If you're a savvy job hunter who knows that 80 percent of job vacancies are filled through networking before they ever "hit the street" then you are probably already networking through family, friends, professional associations, college alumni, volunteering and social media. But, are you tapping into talent communities? If not, start now. In a few minutes you could be directly connected to an employer whose team you've been dying to join.

Companies with large recruiting budgets are building online forums, known as talent communities, to engage with potential candidates long before trying to hire them. They can be found in the careers sections of companies’ websites. You can sign up using a social media account or by providing basic contact information, share a little about yourself and the types of jobs you have your eye on and that's it! You will have opened yourself to a whole new level of networking.

Take for example, Zappos, a company that invites you to become an Insider in just a few clicks. Zappos considers its talent community the best way for you and them to get to know each other and touts the Zappos Insider (Jobs.jobvite.com/zappos/p/inside) as "a special membership for people who want to stay in touch with us, learn more about our fun, zany culture, know what's happening at our company, get special inside perspectives and receive team specific updates from areas are most interested in."

Marriott International calls its talent community hospitalityonline and has a Facebook page (@marriottjobsandcareers) where you can meet the talent community crew who are ‘the official voices of Marriott International who are here to converse with you on social media channels.”

Recruiting approaches like these obviously benefit the employers, but don't take lightly the fact that they can also push you way ahead of your job market competition. Imagine this:

-    Instead of trying to dig up information about what's going on in a company, the information will literally come to you.

-    Instead of getting emails blasts about anything and everything, you decide what types of alerts you want to receive, like those about products and services, business happenings and affiliations with local community organizations.

-    Instead of reading generic FAQs and marketing material, opt to attend company-specific webinars, chats and other online events that enable you to interact with recruiters, current employees and past employees who want you to ask burning questions and who will give you answers.

-    Instead of reading through countless job boards and applying for everything, find out only about jobs for which you are best suited before they are announced to the general public, which narrows down the field of competition and that's the whole point, right?

Once you have gotten to know the company and employees, and become known to them, use all the insight you've gleaned from the experience to present the best picture of how you are a match for that company. Tailor your resume, application and cover letter, and do mock interviews to practice showing how well-informed you are when the right job comes around. Not only might you find yourself on the short list of candidates, but you may soon find yourself on the other side of that very same talent community, providing a leg up to others. Recruiters are going out of their way to find YOU. Be found!

After all, as the saying goes, "If you stay ready, you never have to get ready."

By Amy Nielsen

I saw a meme yesterday, in the middle of a space cadet moment, while writing this blog.

It said: “I love planners, highlighters, giant calendars, nice ball point pens, to do lists, and anything else that gives me the illusion that I am getting my [stuff] together.”

Some days, those memes get it just right.

Now that I have been through the ringer, and have had the proverbial kick in the pants, I need to figure out exactly what I want to do with myself. I have been making lists of what I loved about working away from home, and what I love about being home.

And, what I really don’t like about both.

One of my professors recently gave a lecture about the benefits of writing daily. I have tried this practice from several different points: morning Pages, 300 words a Day, journaling, guided writing and free associations. I always find myself falling off the wagon. I stop. Something gets in the way of my taking the time to write. But I always spend an hour or so in the morning, usually on Pinterest, or on my lists. So, I have come to understand that this is how I chose to do my daily processing. And that it is ok to have a different process than someone else.

I am a list maker. I use them to help me remember things but also to organize and reorganize my thoughts. Of course I have the regular grocery shopping list, daily to do list, long term to do list, Honey Do list, and many others. But these are not the kind of lists I am working on now. The ones I am working on now are more like spreadsheets. They are thought process catalogs. A way to see the branches of the tree I could be part of. I have so many options I need to see them all out at once.

There are many different forms a list can take. If you are a visual learner you might work on a set of lists that look more like ven diagrams or neat bullet pointed graphic masterpieces. If you learn better by listening, set reminders for yourself in your phone to complete certain tasks.

