Cowlitz County Express Job Seekers Blog

There’s a co-worker in your office you just don’t get along with. They frequently miss deadlines, and you’ve been told they sometimes talk about you behind your back. But are they just having a bad day or is there something more complicated going on? What is a Toxic Co-worker? Before we dig in, we want to outline what a toxic co-worker is. As defined by a study put out by Harvard Business School, a toxic worker is one who “engages in behavior that is harmful to an organization, including either its property or people.” So, someone that acts in such a way as to cause emotional or physical damage to the company, it’s property, or most often, other co-workers. It doesn’t mean that they’re a bad person; just that, for whatever reason, they’re hard to work with. Here are a few warning signs to look for. They might make you choose sides. Watch out for a co-worker who doesn’t seem to have friends at work but opens up to you …

Wondering what the job landscape is going to look like this year? Express Employment Professionals International Headquarters commissions an ongoing Job Insights survey to track employment and hiring trends across a wide range of  industries to help you know what to expect. INSIGHT: Hiring Rebounds as Outlook for the First Half of 2022 Trends Upward As the economy moves past challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. hiring decision-makers are becoming more positive about the future of the workforce, with the most common feelings attributed to hiring in 2022 being optimistic (44%), hopeful (43%), and confident (43%). According to hiring decision-makers, in the first half of 2022: 60% plan to increase the number of employees at their company 33% expect no change to the number of employees 4% anticipate a decrease in employee count INSIGHT: Soft Skills Are Deemed Essential with Candidates, Reskilling a Focus for Employees With a hiring push expected in 2022, hiring managers turn their focus to looking for candidates with specific soft skills. When asked what …

By Julie Neal, Corporate Communications and PR Specialist for Express Employment Professionals International Headquarters As more and more baby boomers reach retirement age every day, companies are scrambling to find their replacements in a historically difficult labor market. The “Greatest Generation” is ready to spend more time with their families, sightsee around the world, and pass the baton onto the next generation. But what if these valuable employees could have the best of both worlds with flexible work schedules and other benefits so employers aren’t left in a lurch? The answer could be semi-retirement. According to a recent survey from The Harris Poll, commissioned by Express Employment Professionals, the majority of employees say they’d like to participate semi-retirement, either by having a flexible work schedule (79%), transitioning to a consulting role (66%),  or working reduced hours with reduced benefits (59%). However, only around 1 in 5 (21%) say their employer offers semi-retirement. “Our workforce is losing a big generation that has workforce skills and talents we will be short of …

Jobs don’t always turn out like we think they will. Maybe you start a job and find it just isn’t for you, or you got laid off multiple times early on in the pandemic. Perhaps you start a job but have to move because your significant other got a new job or because you need to take care of a sick loved one. Whatever your reason, your resume makes you look like a job hopper, which might scare off potential employers. They want someone that’s going to be in it for the long haul. According to Glassdoor, the average cost to hire is $4,000, and employers don’t want to spend that money on someone who leaves in a few months. So, if you have numerous jobs in a short amount of time, you’ll almost certainly get asked why in an interview. And even if you don’t, it’s something you should acknowledge and explain. Here’s how. Tell the Truth You might be tempted to hide your reasons for job hopping, but …

It’s a new year, and with a new year comes new goals. What is it you really want to do? Snag a new job? Change careers entirely? Get a promotion? Or maybe you just want to be happier and healthier than you were last year. When it comes to goals, nothing is too big or too small. It all depends on what you personally want to accomplish. Here’s how to kick things off. Start with lists If you’re not sure what you want your goals to be this year that’s totally okay! It’s still early, and you have plenty of time to decide. One way to help narrow down what you really want is by making lists. For example, you can make a list for what you want to accomplish at your current job, a list for what you want out of your career, a list for what you enjoy doing at work, etc. Once your lists are done, look for any crossover in your different lists to help make …

We’re a few weeks into the new year, and if you haven’t set goals yet, it’s time to hunker down and get started. A great first goal? Updating your resume! Whether you’re looking for a new job or just want to tune things up, we’re here to help. Here are a few things to adjust in your resume this year. Get rid of old jobs If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, you’re likely to have plenty of jobs on your resume. But when it comes to the job search, you need to tailor your resume for newer jobs. That means taking out anything that isn’t up to date. If you’re looking for an office job for example, you’ll just want two to three of your most recent jobs and not anything too far beyond that. But you can still keep those older jobs on LinkedIn if you think they could be relevant in the future! Change up formatting What does your resume formatting look like? If you …

Sometimes our favorite food is one that offends the noses of our co-workers. Maybe it’s a fearsome fish or a bowl of hard-boiled eggs. Or perhaps whatever you’re eating, unbeknownst to you, is just loud to consume. You might think you’re nibbling on your pretzels, but to anyone sitting near you it’s the most annoying sound imaginable. Honestly, if you’ve done any of the above, we can’t really blame you. Sometimes we just don’t know a food is perturbing until someone tells us. So we are, telling you some foods to avoid outside the breakroom. Fish This one is probably the most frequent complaint on our list. For whatever reason, microwaved fish leaves a foul smell behind. We’re not scientists, but to put it simply, this happens because of the way the microwave breaks down the fatty acids in the fish. Even if you personally like the smell of microwaved fish, for many people it’s a strong smell they aren’t exactly fond of. Crunchy Pretzels or Chips If you can …

Explore a career as a medical lab technician! Despite already having experience with several jobs, many working adults are unable to answer the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our Job Spotlight monthly blog series is designed to help answer that question. In this series, we review all the basics of specific jobs, from pay and duties, to why people do the jobs they do. Medical Lab Technician In this month’s Job Spotlight, we’re learning what it means to be a medical lab technician. Required Education: Generally, an associate’s degree. Pay Although pay varies depending on a variety of factors (e.g. experience, industry, geographic area, etc.), substitute medical lab technicians make an average of $52,330. What Medical Lab Technicians Do: Medical Lab Technicians deal with a variety of responsibilities, including: Conducting tests and forwarding results to requesting physicians Keeping track of test result records Maintaining testing instruments to ensure quality control Generally collecting and interpreting data Preparing and storing specimens Interacting with and frequently …

It’s hard to believe it’s already 2022! Whether you exceeded or didn’t quite meet your goals in 2021, it’s time to set new ones for this year. We want to know what kind of New Year’s Resolutions you have for 2022! Whether it’s something personal, professional, or somewhere in between, we want to hear about it. Let us know by voting in our poll.

Since 2021 is ending, (we know, we can’t believe it either) we wanted to take a step back and look at your favorite Job Journey blogs this year. We went through a lot together, from resume tips to interview struggles to kooky co-workers. Here are your top three blogs of 2021. Should You Lie on Your Resume? Plenty of friends and family will tell you it’s totally fine to lie on your resume. After all, what are the chances a hiring manager will even find out? Pretty high, it turns out. And even if they don’t, it’s bound to come up sooner or later when you’re on the job. Instead of lying, try to fix your resume in other ways, like checking on your formatting or spelling. The reason you’re not getting job offers might not have anything to do with your job history or experience. Explaining Why You Left a Toxic Job in an Interview You left your old job for a good reason. Maybe it’s because of nepotism, …