Time Magazine on Labor Day, Unemployment and Stress

Time Magazine on Labor Day, Unemployment and Stress I should have run this on Monday (Labor Day), but oh well I saw an article on cnn/Time.com called For Unemployed, Labor Day Another Stressful Day.   Yup, Id have to agree.   I want to pull out some parts of the article and comment on them.   Sorry for the negative post and thoughts I guarantee tomorrow will be 1,000% positive! The nearly 15 million unemployed Americans wont enjoy Labor Day as a relaxing respite from work Ah, there you go how many competitors do you have?   15M. Its hard to maintain your focus that youre a valuable member of society when you go three months and nobody really wants to employ you, says Try being unemployed for 4 months.   Or 10.   Or 24.   Wont happen to you?   Perhaps not, but Id suggest a healthy dose of career preparation. The economy is showing signs of being on the mend. Yet thats hardly reassuring to the unemployed this Labor Day weekend. The job market is in lousy shape and will stay that way for a while. Absolutely right.   Economists are optimistic that good stuff is coming but if you think good stuff is going to happen the day they say it will, you are mistaken.   Check out my webinar with Mark Hovind where he talks about the idea of when the recession is over, and when we can feel the effects of not being in a recession anymore.   These two things dont happen on the same day. And it could take four years or more for the unemployment rate to fall back down to a normal level of about 5 percent. Ah yes, now we are talking sensibly.   Let me put this into perspective are you ready for a crappy 4 years, with so many unemployed, companies not investing or spending, etc.?   Waiting for the economy to correct itself might not be a strong job search strategy. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis advice to the unemployed: I would tell those workers and families not to lose sight of hope. She urges them to seek the skills, education and training needed for new jobs. But she acknowledges these are tough times. Thanks for the advice Hilda.   Attitude is critical but many are beyond losing sight of hope. My advice to job seekers can be found here: Career Management Tips While At College (not just for college kids), and: Advice for the job seeking college student How To Volunteer In The Job Search Job Seekers…Help Your Network Help You (this is about effectively communicating who you are and how others can help you) Job Search Tips: What I Should Have Done In The First 30 Days How To Find A Job In A Recession Time Magazine on Labor Day, Unemployment and Stress I should have run this on Monday (Labor Day), but oh well I saw an article on cnn/Time.com called For Unemployed, Labor Day Another Stressful Day.   Yup, Id have to agree.   I want to pull out some parts of the article and comment on them.   Sorry for the negative post and thoughts I guarantee tomorrow will be 1,000% positive! The nearly 15 million unemployed Americans wont enjoy Labor Day as a relaxing respite from work Ah, there you go how many competitors do you have?   15M. Its hard to maintain your focus that youre a valuable member of society when you go three months and nobody really wants to employ you, says Try being unemployed for 4 months.   Or 10.   Or 24.   Wont happen to you?   Perhaps not, but Id suggest a healthy dose of career preparation. The economy is showing signs of being on the mend. Yet thats hardly reassuring to the unemployed this Labor Day weekend. The job market is in lousy shape and will stay that way for a while. Absolutely right.   Economists are optimistic that good stuff is coming but if you think good stuff is going to happen the day they say it will, you are mistaken.   Check out my webinar with Mark Hovind where he talks about the idea of when the recession is over, and when we can feel the effects of not being in a recession anymore.   These two things dont happen on the same day. And it could take four years or more for the unemployment rate to fall back down to a normal level of about 5 percent. Ah yes, now we are talking sensibly.   Let me put this into perspective are you ready for a crappy 4 years, with so many unemployed, companies not investing or spending, etc.?   Waiting for the economy to correct itself might not be a strong job search strategy. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis advice to the unemployed: I would tell those workers and families not to lose sight of hope. She urges them to seek the skills, education and training needed for new jobs. But she acknowledges these are tough times. Thanks for the advice Hilda.   