Way to go, John!  John Putzier has provided career content for JobDig for JobDig over the past two years.  He was recently named the winner of the Felix Award: Volunteer of the Year by Pittsburgh’s Human Resources Association (PHRA). 

The Felix Awards in Pittsburgh are often referred to as the “Oscars” of HR.  However, Felix Award Winners are out working hard for their communities instead of acting on the big screen.  John earned this award for his work on The People Do Matter Awards program.  This program is dedicated to recognizing businesses that are dedicated to helping their employees.  He has served as a judge for 3 years.  In John’s mind ‘The Felix is the opposite of the Oscars because “WE AREN’T ACTING!”‘

John Putzier will also be on “The Career Clinic” on Talk Radio 1100 “The Flag” on November 22^nd @ 12:45 pm EST taking listener questions about “Weirdos in the Workplace!”

JobDig will be attending 5 Job Fairs this week!  Here are some details…

Diversity Employment Day
Date: Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
Time: 11:00am- 4:00pm
Address: Embassy Suites Downtown Hotel, 425 South 7th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415

This event is FREE and open to the public.  Parking is $18 at the hotel.  Public parking above ground is also available and rates will vary.
For a list of participating companies and more information about this event, please visit http://www.citycareerfair.com/cities/msp111208.php

The Get Financial Jobs Job Fair
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008
Time: 11:00am-3:00pm
Address: Workforce Development Center, 2900 County Rd 42 West-Suite 140, Burnsville, MN 55337

This event is FREE to the public and parking is FREE.  For more information about this event, please visit: http://www.mnwfc.org/dakota/jobfair/index.htm

Tribute to Veteran’s Career Fair 
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Address: Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, 855 5th Avenue, Des Moines, IA

This event is Free to the public. Parking is $6 at the Iowa Events Center, street parking varies, $5 for parking garages. Over 100 employers will be attending this job fair.  For more information: http://www.iowaworkforce.org/region11/vets.htm

Head of Lakes Career Fair
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008
Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
Address University of Minnesota Duluth

This event is free and open to current students and recent alumni from the University of MN Duluth, College of St. Scholastica and the University of Wisconsin Superior. Students can register at the door.  For more information about this job fair, visit:  http://careers.d.umn.edu/events/hol_2008.html
Kirkwood Community College Career Fair
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time: 10:30am-1:30pm
Address: Kirkwood Community College: 3rd Floor of Iowa Hall on the Main Campus
This event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please visit:  http://www.kirkwood.edu/careerservices

JobDig is honored to announce that one of our many valued writers received two TORI Awards this year! Norine Dagliano took first place for Best Retiree Résumé and third place for Best Creative Résumé. Norine Dagliano, of ekm Inspirations, is an independent and nationally certified professional resume writer (NCRW, CPRW, CFRW/CC) and job search coach. She has been contributing expert career advice to JobDig’s readers for the last three months. Congratulations to Norine for this wonderful accomplishment!

On October 18, 2008 Career Directors, Inc. (CDI) unveiled its 2008 TORI Award winners. The TORI (Toast of the Résumé Writing Industry) Awards recognize professional Résumé Writers that not only master the craft of Résumé Writing, but also meet standardized criteria set forth by CDI prior to the competition. Contestants can be nominated for up to nine different categories: Best International Résumé, Best Technical Résumé, Best Creative Résumé, Best Executive Résumé, Best Cover Letter, Best Retiree/Second Career Résumé, Best Sales and Marketing Résumé, Best New Grad Résumé, and Best Military Résumé. Of the nominees, the top three are selected and ranked for Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards.

Career Directors, Inc. Website: www.careerdirectors.com/awards

Information on Norine Dagliano: http://www.jobdig.com/experts/Norine_Dagliano.html

Norine Dagliano’s Website: http://ekminspirations.com/

On October 23, 2008 the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal announced its 2008 Fast 50, recognizing the 50 hottest private companies on the rise in the Twin Cities.  Companies with audited financials and at least $1 million in revenue in 2005 were eligible for consideration.  Of the eligible companies, only the 50 with the highest growth rates were awarded. 

JobDig was ranked 47^th on the list with a growth rate of 60% over the past three years. JobDig’s CEO Toby Dayton said, “We were very pleased to have been identified as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Twin Cities.  Our growth rate is entirely due to the strength of our value proposition and the phenomenal sales organization we’ve built, and it’s nice to be recognized for those accomplishments.”

Other top companies included, Tactile Systems Technology, Inc., Knowledge Infusion and LogiSolve Consulting. Anytime Fitness took first place with a growth rate of 348% over the last three years.  The average growth rate of all 50 companies was 122.7% and the average growth rate for the top 10 companies was 227.6 percent.

The Business Journal asked Dayton, “Where do you see the company five years from now?”  Dayton replied, “Our long term vision for the company is to be the leading multichannel recruitment advertising company in the country.  For our employer advertisers, that means being able to reach candidates through print, Web, radio, TV, direct mail, mobile devices and any other cost effective media vehicle.” 

JobDig continues to grow and meet their vision.  They serve 19 markets in 17 states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

JobDig believes that it is a professional obligation for companies to support the communities in which they do business.  JobDig recently announced that employees will now have the opportunity to support United Way!  United Way helps underprivileged community members meet basic needs and lead healthy, safe, and independent lives.  Most importantly, United Way brings communities together to create a better quality of life for everyone.  JobDig kicked off this new initiative by carving 80 pumpkins for a Group Home maintained by an organization called Opportunity Partners.  Thanks to all JobDig employees for contributing to this project, the recipients were very excited to have pumpkins for their Halloween party! 

JobDig Contestants

On Halloween this year, JobDig hosted a Halloween Contest for its employees.  One prize was awarded for the best costume.  Many creative outfits were crafted including a baby, a nurse, Chewbacca, a pirate, a police officer and many others.  The prize money went to Alex Redmann’s Walker Guy costume.  Like many skilled professionals, Alex came out of retirement in order to seize this award!  Congratulations to all contestants for making Halloween a Spooktacular day at JobDig!