Obsolete When All Are Employed

LEAVING A JOB: CRAZY?

Posted by Tiffany A. On April - 13 - 2010

I'm Free BABY!

The day you leave your job, a part of you is excited to start a new chapter, a part of you is afraid that the next job or endeavor will be worse than the current situation, and a part of you is hoping that you are indispensable and somehow your manager will see how valuable you are with the company that you have worked for 1/3 of your day, every day for the past several years and ask you to stay.

In a way, a job is like a partner; it can be a bad lover, a great spouse or an annoying tax collector. Whatever the case, most of the time you go back to it. Being “married” to your job is not an understatement. You have a life outside of it, but it, whether you enjoy it or not, very much brings a structure to your life, socially and professionally. You work the hours, you come home, sleep, wake up and do it again. Until the weekend. Maybe. And you crave the acknowledgment and acceptance that comes with your status, position, seniority peers and bosses. Even if stressing out is part of the deal, we often tell ourselves it is a ”good” stress that makes you feel important and productive.

A close friend has just informed me that she has left her job. In this recession; in a time where every creature with a mouth, big or little, is hoping to find a stable feeder, she is leaving her job. Three people are taking over her portion until they get a replacement. But she made the leap so she can start a new chapter and perhaps her own business.

She told me in corporate, it seems that all the money is going into other people’s pockets except your own and that she hopes to never work for corporate again. For the first time this weekend, she slept a nineteen-hour weekend.

Agree? Disagree? Admirable? Crazy? Obsolete When All Employed welcome your comments!

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Tricky, Tricky: “Criminals Trick Desperate Job Hunters” – WSJ.com

Posted by admin On April - 11 - 2010

Criminals Trick Desperate Job Hunters – WSJ.com.

Oh no! It seems that applying to jobs online can be bad for your wallet, reputation and sanity. The women at the top was unfortunate enough to come across a fake job add, which scammed her into doing illegal activities for them, and did not pay her (not that it matters, but still noteworthy). Apparently extremely devious scam artists post fake job ads, “hire” you for the job, wire illegal funds into your account, and then ask for you to purchase items for their “company”. These items are then shipped overseas, and then you are left broke, with no job, and an accessory to organized crime. Wowza.

Supposedly employment fraud is huge, and maybe in my opinon, my reach the epic heights of medical fraud. Especially in a sluggish job market….

All of this is making me think…and making me nervous. I have sent out MANY applications…often I would check on who the employer is…but sometimes the employer was confidential, or I didn’t bother to check out who they were…

I mean really, all someone needs to begin to steal your identity is your first and last name, address and phone number…then its all down hill from there….

But there are things we can do as job seekers to protect ourselves. When searching for a job:

ALWAYS check out the employer!!! On a lot of sites, like careerbuilder.com, and Monster, some of the employers are confidential…honestly unless it is THE dream job for you leave it alone. If the employer is listed, make sure to Google them in order to see what they are about and if they are legit. A scam artist could be a wicked webmaster as well…but if you see it for you own eyes hopefully you will be able to tell if it is a scam…

Be leery of any and all listings. Even the most legit places may be rife with scammers trying to make that quick buck. Even a common crook could see the potential in paying 25-150 dollars for an ad in a paper or online site, when they stand to make thousands of dollars…so pretty much trust no one.

Not all that is online, is on point. Many folks think that shooting their resume to as many postings as possible on as many websites within reach is a part of the solution. Its actually entirely the problem…its just a free-for-all into utter failure. I have met so many people who have said they have applied to hundreds of jobs online…and have gotten no response. How many of them were identity thieves? crooks? resumephiles? Who knows? Its frightening even to think about it…

Long story long, keep your resume to yourself, and think twice about where you send it, or even who you give it to…there is a lot of ridiculous things going on out here…

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CNN Post:Supertaskers: Why Multitasking Comes Easily for Some – TIME

Posted by Ebony J. On April - 5 - 2010

OK, I know you said you were a great multitasker....but you

OK, I know you said you were a supertasker, but you're doing too much...

