Exciting news! The ROP has approved a subscription for our classroom to the Lynda.com Online Training Library! This means that you will have access to all of the Lynda.com video training titles while you are enrolled in our program. The library is VERY extensive and you will be able to learn applications that aren’t currently available in our program. There are training videos for MS Office, Web development, graphic arts, programming, digital photography, animation, and more. This is really an awesome addition to our program.

You can see a list of all of the training titles that are available at http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modlisting.asp?ref=vat

We should have access to the library within the next couple of weeks.

Podcasts are video and/or audio discussions and lectures. Instead of reading an article you can listen to it on your computer or iPod. There are a variety of terrific Podcasts available for free on the Internet. There is a great wealth of career/job search information available in Podcast format. In addition to career related Podcasts you can listen to broadcasts on Web design, Photoshop, politics, comedy, etc.

A quick and easy way to access many of these podcasts is by using iTunes, a digital media player. From iTunes you can purchase music, videos, TV episodes, and even movies, but you can also access free Podcasts. iTunes is free and can be downloaded from iTunes.com.

Open iTunes - Start > All Program > iTunes > iTunes

From the menu on the left-hand side of the iTunes window select iTunes Store.

The iTunes Store menu will appear. Click the Podcasts link.

After clicking the Podcasts link the Categories menu will appear below the iTunes Store menu. Click the Business link.

The Business page will appear. Here you can find Business related audiobooks and Podcasts. You should see a menu on the left-hand side of the page that says More Business, click the Careers link.

After clicking the Careers link a variety of career related Podcasts will appear. Scroll down until you see the JobDig icon and click it.

The JobDig page will appear. I’ve provided a screen capture of the JobDig Podcast page below. Click the image below to see a larger version.

The lower half of the screen displays the individual Podcasts by JobDig. Click the image below to see a larger version.

You can double click any of the Podcast names to hear a sample of the Podcast. Click the symbol if you want to read more information about the Podcast. If you want to download and hear the Podcast in its entirety then click the Get Episode button on the far left side of the screen.

To see the Podcast that you downloaded click the Podcasts link in the menu on the left-hand side of the iTunes window. This will display all of the Podcasts you have downloaded or subscribed to. You can listen to any of the Podcasts by simply double clicking the Podcast name.

You can rewind, pause/play, fast forward, rewind, and control the Podcast via the controls in the upper left-hand corner of the Podcast window.

Clicking the Subscribe button allows you to subscribe to a Podcast. What this means is that you can easily access new Podcasts without having to visit the JobDig page. If you find that you enjoy the JobDig Podcasts, I would recommend subscribing so that you can easily download new episodes.

After you subscribe to a Podcast you will see an arrow to the left of the Podcast name, click the arrow once to see a list of all of the available Podcasts for the provider. To see the most recent Podcasts available, right click the Podcast name and select Update Podcast from the menu.

You can then click the Get button to download the Podcasts you would like to hear.

You can also search for career related Podcasts by using the search box in the upper right-hand corner of the iTunes window. Click the iTunes Store link first then type the search term (interviewing, career, careers, jobs, resume, etc.) and press Enter.

You may also want to search for the following career related Podcasts (I would recommend using the word podcast to narrow the search results):

Fired
Jobtalk Radio
Career Opportunities: Helping to Build the Career You Deserve
Monster Podcast: Career Advice
Career Chat

You’ll find a variety of career resources in our class forum.

Today I conducted a workshop at East Bay Works in Concord on Using Word for Job Search. I will repeat this workshop in class on Wednesday, October 11, 2006. If you would like to work on updating your own resume please bring a copy of it in on CD, floppy disk, or on a flash drive. Please be sure to have me show you how to scan your media for viruses.