To build a resource that better aligns with the soul of our blog, Job Journey is now the Express Blog. The site has a fresh look and will be easier to navigate and search for content tailored to job seekers and associates. We’ll continue to provide you with career and job-search advice ranging from how to advance professionally, to the benefits of working for Express.

The Express Blog will also now feature timely information on a variety of leadership, management, and human resource topics, such as how to lead your team, handle HR issues, and hear directly from Express SMEs.

Check out the new Express Blog at ExpressPros.blog!

Some things are just too good to give up, so the Job Journey newsletter will also be redesigned but will keep the same name.

We’d like to express gratitude for reading and subscribing to Job Journey over the years. Each month the Job Journey newsletter is sent to more than 870,000 people, and the blog has 20,000 in average monthly page views.

Any questions about the upcoming Job Journey/Express Blog rebranding? Let us know in the comments section below!

When you’re thinking about a career change, or a job to take on after high school, which types of jobs do you think of first? If most of your work ideas revolve around an office, you probably aren’t thinking about skilled trades jobs.

When you’re thinking about a career change, or a job to take on after high school, which types of jobs do you think of first? If most of your work ideas revolve around an office, you probably aren’t thinking about skilled trades jobs.

So, what is a skilled trade? At the most basic level, a skilled trade is any job that requires a specialized skill, usually obtained through a technical school, college, or on-the-job training through an apprenticeship or internship.

Skilled trades usually don’t require a four-year degree. However, some may require a certification or license earned through a school or state agency. Some require associate degrees or associate degree programs.

Often, you’ll see skilled trades broken down into categories, with a variety of jobs in each category, including:

• Industrial:  welders, fabricators, machinist, pipefitters
• Construction:  electricians, cement and concrete finishers, drywall, carpentry
• Motive Power:  engine mechanics, electrical systems technicians, heavy duty equipment repair, paint and body technicians
• Transportation:  commercial drivers, heavy equipment operators
• Services:  hair stylist, property and building maintenance, electronic service technician, field technician, dental assistants, computer repair technicians, kennel assistance, and chefs

So, now that you know what the skilled trades are, what are some good reasons to pursue them?

1. Lower Tuition

According to Admissonsly, the average total price for a traditional college degree is roughly $122,000. Contrast this with the tuition of a trade school, where average fees range from $3,600 to $14,500 per year, with most trades schools being a two-year program.

2. High Pay

Electrician Apprentice Headquarters notes that the average apprentice salary in 2021 was $34,841. According to ZipRecruiter, the national average for skilled trades jobs is $42,322. Typically, as your experience grows, so does your paycheck.

3. Job Satisfaction

If you don’t thrive in an office environment, the skilled trades might be for you. Many positions involve working as part of a team in an entirely different sort of work setting. If you like working with your hands, the skilled trades frequently give you an opportunity to do that. You’re also free from having to navigate office politics if that isn’t your thing.

4. You Can Be Your Own Boss

While you’re certainly free to work for a company if you’d like as a tradesman, many work for themselves and start their own companies. That means you choose how much you charge, when you work, and what clients you want to work with. That way you can spend more time with family. You can have your own home office, and you won’t have to spend any time in a cubicle.

Just like any other job, a position in the skilled trades isn’t for everyone. But if it is right for you, you might find a fulfilling career you hadn’t considered before.

Are you in the skilled trades? Do you love it? Let us know why in the comments section below!

The latest episode of the On the Job podcast is now available!

The On the Job podcast series shares inspiring stories about the pursuit of work. Jobs give us a connection to our communities and the ability to provide for ourselves and our families—On the Job presents interesting stories about the way people work and what it means to be employed.

Season 7, Episode 6: Objective Unlocked!

Tune in to hear an Express Employment Professionals recruiter (who is now an Operations Manager for her office), as well as one of the Associates they’ve helped find a great position for to learn what it’s like working with Express during your job search.

Looking to leave your current job but need help figuring out where to start? In search of the perfect part-time job? Or maybe you want to break into a new industry altogether.

The ExpressJobs app keeps you in direct communication with your Express Employment Specialist with up-to-the-minute details about new positions available through Express, job assignments, work, job location details, and more!

You can track and maintain your schedule right from your device. You can even submit your hours with the timecard function. It’s like having your Express team with you—wherever, whenever.

