Last night we held our weekly 5 0′Clock Career Network event where job seekers can connect to employment specialists to discuss job search strategies and techniques.

Last night’s speaker discussed the importance of differentiating yourself from all of the other job seekers and she also made a profound statement…

Many job seekers stay in positions even though they may not be happy because they feel the job market is too difficult to get another job.

I just do not understand why someone would be dissatisfied in their job and yet stay with it and not attempt to find other employment. Help me understand. This is does not make any since. Are people settling? Have they given up? Are they still taking risks?

We must help these folks who feel hopeless in their current employment find other ways to get excited about their careers and continue to move the region forward.

One way we can do this is for these people to come to our 5 0′Clock Career Network event each Monday in downtown Roanoke. For more info and to attend, email me.

nearly 10,000 strong compared to over 44,000 at Virginia Tech…

567 people in their 40s, 247 in their 50s and 57 in their 60s are in the Roanoke community, which is a little less than 10% of the online community…

Therefore, over 90% are under the age of 40 - no surprise - but when marketers are trying to plan and promote events, why not tap this FREE resource for promotion?

The top interest of the community is music and the favorite type is country with rap a close second.

The favorite book is the BIBLE and the favorite TV show is Family Guy.

What great demographic data to use in promoting or setting an event schedule catering to Gen X and Gen Y. Use it.

The July, 2007 edition of Virginia Business magazine has a nice piece regarding all of the young professional groups in the state and what they are doing to address the brain drain phenomenon. Jessica Sabbath did a very effective job reaching out to all of the groups in the state. NewVa Connects is featured in the photo for the article. The web version also provides links to other organizations in the state. 

If you have a business idea, then go for it. That is what Generation Y consultant Jason Dorsey says in this article in today’s USA Today about a young woman who started her own social networking site.

We need more younger adults who are willing to take the risks in starting their own business and making a job for themselves and others. This will be a tremendous help in retaining more young adults lcoally.

In Saturday’s edition of the Roanoke Times, Brandon Turner wrote about his job search in Roanoke and presented some fine points for local recruiters and companies to ponder.

It is the same debate - jobs v. amenities - in luring young people. Each side has compelling points. Here is a take on the jobs equation.

From a job seeker’s perspective, what billable skill set do they have that a firm can make money off of them? That is a tough one to swallow, but it is true. There are too many young people who do not have a skill set that is in demand in the local labor market..

False expectations have been told to Gen X and Y and now they have unrealistic expectations of making $50k out of school in Roanoke.

These generations are more affluent than Boomers were at this time, so collectively the same drive and work ethic comes into question. As a result, young people are moving away from the difficult jobs and careers into something more appealing.

From an employer perspective, some of the following questions have been posed of local employers - are they content? Have local firms quit taking risks and do they really want to grow the firm to the next level.

Existing employers are doing the best they can in the current economic conditions to survive. Maybe each are doing as well as they can to just keep it going.

Are local employers only considering candidates with experience because they do not have enough time to wait and train recent college graduates? If so, then the local colleges are not a used asset by the region.

Is the region taking full advantage of the close proximity the region is to many, many college students? The Roanoke and New River Valleys are educating other region’s and other state’s workforces. A strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, coupled with an incentive package to grow existing businesses could be part of the answer.

However, we cannot discount the importance of amenities and focusing on those natural things the region has that resonates with an audience desperate for them…

It is the same debate job v. amenities… You can argue it from both sides, but pretty much everything falls into those two categories… The bottom line is that both are important and more of both are needed.