Some of my lists I have to write by hand or I don’t process what is on them. Some I can do on the computer or in my phone and be just fine. Some lists come to me in other places, like books on the shelf. Lists can be about juxtaposition and opposites, just as much as they can be about likes.

I particularly like a site called Pinterest for creating lists. Oh yes, that Pinterest. The hours of your life sucking, gee Nancy that looks easy -FAIL, Pinterest.

But let’s be clear what it really is. It is a visual list board. And I use it as such to help me with the visual side of my lists. It is a brilliant place for someone like me to keep stuff. Like every one of you, I have about 300 different boards and well over 5,000 pins. Followers? Not my thing. I know I have them, but I use it for me, not for you.

I like that I can see all of my pins chronologically so I can see the progression of my thought pattern. Unless I find out that something I pinned was either plagiarized, copyright infringed, or just plain wrong, I never unpin something.

Lists for me are also chronological. They help me order things in time as well as in categories. To that end I have one main calendar in the kitchen we use as a family. It is always the same one. Same layout, color scheme, and same SKU from the big box office supply store.

Everyone in the family knows, if it is not on that calendar it doesn’t exist. With all of the changes we have had over the last two months, that poor calendar is a right ole mess. My “need to move on and see what is happening now” self is screaming to go buy a new calendar so it will be clean.

There is a part of me that says, we always keep the same calendar every year, all year, no matter how crazy. In fact, they go in the year-end financial box when we change over in December, so why change it now? I should keep a record of this chaos like I always do. Just because it is my chaos, not Navy chaos, is no different. Besides, in September when the page flips, I won’t see it anymore.

While all of this thinking time is good, the clock keeps moving on and I do need to make sure I do not become stuck in this moment, in the processing. There is, and will be, a fine line and I think a defining moment when it will be time to stop listing and start doing.

I have set up several meetings with people who I have identified as having interesting ideas and possible input from a third party review. I have a concrete timeline for when I want to be starting the real business process. I have personal and financial goals for the immediate and near future. But first, I need to take the time to dream and percolate what direction I really want to go in since there are so many options out there for me now.

By Christine Cioppa

It’s that time of year to start stocking up on ink, paper, pens and other supplies for the start of a new semester or school year—for both ourselves and our kids. Checking the weekly circulars for hot deals in your local area can help. But a little online digging can get you even more good deals. Here are a few ways to keep more money in your pocket this fall and throughout the year.

1 Cent Paper Reams

From time to time, Staples.com lists 8.5”x11” paper reams for once cent after rebate. Go to staples.com and select “Deals” in the dropdown. Click on Coupons. Right now, you can find Hammermill brand ream for 1 cent with easy rebate. (In-Store Coupon Code 19470)

http://www.staples.com/coupons/?icid=HP:HP:DEALSDROP:COUPON:TEXT:WEEKLY:20140101:0

Dollar Deals

Head on over to your local dollar store or Dollar Tree for $1 deals on everything from binders and notebooks to pen multi-packs and tape. Everything is really $1 at many “dollar” stores. If you don’t have one in your town, you can buy online at https://www.dollartree.com.

$4 Flash Drives

Get 16 GB of memory with a Lexar Jump Drive for $3.99 at Office Depot—right now. With this sale you save $11 per drive. Stock up!

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/326118/Lexar-JumpDrive-TwistTurn-USB-20-Flash/

Discounted Ink Cartridges

While many big office supply stores have excellent ink reward programs, you can save a fortune by buying from vendors that sell off-brand replacement ink cartridges. The quality is comparable, though ink may leak out during installation for some types. A little extra TLC during installation is a small price to pay to save up to 80 percent off ink. Here are a few places to check out:

http://www.compandsave.com/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=orderdetails

http://www.inkpal.com

http://www.123inkjets.com/

School Supply Database for Lowest Prices

Want the best deal now? Check out Passion for Savings website. You can sign up for e-mail alerts to be notified of deals and you can search the database for the best school supply prices at major retailers such as Staples, Walmart, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Target. Right now, Walmart is selling two-pocket folders for .15 cents each. Walgreens has Index Cards for 3/$1—cheaper than Staples and Walmart.

http://www.passionforsavings.com/back-to-school-supplies-price-list/

Have questions about your education benefits? Not sure what schools are most military friendly?

