Many San Francisco newcomers relocate to the Bay Area as part of a company transfer or a career switch, with a new job already secured. But often, they are accompanied by a spouse or other family members who need to find a job. Even current San Francisco Bay Area workers often have children who need a job for the summer or a permanent position after graduation. No matter the circumstance, San Francisco has the resources to help job seekers of all types achieve their goals.

With a growing workforce of 995,000 jobs in the West Bay counties of Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo, the area offers many career possibilities to keep active job seekers busy. Employment opportunities abound for the professional, the technical worker, the skilled worker and the student.

According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), between January 2008 and February 2008, job gains in the West Bay counties increased by 6,900 jobs. Additional findings as follows:

•         Private educational and health services rose by 2,900 jobs, mainly due to an increase in payrolls at colleges, universities and professional schools after the winter break.

•         Professional and business services posted an average seasonal gain of 1,500 jobs, largely in professional, scientific and technical services.

•         Leisure and hospitality netted a better-than-average seasonal increase of 1,300 jobs, largely in restaurants and other food services.

•         Retail trade registered an average seasonal loss of 1,800 jobs as stores continued to lay off temporary workers hired for the holiday shopping season.

Job-Search Tips

Employment experts advise to search for work with a positive attitude and determination. Job leads can come from many sources, including talking to people, networking with business contacts, checking out personnel services, answering newspaper ads, searching the Internet and inquiring about local professional networks and hotlines in specific industries.

The Job Forum of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce helps people help themselves in their job search. The Chamber’s approach is on intelligently planning and conducting the job-finding campaign. The Chamber offers customized brainstorming and problem-solving to job seekers.

The Job Forum is neither a placement service nor an employment agency. While it receives information on job openings (and announces these where relevant), it is not a placement service and does not have jobs to offer. The Job Forum is a community service sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and run completely through volunteer efforts. Visit the website at www.thejobforum.org.

The Job Forum approach is to focus on each individual's job search, one at a time, within the context of a group forum, staffed by volunteer panelists, each who is knowledgeable about the Bay Area job market and job-search techniques that work. The panel represents an interesting cross section of business (including large companies, mid-size firms and sole proprietorships) and nonprofit organizations. The panel has expertise in high technology, e-commerce, marketing, consulting and human resources.

Advice, counsel and brainstorming are adapted to your job search questions and your particular questions or need for helpful suggestions. In effect, the Job Forum volunteer panelists brainstorm on your behalf and coach you about your job search so that you can be more successful. All attendees are invited to discuss their own situation, offer helpful suggestions to others and ask questions in an open forum. Job Forum meetings are free and held every Wednesday evening from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Chamber’s offices at 235 Montgomery St., in the large conference room on the 12th fl.

The Job Forum functions as a gateway to assist those seeking job assistance. Among the resources, include:

•         Helpful job search and career resources.

•         Other helpful job search organizations and the advantages of what they offer.

•         Other associations, clubs or professional organizations in your target industry.

•         Information about specific job fairs, websites, libraries, publications and books that can be helpful.

•         Using the Internet as an important tool in the job search process – both in terms of research as well as a resource for jobs and a place to post your résumé.

•         Professional perspective on the interviewing process and negotiating once a job is located.

•         Résumés are a never-ending source of discussion – they can be written chronologically (by date), functionally (by skill, type of work) and submitted electronically.

Additional job-search resources include:

Bay Area Career Center (BACC)

57 Post St., Ste. 804
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-398-4881
www.bayareacareercenter.com

Monday to Saturday, 9 am-5 pm

•         Credentialed career counselors and coaches

•         Career-relevant workshops

•         Job-support groups

•         Networking opportunities are by appointment only.

EDD Workforce Services

State of California Employment Development Department in partnership with One-Stop Career Link San Francisco Career Link Civic Center
801 Turk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-749-7503
www.caljobs.ca.gov

Open Monday to Friday, 8 am-5 pm
Provides no-fee employment services including:

•         Access to phones, Internet, printers, fax machines and copy machines

•         Résumé preparation, interviewing  techniques and other job-search workshops

•         Labor market information

•         On-site recruitments

•         Information about job fairs, events and special services

•         CalJOBS^SM, California’s Internet job opening and résumé listing system, at www.caljobs.ca.gov

Jewish Vocational Service

225 Bush St., Ste. 400
West Entrance, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-391-3600
www.jvs.org

Monday to Friday, 9 am-5 pm

•         Career and Employment Counseling

•         Job Training and Placement Services

•         Training in health care industry, computer technology and CADD/ProE

•         JVS Jobs Online - interactive job search database

Media Alliance

942 Market St., Ste. 503
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-546-6334
www.media-alliance.org

Organization for writers, graphic artists and editors. Membership is $65 and is available by appointment only with one weeks notice.  Job File access $25/year if member; Job File Mailings

Mac Lab Free for members; open Mon., Fri., Sat. 1 pm to 5 pm and Wed. 1 pm to 8 pm.