The free ExpressJobs app allows you to easily access and manage your job opportunities and options at Express Employment Professionals right from your mobile device. The ExpressJobs app puts great jobs right at your fingertips and allows you to:

• Search for available jobs
• Build your profile and show off your skills
• Apply for jobs that interest you
• Communicate with your local Express office
• Manage your timesheets and work assignments

Want to hear more? Check out this quick video below, and download the app on the App Store or Google Play today!

How has the ExpressJobs app worked out for you? Let us know in the comments section below!

“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”—Barbara Gittings, LGBT activist

June is recognized as Pride Month. It’s a time to honor and highlight the history, challenges, and achievements of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community. More workplaces are incorporating Pride Month activities as part of their employee engagement strategy.

What is Pride Month?

Although Pride Month is now extensively celebrated worldwide, it was not always so. The history of Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprising in New York City in 1969. The tragedy spawned a gay liberation movement and a call to action for lawmakers to grant equal rights to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Throughout the decades, widespread efforts have been made to end discriminatory workplace practices against the LGBTQIA+ community. A 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that terminating employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is sex discrimination that violates federal law and is one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed that directly affects this group in the workplace. In 1996, the Canadian Human Rights Act was amended to include sexual orientation as a protected status. The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 is upheld in Australia.

Now that you have a brief overview of the history of Pride Month, here are some ideas for incorporating it at work.

Pride Allies in the Workplace                    

Workplaces can host lunch and learns or offer information on local Pride events or workshops. You could even share personal pronouns in your email signature or social media profiles. Remember, some of your co-workers may not feel comfortable coming out at work. Having allies in the workplace could help them feel more comfortable while at work.

Wear or Decorate Rainbow Swag

The rainbow flag is the widely used symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community. The first Pride flag was designed by artist Gilbert Baker, a member for the LGBTQIA+ community in 1978. Consider wearing colorful attire or decorating your desk with the flag colors, it’s a great way to honor Pride Month.

Promote Pride Month through Social Media

The digital space is a great way to show pride. Consider updating your LinkedIn and other social media profiles with Pride frames or cover photos. Select a Pride-themed background for your virtual meetings while using Zoom or Teams.

The latest episode of the On the Job podcast is now available!

The On the Job podcast series shares inspiring stories about the pursuit of work. Jobs give us a connection to our communities and the ability to provide for ourselves and our families—On the Job presents interesting stories about the way people work and what it means to be employed.

Season 7, Episode 5: Ahoys and Hahas: Comedy On The High Seas

Rob Little has a very enviable work calendar. As a cruise ship comedian with over 200 outings to his credit, Rob has seen places and ports most of us only dream about. But life aboard the ship isn’t all laughter and sunshine. Check out Rob’s website.

Express teamed with iHeartMedia and Audiation to produce this podcast, available wherever you like to listen to your favorite podcasts, including iTunes and iHeartRadio. Eight episodes will be produced for 20223, with new episodes released each week during May and June. During Season six, each episode was downloaded an average of 100,000+ times!

It’s not always easy to get our creative juices flowing at work. When starting a new project or halfway through an existing one, we can get stuck in an idea rut.

Maybe you need some inspiration before going to a brainstorming session with your team, or maybe you want to inspire another colleague to help launch their own creativity. Sometimes it may also be helpful to take part in exercises to strengthen your creative muscles.

Here are ten quotes and some advice to help you ignite your creative spark in the workplace.

1. Share Your Creativity to Inspire Others

“Creativity is contagious – pass it on.” —Albert Einstein, Physicist

2. Use Creativity to Problem Solve

“I apply the term ‘creativity’ broadly… it’s problem solving. We are all faced with problems, and we have to address them and think of something new, and that’s where creativity comes in.” —Edwin Catmull, Computer Scientist

3. See Creativity as a Resource

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” —Maya Angelou, Poet and Civil Rights Activist

4. Remove Doubt and Let Creativity Flow

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” —Sylvia Plath, Novelist and Poet

5. Let Creativity Take You Outside of Your Comfort Zone

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” —Mary Lou Cook, Actress

6. Turn Your Creative Idea into Action

“Ideas won’t keep: something must be done about them.” —Alfred North Whitehead, Mathematician and Philosopher

7. Be Happy With Your Creative Ideas

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Former President of the United States

8. Create to Bridge the Gap in the Workplace

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” —William Plomer, Novelist and Poet

9. Break Old Patterns to Start Creatively New Again

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” —Edward de Bono, Maltese Physician

10. Create to Stand Out From the Competition

“Creativity gives you a competitive advantage by adding value to your service or product and differentiating your business from the competition.” —Linda Naiman, Founder of Creativity at Work

What are some ways you find creativity at work? Let us know in the comments section below!

