Houston Jobing Community Blogs

They Houston Business Journal's 2009 Best Places to work in Houston took place this past Wednesday.  Employees list everything from free tickets and dinners to good health insurance, but the managers at Houston’s Best Places to Work see a bigger picture. Many say the atmosphere is a result of carefully selected employees, while others cite their corporate culture. Below are responses from some of the winning companies on why their firms made the final cut:

Suzanne Ogle
Vice president of marketing and investor relations
Valerus Compression Services LP

Our people are intelligent, creative thinkers, kind, funny, empowered and motivated. In good times or stressful times, you can count on our team to work hard, find solutions and have fun doing it.

Terrence N. Ivers
President
AMEC Paragon Inc.

We have a great work culture that goes back to the 1980s and our employees are our greatest advocates.

Wanda Dalton
Chief human resource officer
Sterling Bank

Every associate, regardless of job title, is a banker, and we realize that we are helping fellow Texans prosper. We have big Texas hearts. Despite a recession, our Houston bankers raised more money for March of Dimes in 2009 than in 2008.

Sid Nueno
Recruiting and staffing manager
Briggs & Veselka Co.

Our employees really do care for one another — from top management to entry-level staff — and the result is a great work environment. We recognize that we simply can’t succeed without our employees, and we do our best to make sure they know they are the firm’s most valuable asset.

Jeff D. Reeter
Managing partner
Texas Financial Group, Houston – Austin – San Antonio

We define success as “life success,” not just business achievements. We have a unique culture based on my firm belief that no amount of success in business makes up for failure in other areas of life. Because of our passion for balance, we do not ask people to choose between their work and other things that are important to them.

Julie Rusk
Director of Houston operations
PageSoutherlandPage

We acknowledge that employment is a two-way relationship — both the employee and the employer must find value in the relationship.

Bobby D. Butler Jr.
Vice president and chief compliance officer
Universal Weather and Aviation Inc.

In my 19-year career, and this includes positions with Fortune 100 companies, I have never experienced the family spirit quite like Universal. This unique family culture is what makes Universal the best place to work in Houston.

Etan Mirwis
President
Rockwell Management

Our company has an open-door policy not only for our employees but for our owners/investors as well. Our policy also includes personal issues; no matter what position you hold in the company.

Lisa Guidry
Founder and CEO
Extreme Technologies Inc.

Extreme is constantly challenging our employees to think outside their comfort zones. Really amazing things happen when your employees have the ability to do new and creative things to get the job done right for a client.

Cora Nash
Human resource and recruiting manager
Entelligence LLC

What is unique about our company is the commitment to the employee and their families. We do this through consistent communication via phone calls from managers, CEO and CFO for birthdays, anniversaries, special achievements, or just checking in.

Joe Sansone
Founder and CEO
TMC Orthopedic LP and Amputee & Prosthetic Center Inc.

TMC does not hire just anyone; our employees are the crème de le crème. All employees are put through a rigorous hiring process to ensure we have the top-notch people working for our company. We have always relied on and trusted our employees to give their all, and they have consistently exceeded my expectations.

The Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) is a professional, non-profit organization dedicated to the overall achievement and advancement of South Asian professionals. The primary focus of the organization is to foster a bond among South Asian professionals to unite and support each other locally, as well as to give back and contribute positively to the communities in which we live and work.

Join us this year at:

The 18th Annual NetIP Conference
Held in the Dynamic and Vibrant City of Toronto
Friday, Sept 4th to Sunday, Sept 6th 2009

• Engaging Panels and Workshops (covering finance, healthcare, entrepreneurship, culture, media arts)
• Film Screenings & Community Outreach Events
• Chic & Elegant Parties
• Captivating Entertainment (including a Bollywood-themed gala affair)

Create Memories of a lifetime and gain an opportunity to forge lasting friendships, as you mingle with elite South Asian professionals, network with industry leaders and meet top notch speakers!

For more information, visit www.NetIPConference.org.  

This past weekend I had the opportunity  to take my family out for a night of fun.  We decided we wanted to go bowling.  A couple of months ago – in the course of business - I had met with the managers of the AMF300 on Bunker Hill in Houston.  During that meeting I learned a lot about the bowling alley and what makes it unique, so we decided we would head over there and check it out.  But just HOW unique it was didn’t really settle in until we walked in and saw it in operation.

WOW!

