Want the Bosses Job?

In an interesting Business Week article in the November 3rd issue, a poll by researcher Weber Shandwick show that 54% of employees say they have not heard anything from management about what impacts the financial crisis will have on their companies. About 70% say they would welcome that kind of feedback. Some 62% of those employees predict that their company would have trouble meeting its goals in the next year.

What is even more interesting was that another survey by Adecco found that 69% of 1,500 workers at all levels surveyed said they would refuse their bosses job if offered.

This is up from 54% in 2005.

Is this the economy or the increased workload for business leaders?

How to Avoid a Vampire Attack

Happy Halloween!

Take these easy to do steps for preventing a Vampire attack on Halloween this year...

1.) Garlic, garlic, garlic. Wear garlic and display it in your doorway.

2.) Stay outside during daylight hours. Sunlight will severely burn vampires.

3.) Wear a cross. Press the cross into the vampire's flesh to cause burning and scarring and drive the vampire away.

4.) Do not make eye contact.

5.) Carry a vile of holy water. Besides causing burning and scarring to the vampire, holy water will also glow or bubble in the presence of the undead.

6.) Carry a wooden stake. For most vampires, a wooden stake (made from an ash tree or a cross) driven through the heart causes death. The stake must be 2 to 2.5 feet long, with one end sharpened to a point and the other flat. Use a mallet to drive the stake in quickly.

Happy Halloween and Good Luck Against the Vampires!

3 Tips for Interviewing for That Next Job

Do you really want to 'lock down' that interview? Follow these three tips and you will be well prepared to land the job of your dreams.

1.) Show up at least 15 min early to the interview.
2.) Come prepared; make sure you have done your research on the company for which you are interviewing.
3.) Ask questions. You're interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing you.

You're well on your way! Stay tuned for more helpful tips and advice!

Paycheck to Paycheck CareerBuilder Survey

NEARLY HALF OF WORKERS LIVING PAYCHECK TO
PAYCHECK, FINDS CAREERBUILDER.COM SURVEY

25 percent of workers save nothing each month

Chicago, September 2008 – As the country continues to deal with the current
economic slowdown, workers are stretching their paychecks more than ever. Nearly half
of workers (47 percent) say they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck just to
make ends meet, up from 43 percent last year, according to a nationwide survey of over
7,192 workers by CareerBuilder.com. One-in-five (21 percent) workers with salaries of
$100,000 or more report they too live paycheck to paycheck.

Four-in-ten (42 percent) workers say they would need up to an additional $500 per
paycheck to live comfortably. Fourteen percent says they have to work more than one
job to keep up with monthly expenses.

Comparing gender, more female workers (54 percent) say they always or usually have to
live paycheck to paycheck, compared to males (41 percent). More men (77 percent) than
woman (72 percent) say they save some portion of their paycheck each month, while 70
percent of women claim to have a set budget, compared to 61 percent of men.

“Nearly two-thirds of workers say they have a set budget each pay period, although 19
percent admit to typically going over it,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of
human resources for CareerBuilder.com. “Just like in business, going over a budget can
have negative consequences on the bottom line. Workers who are facing challenges in
this area may want to reevaluate where their funds are being allocated, so they can
identify opportunities to reprioritize, recoup savings and lighten their financial burden.”

Myspace and Facebook Litigation Soon?

Ran across an interesting point made by Nick Fishman on the outstanding HR/recruiting blog Cheezhead (http://www.cheezhead.com/) created by Joel Cheesman. I think he has a good point...

From Cheezhead:

"Many you have seen the recent CareerBuilder study which concluded that 1 in 5 employers is using Social Networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook as part of their employment background screening process.

While untested to date, we are going to see significant negligent hiring and discriminatory hiring practices claims arise from the use of these sites when making employment decisions.

Wait until the litigation starts. Trust me, it’s coming."

Next Recession?

47 = The number of months after the start of the 2001 recession before employment matched its previous high.

(source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Considering we have entered into another recession in 2008, it could be a very competitive job market for those looking for employment for quite a while.

Highest Unemployment Since 2003

The unemployment rate increased to 6.1% in August and payroll employment dropped by 84,000 jobs. This is the highest unemployment rate since September 2003.

More competition for less jobs, yikes.