I love headlines like this:

“G.M to Hire 1,000.”

The best part is the jobs the auto giant is going to fill are green jobs. General Motors is looking to hire 1,000 engineers for its electric car division, the Chevy Volt.

When’s the last time you heard anyone mention a green job?

Yes, it’s been a while, even in CareerDiva. But today, it’s time to revisit the topic because green is where we’re seeing some serious job growth now thanks to government programs that were planted into the economy in 2009. And you all should think about getting in on the tree-hugger jobfest. (more…)

Valentina Janek, who’s over 40, has heard the “you’re-over-qualified” excuse before.

Janek, who started a networking group for the jobless called the Long Island Breakfast Club, has been looking for a job for a while and believes age bias is alive and well in the job market today.

“Overqualified is another word for disqualified,” she explained. “If you interview with someone not as experienced as you, you won’t get the job.”

It’s something I hear often from people in the mid-stream of their careers, and even though employment discrimination based on age is clearly illegal under the nation’s labor laws, it happens often.

What are these hiring managers and HR folks really thinking when they say “overqualified”? (more…)

Key points:

GREEN
Initial discussion is heavily weighted toward retrofitting homes, and major retailers such as Home Depot, whose CEO is at the table now, are being seen by the administration as key players. If federal dollars go to encourage home owners to install solar panels, for example, then construction-related companies will benefit and the thinking is they will have to hire workers. These jobs could hit the economy quickly.

Manufacturers of green products or green components want incentives to keep jobs in America. Construction firms don’t want to continue to jump through bureaucratic hoops and permitting delays to have to install green systems, and businesses and investors want any federal dollars for green projects to come quickly so no business is waiting months to be reimbursed.

Investors asking for tax credit for utilities to get in on the energy efficiency game, not just tax credits to consumers.

Obama just walked in with a reality check: “We have fiscal constraints that are tough.”

The president is looking for support from businesses to get his green agenda moving.

“There’s going to be an energy debate in the country,” he said. “A divergent group, particularly those not the usual subjects, like business and industry, just making a very strong stance so the American people understand it’s not a job killer.” But green investments will create jobs, he maintained.

What he heard from the green discussion group:

“How can we make sure shovel ready actually means shovel ready,” he said about the many delays that have plagued infrastructure improvements to date. “And how we leverage the private sector to boost our infrastructure spending.”

“We also heard terrific ideas about how weatherization and energy efficieny promises immediate impact on the on the ground, spur enormous amounts of business opportunities for the clean sector.”

I know you guys were thinking my post was going to be on women and the green-eyed monster — you know, jealously, envy.

Sorry to disappoint you. This post is actually about so-called “green” jobs. (We can talk about the monster later because that’s a definite workplace issue.)

With dismal news this morning about the nation’s jobless rate in September, rising to 9.8 percent, many of you are wondering how you can secure a career future, especially if you were working in an industries that have been hardest hit — finance, construction, manufacturing.

(more…)