“Everybody’s got the same equipment and machinery. What differentiates us from anyone else out there in the marketplace is our people.” – Jeff Stapel Shickel Corporation H.R. Manager Jeff Stapel knows that skilled, industry-credentialed workers give his Shenandoah Valley firm its edge in a very competitive…
Look, we know this is going to sound of preachy, but we need to have a serious chat for a moment about why you should take job interviews VERY seriously. According to a study conducted by the Society of Human Resources Management the average cost to…
Sherry Pinto, the FastFoward Career Coach at Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC), spends her days helping people who want better careers. “I had a guy come in last Friday who said he wanted a career and not a job,” said Pinto. “I think people are starting…
You know when a commercial brand like Timberland gets in on the conversation, there might be something to the chatter. The need for skilled workers is at an all-time high in Virginia. The National Skills Coalition has stated that almost every state has skills gap –…
Right or wrong, there are a lot of preconceived notions about “men’s work” and “women’s work.” There are still plenty of industries that are dominated by one gender or the other. But if you’re qualified for the work, your sex, age, religion, etc. shouldn’t matter. That’s…
Renee Michelle Chalmers has walked in the shoes of her students. She had a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and held two jobs but she was still struggling to make a living wage. She was doing work that she loved, but she was underemployed and living…
It’s an old saying, but it’s still true: You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Our FastForward Career Coaches have seen a lot. They know the common mistakes people make when they interview for jobs. How? Because they often conduct mock interviews…
The official unemployment rate paints a pretty rosy picture these days. But the jobless stats don’t count the number of people who WANT full-time work, but who must cobble together several part-time jobs to make ends meet. Those folks are called “underemployed,” and in spring of…
While unemployment in Virginia is at an all-time low, there is still a significant need for skilled workers to fill the open positions within Virginia’s businesses. But getting a foot in the door isn’t always easy. We’ve talked about how important building a network can be…
Melissa Marcus knows what it’s like to struggle finding work. After she graduated college, she took some time to have a family and stay at home to raise her daughter. But when it was time to enter the workforce, it was difficult to find a job….