Tomorrow the Department of Defense is hosting an online education fair to answer those questions.

The fair is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, Aug. 11.

Organizers say this is the second installation of the pilot program and is intended to make higher education more accessible to military members, veterans and family members.

You must register to participate but registration will be open throughout the event.

Register at: www.dodeducationfair.com

The fair will include participation from more than 40 academic institutions and government organizations. You will be able to ask questions about education benefits and how to access them as well.

By Amy Nielsen 

I am not really sure how to describe what is going through my head right now. In the past week I have felt higher highs and lower lows than I have ever in my life; including the phone call telling me of the death of my father in a car crash; including the possible still-birth of our second child while my husband was deployed to Afghanistan without communication home.

 I went to Colorado on the offer and verbal agreement to do a specific job. It quickly became apparent that that job was in fact far larger than I had originally thought. And, the problems that came with it, both professionally and personally, were much deeper than I expected.

I decided it was not possible to complete the job in a fashion I felt professionally comfortable with. I am perfectly capable of doing the work, just not under those circumstances. That decision triggered a whole host of personal conflicts and issues I was unaware were so tightly wrapped up in this project. I was, and still am, broken from the ordeal; in heart, spirit and body.

I turned to my tribe. Those that came, came running in force to bring me spirit, heart, encouragement, gentle and not so gentle criticism. These are the people I love deeply. I honor and trust them. Their support is the deep well that I draw from to keep me rolling forward, especially now when I feel so fragile.

 I have never felt more supported by the family, the tribe I have curated and cultivated across the far reaches of the globe who had my back in this moment. But, at the same time, I have been left quite literally hanging in the wind by people standing next to me who I thought were my heart.

What frightens me now, as I re-read what I posted on social media less than 24 hours ago, is the lack of response from friends and family who are trained in crisis management. Who, when they hear a cry for help from a stranger, have professional training that causes them to drop everything and help. Now, that I was in need, the opposite response was given to me. There was no help. It was devastating.

I am not a person who makes phone calls or confronts someone easily with a deeply personal matter. It makes me physically ill to think of my response to those conversations. To feel and replay the lack of empathy and the lack of compassion from people I considered to be part my heart rips me to the bone. 

I started my drive from Colorado back to New York in a frightening state. I was still unsure of exactly how to go home from where I had been. So much has changed. So much has happened. So much has been said that I am unsure exactly how to exist right now.

The planes of the Midwest and the rolling hills of the heartland were a meditative soothing balm to my tattered mind. The wheels and miles rolling ever farther away from there and yet ever closer to here. Once I hit Des Moines though, it was all downhill into the seething pits of the humanity of the East.

Moving along and rolling forward, brings me finally and irrevocably to the state of New York. I think I am beginning to believe Billy Joel. It's a New York state of mind I need to achieve before going home.

I have to figure out how to assimilate all of these emotions bubbling to the surface. And I will take another couple nights of sorting myself out before I try to enter back into the womb I was delivered from four weeks ago.

I am alone in my house right now, a rare thing these days.

The kids are out of school and my husband switched out of his job last month to focus on retirement and out-processing, so he only goes into work for a short time each day.

Which means I went from spending most of my time alone to having three other people in the house, almost constantly.

I love my quiet time. I love being alone. I don’t even mind going out for lunch by myself, or shopping by myself or taking a long road trip with no other company but my iTunes playlists.

But, this is going to be my life for the next year or so as my husband retires and my family and I travel the U.S. in our fifth wheel trailer. We will be together. All the time.

