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INTERESTED IN BITS OF CAREER-RELATED ITEMS?
READ ON. BUNDLE OF JOY BIT: The most recent comprehensive study on the emotional state of those with kids shows us that the term "bundle of joy" may not be the most accurate way to describe our offspring. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," says Florida State University's Robin Simon, a sociology professor who's conducted several recent parenting studies, the most thorough of which came out in 2005 and looked at data gathered from 13,000 Americans by the National Survey of Families and Households. "In fact, no group of parents—married, single, step or even empty nest—reported significantly greater emotional well-being than people who never had children. It's such a counterintuitive finding because we have these cultural beliefs that children are the key to happiness and a healthy life, and they're not." newsweek.com, July 7-14, 2008 RAISE IT BIT: Is the weak economy causing you to hesitate to ask your boss for a raise? Ninety percent of employees do not feel this is a good time to ask for a raise, according to a recent human resources survey Randstad, a worldwide staffing agency. The online poll included 2,200 employees, including 1,295 employers in the United States. Most people these days seem to be more worried about keeping their jobs than getting a raise. That can be a costly mistake. The right time to ask for a raise is when you deserve one, regardless of the general state of the economy. nj.com. June 29, 2008 JOB SEARCH BIT: To develop your career in any market, you need current job search skills. Just as the types of jobs available change over time, the techniques needed to be a competitive candidate and succeed in today's job market have also changed. In years past, a written resume may have been sufficient to get you an interview. Today, most companies will expect you to file your resume online to be considered for an interview. You need to know how to list key words to attract the attention of the prospective employer. You need to be able to describe your accomplishments, not just list the job duties at your previous employment. You will be one of many that are in a database of resumes and you want your resume to go to the top of the list. Don't assume that one resume will work for all jobs; customize the resume to fit the specific job and employer. tennessean.com, June 25, 2008 STUCK WORKPLACE BIT: Today, in 70 percent of households, all adults work, resulting in an increasing number without a stay-at-home parent or primary caretaker. While family dynamics and living arrangements have changed, the typical requirements of work have not, creating a mismatch between workplace expectations and workforce needs. Nearly half of all employees report conflicts between jobs and other responsibilities, more so than a generation ago, and many workers do not have access to opportunities to balance work-life responsibilities, such as paid sick days, family and medical leave, or flexibility in the workplace. alternet.org/workplace, June 25, 2008 DIGITAL PERSONNA BIT: If you’re looking for a job, you should be mindful of who might be looking for you online. Many employers now routinely check out potential hires on social networking sites, for example. Here are a few tips on how to keep your digital persona clean: Washington Post Post Points, June 23, 2008 SEARCH ENGINE BIT; Careerjet, a job search engine celebrating its 8th birthday has many great accomplishments to its credit. First, the engine supports 56 country specific sites in over 20 languages. Second, it has launched public APIs and innovative affiliate programs for both online and offline partners. The crawlers of the engine use semantic analysis to index job related information from over 58,000 sites on a daily basis. The technology allows them to scale to the ever increasing amount of job related data on the web unhindered by the size, structure or language used. searchenginejournal.com, June 18, 2008 LET'S HEAR IT FOR FRIENDS BIT: You may have watched enough Oprah shows to realize that friendship is good for the soul. And if you've read books by Deepak Chopra you know that true friendship is beneficial to your physical health as well as your psychological well-being. Now, the acclaimed Gallup research organization has found that friendships help you love your job. Tom Rath, who leads Gallup's Workplace and Leadership Consulting worldwide, has published years of research in a fascinating book, "Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without." Offering anecdotes of real-life subjects and statistics to back up the stories, Rath tells us that friends at work are not only nice to have -- they are essential to employees' happiness, engagement and productivity on the job. knowledge.wpcarey.asu,edu, June 5, 2008 WORK-LIFE: WebMd offers 5 tips for better work-life balance: See how many of them you can weave into your life. 1. Figure out what really matters to you in life; 2. Drop unnecessary activities; 3. Protect your private time; 4. Accept help to balance your life; and 5. Plan fun and relaxation. webmd.com, June 