The World at Work has an intriguing post about Americans getting back into the workforce. The good news is that 60% of those who were laid off last year have found jobs; the bad news is those who are still looking have more challenges to overcome than one might think.

While more laid off workers are getting back to work, those who are still unemployed are anxious about re-entering the workforce. 60% of workers who were laid off in the last year reported they landed new jobs, with 88% of these workers finding full-time positions. Of those workers who are still searching for new opportunities, 56% said they are nervous about returning to work after an extended period of unemployment. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com from May 19 to June 8, 2011, included more than 800 workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last year.

When asked why they felt anxious about re-entering the workforce, 50% of laid off, unemployed workers said it was the pressure to prove themselves while 40% pointed to fear of the unknown and 21% cited new technologies with which they may not be familiar.

Fear of the unknown especially comes into play as workers look to new industries and occupations after exhausting options in their own fields. More than half of workers (54%) who were laid off in the last year and found new jobs reported they found them in entirely different fields than where they previously worked.

"We need to do a better job as a nation to help workers identify jobs that are in-demand today and are projected to grow in the future," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. "We have a growing skills gap and the need to get millions of Americans back to work. As the economy recovers, we need to focus on retraining and ‘re-skilling’ workers to help them move to new fields with a greater number of opportunities."

Relocating
Workers are not only changing industries, they’re changing residences. Of workers who were laid off and found new jobs, 36% reported they relocated to a new city or state. Of those who haven’t found new jobs yet, 38% said they would consider relocating for a position.

Pay Improving
The majority of laid off workers who found new jobs reported their pay is similar or higher than their previous position. 45% reported taking a pay cut, an improvement from 47% last year. 27% found jobs with higher pay, up from 22% last year.

Starting a Small Business
Some workers may replace their job search efforts with entrepreneurship. More than one-in-four (27%) who have not yet found work said they are considering starting their own business.
 

Serving your country is no easy task. It takes heart, dedication and a love for country over a love for self.

Leaving family, friends, and oftentimes their full or part time jobs behind, American men and women in the National Guard and Reserves spend their precious time keeping us safe. It’s a common thing for families and friends of Guard and Reserve members to show their support through cards and care packages. What’s less common is the employers getting in on the action and lending a hand to the families and soldiers themselves.

However, some employers are working very hard on behalf of their men and women in uniform. Those employers are honored with the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest honor given by the United States Government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.

Just 145 companies have been given the award since it was established in 1996 with the backing of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). Fifteen awards are given each year and we’re pleased that a company with an Indiana presence – Hanson Professional Services, Inc. (headquartered in Illinois with a branch in Indianapolis) – is a recent recipient of the Freedom Award.

Hanson, an engineering consulting firm, was nominated by an employee serving in the Army National Guard, who wrote that Hanson provided pro-bono engineering assistance to a military unit working on a bridge in Iraq. Also, while he was deployed, the family of Hanson’s CEO took the Guardsman’s wife and daughters on a shopping trip to pick out care package supplies using money collected by co-workers. He also cited receiving care packages, letters and other correspondence from the company.

Other past recipients with Indiana ties include Indianapolis-based Perpetual Technologies, Inc. in 2009, Con-Way Freight (with a branch in Plainfield) in 2007, as well as Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Group (Midwest Airlines) in 2000.

Companies are nominated by their Guard and Reserve personnel, as well as their families. A national selection board of senior Defense officials and business leaders select the award recipients. The 2011 honorees will be recognized in Washington, D.C. at a ceremony on September 22.

For a full list of current and past recipients, visit www.freedomaward.mil.

As I write this, I’m about three days from taking a vacation spanning eight work days. After three days of driving and a stop at a casino on the way, I (plus my father and two others) will ultimately wind up in northern Ontario on a quest for walleye and northern pike. Aside from eating enough fried fish to make Adam Richman blush, I also hope to use the time on the lake to re-focus and ponder how I can be better at my job — and more importantly, my life. According to the blog The 12 Most, there are at least 12 reasons we should all make sure we take time off and smell the roses — or in my case, rotting fish carcasses. Here are a few reasons, but check out the entire post:

2. This is your brain on vacation
I’ve found it takes a few days to shut off the manic, ever-present and ever-busy chatter in my head. The “OMG I forgot to do xyz” or the “If I don’t find time to do xyz, my business will never be what I want it to be” drifts away after the 3rd day. I’ve found I focus on amazing things like hummingbirds, novels and hearing myself belly laugh in a way that’s been gone for a while.

