Attention, Tacoma job seekers: Don’t make these common mistakes

We get it: Finding a new job in this market is tough.

Pierce County’s jobless rate in December was 5.4 percent, up from the revised November rate of 4.7 percent. December’s rate for Pierce was higher than both King County (3.6 percent) and Thurston (5 percent).

And that ranking was before the Tacoma State Farm layoff notices were announced.

We talked to Laura Farrow, a librarian at Sumner Pierce County Library who teaches job seekers a guide to the Cloud as part of the library system’s “Get Hired” program. Farrow’s witnessed common mistakes local job seekers make and the outdated techniques they sometimes use.

Here are some:

Using a flash drive for your résumé

Flash or thumb drives are getting smaller by design, meaning they are easy to lose.

Adopting a Cloud-based storage technique can make your documents as easily accessible when you are out searching for work and need to send out a résumé quickly.

Farrow’s workshop demonstrates how to store your resume or other files (such as PowerPoint or Excel) in the Cloud, be it Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote or other services.

Next session is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Pierce County Library Administrative Center, 3005 112th St. E. in Tacoma. Registration is required. Go online to Pierce County Library Calendar (http://bit.ly/2DAgCLo), select “Get Hired Classes and Workshops” in the Find Events list, find the event and click “Register Now.”

Sending emails, résumés without review

This involves more than using a basic spell-checker.

For email correspondences to potential employers, Farrow recommends reviewing your email signature to clear out any overly personalized sign-offs. (Now is the time to ditch the GO HAWKS!!! exclamations after your name.) She also suggests keeping color usage to a minimum.

The signature line is not the place to explore the color palette options of your email provider, Farrow notes.

She’s also quick to remind job-seekers to pay attention when it comes to “Reply” vs. “Reply All” to make sure you are responding correctly.

For your résumé, the Pierce County library network offers a review service that’s available free with your library card.

“You simply email your résumé to them, and they have certified resume experts with a critique back to you within 24 hours,” Farrow says.

“Jobs are so competitive, and this is a luxury that most people out of work can’t pay for at that time. This is really good, quality help.”

Go to http://bit.ly/2BoDLun for this service.

Interviewing without preparation

The library system also offers free, live coaching via chat box on interview techniques, also available free through your library card. The coach will ask a question, you type an answer and the coach tells you if your answer is marketable and strong, or what you need to work on.

Go to http://bit.ly/2BoQmxr and click on “JobNow.” In the middle column under Job Interviews, click on “Live Interview Coach.”

Overestimating digital skills

Farrow sees this as another challenge facing those re-entering the job market after a few years or longer.

“They’ll know specific things like QuickBooks when it comes to digital literacy, but in other areas not so much, ” she says.

You can book a librarian for up to an hour for specific digital training on a particular need, such as building tables in Microsoft Word, learning how to crunch numbers using Excel or brushing up on mobile skills.

According to Farrow: “The best way is to call a branch to see what’s available or use the online form to fill out. The request then goes to branch they want.”

Go to http://bit.ly/2Dy6Klk for the form and more information.

There also are online classes available free (with your library card) through LinkedIn’s Lynda service: http://bit.ly/2DzXZ9J. You can search the catalog without signing in for training. This service also offers videos on interview prep.

Feeling alone

Farrow says there are those who come to use the library services because they can’t face telling their families about their job loss.

“Even given what we’ve gone through with downturns and recessions, some people here still feel a stigma. They like coming to the library; it’s a nonjudgmental space,” she says.

For support, the library system’s Job Club meets from 1-3 p.m. the second and fourth Fridays of each month at the South Hill Library, 15420 Meridian E.

There also is a Gig Harbor Jobs Program that meets weekly on Mondays, 4:30-6:30 p.m .at the Gig Harbor Public Library. More information is on its Facebook page (search for “Gig Harbor Jobs Program”).

“We have their backs even when society does not,” Farrow says. “We don’t need to know where they’re coming from. We help all equally.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Attention, Tacoma job seekers: Don’t make these common mistakes."