Attitude is critical but many are beyond losing sight of hope. My advice to job seekers can be found here: Career Management Tips While At College (not just for college kids), and: Advice for the job seeking college student How To Volunteer In The Job Search Job Seekers…Help Your Network Help You (this is about effectively communicating who you are and how others can help you) Job Search Tips: What I Should Have Done In The First 30 Days How To Find A Job In A Recession Time Magazine on Labor Day, Unemployment and Stress I should have run this on Monday (Labor Day), but oh well I saw an article on cnn/Time.com called For Unemployed, Labor Day Another Stressful Day.   Yup, Id have to agree.   I want to pull out some parts of the article and comment on them.   Sorry for the negative post and thoughts I guarantee tomorrow will be 1,000% positive! The nearly 15 million unemployed Americans wont enjoy Labor Day as a relaxing respite from work Ah, there you go how many competitors do you have?   15M. Its hard to maintain your focus that youre a valuable member of society when you go three months and nobody really wants to employ you, says Try being unemployed for 4 months.   Or 10.   Or 24.   Wont happen to you?   Perhaps not, but Id suggest a healthy dose of career preparation. The economy is showing signs of being on the mend. Yet thats hardly reassuring to the unemployed this Labor Day weekend. The job market is in lousy shape and will stay that way for a while. Absolutely right.   Economists are optimistic that good stuff is coming but if you think good stuff is going to happen the day they say it will, you are mistaken.   Check out my webinar with Mark Hovind where he talks about the idea of when the recession is over, and when we can feel the effects of not being in a recession anymore.   These two things dont happen on the same day. And it could take four years or more for the unemployment rate to fall back down to a normal level of about 5 percent. Ah yes, now we are talking sensibly.   Let me put this into perspective are you ready for a crappy 4 years, with so many unemployed, companies not investing or spending, etc.?   Waiting for the economy to correct itself might not be a strong job search strategy. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis advice to the unemployed: I would tell those workers and families not to lose sight of hope. She urges them to seek the skills, education and training needed for new jobs. But she acknowledges these are tough times. Thanks for the advice Hilda.   Attitude is critical but many are beyond losing sight of hope. My advice to job seekers can be found here: Career Management Tips While At College (not just for college kids), and: Advice for the job seeking college student How To Volunteer In The Job Search Job Seekers…Help Your Network Help You (this is about effectively communicating who you are and how others can help you) Job Search Tips: What I Should Have Done In The First 30 Days How To Find A Job In A Recession

Personal Branding Weekly - Protect Yourself from Bad Company - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Weekly - Protect Yourself from Bad Company - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career We often write about how to keep our reputation clean to get the best opportunities or to be seen in the most positive and professional light. What happens if the company you work for has a bad reputation? What if they’re known for their poor customer service, poor human resource practices or bad business? How do you protect your personal brand if you’re associated with that? In last week’s SteamFeed TV episode, we talked about customer service, and small and larger businesses. Is it easier or harder for a small business to be more agile and responsive? As an individual with a company, are you empowered to take action or is there proper protocol that you are aware of and need to follow? During #brandchat, we called out those brands that are doing it well and many that don’t empower those on the frontline to make a decision or take actions to serve customers. In fact, many launch into customer service on social without having any strategy or practices in place. Sadly, the person who is directly working with the customer wants to help but has no authority which again leaves the individual accountable for the actions (or in action) of the company. Here are three things you can do to protect your personal brand 1. Research before you associate with a company The best defense is a great offense. Manage your brand by doing research before you associate with, work with or partner with any company or organization. If you rush in out of excitement (or the necessity) of employment, you may not have adequate time to get to know the company. Ask questions. Refrain from getting wrapped up in the excitement of the new opportunity. From understanding the company culture, to getting to know the personalities of people you’ll report directly to or who lead the company, all of that research is beneficial and necessary for a solid foundation to your business relationship. 