1, 2008 JOB TERMINATION BIT: Let's suppose you tell a prospective employer that you are thinking of suing your former employer. When they hear that, they might very well think twice about hiring you. To be sure, it is illegal for them to decide whether to hire you based upon your exercise of legally protected rights. However, how would you go about proving that that is what they did? They can always come up with valid, persuasive reasons why they passed on your application. washingtonpost.com, May 22, 2008 BACK TO SCHOOL BIT: Is it time for you to go back to school? Many mid-career professionals wonder if an extra certification or graduate degree isn’t just the ticket to give their career --and their paychecks-- a boost. In many cases, it definitely could, but here are key questions you should ask before you sign up for any program:
Washington Post Post Points, May 19, 2008 MBA HIRING BIT: Even as employers scale back their overall hiring plans amid weakness in the economy, their interest in hiring MBAs remains steady and is likely to remain so during the coming months, according to a survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council in McLean, Va., sponsor of the GMAT exam. The proportion of respondents to the annual GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey who are preparing to hire new MBAs is higher this year than it was in 2007, the council said in a news release. About 70 percent of the more than 2,300 survey respondents say they are in the market for people with MBAs, compared with 64 percent last year. Also, the expected projected number of new hires per employer is slightly up, from an average of 12 new MBA hires to 13. Most employers expect salaries to rise at the rate of inflation or better despite a rough economic climate. The projected starting annual salary for new MBA hires in 2008 averages $83,541, up from $80,452 last year. In the U.S., projected average starting annual salaries is $85,581, up from $81,483. bizjournals,com, May 16, 2008 RETIRING EXECUTIVES BIT: Consulting may be a good career choice for executives nearing retirement, according to a new survey. Three out of four chief financial officers polled said they viewed consulting as a good transition into retirement, according to a survey by Robert Half International. Nearly half (48 percent) of chief financial officers found the prospect of consulting "somewhat attractive," while 27 percent said it was "very attractive." Chief financial officers cited working fewer hours (47 percent) and earning money to supplement retirement (38 percent) as top benefits to consulting as they reach the golden years. The staffing firm's survey was based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with chief financial officers from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. bizjournals.com, May 14, 2008 WORKING MOMS BIT: The latest Adecco USA Workplace Insight survey, conducted in recognition of Mother's Day, found that working moms (71%) are just as likely as non-parents (73%) to work late and respond to e-mails after hours, even though one-third of all workers (32%) would be less inclined to ask a working parent (male or female) to do so. Further, even though they're willing to burn the midnight oil with the rest of their colleagues, nearly half of moms (49%) think their companies should do more to help them achieve better work/life balance. prnewswire.com, May 8, 2008 BUSY BRITS BIT: Eight in ten British (82%) fail to do important things in their home lives every week as work takes over personal time, according to new research from American Express Insurance Services. At a time of increasing concern over the health of the nation, exercise (45%) and cooking from scratch (34%) are two of the key activities that fall to the bottom of the ‘to do' list. Relaxing at the end of a long day, also important for health, is suffering too as are personal relationships. One in four people admit to not spending enough time with their partner or children, and 39 per cent struggle to keep in touch with friends and relatives. American Express Insurance Services asked a GB representative sample of over 1,900 working people which activities and commitments they were too busy to fit into their working day and so fell further down the ‘to do' list. easier.com, May 3, 2008 ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY BIT: Whether or not the U.S. economy has hit a recession, one thing is clear these days: Uncertainty is in the air, and it affects nearly every economic sector, including the job market. The recent rise in the U.S. unemployment rate indicates that fewer jobs are being created, but the shrinkage may not affect job-seekers in some fields, such as technology or health care. Nonetheless, experts say job seekers should pay attention to current economic conditions and expect that the job-search process may take longer. mercurynews.com, May 3, 2008 LABOR SHORTAGE BIT: American employers cannot find enough highly skilled workers to fill essential positions. There are not enough American workers with advanced skills in computer, engineering, and mathematical occupations to