Supertaskers: Why Multitasking Comes Easily for Some – TIME.

I stumbled upon this article this morning…it got me thinking. If this study were able to extend to the workplace, what would they find? I see sooo many job postings that state they want someone who is a great “multitasker”, but just because you are doing 2-4 things at the same time does that mean you are doing it well? Do we put too much emphasis on multitasking???

To a lot of people, multitasking=productivity, but honestly it just looks productive…is it really productive???

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JOBOCIDE: Fire Unhappy Employees? Womp womp.

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 31 - 2010

I can't help looking sad. I'm a stick figure.

Debate of the day: Should bosses fire unhappy workers?

I stumbled upon a post in the New York Times called ‘The Secret to Having Happy Employees’ by ‘Your the Boss’ blogger and Chicago entrepreneur Jay Goltz. His solution was to fire unhappy employees to achieve a happier and, therefore, more productive workteam.

Besides my initial reaction of “Oh boy, another insane fanatic who doesn’t care about managerial accountability,” I found the reader’s comment more incredulous. Some zealously wrote, “Fire Away!” and were completely gung ho about getting rid of unhappy workers. One reader, who I assume has some kind of high position, said it gave her “hope” in future hiring processes.

If the world was run by people who just got rid of unhappy people, they are committing a big sin of JOBOCIDE, which is UNHAPPY WORKERS + GENOCIDE = WIPING OUT THE UNHAPPY. Depending on the day, that could be you. Or everybody. But thank goodness Aristotle’s lessons of reason still exists.

Readers that were a little more logical and constitutional, brought up the illegality of firing unhappy people and whether an unhappy employee is the reflection of the boss instead of the worker. And others said that firing unhappy employees only leaves you with fake people pretending to like you and the company, when in actuality they are operating in fear.

A counter article called ‘Fire Unhappy Employees? Wait a minute’ by John Hollen, writer for Chicago Business, spelled out all things wrong with firing people for unhappiness, my favorite being:

This reminds me of the Monty Python skit where all the people of the kingdom in The Happy Valley are happy because anyone that was unhappy was put to death under the Happiness Act. May all your employees be hung by the neck until they cheer up.”

How productive is this Macchiavellian approach to managing people? In this recession, I can imagine that a lot of people are unhappy at their jobs, are being poorly treated and taken advantage of because of the crisis and aren’t being recognized for their value. I mean, there are no laws to protect exempt employees, meaning executives, anyone dealing with business operations (kind of vague), and administration from working “reasonable” overtime (again, kind of vague).

Obsolete When All Are Employed WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Speak up for your rights!

Love,

Tiff

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Job Titles: Determines Self-worth?

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 24 - 2010

I am super smart. I am! And ... I can get that stamped for you.

To claim that a piece of pie is awful is a matter of opinion but to claim that a woman, who has spent nearly her entire career preparing school lunches, is a “lunch lady” instead of a “cook” will surely cause a stir.

Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” brought up some class issues during his dietary investigation of the citizens in Hungtington, Virginia, a small town known for its reputation as having the highest obesity in America. The first episode showcased Oliver in the kitchen of a small elementary school, where he analyzed and critiqued how disgusting and unhealthy the food was. After meeting Alice, one of the school district’s cooks, Oliver, a renowned British cook, asked her, “So how long have you been a lunch lady?” Needless to say Alice and Oliver did not hit it off.

Despite the argument that people’s work do not have to be one’s source of happiness, we spend 1/3 of our lives working. Job titles matter. Oliver viewed the school’s use of kitchen equipment as improper to cooking protocol; an oven is supposed to bake something not heat up processed pizza and chicken nuggets.

However, not everyone has the opportunity to attend world-class cooking schools or the motivation to educate themselves in healthy cooking. And is it right to call a person who has spent over a decade in the food business a simple “lunch lady?”

