Job openings are increasing rapidly as employers recruit for the busy summer season. Construction crews are busy at numerous locations, logging companies are opening camps, hotels and retail stores are preparing for the summer, and the first large cruise ship of the season will arrive in Ketchikan on May 6th.

Check out the job listings on Alaska's Job Bank through the State of Alaska home page . If you have not used the computer in your job search, I will be glad to show you how. Current job openings are also summarized on two radio announcements I do daily, Monday through Friday at 8:15 a.m. on KRBD and a prerecorded announcement, which airs during the lunch hour, on KTKN at 12:45p.m.

I can make job development contacts on your behalf if you have a specific employer, job, or industry in mind. Job development contacts bring your abilities to the attention of an employer even when no advertised job vacancy exists. During the coming months I will be out in the community visiting with employers about their future staffing needs and promoting KCTC clients. If you are interested in job development, stop by and see me for additional information.

Web site tips:

• To check the status of your permanent fund application, go to the State of Alaska home page and click on "permanent fund dividend application status."
• Check out this free resume, career management, employment and outplacement service
• Here's one you might get a kick out of!

The following are some helpful job search internet addresses you may find useful:

• Federal government recruitment
• US Coast Guard
• USDA Forest Service recruitment
• Job openings at Ketchikan General Hospital
• Alaska Court Systems
• Alaska Railroad
• Alyeska Pipe Line

-Carolyn Stamm,
Employment Consultant

Frustrated?

Everyone runs into it once in a while, and there are times when we seem to experience more than our share of frustration. Where does it come from? Frustration arises when our expectations fail to match our experiences.

Imagine your dismay, for example, if your new employer promised you $15.00/hr but then only paid you $10.00/hr. You'd be frustrated and then some!

By more closely examining our expectations and the potential for our experiences to meet them, we can sometimes reduce or eliminate some of this frustration and the stress that follows. However, sometimes our expectations are so entrenched within our worldview that we don't even know we could've been more careful.

Example: Even as we approach the 21st century, it's still a prevalent assumption that the male partner in a marriage relationship will work. There may be some discussion about the type of career he'll pursue, how much money he may expect to earn over time, and the couple may discuss whether the female partner will work and/or have children and stay home to raise them. Should the male in this scenario decide not to work or become unable to work, only then would the couple realize there had been an underlying expectation, now the cause of great frustration due an experience which doesn't meet that expectation.

The best mechanisms for reducing frustration include: ·

• Do your best to evaluate your expectations when embarking on new ventures.
• Do your best to evaluate how well the venture meets those expectations.
• Evaluate your system of values how well do you know yourself and what motivates your actions? in an effort to lessen the frequency of making assumptions about the world around you or being subject to its whims.

Lani Robb, Vocational Counselor