perform the work that many high-tech companies need. This shortage of skilled labor has forced many companies to outsource operations abroad. heritage.com, April 30, 2008 BLUE MONDAY BIT: Half of U.S. workers who responded to a query on Monster.com's job-search Web site said the thought of work looming Monday affects their sleep the night before. Another one-fifth said work disrupts their Sunday night's rest at least a couple times a month. Such a Web vote is not a scientific poll and doesn't reflect a random sample of the population. washingtonpost.com, April 23, 2008 ON THE CLOCK BIT: Job hunting while at work? A few tips for maintaining professionalism as you search: Use your cell phone to take and receive job-search calls. Create a professional-sounding personal e-mail address to send out resumes. And make sure your job is still getting done, even if means stahying late to make up for the lost time. Washington Post Post Points, April 21, 2008 JOB INTERVIEW BIT: How well are you preparing for interviews? If you're relying mainly on your well-polished shoes and sparkling wit to impress potential employers, you could be losing out. Instead, take some time to research the company before your meeting. Asking questions that are tailored to an employer's specific needs will make you stand out from other candidates. Good sources of information include the company's web site, former employees, even their SEC filings. Washington Post Post Points, April 14, 2008 SALARY BIT: The national median salary last year was $36,140 (half of all workers earned more; half earned less). The average 2007 pay increase was less than 4%; many Americans received smaller raises or none at all. Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index rose 4.3%. Americans now spend 5% more for food, 8.6% for hospital services and a whopping 35% more for gasoline than we did a year ago. Parade, April 13, 2008 NEW SEARCH ENGINE BIT: Hiresite LLC., an online Michigan jobs search engine, Thursday expanded its coverage to search for jobs in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. The Detroit-based company allows job seekers to search and apply for jobs free of charge while charging employers low fees to post jobs and advertisements. The original site launched in April. Hiresite plans to compete with popular job-search sites such as careerbuilder.com and monster.com. crainsdetroit.com, April 8, 2008 APRIL FOOL'S BIT: About a third of workers say they have
either initiated or been the target of an April Fool's Day prank according to a
survey Washington Post Post Points, March 31, 2008 BLUNDER BIT: How many Americans quietly shuddered while watching Eliot Spitzer's stellar career disintegrate: Even for those with far lesser embarrassments, word of a big mistake often spreads at lightning speed. How do you get out of the mugging alive? The best method depends on several variables: Does the mistake reflect directly on your work? Do you have mentors or influential allies within your company or industry? Where do you fit within the company? How far has the gossip gone? Can your organization's HR department help? daily freeman.com, March 31, 2008 YAHOO JOB SEARCH BIT: A new system for ranking listings on Yahoo HotJobs debuted with the promise of better relevance and service for job seekers, recruiters, and the members of Yahoos consortium of newspaper publishers. Success in the job listings business means finding candidates that suit the recruiter's requirements. Yahoo touted a new initiative today to enhance that pool of desirable job seekers through its HobJobs service. Yahoo calls its new search ranking system R.E.A.L. which stands for relevance, engagement, availability and location. webpronews.com, March 26, 2008 JOB ALERT BIT: Jobalot (www.jobalot.com), a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced the addition of a Job Alerts feature to jobalot.com. The Job Alerts feature emails job seekers the latest opportunities in their specified industry and location on a daily basis. This feature allows busy job seekers to be notified of new jobs as they become available. With the opportunity to sign up for multiple categories of Job Alerts, the website's goal is to become an even more valuable resource for job seekers. pr-inside.com, March 16, 2008 IT EMPLOYMENT BIT: Against the backdrop of dismal trends in the broader job market, IT Employment surged in February 2008. According to the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks IT employment on a monthly basis, IT employment grew by more than 40,000 last month, a more than one percent (1.06%) month-over-month increase. