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Are Weekends Necessary?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 14, 2008 Comment (3)The Best Buy ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) has a lot of things going for it. Employees want more flexibility, but employers can't afford to lower expectations. In a ROWE—as developed by the authors of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It—the worker can decide when, where, and how he or she works, so long as the work gets done.
But doesn't the elimination of weekends kind of take it too far? Harvard Business Review contributor Tammy Erickson says mandated days of rest are antiquated:
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No One Seems to Like Dumb Interview Questions
Tweet Share on Facebook July 10, 2008 Comment (5)It's no surprise that recruiters like to debate the value of various interview questions. Over at Fistful of Talent, you'll find a nice range of links to opinions on stupid questions. (Stupid, as in: If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?)
I particularly enjoy the thoughts of blogger Adam Barr, who ridicules interview tricks:
I mean, consider the following imagined exchanges between interviewers and candidates:
I1: Joe and Tom have $21 total. Joe has $20 more than Tom. How much does Tom have?
C1: 50 cents.
I1: No, it's 60 cents. This takes place in a country where there are 120 cents in a dollar. You should have asked me to clarify that.
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Is It Harder to Cope With Personal Problems in a Home Office?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 9, 2008 Comment (4)Long before I shuffled into work this morning, I began drafting my mental list of problems that needed fixing: a cellphone plan that needs to be changed, trouble with my tax return, a phone call I'd forgotten to make, a cable bill that needs to be paid. By the time I sat in my chair, I was mentally stammering for a break.
Few things are as regularly challenging as setting aside personal difficulties to focus on your job—the thing that pays the bills. My problems are minuscule. Circumstances like divorce, personal illness, family illness, or financial distress create tremendous conflict for people trying to stay on top of their job without neglecting their struggles outside of it.
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Hey Grad: New York Has Lots of Jobs for You
Tweet Share on Facebook July 8, 2008 Comment (1)If you're a recent college grad looking for work, you might head to CollegeGrad.com for a start. If you do, you'll find the most posted openings for entry-level work are in New York (more than 3,600), then Houston (2,500), with Los Angeles and Boston ranking third and fourth for the quantity of job opportunities.
The list of the 25 cities with the highest number of jobs on the site is here.
Just remember that quantity of openings has little to do with quality of life. Entry-level work in New York City will often pay you enough for a shared apartment in Queens and a postcard to write home about it.
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Kiss the Company Goodbye With Class, Not Color
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2008 Comment (1)If you've decided to quit your job for another—or for quiet days chopping wood and reading Tom Clancy novels—you may be wondering how to say farewell. For a good list of colorful resignation letters, check out Craig Silverman's blog.
Resignation letters have been a popular blog topic over the past couple of weeks, after Flickr cofounder Stewart Butterfield drafted his resignation satire describing Yahoo as a "sheet-tin concern." No surprise, then, to hear his decreasing sense of relevance as the company branched out into copper, corrugated steel, aeronautical frames, precision controls, brewing, lighting, and oil exploration. If you're confused, read it here.
Most of us ought to say goodbye with fewer words. In your brief letter, tell the company you're leaving, and state your last day. It's wise to express your appreciation for the opportunities you've been given, despite frustrations or disappointments you may have had. That's about it.
Sincerely,
You -
Is Google Sick of Perk-Addled Employees?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2008 Comment (1)Google wears a halo with this country's workers—the Internet giant is the most-wanted employer among younger generations. The company feeds its employers free organic food and offers on-site oil changes! But there are some hiccups in the perks parade.
The New York Times reports that the company has been polling employees to gather opinions on a proposed 75 percent hike in costs for Google-subsidized day-care services: "Parents who had been paying $1,425 a month for infant care would see their costs rise to nearly $2,500—well above the market rate."
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Why Lousy Jobs Numbers Might Be OK
Tweet Share on Facebook July 2, 2008 Comment (1)Is this the real start of something ugly? The number of employees on private-sector payrolls fell by 79,000 in June, according to today's ADP National Employment Report. This was the steepest fall in nearly six years and nearly four times the estimated loss.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, summed it up in a morning note: "This is grim." He figures that we can expect weak jobs numbers from the Labor Department tomorrow.
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