Bowling alleys, as a whole, do not usually elicit the word “WOW!” or “AMAZING!” from me, but the AMF300 did exactly that.  From the high-class seating areas, to the vests and bow-ties of the servers, everything about this facility is top-notch.  Want an awesome steak burger?  They’ve got it.  Drinks?  They’re delivered to your table while you bowl.  (Did I mention the amazing steak burger?)  Want to have a private party?  You can rent out the 300 Club - private lanes in their own room with personalized service. 

And that got me thinking (as I often do) about how job seekers often overlook amazing employment opportunities.  Why do we overlook great opportunities?  There are as many reasons as there are job seekers, but I think there are a few that land at the top of the list:

1.        Ignorance.  “Ignorant” has earned a negative connotation in our society, but it simply means “not knowing.”  Not knowing what opportunities are out there will definitely hamper our ability to make the best career choices.

2.        Fear.  Fear of change is one of the deepest, truest, and most universal conditions we share as humans.  Fear keeps us from even looking or exploring the idea of “What is out there for me?” and it keeps us ignorant.  See point  1.

3.        Habit.  We’re all creatures of habit.  We like to do things a certain way and feel stress when something is out of order.  We’ve always worked in a given industry, type of job, or area of town, so we limit our possibilities to stay within that self-imposed set of boundaries.  See point 2.

4.        Misperception or unfounded bias.  “I’d NEVER work in a (insert your choice here)” is something most of us have said.  And that blank is different for each of us.

I, for one, can tell you I have never been excited about the prospect of working in a bowling alley.  Why?  Because I thought they are seedy, dirty, smoky places where foul-mouthed construction workers go to blow off steam (and trample guys like me)!  My bias was a combination of ignorance and misperception.  AMF 300, its employees, and its patrons bowled over all my misperceptions and I can tell you directly:  this would be a great place to work!

While I am INCREDIBLY happy with my employment situation, what I experienced on Friday night at the AMF 300 in Houston made me rethink how I view businesses and the employment opportunities they offer.  By opening my eyes to the possibilities, I just widened the scope of my potential career path.  You should do the same for whatever “never” is potentially hurting your career plan.

For more information about the AMF 300 visit http://www.3hundred.com/300houston

We’ve all heard of the alpha male and female.  The dictionary defines them as the dominant person in a group, the one everybody emulates and follows.  The term was originally coined to describe behavior in wolf and dog packs, but for most of the 20th Century, it also accurately depicted the way we interacted in our careers.  One person was on top, and the rest of us brought up the rear.

While wolves and dogs are stuck with this leader-follower relationship, however, we humans have an option.  We can pull ourselves out of the back of the pack—out of the pack altogether, in fact—and assume a new role.  I call it the “alpha career athlete.”  It recognizes our innate ability to act as individuals and to set our own unique course in the world of work.

More often than not, the alpha career athlete still finds their employment in an organization. Most aren’t free agents or independent contractors.  They work in teams, on projects and for departments and they report to a boss.  Their on-the-job experience is similar to that of every other person in the workplace.  What changes is their view of who they are working for and why.

An alpha career athlete works on themselves for themselves.  They are interested in learning just how good they can be in their profession, craft or trade.  They accept a job because it challenges them to be better than they have been, and they devote all of their talent to passing the test.  Moreover, that same commitment to self improvement also enhances the value of their contribution to their employer.  In effect, they protect their employment and preserve their paycheck by persevering in their determination to excel.

In Search of (Personal) Excellence

In 1982, Tom Peters wrote a business classic called In Search of Excellence.  The book’s popularity was largely based on the author’s research into how companies achieved superior performance.  It outlined a number of practices that other organizations could implement in order to achieve their own version of excellence.

What many readers missed, however, was the underlying premise of the book: success was best achieved through a commitment to excellence.  If you wanted your company to prosper, it wasn’t enough to be good or even very good and certainly not mediocre or just enough to get by.  The one sure pathway to prosperity was excellence.

What was true for organizations in the 20th Century is true for individuals in the 21st Century.  Success is not achieved by being loyal to one’s employer or by knowing how things get done inside an organization.  It is not assured with years of experience or even with a knowledge of the current state-of-the-art.  What produces sustained career advancement in today’s world of work is a commitment to personal excellence.

It is what drives the alpha career athlete.  He or she is “in search of excellence.”  They are on a quest to become the champion inside them.  This is not some quixotic adventure, but rather an entirely rational determination to express and experience the talent with which they (and all of us) were created.   Alpha career athletes believe that, just as every company can achieve superior performance, so too can they.  And they’re resolved to do so.

