A friend of ours (male, 54 years old, excellent health, lives with his
wife and children in Northeast Phila.) has just "retired" from the
Phila. Police Dept., where he was a communications dispatcher for 15
years and then a quality control manager for 15 years (total = 30
years). His record is spotless and he has been cited many times for
the accuracy of his checking and verifying the raw data entered into
the PCIC (Phila. Crime Info. Center = a local chapter of the National
Crime Info. Center). He would like to continue working in the Phila.
area at a job that can take advantage of his data input and
verification skills and/or his extensive communications dispatcher
skills. He does not have the money to pay a large fee for job
placement.  Are there headhunters/recruiters that obtain their money
solely from the hiring firm?  Are there resume and/or job banks
specific to the Northeast Region of Phila.?  I am assuming there may
be a number of different areas in which this man's skills could be
used, such as insurance firms, universities, communications companies,
etc., but I would like some guidance with regard to exactly how to
proceed.  Can you help?

Hello again frank2 and thank you for your question.

The first thing your friend should do (if he hasn't already) is make a
professional looking resume and cover letter.  Your friend should try
to keep his resume to about three pages, but should not miss anything
out.  Concentrate on the spelling/punctuation, and keeping it concise.

Here are some free examples and templates:
"Review our collection of free sample resumes, cover letters,
curriculum vitae, resignation letters, thank you letters, letters to
accept, or decline a new job, and more career-related letters you can
use for your job search correspondence."
Sample Resumes 
Sample Cover Letters 
Sample Curriculum Vitae 
Sample Thank You Letters 
Sample Resignation Letters 
Reference Letters 
Samples for Students 
More Job Letters "
http://jobsearch.about.com/library/samples/blindex.htm  

Also see:
A list of very useful links to guides and styles of resumes.
http://safetynet.doleta.gov/resume.htm

"Starting Your Job Search" (for some useful starting ideas)
http://198.85.71.81/jobsearch.html

=======================================================

After the resume and any other relevant documents have been put
together, the next step is the job search.  A great resource for him
will be
www.jobsphiladelphia.net which on this page:
 http://www.jobsphiladelphia.net/employment.htm 
lists aproximatley 100 employment agencies in Philadelphia.

Also see:
http://www.phillyjobs.com/

http://www.philadelphiarecruiter.com/index.php

There is also "The Pensilvania Department of Labor and Industry" 
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/site/default.asp

=========================================================

On a more specific note, here are some vacancies that might be of
interest:

"Data Entry Clerk
Philadelphia Cares' seeks data entry clerk for 2 days a week (16
hours). Starting pay rate is $8.00 per hour. Responsibilities will
include excellent alphanumeric data entry skills, detail orientation,
the capacity to take pride in your work, and the ability to work well
as part of this dynamic team. Please send resume and cover letter to
Renee Beebe or fax to 215-564-4543"
http://www.philacares.com/AboutUsMenu/careers.htm


Also there are 171 vacancies in Philadelphia when using the search
term 'data entry' in jobsearch.monster.com website.  Click here:

http://jobsearch.monster.com/jobsearch.asp?q=data+entry&lid=585&sort=rv&vw=b&cy=US&re=14&brd=1%2C1862%2C1863
not all of them will be relavant to your friend, but try going to the
home page here: http://jobsearch.monster.com/ and use different search
terms (ie data clerk)

An example of jobs on offer is here:
"Local 150-year old premier company located in Northeast Philadelphia
is currently looking for a receptionist/data entry person for our
Sales/Customer Service Department."
http://jobsearch.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=17988054&AVSDM=2003%2D05%2D21+07%3A16%3A00&CCD=my%2Emonster%2Ecom&JSD=jobsearch%2Emonster%2Ecom&HD=company%2Emonster%2Ecom&AD=http%3A%2F%2Fjobsearch%2Emonster%2Ecom%2Fjobsearch%2Easp%3Fq%3Ddata%2Bclerk%26sort%3Drv%26tm%3D&Logo=1&col=dltci&cy=&brd=1%2C1862%2C1863&lid=&fn=&q=data+clerk

Also:
You can also try "Jobvertise" where there are 22 vacancies for "data
entry" although some may be duplicate vacancies from
"jobsearch.monster"
http://www.jobvertise.com/search?filled=1&query=%20%22data%20entry%22%20&city=philadelphia&state=

=======================================================

Employment Statistics in Philadelphia:
The unemployment rate in Philadelphia is currently (March 2003) 5.8%
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost which is slightly below the
national average of 6% http://www.bls.gov/ For more employment
statistics for Philadelphia see http://www.bls.gov/ro3/fax_9527.pdf
 
=======================================================

Your friend might also want to consider broadening his computer skills
by continuing his education.  The Cittone Institute (in Northeast
Philadelphia) has a selection of courses which sound like he could
adapt himself to:
"Computer Programming with Web Technology 
Software Applications Specialist 
Network Systems Administrator 
Network Systems Professional 
PC Support Technician"
http://techtrainingschool.com/index.jsp?CLK=3053010324038779&


There is a list of other technical schools in pensylvania here:
http://www.searchforschools.net/pennsylvania-schools.html

=======================================================

Should your friends period between jobs be longer than anticipated
there is:
 
JANUARY 6. "Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Job Fair"
http://www.philajobfair.com/home.asp

=======================================================

I'm sure your friend is worried that his age will count against him
when applying for employment.  He should be aware that the "The Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)" " protects
individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment
discrimination based on age. The ADEA's protections apply to both
employees and job applicants."
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/adea.html

Of course in reality it can be impossible to know why a person didnīt
get a job that they applied for.  However if the potential employer
actually says that the applicant is too old for a particular job, then
there can be some action taken.

=========================================================

To give you an idea of pay scales.  Data entry keyers in PA earned an
average of $11.22 per hour in 2001 (Latest figures from the U.S.
Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics )
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0457.txd

=========================================================

I hope your friend gets suitable employment soon, and I wish him the
best of luck in his quest.  If you need ANY further help or
clarification, please do not hesitate to ask.

Very best regards

THX1138

Search Strategies Included:
"jobs in philadelphia"
://www.google.com/search?q=+%22jobs+in+philadelphia%22&hl=pt&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=10&sa=N

"writing a resume" site:.gov
://www.google.com/search?hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=+%22writing+a+resume%22+site%3A.gov&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&lr=

"employment agencies" philadelphia
://www.google.com/search?hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=%22employment+agencies%22+philadelphia&lr=