I have been told that investment bankers do nothing; they just sit around in their comfy desks turning numbers. I have been told that managers do nothing; they sit with their fat cats at long drawn-out meetings and collect new projects to delegate to their workers later. But if we were to call these investment bankers “Number Turners” and managers “Kings,” people would be upset.

Whether we like it or not, job titles are intricately tied to personal self-worth and the social structure we live in. And rarely do people pay attention to the simple janitor cleaning our halls or the cashier, necessary people in our lives.

My questions of the day are: Is there a healthy way to separate ourselves from our job titles, labels and statuses? Do job titles genuinely reflect a person’s position and abilities? Has capitalism encouraged personal fulfillment and pursuit of meaning or does it just make us confused with our place in life?

Obsolete When All Are Employed Welcome your comments!

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NY TIMES: Business Students can Find Jobs!

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 15 - 2010

How may we all be helped?

Job Market Stabilizes for Business Students

There is hope! If you are a business student or looking for a banking job, the opportunities are there! And that doesn’t mean just being a bank teller.

Interns and prospective job seekers share their stories of rejection and success.

Ebony’s Results: “Are You a Networking Expert?”

Posted by admin On February - 26 - 2010

Job News, Hiring Trends, Career Profiles – MonsterCollege”.

You are probably a Networking Expert

You’ve got a pretty solid grasp on the basics of networking. Still, there’s a bit more you could do if you want to be at the absolute top of the heap. Make sure you’re paying attention to all the little details (shoes shined? Handshake firm? You know what we’re talking about!) and really trying to approach your contacts on a personal level and you’re sure to shine!

Yeah right! I can’t stand networking! If you want the background on my networking…see the article: “WHEN NETWORKING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG”

Also see more of Monster College here: Job News, Hiring Trends, Career Profiles – MonsterCollege”.

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REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN?

Posted by Tiffany A. On February - 24 - 2010

The Great Recession has created a panic amongst international students.

Many of my brilliant foreign classmates are unable to find a job. Whether they couldn’t get into a graduate school or deliberately chose to avoid higher education in the hopes of securing some real work experience, they are now facing the reality of massive unemployment in the U.S. That means that if they cannot find a job before their current VISA expires, which usually holds for a year after graduation, they cannot stay in the U.S.

In order to stay in the U.S., an international student must attend a school that extends their student VISA. Unfortunately, on-line schools and extension schools do not apply. If they choose to work, they must find an employer within their field of study that will sponsor them for a VISA. This causes much distress for those that study very specific and inflexible majors. For example, business majors can work for just about any company. On the contrary, Theater majors can only find jobs related to theater. Even if they do find sponsorship, their journey does not end. After hiring an immigration lawyer, they must submit their application in a lottery system that takes several years to process. If chance determines their lottery unfavorable, they can be rejected. Although, within the last two years, the number of VISA applicants have decreased to less than half of the allotted spaces available making it much easier to secure a VISA.

One of my classmates double majored in theater and science. She plans to be a doctor or open her own theater eventually but hoped to gain real-world experience in the workforce. After scouring Craig’s list, she found a job with the ACLU as a trainer. Regardless of its irrelevancy to her major, they were not sponsoring international students. Her search for jobs has revealed discrimination against international students based on their status. After completing a successful phone interview, one interviewer asked her if she applied to other jobs to which she responded “yes, but I am ineligible due to my non U.S. citizen status.” The response: a hasty call termination. Now, she is packing up to head back to Nigeria. Another classmate secured an interview with consulting company in Chicago. After passing the preliminary round, his interviewers offered to fly him out for an interview. Until they found out that he was an international student. Usually, that particular company sponsors international students but the current recession and budget restrictions prevented them from doing so this year. Another friend in New York, who is working at a Art Museum, is waiting until her 3-month introductory/probation period ends before she brings up sponsorship for fear of a backlash. In three months she will find out if she is eligible for sponsorship.