2. Trust your instincts Read reviews and talk to past employees, customers and even vendors to give you more insight into the overall culture of the organization.  [tweet this] If you can be a customer of the company, then be a customer and find out more about how customers are really treated. Speak to someone in that same position (even if they’re at another company) or who had that position. Ask them, what’s the biggest challenge of the position? This will help you know what questions to ask or research to know how the company you’re considering handles those challenges. 3. Follow through and make plans If you’re already there, then follow through with what you say you’re going to do, document and get things in writing. If it seems that the underlying culture of the company is genuinely negative or even sleazy, then do some research on other options. There are other opportunities to explore. Also to help you manage your personal brand, we shared the following insights this week: Applying Newtons 3rd Law of Motion to the Workplace by Skip Weisman Priceless Leadership: An Interview with Kevin Allen by Bill Connolly What Successful People Know About Anger by Nance Rosen 4 Ways Social Media Can Blend Personal Brand and Job Search by Heather Huhman Reach Your Goal by Helping the Team by Elinor Stutz Do You Use Glassdoor for Your Job Search? by Ceren Cubukcu Focus is Everything by Katie Konrath Five Reasons Your Profession is Hurting Your Career by Richard Kirby Offer Your New Hires some PDA by Eddy Ricci Personal Brands: 3 Ways to Avoid the Drama by Maria Elena Duron 7 Steps to Spring Clean your LinkedIn Profile  by Jeff Shuey Four Simple Tactics for Social Media Success by Crystal Washington 4 Ways Your Ego is Getting in the Way of Your Job Search by Glassdoor.com How Solopreneurs can Look Professional on a Tight Budget by Leslie Truex Seven Tips for Getting Good at Spotting Trends by Beth Kuhel 5 Ways to Get More Respect at Work by Ken Sundheim Youre Hired! Now What? Targeted Job Search by Marc Miller Featured Photo

Things to Remember When Moving out for the First Time

Things to Remember When Moving out for the First Time When moving out from home for the first time it might seem an impossible task to choose what to pack and what to leave behind. Your room in halls on campus or in a shared house most certainly is not going to fit everything you own, and do you really want your new friends to see your pink teddy bear that still keeps your pillow warm when you are not in the bed? Here are some helpful tips on what to bring and how to pack when you are moving to live on your own for the very first time. Pack Light If you are not moving to the other side of the world, pack light. You are unlikely to miss much of what you end up leaving behind, but if you do, you can always pick things up at Christmas or other holidays. Bring the clothes you wear the most, not the ones you wish you would wear. A good tip is to pack for the seasons if you’re really short for space â€" you can always return for your summer dresses, rather than having them take up room over the winter months. The most effective way to pack clothes is to roll them up and put them into large black bin bags. This will save room in the car when transporting them and you will not have too many cardboard boxes to get rid of, once you have arrived and unpacked. Rooms in halls normally do not have a large amount of storage, so bringing too much will only leave you in a mess once you are there. Ask for Help On moving day, ask someone to help you. You may find friends of family to help, but if you’re out of options, try a removals company. These companies might cost a bit extra, but if you are bringing your own bed or other furniture, it is well worth it, and you won’t need to struggle with heavy furniture and boxes up the never-ending stairs. There are also websites where you can put up an ad asking anyone going in the same direction to take some of your things. Family and friends are often more than willing to help out if it is the first time you are leaving home. Be specific with what you need so that you have enough space to pack what you want as well as time to get to meet your new housemates or other people living in the same halls as you on the first day. Take Some Personal Things When you arrive at your new accommodation, it will most likely look very generic and quite frankly, a little boring.   That’s why it is a good idea to bring something with you that will make the space represent your personality or make you feel more at home. This can be posters to hang on the walls or framed photos of your family or friends. Keeping your room organised is important so knick-knacks might not be a top priority, but you are likely to be spending some time in this room over the next few years, so make it your own and make it a place you enjoy spending time in.