3. The unbearable lightness of being unscheduled
I go out of my way to not have too much of a plan on vacation. The decadence of enjoying a second cup of coffee while still not having a clue what the day holds is something rare and sacred. My body literally lets go of the tension I carry around in my neck and shoulders the 51 other weeks of the year.

4. The realization life/work/committees go on without you
We all love to make ourselves a little too important. How can our businesses, our organizations, the PTA go on without us? Take a week away, and it becomes crystal clear. Not only CAN they, but they SHOULD. Take that, Ego.

5. Creative Inspiration when you least expect it
Gaze at the mountains, study the waves or take in the view from a hammock and you’ll be amazed at what comes to you.

6. Discovery, discovery, discovery
I like all types of of vacations – adventurous, new places, and relaxing with nothing to do. Whatever kind you take, you’re bound to discover something new. A small town in Michigan might bring you a new favorite beer discovery. A tour of new places in Europe might lead you to a new favorite artist. Whatever it is, never stop discovering. It’s good for your whole being. Vacation helps you do that.

OK, it’s no secret that America is aging. But U.S. Census numbers reveal sharp differences in where younger populations are locating. Interesting numbers emerge from taking a close look at the recent Census counts.

Due to baby boomers “aging in place,” the population age 45 and over grew 18 times as fast as the population under age 45 between 2000 and 2010. All states and metropolitan areas are showing noticeable growth in their older and “advanced middle age” populations which, for the first time, comprise a majority of the nation’s voting-age population.

Although all parts of the nation are aging, there is a growing divide between areas that are experiencing gains or losses in their younger populations. In 28 of the 50 states, and 36 of the 100 largest metro areas, the population below age 45 declined from 2000 to 2010. Yet in 29 metro areas, including Las Vegas, Orlando, Houston, and Atlanta, the under-45 population grew by at least 10 percent over the decade.

Areas experiencing the fastest senior (age 65+) growth are located in the Sun Belt, while areas with the highest concentrations of seniors are located primarily in Florida, the Northeast, and the Midwest. Yet baby boom generation “pre-seniors,” now just turning 65, are growing rapidly in all areas of the country due to aging in place. College towns such as Austin, Raleigh, Provo, and Madison are among those where pre-seniors are growing fastest.

Suburbs are aging more rapidly than cities with higher growth rates for their age-45-and-above populations and larger shares of seniors. People age 45 and older represent 40 percent of suburban residents, compared to 35 percent of city residents.

Metropolitan suburbs differ sharply in the degree to which they are attracting young adults and children. The suburbs of 34 metropolitan areas, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, registered declines in their child and under-45 populations in the 2000s, leaving high concentrations of “advanced middle aged” and older residents. An even larger number of cities experienced losses in these younger populations. 

I absolutely hate making mistakes. Most people do, but when you’re in the communication business the errors are out there for all to read … or see … or in this case hear.

I won’t relive some of the past black marks. At least there haven’t been too many — compared to the amount of newspaper, magazine (and even a little radio and TV) work over the past 20-plus years. I started when I was really young!

Anyway, E-gineering earned the No. 1 ranking on the small/medium list at the recent Best Places to Work in Indiana awards celebration. But while I’m interviewing Nick Taylor, one of the company owners, on an Inside INdiana Business TV segment, I refer to the company as E-Engineering (you know, with the extra "e").

Yes, the name was spelled right on the bottom of the screen. Yes, I got it right in the pronunciation at the end of the segment. And despite Taylor being gracious after viewing the segment on the air and assuring me that the name is commonly mispronounced, I’ll still deservedly beat up on myself for a while.