The question I pose today is: Is there a reverse brain drain? A concern for talent loss in the States was revealed with a recent article in the New York stating that more and more Chinese scientists with U.S. training are heading back to China.

The few success stories I have heard either came from an international student who married a U.S. citizen or found a company through connections. What do you think? Is America losing much needed talent? Or do you think that this is good because it leave more jobs for native citizens?

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Chronicles of the Resource Queen: Harvard=Online Degree’s Darlings

Posted by admin On February - 17 - 2010

Make way for the Resource Queen!

Oh yes,

Here we are, together, making our way through this vast and dark abyss called “unemployment”.

Whatever.

I, the Resource Queen shall guide you through this abyss, and I won’t even charge!

Like Charon on the River Styx I shall guide you to our destination, through the unknown…and yes I know that analogy is deadly, but at least I am keeping you awake dears!

Don't I look fabulous

Look what I found: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/

Isn’t this food for thought? Harvard University, arguably the best university in the WORLD (according to some people, I’m not one of them) is offering ONLINE CLASSES, and Degrees?

You can take fall, spring and summer classes, and when you graduate you can choose to go to commencement at the school in Cambridge…

And here it is from the horses mouth: “To take courses at Harvard Extension School, you simply register. No application is required.”

So YOU and anyone else who is interested can get an Ivy League education from home…and yes you have to pay for it, but you can apply for grants, loans and scholarships!

So if Harvard is offering online degree’s…who else is??

MIT
Stanford
Colorado Technical University
Pepperdine
University of Pennsylvania
University of Maryland
University of Phoenix

And so many more…

I’m not done, finding more ways to build your skills, pay your rent, and find you a job! Watch for my next entry…soon…

Signing off….

Resource Queen

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DON’T BELIEVE THE SMILES ON FACEBOOK: The grass is not that greener on the other side

Posted by Tiffany A. On December - 17 - 2009

Does this look fake? Oh who cares, I'm a cat

Everyone always thinks that the other guy’s life is so much better. He has a lexus; she has a dog; he has a girlfriend; she has a sugar daddy; he has a corporate job and makes dough; she has blond hair.

Since recapping with some former colleagues, I have found that though I may need to mow my own lawn, the grass only seems greener on the other side.

One of my friends sounded like he was living the HOLLYWOOD dream: graduated top class; secured an apartment and car in LA; then three months after graduation a job with a production company; still with his longtime girlfriend; just had some close friends visit.

The reality: He was a secretary doing nothing creative and always getting yelled at for mistakes, he worked long 9-12 hour days, he was getting paid diddly squat after taxes, and the company wasn’t even making movies.

WOWOWOWOWO.

Another friend was prepping to be a lawyer or a professor: just took his LSATs; applying for joint programs; happily married, enviable because he had options and yummy home-cooked food every day.

The reality: He doesn’t even really want to be a lawyer or poli sci major, doesn’t really know what else to do because that is the only thing he is good at even though he thinks it’s sort of BS. His main phrase: Life is suffering.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWO.

Another friend got a full ride to engineering school for a PHD. He also got at least a 15,000 dollar yearly stipend to just be a student and do some assisting. Had mojo.

Reality: he can’t wait to go back to his undergraduate block party because those were the days of fun and friendship. Plus, the girl he liked in grad school had a roommate that came on to him, which resulted in them both yelling at him. PLUS, he has not made any real friends. Plus, it’s so bad he might just get his masters and leave.

WOWOWOWOWW

Another friend got her dream job as an event planner in NY with an art company. Problem? They might not sponsor her to stay in the US because she is international.

So all in all, don’t feel bad when things aren’t going your way. It’s not all smiles. But please don’t think that this means be OK with your life right now. Continue gardening your lawn and make it the best you can be. Life is short. Just don’t let anyone with a fancy suit faze you. If they are anything like my coworker, his wife is probably sleeping on the floor with the kids.