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The Job Search: You Can't Just Send Your Résumé
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2008 Comment (2)The unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent last month from 4.7 percent a year ago. It's a statistic, but it's real people losing their livelihood, income, and stability. In a recent Chicago Tribune poll, a quarter of respondents said either they'd lost their jobs or a relative had lost a job within the last 12 months. The newspaper yesterday told the story of Jeff Santucci:
Jeff Santucci was laid off in May 2007 as an auto mechanic, a job he had held for nearly 30 years.
He never dreamed he wouldn't find another. Now, at a time when Santucci, 48, should be planning for retirement, he's watching his life savings dwindle at an alarming rate.
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Guilty! Being Paid for Doing Nothing
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2008 Comment (1)For all that the media tends to talk about employees being stretched thin and overworked in an economic slowdown, when payrolls get lean and workloads double, there are still plenty of people who don't have enough to do.
Take for example, the discussion underway over at Yahoo's Shine site.
Margie H launched the issue. She writes:
OK, this is crazy! I hope no one finds me but I had to blog about this cause I sit here in a large corporate company and do nothing almost 95% of my day!
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It's Not Your Imagination—Your Boss Is Ignoring You
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2008 Comment (4)Many people are paying close attention to signs that they may be next up for a layoff. Job shedding has accelerated since the start of the year, and mass layoffs in September were the highest they've been since 9/11.
So here's one sign to watch out for: the boss's cold shoulder. The Wall Street Journal reports that managers who have become unhappy with an employee's performance, or who fear having to break bad news, may begin pulling away—shunning meetings, conversation, invitations, and the like.
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Sarah Palin's Suits: Dressing for the Job
Tweet Share on Facebook October 22, 2008 Comment (38)So, those suits Sarah Palin's been wearing—the ones that are so supremely stylish she gets none of the Hilary Clinton pantsuits snickers but, rather, leaves Alec Baldwin drooling—it turns out they're not from Wal-Mart. What?! Politico reports that the Republican National Committee has spent "more than $150,000" on clothes and accessories for Palin, including some megareceipts from Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Is this a big deal?
My dad is a dapper dresser. I remember mornings as a kid, when I would look up from my oatmeal to appraise his pinstriped suit, patterned tie, suspenders, and polished shoes. Sometimes I approved, sometimes I objected, but always I appreciated the effort.
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Top 10 Recessionproof Jobs
Tweet Share on Facebook October 21, 2008 Comment (30)The most notable recessionproof industries used to be the vice industries: tobacco, alcohol, and pornography—the things people turn to in difficult times. But a new book called 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs by Laurence Shatkin finds there are jobs to be found in more virtuous business sectors.
Here are Shatkin's top 10:
- Computer systems analysts
- Network systems and data communications analysts
- Network and computer systems administrators
- Registered nurses
- Teachers, postsecondary
- Physical therapists
- Physicians and surgeons
- Dental hygienists
- Pharmacists
- Medical and health services managers
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Merrill Lynch, B of A Layoffs to Be in 'Thousands'
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2008 Comment (8)Bank of America's pickup of Merrill Lynch seemed to stave off another Lehman-like Federal Reserve rescue, but it is not a complete save. Many employees at both firms have reason to feel anxious.
From Bloomberg:
Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Thain said he expects "thousands'' of job losses from the bank's $50 billion takeover by Bank of America Corp.
Most of the cuts will fall in information technology, operations , and finance, Thain, 53, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Dubai today. Jobs won't be eliminated in the fixed income and commodities divisions, he said.
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Retirement Jobs: Seniors Hunt for Work
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2008 Comment (2)In another sign the market turmoil has truly upended retirement plans for many older workers, the Boston Herald reports that the website RetirementJobs.com has seen Web traffic double over the last two months. Spokesman Patrick Rafter told the newspaper that "the majority of boomers now see working in retirement as part of their retirement plan." Investments and savings are not enough—seniors now want jobs for a "regular, steady flow of income to support them," Rafter says.
Some job search advice for older workers:
- Keep your résumé brief, fresh, and relevant. Avoid the temptation to list your extensive experience in extensive detail.
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Warren Buffett: The Street-Wise Hercules
Tweet Share on Facebook October 17, 2008 Comment (5)"Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?"
—Bonnie Tyler, "I Need a Hero"Finally. Warren Buffett: Oracle of Omaha and (Wall) Street-wise Hercules fills the void.
Buffett writes an editorial in today's New York Times that's packed with the common sense so characteristic of Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports. More important, Buffett proves to have the sound mind and singularity of thought that's been so lacking among Wall Street's leaders. May our spinning heads rest for a moment.
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Looking for Work: 1 in 9 Americans Underemployed
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2008 Comment (8)Never mind the nation's unemployment—it's the U.S. underemployment rate that should be concerning us, reports Nooshin Mahalia, an economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.
The underemployment rate includes the unemployed who are looking for work, along with part-timers who want to be full-timers and the unemployed who want to work but aren't active job seekers.
Mahalia reports the underemployment rate is now at a 14-year high of 11 percent. "The fact that one out of every nine U.S. workers is now either unemployed or underemployed is clear evidence of the need for a second stimulus package targeted at job creation," she writes in a Snapshot analysis at Epi.org.
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Wurzelbacher: The Issues of a Plumber
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2008 Comment (16)Joe Wurzelbacher sure got a lot of attention last night from the two men closest to running America for the next four years.
Wurzelbacher's nickname is "Joe the plumber." He had a conversation with Barack Obama in Ohio last week, where he asked about the senator's plan to raise taxes for those who make more than $250,000 a year. Wurzelbacher doesn't like the idea because he wants to buy a small plumbing business, and he feels that he'll be punished for his success when his income pushes past Obama's barrier.
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