But for your pleasure, please watch the video (looking past my screw-up) and read the BizVoice story. You will see what a great job the company has done in creating a true family atmosphere in the workplace.

And for a mistake-free video, check out the work of the Chamber’s Tony Spataro in putting together a quick recap of the Best Places dinner. It captured the excitement of the sixth annual event.

While job creation has picked up in recent months, the long-term unemployed continue to struggle in attempting to re-enter the workforce. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas offers the following for those caught in that predicament:

Re-ignite and re-connect with your network
There may be a large portion of your network with whom you have not spoken to in several months.  Now is the time to re-connect with and expand your network.  If you have not joined online networking communities like LinkedIn, do so now and start connecting with former colleagues, classmates and other acquaintances.  If you are on LinkedIn, revisit your list of contacts, because chances are good that their professional or personal situations have changed in recent months.  So, not only do you have a reason to check in with them (to congratulate or otherwise acknowledge their changed circumstances), but that change could put them in a better position to help your job search.  From each existing contact in your network that you reconnect with, make a goal to get the names of two to five new contacts they know who might be able to help with your employment search.

Move away from resume-centric job-search strategy
Most Americans take the traditional approach to job search: scour the help wanted ads and send out resumes by the hundreds.  The only difference is that the help wanted ads have moved from the print newspaper to the Internet.  The biggest problem with this approach is that the resume is really just a way to weed out candidates.  A long employment gap on the resume is going to stand out and not in a good way.  Even without the red flag of prolonged joblessness, relying on a resume to get your foot in the door is a numbers game that favors the employer.  You might as well be playing the lottery.  

Uncover the hidden job market
The other problem with relying too heavily on help wanted ads — whether online or in print — is that these represent a small fraction of the available jobs.  We estimate that as few as 20 percent of the available jobs are ever advertised.  The other 80 percent will be filled through employee referrals, personal connections and other backdoor channels.  This is why expanding and staying connected to one’s professional and personal network is critical.  It increases the chances of being in the right place, at the right time, when one of these hidden opportunities arise. 

Reset expectations
You may need to consider working for less money than you imagined, working in a different industry or accepting a job title that differs from your aspirations.  However, your primary objective at this point needs to be getting back on the payroll so you can start filling in the experience gap.
 
Remain positive
Don’t be defensive or take on the role of the victim when it comes to your prolonged unemployment.  Avoid phrases like, “no one is hiring” and “nobody wanted me.”  Focus only on the positive attributes you possess, what you have done to keep your skills fresh.  If the topic of your prolonged unemployment comes up, don’t dwell on it.  Move past it quickly with a statement like, “There have been many opportunities, but a mutual fit has been difficult to achieve.  During this time, however, I have had the opportunity to round out my experience through (education, professional development, volunteer work, etc.)”
 
Step outside of your comfort zone
An aggressive job-search strategy often requires you to do something that makes you uncomfortable.  You will have to tell people you have not seen in ten years that you lost your job.  You will have to cold-call employers about job opportunities.  An aggressive strategy also includes asking a friend or former business associate for the names of five people who might be able to help with your job search, and then calling those people to request a meeting.  

I was intrigued a few months ago when the 2011 Best Places to Work in Indiana winners came out and Horseshoe Casino in Hammond was listed. First, not enough gaming/entertainment organizations participate in this employee evaluation process. Second, the odds (no pun intended) are somewhat stacked against such a business compared to the more traditional "office settings" that make it easier to promote a strong workplace culture.

So I went to Horseshoe to find out what makes it tick. Hopefully this short story in our BizVoice magazine makes the case that management does understand the varied needs of the team members and that those employees are dedicated to both creating the best customer experience and to each other.

Sure, Horseshoe placed 36th out of 36 large companies. But just making the list was a huge honor – really. All 70 companies selected are winners, and all those who participate in the process should be congratulated for listening to their employees and doing what they can to improve their workplaces.

Here’s the rest of the BizVoice coverage; an action-packed awards night video; and program information if your organization wants to be involved in the coming year.