The Adoption Specialist position is primarily responsible for preparation and assessment of clients seeking to adopt children either domestically or internationally.  Direct services to be provided are adoption home study assessments, counseling and follow-up services for adoption cases.  Specific services include doing home studies, providing pre/post adoption education, counseling and occasionally participating in recruitment projects.  Position may also lead IMPACT training sessions.  Principal Accountabilities: Complete adoption studies on families seeking to adopt domestic or …

GOOD NEWS:  Consumers are spending!---In the month of September consumer spending increased by 0.6 percent. That is three times the increase in spending for the month of August. This spending according to an economist is due to a transfer of income from saving to spending, because earned interest is now believed to be worthless, if not, nonexistent. Spending is tied to unemployment---the more consumers spend the greater the demand for goods, the more workers are hired to meet demand. September saw an increase in car sales, durable goods, jump to 2.2 percent. Service purchases of utilities and…

JOB HUNTING TIP: Inspiration for job seekers---Allow yourself to consider jobs that just pay the bills, and a lifestyle that is centered on something other than work. It’s hard to say this, but for some people, the career-building stage of life may need to go on hold.   TARGET CORPORATION---Seasonal Store Team Member Team Members deliver excellent service to Target guests. Help keep the Target brand experience consistent, positive and welcoming. Make a difference by responding quickly and responsively to guest and team member need. An inclusive, energetic culture. Incredible opportunity. A …

JOB HUNTING TIP: Be creative about how you use Twitter---Utilize Twitter to look for jobs in several ways. One of the most creative ways is to use Twitter is to locate and contact someone at a given company. You can use Twitter search companies to find Twitter profiles.  Search for the company that you want to work for - and you may find someone who has a profile that says, Director of Biz Dev for company X.    GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER---Nutrition Services Technician As an integral member of the Commercial Operations Department, the NUTRITION FOOD SERVICES Technician works as part of a team …

JOB HUNTING TIP: Use LinkedIn and use it well---LinkedIn is widely recognized as the best social network for career professionals. LinkedIn can be utilized as a great resource to connect with people at a company that you are interested in working for. The key on LinkedIn is to compile as many direct connections to other professionals that you can.  More direct connections will convert into more secondary connections.  So, if you want to work for Facebook, and you have 200 LinkedIn connections, there is a chance that one of your connections has a connection with someone working at Facebook. …

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Give Seasonal Work a Try--- For those with an adventurous spirit or simply wanting to take a different approach to their job hunt, we recommend giving seasonal work a try. One major perk of a seasonal job is to be able to fully commit and try out a new field, location, or job without the full-blown expectations of accepting a year-round job with similar scope. Anyone can do a job for three to six months and see if they like it. This type of work may also be a good fit for the recently laid off to fill in the gaps while looking for full time work. In our experience, seasonal …

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Follow Up---One area that I believe to be deficient in many people's job searches is follow up. Most people just email the resume or submit the application in the hopes that someone will reply, but to be successful you must be proactive. There should be a least three attempts at following up including phone and email. It should be much more than just checking to see if the resume was received. The voice mail message could be an abbreviated elevator speech, and the follow up letter could summarize all of the ways in which they are qualified. Linked in can be a great tool for …

GOOD NEWS: Lawrenceville companies and organizations are HIRING!! GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER---Public Safety Officer Must be able to deal effectively with the public in a firm but courteous manner. Must be able to perform under stressful situations, achieve work objectives and maintain the hospital's community relations philosophy. Must be able to deal with the physical elements associated with outside work assignments. Must be computer literate. Come and join us at Gwinnett Medical Center. Become a part of our team and be proud to serve the Northeast Atlanta Community. APPLY     CINTAS---…

GOOD NEWS: President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have both released jobs growth and stimulation plans.  This is considered good news because these plans at least give those that are unemployed a sense that Republicans and Democrats are finally willing to address unemployment as a vital component to the nation’s recovery.     NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ---Custodian NCI is hiring a custodial staff for its Lawrenceville, GA corporate headquarters and operations facility. The position of Custodian will be responsible for the cleaning and stocking of supplies …

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Identify Companies That Are a Fit---Don't even think about starting a job search campaign without first identifying and researching companies that will be a mutual good fit, so that you can build your brand and all your career marketing communications around what will resonate with them. If you don't know who your target audience is and you try to cover too many bases, your resume and other career documents won't hit home with anyone.---Meg Guiseppi, C-level Executive Branding and Job Search Coach, and CEO of Executive Career Brand   DANIELS & TAYLOR, PC---Receptionist/…

