Careersthatdontsuck.com » polls http://careersthatdontsuck.com Since you gotta work... Fri, 25 May 2012 02:28:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Question: Are you editing your list of potential employers to save face? http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/04/27/question-are-you-editing-your-list-of-potential-employers-to-save-face/ http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/04/27/question-are-you-editing-your-list-of-potential-employers-to-save-face/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:54:57 +0000 careersthatdontsuck http://1559590081 Question: Are you editing your list of potential employers to save face? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

]]> I had a very interesting conversation with a friend who is currently on the hunt for a new job.  She, like so many, was very frustrated by the fact that she has received only a couple of responses to the dozens of resumes she has sent out (and hand-delivered).  She spoke of feeling rejected, disillusioned with all of the advice everyone has given her about job-hunting.  My friend is a fairly capable networker and has a good resume for a mid-level professional in her field.  So what’s the problem?

After a mildly heated discussion of the current best practices in job hunting (LinkedIn, referrals, externships, freelancing), I convinced my friend to work indulge me in an exercise.  I asked her to give me a list of the jobs and employers she’s targeting in her search.  We took a look at a few of the job descriptions and compared them to her resume.  We did the usual resume tweaking to match the jobs she’s targeted.

Next, I asked my friend to let me select 5 jobs for which I believed she was qualified AND most likely to be hired into quickly (she repeatedly stated how “broke and desperate” she was).

We compared my list to hers and, as she explained why my list was wrong, I lighted upon something that, frankly, surprised (or disappointed?) me:  My friend had screened out not only my 5 jobs but also a dozen or so alternative suggestions–all because she was embarrassed that her “friends and people who know [her] lifestyle” would react to the news that she worked in a certain type/level of job or employer.

My friend’s list included retail jobs (all of them), bank jobs that required her to work in the branch, jobs without explicit manager titles, jobs at companies she considered “blue-collar” (Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and other fast food companies and mall brands).

I tried in vain to convince my friend that retailers, retail jobs and mass market employers offered great career opportunities, high pay in some roles, and something she really needed–an interest in snapping up people with graduate degrees, a steady work history and a solid work ethic.  Unconvinced, my friend remarked that she might advantage of such opportunities “if she could be sure that no one she knew would see her working there”.

My friend is a proud, unemployed woman with no scheduled interviews.  What about you?

Are you editing your list of potential employers/jobs to save face?

Question: Are you editing your list of potential employers to save face? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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]]> http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/04/27/question-are-you-editing-your-list-of-potential-employers-to-save-face/feed/ 0 Career Question: Has being unemployed long-term caused you to rethink your career choices or options? http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/02/08/career-question-has-being-unemployed-long-term-caused-you-to-rethink-your-career-choices-or-options/ http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/02/08/career-question-has-being-unemployed-long-term-caused-you-to-rethink-your-career-choices-or-options/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 +0000 careersthatdontsuck http://1254586942 Career Question: Has being unemployed long-term caused you to rethink your career choices or options? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

]]> Unemployment numbers are scary.  Being unemployed is scarier.  Millions of people are currently unemployed and have been for months.  If you’re among them, you understand the long-term unemployment stats intimately.

LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT STATS

6.3 million people have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

8.3 million people have been forced to work part-time due to an inability to find full-time work or because their hours were cut.

2.5 million people were marginally attached to the workforce (they wanted and were available to work, looked but didn’t find work in the prior 12 months)

1.5 million people haven’t searched for work within the past month.

1.1 million people have given up!

14.8 million people are currently suffering from the “Pink Slip Plague”.

Only 4 million available jobs are posted online now.

(Source: Conference Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics)

So, the question is: Has being unemployed long-term caused you to rethink your career choices or options?

There’s no right or wrong answer.  But, we put the question to a friend and Careersthatdontsuck.com reader, Cedric Miller (50 years old, Fort Worth, TX resident, divorced father of 2, certified microsoft engineer) .  Here’s what we found.

Cedric was laid off from a job he’d had for nearly 20 years.  He had worked for a mid-sized company that builds components for commercial aircraft, but he’s been unemployed for 7 months (and counting).  Like most people, he initially panicked.  But, over the past 3 months, he’s mellowed.  Why?

Cedric explained that he decided to use the “opportunity” to simplify his life–not just financially (a necessity), but spiritually and every other way.

The most significant change he’d decided to make was to change careers.  Turns out, he never enjoyed his work.  He was there for the benefits and the job security.  He had two growing daughters when he first started out, but they’re grown now.  He was free to choose “a flighty, fun career, something he just wanted to do, not had to do”.