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew 9.1 percent from February 2007. In February 2008, IT employment stood at nearly 3.9 million, an all-time high. prnewswire/usnewswire, March 11, 2008 TOTAL RECALL BIT: When your boss calls you into her office, do you always bring a pen and paper? Relying on your memory might be fine 99 percent of the time, but that 1 percent it fails could really get you in trouble. Taking good notes doesn’t mean you have to scribble down every word at meetings, but you should make note of any tasks you’ve been assigned and their deadlines. Develop a system for incorporating those items to your to-do list, and you’ll never have to bug your boss with another “so when did you say that was due …” again. Washington Post Post Points. March 10, 2008 FLEXTIME BIT: As commutes grow and cubicles shrink, workers in the United States are eagerly exploring the potential of flexible work arrangements. Likewise, more and more employers are considering policies that allow employees to work whenever and wherever they can be most productive. A survey commissioned last year by Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista mobility team to study attitudes toward this trend found that 77 percent of American office workers interviewed would like the opportunity to shift their work hours or to work remotely. While 37 percent said they consider technology to be their biggest barrier, workers also are optimistic about new advances - with 87 percent reporting that new technology usually made their job easier. accountingweb.com, March 1, 2008 BOOMER BIT: Unlike their parents, baby boomers have plenty of healthy years ahead of them once they reach 65, thanks to modern medicine. Add to that the shortage of skilled employees in the workforce, and baby boomers have the option of working through what was once considered the traditional retirement years. Ideally, the workplace will be flexible and boomers will work on a project basis as opposed to five days a week from 9 to 5. Or it will be a time when they can explore a second or even third career. But the key is to start planning now. forbes.com, February 29,2008 GETTING YOUR ZZZZs BIT:
Work
life balance is important for overall happiness, but can work life balance be
achieved without adequate sleep? Will Marre, founder of American Dream Project
and acclaimed speaker, says no. “We cannot fully enjoy any aspect of our lives,”
states Marre, “when we are constantly tired.” To help people take a closer,
honest look at how they rate on work life balance, the American Dream Project
has been conducting an online Dream Life Assessment. This questionnaire asks
participants to grade themselves on key questions related to work life balance,
including their sleep. expertclick.com, February 20, 2008 ONE OF THOSE DAYS BIT: Tuesday is the most productive day of the week for workers, according to 57 percent of the executives recently polled by Accountemps. The least productive day of the week? This one’s not a surprise: Friday. To make your Fridays a little more like your Tuesdays, spend a few minutes first thing each morning planning how you’ll spend your day. And if you make it through your must-do list, move on to a few items for the next week. That should make those Mondays a little less hectic. Washington Post, Post Points, February 18, 2008 POLITICS AT WORK BIT: Most workers aren't afraid to speak their mind about politics in the office. Sixty-seven percent surveyed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service that questioned 522 workers, say political discussions are appropriate for workplace conversation, as long as they stay under control. Another 14 percent of respondents promote these dialogues, while 18 percent feel they are inappropriate. Thirty-nine percent workers consider discussing politics a common practice in the office, while 59 percent say debates on politics don't occur often. bendweekly.com, February 15, 2008 JOB-SEARCH BIT: With higher unemployment, growing
concerns about the economy and greater competition for fewer available openings,
people need to adjust their job-search strategies. To be successful, job seekers
need to increase their job-search activity, as well as make other necessary
adjustments. Among the changes people need to make in a more competitive
job-search climate are: more face-to-face meetings, stepped-up job-search
activity, more flexibility, willingness to relocate, tapping into the hidden job
market, relying less on Internet job boards and want-ads, and using social
networking sites. GEN Y BIT II: A national survey of working adults commissioned by Workplace Options ( WPO ), the largest provider of work-life employee benefits in America, found that only 39% of employees under 26 years old report being ‘very satisfied’ with their jobs. By comparison, nearly twice as many employees 66 years old and older report being ‘very satisfied’ with their jobs, with 91% having favorable views of their work situation. Though no cause and effect was determined, the survey found that job satisfaction steadily increases with age. As a large number of retirements are expected from ‘baby boom’ generation workers, more college graduates will be entering the labor market than over the previous decade. With this generational shift in the workplace, employers will need to be aware of a new set of needs from their employees. media-newswire.com, January 31, 2007 GEN Y BIT I: From completing your child's college application to arranging the first job interview, parents of Generation Y'ers (bml note: also called millennials) are more involved in their children's lives than any generation preceding it. Commonly