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From Yahoo! hotjobs

http://career-advice.comcast.monster.com/job-search/company-industry-research/ten-job-sectors-in-decline/article.aspx?WT.mc_n=comcast800

What to Do If Your Industry Is on the Way Out

By Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs

People in almost every profession may feel like jobs are scarce right now. For many industries, this is a temporary situation. But jobs in some fields are expected to continue disappearing even after the economy picks up.

Is your industry on the decline? The federal government projects that a number of industries will continue to lose jobs thru 2018.

“You can’t sit around and wait for news to come out about what’s going to happen to your industry,” said Alexandra Levit, author of New Job, New You. “You have to be proactive about this.”

Disappearing Jobs

Here’s a list of the top 10 industries expected to lose the most jobs by 2018 — and what to do if you’re working in one of them:

• Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing: Projected to lose 18.6 percent of its 544,000 jobs.
• Department Stores: Projected to lose 10.2 percent of the 1.56 million jobs they had in 2008.
• Semiconductor Manufacturing: Projected to lose 33.7 percent of the 432,000 jobs it had in 2008.
• Postal Service: Projected to lose 13 percent of the 748,000 jobs it had in 2008.
• Printing and Related Jobs: Projected to lose 16 percent of its 594,000 jobs.
• Cut-and-Sew Apparel Manufacturing: Projected to lose 57 percent of its 155,000 jobs.
• Newspaper Publishers: Projected to lose 24.8 percent of its 326,000 jobs.
• Mining Support Jobs: Projected to lose 23.2 percent of its 328,000 jobs.
• Gas Stations: Projected to lose 8.9 percent of its 843,000 jobs.
• Wired Telecom: Projected to lose 11 percent of its 666,000 jobs.

Semiconductors are one of several manufacturing industries on the declining list. Because so many different types of manufacturing jobs are disappearing, it will not be easy to simply get another manufacturing job. You may need to develop some completely new skills.

Levit suggests beefing up your resume with volunteer work so you can show skills that will be applicable in other industries. For example, helping a volunteer organization deal with its members can show that you have client-service skills.

She also recommends being innovative to keep your job. “You need to be front and center with management, giving them suggestions for how they can remain competitive.”

Are You Affected?

What should you do if your industry is on this list? First, don’t panic. The job declines in these industries are projected to take place over a decade. And many jobs — a majority in most of these industries — will remain even after 10 years.

Still, it’s good to start thinking about Plan B. Build your savings and start researching what other industries might be able to use your skills.

If you’re nearing retirement and had been planning to move into a different field, you might want to make the move earlier. And if you have many years of work ahead of you, you should consider seriously whether it’s feasible for you to stay in your industry for the long term.

“Start sharpening your transferable skills,” Levit said. These include project management, budgeting and customer service. “You want to be developing a resume that showcases the skills you have in all those areas.”

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This is reprinted from Ragan’s PR Daily. It is written by Kevin Allen

Chances are, if you made it through college and are now employed as a professional communicator of some sort, grammatical errors drive you insane.

Especially these:

• Your vs. You’re
• Its vs. It’s
• Their/There/They’re

With social media now an all-encompassing part of our lives, we are forced to see which of our friends are total idiots by their misuse of the above.

For those friends (and other grammatically challenged individuals in your life) Copyblogger offers this handy infographic:

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Three Rules of (Damage Control) Crisis Communication

1.Get information out early.

• Respond within 2-4 hours (quicker, if possible) – if only as an acknowledgment that you are on top of the situation.

2.Get it out yourself.

• The spokesperson should be a high profile representative of the organization.

3.Get it out on your own terms – control the message.

• Tell it First

• Tell it Fast

• Tell it All

• Tell it Yourself

Whether the crisis is the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, child sex-abuse at Penn State University or some less visible organization, or a mass shooting at a school or movie theater, a major charity executive embezzling funds, the (seven) Tylenol-related deaths in 1982, or a space shuttle tragedy, the public wants and deserves answers. As J. William Jones says, those answers must be based on accurate information and should be given by “unflappable” professionals who know what they are talking about. The need for crisis management policies has become a major priority for many corporations and other organizations. Thanks to effective planning, victim organizations can control a crisis through rapid systematic dissemination of information – being proactive rather than reactive – so long as that information is factual. Strategic counselors and reporters alike agree there is no substitute for believability (truth) and credibility (trust). Once lost, they are nearly impossible to regain. Avoid any instincts to minimize or cover up bad news. If not totally truthful and trustworthy, the media will eventually discover your unprofessional approach. What ever trust you once had will be gone forever. Keep in mind, when dealing with a crisis, the goal should be more than just “damage control.” If the crisis communication plan is carried out properly and successfully, the damage control will take care of itself. When a crisis hits, your publics want to know: what happened; how it will affect them; what is going to be done about it.

Communicate Early and Often

•Contact the media before they contact you.

•Communicate internally first, then externally.

•Put the public first.

•Take responsibility.

•Be honest.

•Never say “No comment.”

•Designate a single spokesperson.

