Workers Comp Job Finding Blog

The Labor Market Survey The Company Paid For Says There Are No Jobs?

Claims Adjusters,  in Illinois - IL,  Michigan - MI, Louisiana - LA and Pennsylvania - PA  especially,  have been hearing nothing but bad news about potential open positions for their claimants or injured workers on wage loss benefits. I recently had a Case manager tell me they pay for Labor Market surveys that dont help.  A Labor market survey that says there are no jobs is not helping those in the risk management field.   

There are positions available, you just have to get in front of the people that are "In the know" and can connect you to those positions.

Whether you are trying to find open positions for an injured worker with permanent restrictions, your son in-law, neighbor or friend, these tips will apply.

One thing I ALWAYS tell people who are looking for work is to add a Keywords or tag list at the end of their resume.  These are a bunch of keywords or phrases that recruiters and HR professionals may look for when they do resume database searches.  For example, if you are a CNA.  You are more likely to state that throughout your resume in the same format.  But, you may want to include the following phrases in your keyword, tag list.  Certified nurses assistant, C.N.A  , certified nurse, etc.  Different people search in different ways.  Another example, is that you may want to add a list of industries you have experience in.  For example, transportation, logistics.  You want to make sure that you are popping up in front of anyone who is looking for someone with your skill set.  
Because the market is inundated with people looking for work, the HR (Human Resource) professionals are able to look for not only someone with the skill set they require, but also to look for that skill set within the specific industry.  

There is a tendency for HR to search the resume database for appropriate matches BEFORE they ever post the job. This is the quickest and most efficient way for them to find candidates.  So, if you are not getting in front of those searching a resume database, you will never even know about those open positions.

Dont forget to refresh your resume where it is posted for search.  Go in and change something in your resume.  Anything and respost. This could be as simple as changing the words it is to  it's.  Another tip, if you hit control F, you can search for that word or phrase and change it throughout your resume quickly and easily.

Also, get good at doing searches.  You will find that you need to search for the open positions in your field using those same variations of open positions I just mentioned.  Do some searches, use quotes for exact phrases, use various keywords to express the same thing, ie CNA , C .N.A. Also, look for jobs at specific companies you are interested in working for.

The competition can be a great source for finding work.  Oftentimes, HR professionals will do a resume database search for their Competitions former employees.  These prospective applicants are oftentimes the best match for their open positions. You can use that same idea, go to linkedin and search for contacts you can make who currently work for your former competitor.

Also, I read  recently that recruiters and hiring managers prefer chronological resumes. This does not mean you cannot add a section which clearly describes the attributes you have that suit the particular position you are applying for.  This is best done through a cover letter.

Use your Contacts.  Nowadays, everyone has a friend, family member or neighbor that is out of work. This has created an environment where we are all willing to go a little bit farther to help others in their job search.  Quite often, I have a "stranger" , who has been referred by a friend or colleague,  contact me by email about a referral or help with their job search.  I search my contacts through linked in, former peers, or coworkers etc and usually ask them to help or I refer the person .  Dont be afraid to ask for help, you will get it.  And, people right now love to be able to help others in this job crisis.  It makes them feel good too. And, you may run across a job in your job search that is not a match for you personally, but that is the perfect match for someone you know is looking.