Southern California Job Market

Editor: Victoria McCargar News Editor: Patricia Konley Researcher: Melanie Pickett Art Director: James Owens Illustrator: Gary Tanhauser

This is a pretty good time to be looking for work in Southern California. Experts seem to agree that the economy here is on the rebound, after taking a longer-and-worse-than-average battering from the last national recession. "It's the best it's been in a long time, and it's going to get better," said Tom Lieser, associate director of the UCLA Business Forecast Project at the Anderson School of Management.

Most people rarely write a resume or cover letter. When they do, they're often rusty, or they act in haste. That's a big mistake. Resumes and cover letters are probably the most important tool job hunters have in getting past an initial screening. Whether you get an interview--or a rejection letter--often hinges on your papers. Remember, you're encapsulating yourself. Be concise, write in plain English and use common sense.

Deborah Jones is skating on thin ice at work. Just a few weeks ago, Jones, an administrative assistant for a financial services firm in Los Angeles, was told her job was in jeopardy after a boss accused her of skipping out early and making frequent paperwork errors. Stunned by the complaints, which she calls unfounded, Jones quickly asked for a meeting with her supervisors. Although the session cleared up some misunderstandings, Jones concedes that her job security remains questionable.

- Commuter Computer, a nonprofit organization funded by government and private industry, runs an extensive electronic database of commuters. To find car-pooling partners, call: Los Angeles: 213-380-7433 Riverside: 714-684-7433. San Bernardino 714-825-7433. Ventura: 805-656-7433. - For help on ways to commute by bicycle contact Human Powered Transit Assn.: P.O. Box 1552, Reseda, Calif., 91335. - For help on setting up ride-sharing programs at your company contact Meredith Clark at the South Coast Air Quality Management District: 818-307-3519.

Think your job is stressful? If you're in the telecommunications or financial services industries, you're probably right. Those businesses, along with nonprofit organizations, were ranked the most stressful for employees in a study of 12 industries by the publishing and consulting firm Human Synergistics International. All of those areas of the economy lately have undergone massive changes, explained J. Clayton Lafferty, the clinical psychologist who is the firm's chairman.

1. Unemployment: California and the U.S. Unemployment in California has typically lagged the U.S. rate. But that is expected to be reversed through 1993 as downsizing in the aerospace industry continues. The state jobless rate will rise from an estimated 5.5% this year to a peak of 7.3% in 1991, falling to 6.3% in 1992 and 6.1% in 1993. The national rate is projected at 6.8% in 1991. 2.

Finally, everything should be perfect at work. You have a new chair, one with arms for the first time in your career. And by leaning way back you catch a glimpse of the San Gabriel Mountains between two skyscrapers. But the job still stinks. Your productivity isn't any higher. You're tense. No promotions loom on the horizon. You know the problem isn't you. In your heart you are poised to take on the world. Glancing around the office, you see the object of your discontent just two work stations away.

A crisp new MBA degree may get job applicants in the door at many companies, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they will know what to do once they walk inside. As a result, many businesses are rediscovering an old-fashioned idea: They're training their managers in workplace reality. "Our schools aren't training people to live in the world of work--the real world.

Woody Allen painfully recalled in an early monologue that, after more than 30 years at the factory, his father was replaced by a tiny gadget that did the job faster, cheaper and better than his father ever did. "The really depressing thing," Allen remembers, "was that my mother went out and bought one." Like Mrs. Allen, California's job market is now counting on technological innovation to generate a little excitement.

Mix together a tight economy, a demanding career, a hobby long neglected, a new spouse, a baby. It can be a recipe for frustration--or a revamped career. Enter the world of the "part-time professional," a recent incarnation that owes its genesis to recessionary cuts in the full-time work force and a growing feeling among graying baby boomers that life has passed them by. Among American workers in managerial, executive or professional positions, 11.

Aware Advisory Services: vocational and educational counseling; not a placement service Cost: $5 donation per visit, which may be waived for the unemployed; $15 fee for Strong Interest Inventory testing (includes counseling) Hours: Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Address: Santa Monica YWCA, 2019 14th St., Santa Monica Telephone: (310) 452-3833 Brady JobNet Services primarily lower income individuals and families in East Los Angeles and surrounding areas, but all persons are welcome.

Three years ago, Marc Silverman knew he wanted a job in the music business, but the hard-to-crack industry didn't exactly have this recent liberal arts grad from UC Berkeley at the top of its hiring list. So Silverman, whose sole career credential was being an avid fan of "experimental" bands, became one of a growing number of volunteers who contribute their time in exchange for experience they can later parlay into a paying job.

We asked readers to send in their resumes and share their career dreams. Eight readers were referred to job counselors, who told them how to achieve those dreams. Here's what they were told.

A while back, something called "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" was declared. The idea behind this was sort of a grown-up show and tell, inspirational and educational at the same time. It was supposed to convince daughters that their parents have a Job to Do, which is important in the overall scheme of things and might be fun too. All right, it was a gimmick. Mothers of sons groused that it may as well have been called "Leave Our Sons at Home Day."

When a terrible car accident in her college years destroyed her dreams of becoming a diplomat or an anthropologist, Anne Hart of San Diego was forced to reassemble her life. Plagued with chronic dizziness and other difficulties, Hart found herself unable to function in a 9-to-5 work environment. Her solution, which she now recommends to other people with disabilities, was to turn the tables, employment-wise. Instead of Hart going to the workplace, she arranged for the workplace to come to her.