I’ve thought a lot about what all that together time will mean for our family. Hopefully we will grow closer, and repair some of the bonds that have been weakened by deployments and work and stress.

I’ve thought about how my two kids might react to spending so much time together in close quarters, how my husband might need some time to get used to actually being a part of the family, and even how our cat Chuey will adapt.

What I didn’t really think about was me and what I would need to do to make this work.

I have been in charge of the household for the entire 26 years my husband and I have been married. I take care of all the finances, vehicle maintenance, and vacation planning. I deal with house hunting, vehicle shipping, loan applications and everything PCS-related.

Since we have kids, I have been, for the most part, the sole authority figure in the house. I take them to the doctor, sports practices and school. I help them make new friends and say goodbye to the old ones. I talk to them about the important things in life and feed them and make sure they have everything they need to be healthy and happy.

This is true for most military spouses I know. We all run the house, the family and get done whatever needs to be done.

I’m not saying my husband does nothing. He’s a great dad and does what he can when he can. And, obviously, he provides for us financially in a way that I could not, while at the same time serving his soldiers, their families, his commanders and his country.

That is pretty impressive. But what I’ve realized is this: I feel a sense of power and control over my household. And now that my husband is around to share the burden, I have to figure out how to let him.

I need to pull back and let him co-parent. I need to let him answer when the kids ask if they can have a sleepover with friends or go to the movies or need some money. I need to let him talk to them about the important things in life. I need to let him do his thing, even if it’s not necessarily the way I would do it.

I have a real partner in the household duties now. This is something most of us military spouses are not used to.

But once I do get used to it? I think I am going to like it.

Several states have enacted legislation this summer to close the pay gap between men and women.

This week Massachusetts made it illegal for job seekers to tell potential employers their current salary. Instead, employers must make an offer first, based on the individual’s worth to the company. It is the first state to enact this type of law.

Earlier this year Maryland lawmakers passed legislation that requires equal pay for what they call comparable work. Last year California began requiring employers to prove that pay was equal for men and women who are doing similar jobs.

Massachusetts and 12 other states also require companies to allow employees to discuss with each other how much they are paid.

Federal law currently prohibits companies from paying one gender more than the other. But, that type of discrimination is difficult to prove. And even with extra efforts by lawmakers, the gap between men and women’s paycheck can be found in almost every type of job.

The United States Census Bureau reports that women are paid 79 cents for every dollar that men earn.  African-American women earn 64 cents and Latina women earn 56 cents for every dollar earned by a non-Hispanic man.

Nationally, Congress has tried to pass the national anti-secrecy law, the Paycheck Fairness Act. However, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly blocked the bill from becoming law.

Some employers have taken the matter into their own hands.

In June, 28 businesses across the U.S. signed the Equal Pay Pledge, promoted by the White House. The pledge requires the companies to audit salaries annually to find gaps in pay by gender. Companies who signed the commitment include Dow Chemical Company, Amazon and PepsiCo.

To read more about the Equal Pay Pledge, please visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/06/14/businesses-taking-equal-pay-pledge

I think we can safely say that I am about as far from where I was when I started writing this blog. As if I were on the dark side of the moon.

I was a mom, going back to school. Almost overnight I became a chef’s assistant, traveling the country.

Then, my job fell apart hours before we were supposed to leave due to logistical issues. However, it was an amicable split, with the chef understanding the vast insurmountable technical issues we were going to continue to have running the tour the way he had originally intended.

For his part he will return to the planning stages. He left with the understanding that while he was not going to run the full tour he will be doing a few select shows over the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, I will research to see if this plan, with some fundamental changes, can be made to better suit another chef: me.

I continue to be on the road every day, researching, learning and planning.

It will be my kitchen. And I am, by far, my hardest boss.

My relationship to everyone and everything close to this endeavor has changed. The only way this business will be successful is if I am personally successful in choosing the right team to make it happen.