Thus far, he’s been a landscaper, a videographer for a wedding, a low-rent Geek Squad (of 1), and the maker of some pretty high-quality bootleg DVDs.  It’s taking him far longer to cobble together his old salary, but Cedric isn’t rushing back into the job market in search of his old job.

What about you?

Career Question: Has being unemployed long-term caused you to rethink your career choices or options? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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]]> http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2010/02/08/career-question-has-being-unemployed-long-term-caused-you-to-rethink-your-career-choices-or-options/feed/ 0 What Your Mom Wants You To Be When You Grow Up http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/08/27/what-your-mom-wants-you-to-be-when-you-grow-up/ http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/08/27/what-your-mom-wants-you-to-be-when-you-grow-up/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:36:42 +0000 careersthatdontsuck http://2019273407 What Your Mom Wants You To Be When You Grow Up is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

]]> A new PDK/Gallup poll revealed that 7 out of 10 parents would like their child to become a public school teacher.  That’s the highest proportion in 30 years.  And, mom and dad didn’t stop there.  They also want their little darlings to earn more money, about $10,000 more in their first jobs.  Then, no rods spared here, parents want their kids to work hard, earn advanced degrees, increase student test scores, and impress administrators in order to earn pay increases.

Want to make your parents proud?  Check out these teaching jobs. (Average pay is about $35,000, but GA’s paying up to $65,000 for certified teachers, Houston, TX is paying up to $72,000, and DOJ’s paying up to $73,000.  Plus, there are plenty of aide and admin jobs.)

What Your Mom Wants You To Be When You Grow Up is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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]]> http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/08/27/what-your-mom-wants-you-to-be-when-you-grow-up/feed/ 0 Survey Says Main-Streeters Distrust Wall-Streeters http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/03/10/survey-says-main-streeters-distrust-wall-streeters/ http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/03/10/survey-says-main-streeters-distrust-wall-streeters/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:30:49 +0000 careersthatdontsuck http://careersthatdontsuck.com/?p=1810 Survey Says Main-Streeters Distrust Wall-Streeters is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

]]> I read the results of an interesting Harris Poll today.  Harris polled 1,010 Americans and found, surprise of surprises, that they don’t trust the folks on Wall Street and they want recently awarded bonuses returned.

Here are the highlights.

The Trust Issues

  • “Most people on Wall Street would be willing to break the law if they believed that they could make a lot of money and get away with it” (71% Agree)
  • “Most successful people on Wall Street deserve to make the kind of money they earn” (30% Agree)
  • “In general people on Wall Street are as honest and moral as other people” (26% Agree)
  • “Recent events have shown that Wall Street should be subject to tougher regulations” (87% Agree)

The Money Issues

  • “Wall Street firms should only pay bonuses when they are doing well and making good profits” (78% Agree)
  • “Bonuses paid by financial institutions, that lost money in 2008, should be returned and be paid to shareholders” (83% Agree)
  • “Most successful people on Wall Street deserve to make the kind of money they earn” (30% Agree)
  • “In order to attract and retain top talent, these companies need to pay these large bonuses” (22% Agree)

The Rub

Wall-Streeters, lobbyists and politicians would have us believe that we, Main-Streeters, aren’t capable of grasping Wall Street’s complex issues.  Seems we understand the issues all too well.  We understand that the institutions that comprise Wall Street are absolutely necessary (62% agree), but we also understand that the people who run those institutions are being unduly rewarded and inadequately supervised.  We understand that a system that rewards executives even when they don’t earn it and provides shareholders and consumers no recourse is broken.

Survey Says Main-Streeters Distrust Wall-Streeters is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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]]> http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2009/03/10/survey-says-main-streeters-distrust-wall-streeters/feed/ 0 If you were in charge of the economic recovery, what would you do? http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2008/12/19/if-you-were-in-charge-of-the-economic-recovery-what-would-you-do/ http://careersthatdontsuck.com/2008/12/19/if-you-were-in-charge-of-the-economic-recovery-what-would-you-do/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:21:26 +0000 careersthatdontsuck http://106847201 If you were in charge of the economic recovery, what would you do? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

]]> I’ve never had more conversations about politics or the economy in my life!  Everyone has an answer, something they feel should be done or could be done better–lower taxes, wipe out everyone’s credit card debt, freeze foreclosures, invest in education or infrastructure jobs.

President-Elect Obama is reportedly considering passing out $850B to a bevy of interest groups, businesses and states.  Who will receive those dollars and for what is anyone’s guess right now.  So, I was just wondering…what would you do with the $850B?  What would you do if all of the decisions on what to do next to try to stimulate the economy were up to you?

We’d love to hear from you.

Participate in our sidebar poll.  Choose up to 3 answers.

If you were in charge of the economic recovery, what would you do? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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