The Job Forum also lists local job websites, including these below.

Employment Listings – Bay Area

•         www.680careers.com

•         www.bacareers.com

•         www.bajobs.com

•         www.bayareahelpwanted.com

•         www.craigslist.org

•         www.sfgate.com/jobs/

•         www.valleyjobs.com

•         www.EastBayCareers.com

•         www.NorthBayCareers.com

•         www.SacramentoCareers.com

•         www.SanFranciscoCareers.com

•         www.SantaCruzCareers.com

•         www.SiliconValleyCareers.com

The Job Forum includes many other sites that are industry-specific. Click on the Internet link under the Resources category at www.thejobforum.com to view more listings.

Other avenues for job hunting include the web pages of large and mid-size companies, and local librarians are very helpful in assisting job seekers to find directories that list companies in specific fields. University alumni magazines and directories often list current companies and titles of their graduates. In addition to the San Francisco Public Library, job seekers can visit libraries at colleges and universities in the Bay Area.

Spouse Employment Assistance

If your spouse has been transferred or accepted a new position, find out if the employer offers spouse employment assistance programs to assist you in getting quickly adjusted in the new community, with minimal loss of income. Services could include, but not be limited to offering:

•         Employment search consultation

•         Career goal development

•         Individualized action plan

•         Résumé assistance

•         Target company lists

•         Job search and job development skills

•         Licensing requirement information (teachers, nurses and others)

•         Résumé writing and interview skills

•         Workbooks, including sample résumés and best practice guidelines

•         Dedicated website, including self assessment and job search links

•         Administrative support

Opportunities Abound

The Bay Area offers employment for people with all types of skills and educational levels. Be sure to check the San Francisco Chronicle, the city’s largest daily newspaper, which has includes an extensive employment classified section. Many local communities have newspapers that list jobs specifically for their coverage area. In addition to looking through classified advertisements, job seekers can review the business sections of the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Business Times for information about companies that are expanding in the area. The San Francisco Business Times also publishes an annual Book of Lists, which includes a list of top business performers in many categories and can provide a useful reference resource to companies you may be interested in.

Networking

The ability to network is considered as important in finding a job as combing through classified ads. To network, job seekers should contact everyone they know in the area. Professionals also can find contacts by attending seminars, conferences, community meetings, volunteer groups, hobby clubs and professional association activities.

San Francisco is home to local chapters of professional associations in almost every field. Contact professional organizations in fields of interest through the web. Many activities are listed in local newspapers’ in a “Calendar of Events” section. Job hunters also may contact people who work in a specific field to inquire about professional associations in the San Francisco area.

Read publications from these associations and contact their job hotlines and websites. Attend meetings and exchange business cards. Later, contact the people from the meeting and inquire about job openings.

For its members, the Chamber produces a number of signature events along with more than 200 business programs. All of the Chamber’s events and programs are opportunities to meet and build relationships with other members. Visit the Chamber’s website at www.sfchamber.com for information on upcoming events.

Personnel/Staffing Services

Many personnel and/or staffing services in San Francisco offer full-time or temporary placement. Client companies pay the fee for most full-time personnel services. There are a few personnel services where the applicant pays the fee, so it is important to determine who is responsible for any fees before registering with a personnel service.

Engineers, attorneys, accountants and information technology professionals are especially in demand for temporary or contract positions. Also, there is a high demand for temporary workers for industrial, secretarial, bookkeeping, telemarketing, clerical, receptionist, customer service and other types of positions.

Numerous temporary jobs turn into full-time positions. In fact, many companies prefer to hire through the temp-to-hire process. It gives both the applicant and the company a “try-out” period before the temporary employee converts to the company’s full-time payroll.

Résumé Services

The value of having a strong résumé cannot be overstated because résumés are an important aspect of getting an interview. For this reason, an applicant should target his or her résumé and cover letter to a specific industry or business.