Companies, however, have Peters’ guidelines with which to work; alpha career athletes need something else.  They need a set of practices that will engage, refine and unleash the excellence within them.  What follows are what I think those practices must be:

I. Pump Up Your Cardiovascular System.  The heart of your career is your occupational expertise.  Re-imagine yourself as a work-in-progress so that you are always adding depth and tone to your knowledge and skill set.

II. Strengthen Your Circulatory System.  The wider and deeper your network of contacts, the more visible you and your capabilities will be in the workplace.  Make nurturing professional relationships a part of your business day.

III. Develop All of Your Muscle Groups.  The greater your versatility in contributing your expertise at work, the broader the array of situations and assignments in which you can be employed.  Develop ancillary skills that will give you more ways to apply your core expertise in the workplace.

IV. Increase Your Flexibility & Range of Motion.  Moving from industry-to-industry, from one daily schedule to another or even from one location to another is never easy, but your willingness to adapt will help to keep your career moving forward.

V. Work With Winners.  Working with successful organizations and coworkers enables you to grow on-the-job, develop useful connections that will last a career and establish yourself as a winner in the world of work.

VI. Stretch Your Soul.  A healthy career not only serves you, it serves others, as well.  A personal commitment to doing some of your best work as good works for your community, your country and/or your planet is the most invigorating form of work/life balance.

VII. Pace Yourself.  A fulfilling and rewarding career depends upon your getting the rest and replenishment you need in order to do your best work every day you’re on-the-job.  Discipline yourself and your boss to set aside time to recharge your passion and capacity for work.

All of us have the inherent capacity to be an alpha career athlete because all of us have an inherent talent that wants to be—deserves to be—discovered.  Humans are the only beings, however, who can willfully choose to ignore their gift.  And happily, they are also the only beings who can choose to recognize it.  So, become the alpha career athlete you were meant to be; put yourself in search of (personal) excellence.

 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Education is a sure fire way to increase your marketability in the workforce. Yet, if you are seeking a career change, education can be a very time intensive and lengthy process. When considering this change there are many options to weigh.

• How long will the process take?
• Do you need a degree or do certificates or graduate programs exist?
• Is there demand for the job, once you are educated?
• What is motivating your change? True passion or a fleeting interest?

Education is a commitment, and one you must take seriously. When considering the time the program will take, you must be confident you are happy in your current job. Will you have the patience to wait until the end of your program before you are working in your new a career?

Considering the education options, what is truly needed? Is a full 4 year degree necessary, or will a 2 year degree help you get into the industry? Often passion and enthusiasm for the job will set you apart from others who have formal degrees. Using teaching as an example, you must be certified, so you much complete the degree. Yet, going from business to HR may simply require a certification. Investigate what is truly necessary to get your foot in the door.

As you embark on your change, is there a future for it? Fleeting interest fields often see a rise in people in the market and a drop off of demand. This was evident in crime scene investigation, due to the popularity of police shows. Not only ensure that you can gauge a demand for your career once your education is complete, but that you have a true passion for it. A fleeting interest or a fad will not last long.

The resources Jobing.com has to offer to help you find a great educational program include JobingEducation. Additionally, if you are seeking the benefit of a graduate degree, Grand Canyon University offers adults great online opportunities.

Use education to make a career change – for life.

A lot of people are trying to find a job in today's tough environment with a wimpy career, and unfortunately, employers are kicking sand in their face.

What's the alternative?  Add muscle to your work credentials and capabilities with Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System.

Designed specifically for the challenging workplace of the 21st Century, Work Strong not only tells you what to do for career success, but when, where and how to do it.

·         Career Fitness includes both a revolutionary philosophy of work and a regimen of daily, weekly and monthly activities that empower you to apply that philosophy to your career.

·         Using physical fitness as a metaphor, it introduces an approach to career self-management that is appropriate for everyone from seasoned professionals to executives, from those who are just entering the workplace to those who are returning to work after a lengthy absence.

In today's world of work, you need (and deserve) every advantage you can get.  So, give yourself the one resource that will enable you to take charge of the one-third or more of your life you spend at work.  Get Work Strong today!

And don't forget about others.  Get Work Strong for yourself and for your spouse, your sons and daughters and even for your mother and father.  Everyone deserves to Work Strong.

To place your order, call WEDDLE's at 317.598.9768 or visit Weddles.com.  Don’t delay.  Place your order today!

