Wednesday, August 11, 2010

“Working strategies: My very different views on job search, unemployment help” plus 3 more

“Working strategies: My very different views on job search, unemployment help” plus 3 more

Working strategies: My very different views on job search, unemployment help

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 02:21 PM PDT

By Amy Lindgren

For the AJC

I smile a lot, so people are usually surprised to discover how cranky I actually am. Lately, I'm surprising even myself.

I don't complain (much) about the weather, or construction, or even people who cut me off in traffic. But state something illogical as if it were a fact and you can count on me to carp. Make the illogical statement about job search and you can almost set your watch waiting for the steam to come out of my ears.

So what's got me going these days? Here's one week's harvest: career counselors who don't think older people can find work, researchers who claim job search is a full-time job, job seekers who think eight hours a week is sufficient, reporters who think discouraged-worker statistics mean that workers are actually discouraged and politicians who believe that extending unemployment benefits will help the situation.

Offended yet? That's not my goal; I just see things differently.

For example, I see things differently than the career counselors I keep meeting who believe older workers can't find a job in this market. Perhaps that's because I know dozens who have; perhaps because I simply can't respect the position. If that's how a counselor feels, the door is open to find other work or to specialize in teens. But spreading this opinion as if it were fact is not useful.

I also see things differently than the researchers who followed 233 job seekers for up to three weeks in a self-reporting study (Connie R. Wanberg, Jing Zhu, Edwin A.J. van Hooft, "The Job Search Grind," Academy of Management Journal, August, 2010). After discovering that 60 percent of the job seekers put in fewer than four hours a day, Wanberg was noted on wsj.com advising that job search should be treated as a full-time job.

Not so fast! This study provided other fascinating data. But to conclude that 40 hours is the weekly benchmark? As Wanberg herself noted, there is no research connecting 40 hours to job search results. She also describes how to put in a full-time search and when it does and doesn't make sense. And yet, to my perpetual annoyance, the 40-hour advice is offered without such caveats by everyone from counselors to in-laws as the hallmark of job search.

In lieu of actual research, I stand by my observations for 25 years: It is not the number of hours, but the number and quality of the contacts that matter. Telling a job seeker to punch the clock instead of strategically seeking interviews results in rote job search. It is not harmless advice.

That said, I see things very, very differently from the job seekers putting in those paltry hours. If you are currently unemployed and searching only an hour a day (about 10 percent of the respondents), please don't tell me the market is to blame. This pattern wouldn't work for you in a good market either.

I'm convinced that one reason some job seekers slip in their efforts is that they are not desperate. Or perhaps they are in denial? Some are spending retirement funds, others are riding out seemingly endless unemployment checks. I don't accuse them of being lazy – just not as focused on the search, or as open to alternative jobs, as they would be without these resources.

And that is why I see things differently than the politicians who keep extending unemployment benefits. Stop that, please. It really is becoming an entitlement program -- and you do know, don't you, that people base their re-employment strategies around their unemployment accounts? This is natural; anyone would maximize their resources this way. But you are creating a debt burden that future employers will have to repay through the unemployment tax system. I can't think of a quicker way to quash future hiring than to keep raising employers' taxes on each new person in order to pay for the workers lost during the downturn. Why is this story not reported?

And that brings me to one of my pet peeves. I definitely see things differently than journalists who present only one side to the statistics. Yes, we now track "discouraged workers" – but just because they're not looking doesn't mean they've run out of job search options. In any given week, I will talk with discouraged workers who are not looking because they are engaged in other activities.

I'm not saying people aren't discouraged. But reporting the numbers without interpretation feeds the fear that keeps job seekers from pushing harder to find work. Why look if everyone says it's impossible?

Okay. Now I've alienated nearly everyone, including hard-working journalists, innovative researchers, overwhelmed counselors and the job-seekers themselves, about whom I care deeply. I don't worry about offending politicians – they took the job expecting opposing views. To everyone else, believe me when I say: Nothing personal. I just see things differently.

Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Search for new city planner winding down

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 08:06 AM PDT

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The search for Buffalo's new city planner is nearing completion as the candidate pool has been culled to four. Those candidates will be asked for a personal interview soon.

NY opens new job search website

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 12:09 PM PDT

by John Callegari
Published: August 11, 2010
Tags: , ,

Even in these tough economic times, the New York State Department of Labor is willing to bet it can find anyone a job - and it's got 84,000 reasons to be confident.

The state department has launched a new website, called the New York State Job Bank, which is home to 84,217 job openings and counting. Job seekers can use the site to post resumes and scan job openings by category, location or both. In addition, by registering for free with the site, those searching for a new source of employment can receive alerts for the latest job postings as often as they choose.

Employers can benefit from the new website as well. Businesses that register with the site are able to automatically add jobs listed on their own websites to the job bank and enables them to search from thousands of resumes for just the right fit for their company.

The website also provides resources and information for employers and potential employees, including workforce data, career planning information, unemployment assistance information and services available to businesses through the Department of Labor.


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Search on for top young truckie

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 11:55 PM PDT

THE search for Australia's top young truck driver has begun, with the launch of Scania's Young Australian Truck Driver Competition 2010.

The competition is endorsed by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), the peak body that represents the trucking industry. ATA experts will participate in the judging panel.

The chairman of the ATA, David Simon, said the competition would give truck drivers aged under 40 the chance to showcase their skills and professionalism.

"Truck driving is a skilled and responsible job, because a truck driver today is in charge of equipment worth half a million dollars or more - plus the value of the load," Mr Simon said.

"A skilled driver can reduce a truck's fuel consumption by about 25 per cent on non-highway jobs, as well as reducing the wear and tear on the vehicle. Fuel is often the single largest cost that has to be met by a trucking company, so having skilled drivers makes an enormous difference to the bottom line.

"The competition will also highlight the professionalism of the industry's young drivers, and encourage everyone to lift their driving standards.

"These are important objectives for the industry as a whole, which is why the ATA has endorsed the 2010 Scania Young Australian Truck Driver Competition, after our close involvement in the inaugural competition in 2007.

"I urge every young truck driver to visit the Scania website and consider entering, or press their friends and colleagues into entering if they have the exceptional skills, positive attitude, stamina and professional pride to be the winner on Saturday, November 20," he said.

The winner of the Scania Young Australian Truck Driver Competition 2010 will receive a $10,000 prize, as well as the applause of drivers and operators across the industry.

To enter the competition, visit www.scania.com.au< /a>

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