The latest episode of the On the Job podcast is now available!

The On the Job podcast series shares inspiring stories about the pursuit of work. Jobs give us a connection to our community and the ability to provide for ourselves and our families—On the Job presents interesting stories about the way people work and what it means to be employed.

Season 7, Episode 4: If You Build A Pizza Oven, They Will Come

Jake Wright is a self-described food carnie; a rambling pizza rover. After a failed attempt at a career in music production, Jake decided to combine the two things in life that most excite him: pizza and welding. Now, he tows his mobile pizza oven around Texas, making pizzas at music festivals, rodeos, and even his own wedding. Check out Jake’s website at OhMyPizzaPie.com.

Express teamed with iHeartMedia and Audiation to produce this podcast, available wherever you like to listen to your favorite podcasts, including iTunes and iHeartRadio. Eight episodes will be produced for 20223, with new episodes released each week through June. During Season six, each episode was downloaded an average of 100,000+ times!

Looking for a new job opportunity? It’s never easy to leave a job or industry that you have been in for a long time. However, making the switch can be worthwhile. One of the first things you’ll want to do is make sure your resume is transferrable and up to date with your most recent career achievements.

TopResume offers seven strategies for preparing for a career change by updating your resume for job search success.

It’s graduation season, and at Express Employment Professionals, we hear from plenty of adults looking to find their child or grandchild a job.

We understand. Your child or grandchild worked extremely hard to obtain their diploma or degree. It can be difficult to enter the job market after high school or college, and the more people who assist your son, daughter, or grandchild in their job search, the better.

However, there are right and not-so-right ways to help these aspiring employees find a job. Let’s dig in.

DO: Mentor and Guide Them

Encourage your kid to apply to multiple jobs. Introduce them to online job search websites they might not be aware of, like Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, or the job search sections of social media websites like LinkedIn.

If your child can’t find anything to apply for, ask them to consider other work experience options. Community service, professional organizations, and even part-time work can still look great on a resume. The key here is to do a bit of research and inspire your child to do the rest.

DON’T: Do All the Work

Make sure not to go off the deep end with research. This is for two main reasons. First, if you do everything, your kid isn’t learning what a job search is like. Young people job hop these days, and their first job is rarely the one they stay with long-term. If you do all of the hard work now, your child is going to have a rough go of it when it comes time to find their next job.

Second, too much information can be daunting for a young job seeker to go through. A huge amount of information can be scarier than one piece at a time. Again, just add a spark to their job search fire and let them do the heavy lifting.

DO: Leverage Your Own Network

Getting a job can frequently come down to who you know, due to the simple fact that it’s easier to trust and work with someone you have some sort of connection with. Feel free to ask your friends and family if they know of any openings. If they do, ask if they’d like to see your child’s resume. Also, encourage creating a LinkedIn profile to start building a professional network online.

DON’T: Apply to Jobs for Them

This is something that happens more than you might think. It can be as innocent as calling a hiring manager to ask about a job, or as bold as attending interviews with your child. Although you’re only trying to help, it can look unprofessional when a job seeker’s parent monopolizes the interview process.

You can recommend certain jobs to your child, but never fill out forms or make calls for them. The more companies hear from them directly, the better they’ll know your child. And that will help immensely in the interview.

DO: Tell Them to Contact Express Employment Professionals

Express is happy to help your child or grandchild with their job search! With 40 years of experience, we know what we’re doing. We’ve placed plenty of parents and children alike, and you’ll never pay a fee for our services.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Express Employment Professionals is a leading staffing provider in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Contact your local Express office or fill out our online contact form.

Also, encourage your young job seeker to sign up for the Job Journey Newsletter. We have plenty of job search tips waiting to be discovered.

Still not sure where to start? Check out our ParentGuide, part of our Job Genius educational program.

Do you have a child or grandchild looking for a job? How have you helped them in their job search? Let us know in the comments below!