The 5th Annual IMPACT Awards took place at Gulf Coast Symposium last month and honored outstanding HR departments and programs throughout the Bayou City. It was a great opportunity to see what great things folks in HR are doing. Here are this years winners in their respective categories:

Communications Integrity - Fluor

Diversity Excellence - Fluor

Flexible Workplace - Access Sciences Corporation

HR Service Technology - Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Recruiting and Retention - Fluor

Small Company HR - HCSS

Total Rewards and Accountability - Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Drop your colleagues a line, congratulating them on their accomplishments and being honored this year!

Jobing.com salutes each of this year's winners....

The 9th Annual 'Best Places to Work in Houston' takes place this month!  2009 Houston Busines Journal's Best Places To Work Awards Ceremony Honoring Companies:

-Who know how happy employees are the key to success.
-Whose employees want to come to work.
-Where everybody knows your name.

Join us as we celebrate our 9th annual Best Places to Work in Houston.  No other event brings together such a mix of Houston's top companies in so many different industries.  Network with some of Houston's leading companies and their HR Directors.  Find out which companies are a best place to work because they offer free gym memberships, on-site child care, hair salons, Friday night margarita parties and more....

The 2009 Best Places To Work in Houston comprises 4 lists.
* Houston based company with 10 - 100 employees
* Houston based company with 101 - 500 employees
* Houston based company with 500 + employees
* Company not based in Houston with over 150 employees

Sign up today for our June 24th cocktail reception which is being held at:
Hilton Americas Houston Hotel
1600 Lamar
Houston TX 77010
from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Tickets are $60 and includes:
*Your entrance into the best business event of the year
*A complimentary cocktail
*Hors d'oeuvres
*Noisemakers and great networking!

Deadline for reservations is Friday, June 19, 2009!


For more information and to register, Click Here.

A person who has completed their high school education has a better employment outlook than a person who has not. But what does that really look like?

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics states is clearly:

Education pays ... Education pays in higher earnings and lower unemployment rates

According to a March 2009 report by the Bureau, ehe median weekly earnings and unemployment rate of a person with less than school diploma is $426/week and 9% unemployment rate compared to a high school graduate at $591/week and 5.7% unemployment rate.  To put that number into perspective, over a lifetime a person with a diploma will make $ 430,000 more than a person without.

Now there are a large amount of opportunities open to the young adult and adult learner to support the completion of the high school diploma. Please research your high school opportunities on JobingEducation or visit Pinnacle Online High School directly.

Do you have time? Can you afford it? According to the BLS, you can’t afford not to finish your high school diploma. Good luck!

Citation:
Education Pays, BLS

We are living the days that our parents and grandparents tried so hard to protect us from and wished we would never experience them. Retired folks lost their retirement funds due to the stock market plummeting. Families are trying to down size their homes, but no one is buying. The news people talk about gloom and doom with a smile on their face. And remember they get paid to do that.

Yes, our economy has affected our cash flow but it can’t affect your spirit, only you can. It’s so important for you to not get caught up in all of this and surrender to the negative side. It is what it is, more importantly it’s your perspective and how you see it. Some see rainy days as drab and dreary while others see rainy days as a great time to be inside. Remember that family members, neighbors and co-workers are listening and watching you. You must protect yourself; heart, mind and soul. You are what you are and how you think. If you think you’ll never make it, you’ll end up convincing yourself just that.  Focus on the positive, not on the negative. If you’re not careful, you will wind up being the person you didn’t want to be. What’s your attitude? Is it worth catching? 

Seriously, some have lost their jobs, some have kept their jobs, but more importantly, you’re still alive. Sometimes opportunity comes disguised as a dead end and you need to be prepared to tell the difference. Remember that when one door closes, another door opens. I’ve had some people tell me that getting fired from their job was the best thing that happened to them. They were able to pause, reflect and go after a job that really fit them, something they were really interested in, instead of having a job that gave them a paycheck. I realize there are different circumstances for each person. Bottom line is, you made it, you survived, you should be proud of yourself.

I truly hope you are stronger and wiser from the sting of our economy. If you haven’t noticed, I have the gift of gab, or blogging. I love to share my thoughts and experiences. Lately I have been slacking at blogging, but I’m working on my comeback. I hope you find my blogs uplifting, informative and maybe soul searching. I’ve done a little bit of everything from accounting to home health to horse training. I would love to hear from you about a blog you would like for me to write. The news is boring. People are exciting.

Thank you Jobing for allowing me to join your team as a blogger.

In summary, I have faith in the USA. We are resilient. We are strong. We are quick to recover. Buckle up folks because we’re back in the fast lane. Go America!

