. Last night was one of those nights and my favorite, Paula Dean, was on the tube!

Yeah, she has an interesting, somewhat unhealthy diet, but she can make me laugh like none other!

There is a point where she can draw the line in her recipe. Lady’s Fried Mac Recipe is a prime example. You take your mac, cut it into cubes, bacon wrap the cubes and FRY it after all that. The only ladies enjoying that meal are my hips and thighs. No thanks!

The recipe rating gives it four stars as I’m sure it tastes great as a comfort food…but where is the sanity in that meal? I’m sorry Paula, but that’s just asking for a hospital visit.

The Woes of the U.S. Economy

The one and only way you will survive is to keep our Earth healthy. Now do you care?

Environmental inequalities were the discussion topics in Sociology 207 at the University of Oregon on a Tuesday morning. Terms used by the professor included the collapse of biodiversity, natural disasters ruining life, consumer society relating to the decline in wildlife and an increase in waste, pollution, global warming, deforestation, etc. Nothing could have been more depressing then sitting in a class for an hour talking about the devastating future of the world. All of this discussion then led into a film clip of Leonardo DiCaprio’s “11th Hour”. As the lights dimmed down for the film, my emotions began to take over and I feared for the future of humankind. 

Sure, I can see the impact in my life. Gas prices are now at $4.15 a gallon, salmon fishing has been banned from the Oregon coast, and the rainy season will not stop! To help, I attempt to ride my bike as much as possible or walk to my destination, I try to recycle everything, and I attempt to bring a reusable bag when I go to the grocery store. It’s about time to discuss what’s good in life though. There has to be a few things in life to keep people happy and motivated to make change for our future.

It became a mission of mine to discover hope during the ‘economic crisis’ of the United States. Since positive stories are hard to come by, here is a motivational list of good news:

1: Obama wins Oregon primary. 58% of Oregon Democrats voted for Sen. Barack Obama. It was an amazing time to experience as a college student because it is rare for Oregon’s May primary to achieve the kind of attention and multiple visits from leading presidential candidates. According to Blogger News Network, Obama stated, “It’s time we made this a national commitment to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and take the equivalent of 32 million cars’ worth of pollution out of the atmosphere.” I vote for change!

2: Graduation and summer vacation. June means summertime for most U.S. students. This means a sign of sunny weather and time to play. This could be a good time to discover something you are good at, play with neighborhood friends, and visit family who is very important to you. Graduation also means that new and inspired minds are entering the economy. Hopefully one of those minds will lead to discovery.

3: Personal choice. There are many topics surrounding our lives that can bring us down. A positive thought is that we have the opportunity to make choices for what we do and purchase. Consumer society isn’t something easy to quit. The consumption addiction in the United States builds our economy. We shouldn’t stop consumption, but we should choose to protest against corporations and buy local and sustainable. It’s an invigorating thought that we can all make changes to help the world we live in by ‘going green’.

4: Imaginations create invention. Along with the ability to make change is the freedom we have to imagine. We have the power to save the ecosystem if humans rethink how we live. That may be a thought that seems impossible, but there are discoveries being made to improve life on Earth. If humans reunite with nature and use its benefits for betterment, change is possible. An increase in the use of solar, wind and water power can eliminate our reliance on unnatural pollutants for energy. 

I have hope for the future of our world. There may be issues trumping society, but if we start now we can continue life for the future.