JOB HUNTING TIP: Job Applications---Most employers require applicants to complete a job application, even if they submit a resume and cover letter. Employers use job applications to ensure that they have consistent information for all candidates. Before you complete a job application, either online or in-person, it's important to have all the information you need to complete the application on hand. If you are applying for a position in-person, ask for an job application, then take it home with you to complete. You can take your time filling it out so it will be neat and tidy, as well as …

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Before you go on a job interview, it's important to find out as much as you can about the company. That way you'll be prepared both to answer interview questions and to ask the interviewer questions. You will also be able to find out whether the company and the company culture are a good fit for you. Take some time, in advance, to use the Internet to discover as much information as you can about the company. Spend time, as well, tapping into your network to see who you know who can help give you an interview edge over the other candidates.   CINTAS---Garment Inspector/Hanger…

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Research the Company---Before an interview, research the company online using all means available. Spend at least two hours preparing for a job interview by reading about the company online. Comb through the corporate web site (particularly the "about us" section) and search for articles in Google news to learn more about what's going on in the workplace. If you know the names of the people you are about to meet with, look at anything they've written professionally or any public information on their social networking profiles. You need to be prepared to tell your potential …

JOB HUNTING TIP: Establish Goals---It is critical that job seekers maintain a proactive and positive approach to the job search process by establishing concrete goals and setting aside adequate time each week for searching and applying to jobs. Job searching can be an exhausting experience, even more so than a full-time job, and when responses from employers don't immediately come flooding in the natural tendency is to often become discouraged and slow down or even abort the job search process altogether.---Penny Loretto, Associate Director, Skidmore College and the About.com Guide to …

JOB HUNTING TIP:  Get Current Job Listings---If job seekers would use LINKUP.com as one of their top 3 places to search for a job, they would find those jobs that are only listed on company websites and that are currently open. So much of the jobseeker frustration comes from applying for jobs that are no longer open because most job boards have out of date postings in order to look "busy."  ---GL Hoffman, CEO, LINKUP.com and JobDig.com   SUNTRUST---Teller Provide courteous and professional teller service to clients.   Handles face-to-face banking transactions in a branch, including but not …

GOOD NEWS:  On a positive note, in the month of June the number of construction jobs increased by 2,900. With an increase of service industries jobs at 2,400, the labor department reported.  While still very high, the number of long-term unemployed workers declined for the fourth consecutive month. There were 250,500 Georgians out of work for at least 27 weeks — down five-tenths of a percentage point from May.   CISCO SYSTEMS---Customer Support Representative Identity Services group within Corporate Security Programs Organization. We are an integral part of Cisco's video and data product …

Job Hunting Tip: Time Saver---Save and Tweak Your Cover Letters:  Definitely write a unique cover letter for every job you apply for. However, if a copy is saved of all the cover letters written, you can tweak and edit an existing letter to use when applying for different job opportunities. Copying, pasting, and editing are shortcuts that will save quite a bit of time.   GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH GEORGIA---Production Associate Collect donated goods, process and sell to customers according to GNG policies and procedures. Good Communication skills required; good Interpersonal Skills required…

Job Hunting Tip: Networking is the Key to Success---The key to a successful job search is networking. With more than half of all hiring done through referrals, it's critical for job seekers to leverage their professional and social networks to get an inside track on a job. Take advantage of social sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to connect with industry leaders and recruiters, and to show off your unique skills and experience. These online tools are great resources for connecting with hiring decision-makers, or those who can put you in touch with them. On SimplyHired.com, users …

GOOD NEWS: Manufacturing is leading the wave to on-shore made in America jobs. The number of new manufacturing jobs created in the past 12 months is 173,000. Manufacturing is outpacing the growth of the overall economy. With wages rising rapidly in China and Chinese workers being one-third as productive as an American worker, US labor is becoming more competitive to China. By 2015 it is predicted that production cost in the US will be about the same as it is in China. Meaning more and more companies, currently manufacturing off shore, will return to America, bringing more jobs home.   …

GOOD NEWS: Gwinnett County has the lowest unemployment rate among surrounding metro counties. As reported by the Georgia Department of Labor, Gwinnett’s unemployment rate for May was 8.8 percent. Clayton County had the highest rate with 12 percent, DeKalb and Fulton both posting 10.1 percent. Cobb County’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent, coming in second to Gwinnett. The City of Atlanta’s jobless rate was 10.6 percent. Georgia’s overall unemployment rate for the month of May increased from 9.6 percent to 9.7.   SUMMIT RIDGE HOSPITAL---Case Manager Summit Ridge Hospital specializes in the …