The résumé should be clean, concise and accurate, emphasizing the best qualities and most recent experience of the job seeker. Résumés should be no longer than two pages, but a one-page résumé is better. People will take an average of 20 seconds to scan a résumé to determine if they will read further. In large companies, human resource personnel who know little about a particular type of work often prescreen résumés.

The résumé should encourage the reader to take a closer look at the individual’s qualifications and lead to an interview. Good books on résumés are available at libraries and bookstores and can help the job seeker make their résumé sparkle. There are many résumé services that can help prepare a professional-looking résumé. Also, many copy facilities employ desktop publishing professionals who have experience in writing résumés.

The Chamber’s Job Forum website also includes tips on résumés at www.thejobforum.org. Featured is information contributed by Jean Ellingsen, a longtime Job Forum panelist and updated for the Internet age. She addresses topics, such as the essential parts of a résumé, how to build a résumé and what shouldn’t be included in a résumé.

Skills Needed for Top
Occupations

EDD’s Labor Market Information Division recently completed an analysis of the skills needs for top occupations in each industry, as part of a recent Labor Market and Economic Analysis in support of State workforce planning. Despite the range of jobs identified in each industry, and the range of skills needed for the differing jobs, it is interesting to note that certain skills are commonly required across industries and occupations and include the important skills identified by the Conference board survey. They are listed below, along with definitions of these skills from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET).

•         Active listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting inappropriately.

•         Coordination – Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

•         Critical thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

•         Judgment and decision-making – Considering the costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

•         Mathematics – Using mathematics to solve problems.

•         Reading comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in workrelated documents.

•         Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively (in most instances, the ability to communicate in English is explicitly stated or inferred).

•         Time management – Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Niche Jobs in the Bay Area

The workplace adapts as society, technology and the labor force change, and it seems never quicker than in California. According to California’s EDD, niche jobs emerge in response to factors such as an aging population, environmental concerns and the increasing need or desire for personal services. Oftentimes, regional considerations also determine job needs in specific areas.

•         Massage Therapists – These therapists work to ease pain, relieve stress and improve the health and well being of their clients. In the San Francisco Bay Area region, there are an average of 141 job openings expected each year between 2004 and 2014.

•         Skin Care Specialists – Also called estheticians, these workers can earn about $15 per hour in base pay. About 180 job openings will occur in the Bay Area through 2014. Most often, they work indoors in salons, health and beauty spas or medical offices.

Here are some additional jobs found throughout the state that the EDD refers to as “niche jobs” taken from employer surveys and classified ads:

•         Background Specialists – Most firms now require background checks on prospective employees. These specialists, many who work independently, research and report any criminal history, past worker’s compensation claims, and driving record. They also verify educational degrees claimed and past employment experience cited on résumés. The median wage for this occupation is $15.13 per hour in California.

•         Dexa Technologists – These technologists conduct whole body, forearm, central hip, and spine bone density tests. As the population ages in California, and the popularity of diagnostic testing grows, the demand for these workers is expected to rise. The median wage in California is $19.33 per hour.

•         Ergonomic Specialists – This health and safety specialist completes “ergo” assessments at a job site to make sure work stations and chairs are positioned to the optimum comfort and safety of employees. They make recommendations and order equipment to retrofit stations. The median hourly wage for these workers in California: $33.83.

•         Relationship Managers – These managers, found increasingly in financial institutions and IT firms, develop and manage relationships with commercial clients in assigned business segments or geographic areas. They also manage the overall profitability and portfolio risk of clients. The median hourly wage in California is $26.49.

•         Traffic Analysts – These logistics specialists coordinate the movement of goods from foreign vendors, through customs and to their destination. The median hourly wage in California is $33.28.

•         Legal Videographers – These specialists videotape the increasing number of depositions in California’s legal industry. They then burn DVDs of the procedures and synchronize recordings to transcripts for legal firms and courts. The median hourly wage in California is $17.86.

•         Estate Sales Agents – These workers direct the sale of an entire household, often after one or both of the homeowners has passed away. Agents, often antique appraisers or realtors as well, advertise the sale, help the client price items, and represent the family in negotiating prices offered for items. Payment comes in the form of commission, usually between 25 and 40 percent of total sales.

•                  Blog Editors –  Blog sites are not just for MySpace teens. This job title is starting to emerge, but most likely will be seen more often as a skill required in job openings for writers and editors. In California, the median hourly wage for writers and editors in general is $24.06.