I am well aware that I am not a financial person or a marketer, or even particularly personable when I get motivated, so I know I have to have other people to help me. Finding people as dedicated to this as I am, who can show me in actions that they can hang, is going to be tough. Words are easy, commitment is really hard. Especially in this industry. Either you show up and do it or you don’t. Excuses don’t cut it.

I am lucky that I have a large network of friends already in this business of travelling festival work whose booths are dissimilar enough that we can exchange ideas and information without jeopardizing each other’s profit margins.

Having that insight is going to be key to making sure I don’t make too many stupid rookie mistakes. I also hate to reinvent the wheel, so if there are people out there who are willing to help me with constructive criticism, I am going to take advantage of that knowledge.

With this project there has always been a finite time line. Now is no different. What has changed is what I am presenting and to whom.

In order to be ready to jump on the midsized festival circuit, I need to have recipes ready by mid-February, 2017. My full setup, truck and traveling kitchen, needs to be ready to roll by the end of March.

In the mean time I have to source everything from festivals to apply to, funding and grants, bison hearts, trade associations, organic buckwheat, and trailer specs for gross tow weights for a diesel truck versus an unleaded fifteen passenger van and health department regulations for at least 15 states.

All from a 21-foot RV. While driving from Colorado to upstate New York and back again. Repeatedly.

I like to meet insurmountable technical challenges with a force of nature team united in vision, goal, and song. I am working hard to build just that.

By Christine Cioppa

It’s been drilled into our heads that UV light is bad for our eyes, so we wear sunglasses outdoors. Now, we’re hearing the same about computer blue light. Blue light does, in fact, affect vision, but what’s fact and what’s myth?

FACT OR MYTH?

Blue light affects vision

Fact. But not in the way you think. Blue light is a short-wave light that our eyes perceive and transmit into images in our brain. It is a naturally occurring light from the sun and an artificial light from electronic devices and fluorescent bulbs, including compact fluorescent bulbs.

Hours and hours spent on computers, tablets and cellphones can make eyes work harder and cause eye strain. “We know that blue light, from a computer screen or tablet or cell phone, makes it harder to focus,” said Adam Gordon, O.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.O., clinical associate professor of Optometry at UAB School of Optometry. Compared to an image in a printed book or page, Gordon says “a pixilated electronic image is definitely harder for the eyes to maintain a clear, sharp, consistent focus.” Because of this, “blue light can contribute to eye strain or eye fatigue,” he says.

THE FIX: Gordon says follow the 20/20/20 rule. “It means after 20 minutes of continuously viewing the computer screen, it’s best to look away from the screen and look at something at about 20 feet away, off in the distance, for about 20 seconds.” He suggests focusing out the window, down the hallway or on some distant object, which he says will give the focusing mechanism in the eyes a break before you go back to reading or studying. “Also there are OTC lubricating drops or moisturizing drops that can relieve some of the dryness associated with staring at a computer.”

Blue light affects sleep

Fact. Blue light affects circadian rhythm or the body’s sleep-wake cycle. “It does this by inhibiting the melatonin production, that normally occurs in the brain, which helps us get drowsy and fall asleep at our bedtime,” explains Gordon.

“If someone is staring at their cellphone, tablet or computer, or studying for exams extensively for many hours in the night, then tries to go to bed, there may be an effect from the excessive blue light exposure,” says Gordon. “It may make it harder to fall asleep … or even get restful beneficial sleep that you’ll need.”

THE FIX: Use computer screens or eyeglass lenses that minimize or block blue light. Also, shift Apple devices to the nightshift setting.

“There are screen protectors that you can buy that are fairly inexpensive for most computer monitors, tablets, and just about any kind of cell phone. What it does is block some of the blue short wavelengths coming out of the device.”

Adjusting your electronic settings may help too. “In the latest version of the Apple operating system, especially with the cell phones, there is this nightshift setting. This setting on Apple devices basically shifts the color spectrum from the normal one to more colors in the yellow, orange, red end of the spectrum. The idea is to do this at night or in the evening after dinner, before bedtime,” says Gordon.