referred to as "helicopter parents," the difference between this generation and others is that many millennials actually want their parents to be involved in their career selection process. But what is a healthy medium between properly advising your college-aged child on career planning as opposed to mapping out his or her entire career-causing corporate recruiters to run for the hills when they get a phone call from a parent of a potential Gen Y employee? Internships and co-ops are career door openers that parents can use to help guide their children as they transition from college to the workplace. napsnet.com, January 30, 2008 JOB SEARCH BIT: If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to find a better job - or just find a job - you have lots of company right now. January is historically a peak hiring month. Many businesses operate on a calendar year budgeting cycle, so now they have money to fill vacancies or expand. journalnow.com, January 27, 2007 BELIEVE IT BIT: Work life balance brings forth the question, is a personal belief system important in today’s world? According to Will Marre, founder of American Dream Project and acclaimed speaker, it is—very. “Studies across 46 countries,” states Marre, “show that people who embrace spiritual beliefs and regularly attend some type of worship service are happier, more content, more optimistic, healthier and longer living than those who don’t. Believers simply have higher life satisfaction and work life balance than those who don’t have a spiritual belief system.” expertclick.com, January 24, 2008 WORK TO LIVE BIT: With their cell phones, BlackBerrys and workaholic ethic, Americans may seem more tethered to their jobs than ever, but the results of a new survey from Monster.com indicate otherwise. According to the survey, more Americans view their jobs as a means to an end—e.g. a way to pay the bills or help support their families—as opposed to being the end-all, be-all in their lives. The online poll asked Monster users in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany to choose which sentence described them best: "I work to live" or "I live to work." A whopping 78 percent of American respondents selected "I work to live," compared with 85 percent of British and German citizens and 83 percent of French citizens. Twenty-two percent of Americans "live to work," compared with 17 percent of French workers and 15 percent of Brits and Germans. A total of 16,000 users responded to the poll, which was conducted from January 1 through January 7, 2008. cio.com, January 14, 2007 HAPPY CAMPERS BIT: According to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt, employees who are able to strike a good work-life balance are twice more likely to stay in the job than those who are not. They are also more likely to recommend their company to others as a good place to work. However, while firms may be willing to help facilitate balance, much depends on the individual's ability to manage time well. In addition, experts say that it is important to recognize that work-life balance can mean different things to different people. channelnewsasia, January 11, 2008 SMALL BIZ BIT: Almost half of small-business managers in the U.S. use family time for work, according to a survey sponsored by Staples, Inc., assessing the state of work/life balance among today's business operators. The national survey polled more than 300 owners and managers of companies with less than 20 employees, a group that represents nearly 90% of U.S. businesses. A 40-hour work week does not apply for 62% of survey respondents and one-fifth work a double week of 80 hours or more. Mobile devices have only added to the long hours. More than two-thirds of respondents work on days off, checking e-mail, voicemail or making work-related calls. Two-thirds work after hours and at night; half work on holidays, and almost half work during "family" time. americandrycleaner.com, January 8, 2008 WORKING HOURS BIT: Americans are putting in more hours at work, about 42.5 hours in 2006, compared to about 37.5 hours in 2003, according to time-use surveys by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The extra hours are a result of fewer employees to do work, fears of job security, a need for overtime pay and a hope for advancement, experts say. Drawbacks include burnout, and an impact on health and quality of life. pittsburghlive.com, January 2, 2008 NEW YEARS' RESOLUTIONS BIT: Most of us now know that making resolutions is the easy part. Where life gets tricky is squeezing more time out of our day to make our resolutions stick. Whether we resolve to exercise more, land a promotion or spend more time with our families and friends, it takes a time commitment to make these things happen. For most of us, work/life balance already is a challenge. So how do you find time to do more without giving up sleep or adding stress to your busy lives? Here are five tips to make your New Year's resolutions stick: Be realistic, Don't make it a competition, Write your
resolution(s) down, Have support, Allow miamiherald.com, January 1, 2008 |
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