Even if you have already answered this question years ago with a resounding "no" (after all, college takes a time commitment) it may be time to reconsider.  If you have had a significant change in your life, such as the desire to change careers, a recent lay-off, or a child move out of the house - then you may have just the right amount of time or motivation to succeed in school.  With all of the options available to today's career seeker, you may not have to wait for a life-change to make college possible.  Increasingly, schools of all types offer off-campus or online coursework for the student that needs a little more flexibility.  Chances are, no matter what your schedule and needs are, there is a program that matches your needs and provides the type of education you need to accomplish your goals.  It may mean taking one or two classes at a time, but it can be done. 

Still not convinced that there is enough time? 

Let’s take a minute out of the 10,080 minutes in a week to look at how the average American spends that time.  

1680 minutes - Spent watching television (4 hours/day)

2400 minutes - Spent at work (40 hour work week)

3360 minutes - Spent sleeping (8 hours a night) 

If you complied exactly to those numbers it would leave you exactly 2,640 minutes a week (44 hours) to do whatever you choose (cleaning, hobbies, exercise, social activities, child-rearing, etc.).  Some schools advocate that for every hour of class you take, you need to plan for 2 hours of study.  With this strategy it would mean devoting 36 hours to school if you took 12 hours of courses.  If that sounds excessive, then maybe it would make more sense for you to take two classes (maybe around 6 credit hours = 18 total hours spent on school work).  18 hours of time spent on college would require the average American above to eliminate television viewing 4 1/2 days a week in order to be successful in school without altering the rest of their free time (the 44 hours a week of "free time" we all have). 

If you are ready – there is time! Research your educational opportunities either at JobingEducation , The Princeton Review or one of our sponsored schools, Grand Canyon University (on-line masters degree programs). Now just might be the right time for you to take that leap of faith.

Hi, I'm Bill Kasko, president and CEO of Frontline Source Group.  Over the last few months, Frontline Source Group has joined forces with local churches to connect people and to provide assistance and direction in finding a job.  The response has been so incredible, that we wanted to share just a few tips to you, too!

Networking is the easiest way to make professional connections.  By reaching out to your community, family, and friends, you might know someone who knows someone who might be hiring.  By joining forces with networking groups, like churches, community activities, etc. you may find your connection to a great job.  Everyone should know who you are and what you do.

If you are not registered with staffing agencies, make it your goal to do so.  Many jobs never even make it onto job boards before they are filled.  Increase your odds and meet new staffing professionals.  Keep an open mind on the title, pay, location - this could be your way in the door of a great company.

Update your resume with relevant information.  If you aren't up to date, you could be missing out on potential connections too.  If you need help with your resume, reach out to the Resume Corporation.  www.theresumecorporation.com is where you need to go to get started perfecting your resume to pass out in all of your networking endeavors.

Networking doesn't stop in person... you can do it online too.  If you aren't already, set up professional profiles in Facebook.com, jobertalk.com, linkedin.com - these are all great places to make new professional connections.  Jobs sometimes can be posted here too, so keep these profiles up to date.

If you have interest in having our team come and talk with your community group, we would love to help!  Forward any inquiries to jim.wilson@frtline.com to discuss further.

I suppose you’re going to drag me into the 21st Century afterall. As much as I loathe technology –okay that’s not really accurate. I don’t loathe technology, I loathe the issues that it creates when it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to work. Like right now, our email is down. TG for Twitter and FB–at least I can still communicate with the outside world. Now I just have to think of how to say all that I need to say in less than 140 Characters…no simple task for a girl who loves words as much as I do.

Somehow I stumbled on the Tweets of an attorney a few days ago…he had collected 100 or so of his best Tweets written to advise lawyers. Since imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’ve taken the liberty to adopt the idea of his Tweets to give advice to today’s job seeker--in 140 characters, or less. Thanks to Matthew Homann (@matthoman) for the inspiration. Here's the fave five of the list:

1. No one can help you find a job if they don’t know you need one. Network. Constantly.

2. It is a job to find a job. Set goals and develop an action plan to achieve desired results.

3. One-size doesn’t fit all anymore. Your cover letter, resume and references must be fluid, relative and targeted to the opportunity.

4. You’ll be successful when you stop focusing on you and focus instead on the needs of the company you want to hire you.

5. If you really want the job, ask them for it.

Yes, free training is available at your local library. Further your education by reading books pertaining to your profession or to take you to the next level. Keep your computer skills up to date by attending the free programs at your local library. Your local library provides free computer use so you can check out the jobs listed on Jobing.com and other places. Take advantage of this. You may be surprised at what your library offers you for free. Free ~ to good to be true? It's all up to you.