•Set up a central information center(staging area).

•Provide a constant flow of information.

•Be familiar with media needs and deadlines.

•Monitor news coverage and telephone inquiries.

•Communicate with key publics.

•Be accessible.

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Get ready to laugh. Here is a nice clean link.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lazydave/30-reasons-you-know-you-work-in-pr-ja8m.

Be sure to highlight link, copy and paste or click on headline to get to blog post. It is well worth it.

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[ From M. Larry Litwin’s The ABCs of Strategic Communication — see www larrylitwin dot com]

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1.What is a communication audit?
It is a complete analysis of an organization’s communication
program – a picture of its goal, objectives, strategies, tactics
and evaluations.

2.What is the scope of an audit?
The scope of an audit may be as broad and as deep as the
size and complexity of the organization’s demands. The audit
can measure the effectiveness of communication programs
throughout an entire organization, in a single division or
department, or within a specific employee group.

3.What does the communication audit provide?
It provides meaningful information to members of management
concerned with efficiency, credibility, and economy of their communications policies, practices, and programs. It also provides valuable data for developing or restructuring communications functions, guidelines, and budgets, as well as recommendations for action tailored to an organization’s particular situation as uncovered by an analysis of the collected data.

4.When should an audit be conducted?
Generally, an extensive audit should be conducted every five to
seven years. In the interim, reliable feedback techniques should be obtained periodically through the organization’s routine communication function.

5.What subjects are covered?
Typically an audit covers such areas as:
• Communication philosophy
• Objectives and goals
• Existing communication programs
• Existing vehicles and their uses
• Personal communications
• Meetings
• Attitudes toward existing communications
• Needs and expectations

Credit: Joseph A. Kopec – Kopec Associates Inc., Chicago, Illinois
Read more at www.prsa.org/_Resources/resources/commaudit.asp?ident=rsrc3

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This comes from a USA Today “Snapshots”:

Personal connections = 42%

Social network = 21%

Online job board = 20%

Classified ad = 19%

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, here is the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27:

Engineering = 5%

Education = 4%

Health = 3%

Math/computers = 6%

Architecture/construction = 8%

Sciences = 6%

Social sciences = 7%

Business = 6%

Liberal arts = 8%

Communication = 6%

Technology = 6%

Agriculture/natural sciences = 5%

Leisure/hospitality = 4%

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This is Tip No. 114 from The ABCs of Strategic Communication by M. larry Litwin, APR, Fellow, PRSA and is available on www dot larrylitwin dot com.

The “elevator pitch” is a short description about your company that
you can convey in the time it takes to ride an elevator. And not an
elevator in a skyscraper, either.Your elevator pitch must be clear
and concise and show that you understand the core aspects of
your business.
Because it must be short, you have to decide what facets of your
company to leave out.Often, these can be the things you’re most
excited about – a new technology, a great location, outstanding
customer service, etc.
But if they’re not central to the core or success of your business,
they don’t belong in an elevator pitch.
You should touch – very briefly – on the products or services you
sell, what market you serve, and your competitive advantage.
You must be brief and clear.Unless you’re in a highly technical
field, your neighbor or grandmother should be able to understand
your business well enough to describe it to someone else. After all,
you want grandma marketing for you too, don’t you? People you
meet need to quickly understand the nature of your business if
you want them to send business your way.
Make sure your employees, investors, even vendors know your
company’s elevator pitch. Have your employees practice your company’s
elevator pitch so they’re able to network for you as well.
It’s often a good idea to use an analogy, especially if you’re in a
new or difficult-to-grasp field.“We’re the Google for car buyers” is a
good shorthand way to say that you’re trying to create a search
engine for people wanting to purchase an automobile.
Think in these terms (sort of like a mission statement):
• This is who we are;
• What we think about ourselves;
• What we want to do;
• Why we deserve your support
You’ll find you use your elevator pitch often – in e-mails to
prospective customers and investors, to introduce yourself at
organizational meetings or when running into an old friend at a

ballgame.Who knows? You may even use it if you meet a potential
customer in an elevator.
So go out and find a three-story building with an elevator, ride up
and down and practice your pitch.That way, you’ll be prepared the
next time some one asks you,“What do you do?”
Rhonda Abrams – Gannett News Service
M.Larry Litwin, APR, Fellow PRSA – Author – The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook

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From Litwin’s The ABCs of Strategic Communication Tip No. 224. Be sure to visit larry litwin dot com for more on The ABCs and Litwin’s newest The Public relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators.

Public speaking is many people’s number one fear.These tips should help:

• Determine whom your audience is and what you want to say to them.

• Research your topic and find out what people want to know about it.

• Outline what you want to say.

• Practice your presentation – in the room where you will be giving the speech,if possible.Tape the rehearsal and play it back.

• Shortly before your presentation,make sure the equipment and props are ready.

• Take a short,brisk walk before your presentation. Breathedeeply and slowly. Drink water.

• Have confidence you will do well.

Mayo Clinic Healthquest

For more, check out Litwin’s The ABCs.

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