Blue Light Causes Macular Degeneration

Likely False. There’s been lots of controversy about the link to this eye disease and blue light, but Dr. Gordon has not seen evidence of this. “Just based on the fact that the exposure from outdoor sunlight is so many more times intense than anything coming from a computer, or a cell phone or a fluorescent light bulb, in my opinion, it is unlikely that there is really any threat of physical damage to the eye, including macular degeneration.”

Read more about blue light and vision at:

http://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/back-forth-controversy-on-blue-filtering-iols

https://www.uab.edu/news/youcanuse/item/7258-debunking-digital-eyestrain-and-blue-light-myths

The retirement process can be a tricky one, between all the paperwork, figuring out your finances, looking for a job and finding a place to live.

Most of the basic information is covered in the transition briefs that service members are required to attend, and, with a little digging, other basic facts can be found on the internet.

But just like anything else in life, there are bound to be some unexpected reality checks. I polled some of my already-retired friends and asked them: “What are the most surprising things about military retirement ... from a spouse's point of view?”

Here are their top five answers:

1. Taxes – Several spouses noted that they owed way more federal income taxes than expected, especially in the first year after retirement. Remember that a good chunk of active duty pay – specifically housing allowances, cost of living allowances and combat pay – are tax free. Obviously this will vary, but if you have retirement pay, plus a good-paying civilian job, you might find yourself in a higher tax bracket than when you were active duty. That tax rate could skyrocket if you retire in the middle of a year and your W2 has some months of active duty pay on it, combined with your retirement pay and civilian pay. Not to mention that a spouse who didn’t work before might have a job and income as well. Many also pointed out that they assumed the same deductions they claimed on their active-duty LES would carry over to retirement pay, but they did not. Bottom line: Check the deductions on your first retirement paycheck and adjust accordingly, and calculate your estimated taxes to make sure you are having enough taken out or are putting enough money aside to pay them.
2. The job hunt – Again, many assumptions were made here. All of us know people who have jumped right from their active-duty job to a similar GS position, or contractor job. The reality is apparently more difficult than it looks. A couple of my spouse friends mentioned that it can be hard, if not impossible, to get a GS job if the retiree does not have a VA disability rating. We haven’t gone through the job search process yet so I have no idea how widespread that is, but it is something to think about if you are banking on that option. Others also noted that military job descriptions don’t always translate well to the civilian world, that jobs might not be available in your dream location to live, or that it can take as long as a year to be hired. Bottom line: Network. Getting a job is all about who you know
3. Insurance – Whether on Tricare Prime or Standard, retirees have to pay a portion of their healthcare costs. The same is true for dental – while active duty families pay a monthly fee of $34.68 for dental insurance, the cost to retirees can be triple that or more depending on where you live. Life insurance is another high-ticket item, whether you choose something private or opt in to the military’s Survivor Benefit Plan. One spouse also mentioned that the level of services provided to her special needs child dropped dramatically after retirement, meaning a gap in care and more money out of pocket for her family. Bottom line: Research insurance costs carefully. If you have a civilian job, compare prices and coverage of what your employer may offer versus what is available to military retirees.
4. Missing the life – Active-duty life has its ups and downs, but most of us thrive. We love the challenges, the opportunities and the adventures that come with it. But what we might love most is the camaraderie. In military-land, there is a new best friend waiting at every duty station. In the real world, not so much. Bottom line: It takes time to adapt. Find something you are interested in – be it a paid job, volunteer work or some other activity – asap at your new location.
5. The uniform – There’s nothing like a man (or woman) in uniform. You’ll no longer see your service member looking good, strong and proud in their uniform. Instead, it might be business casual or an occasional suit. Definitely not the same. Bottom line: Try to get on base every once in a while and steal a glance at those lucky enough to still be wearing the uniforms of our country’s armed forces. Your heart will skip a few beats, guaranteed!