JOBSEARCH: Age Discrimination

Thursday, August 12, 2010

August 1, 2010

Jacqueline A. Berrien
Chair
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Dear Ms. Berrien:

Not withstanding the Gross v. FBL Financial Services decision, it is STILL the consensus of most older American workers that age discrimination is rampant in today’s economy.

In my youth, I worked on the AT&T Equal Opportunity Reports. The employee, applicant, and contractor workforce demographics were parsed may different ways to demonstrate that discrimination was not be tolerated either by management action, systematic flaws, or even random chance.

Companies are a creation of the government and as such are subordinate to them. My question is why doesn’t the EEOC require all corporations over a certain size to report their demographics. If a corporation has a deficiency in a race, sex, or age pool, then there should be a de facto finding of discrimination. Now clearly there has to be some latitude for say NBA basketball teams who are deficient in short Jewish women, but I suspect that you will find that Wall Street firms are deficient in fat old white guys. As well as, a host of other corporations. To give time to adapt, you could start with a requirement on the largest ones and lower the size bar gradually to an appropriate level.

Unlike the AT&T EO Reports, this should be an electronic data exchange in XBRL. So large corporation should be able, with a minimum of overhead, supply this data directly from their payroll and personnel systems. SAP probably has a module to do it already for its European Customers.

As the Federal Government seeks to match Social Security to increasing lifespans, we as a nation have to address issue that older workers represent a too valuable asset to be “frozen out” of the employment market by de facto age discrimination. This “freeze out” is forcing 50 to 65 year olds to prematurely use their retirement savings, lose those high earning years when they are saving for their retirement. This is a double whammy. Just like the ERISA rules were necessary to stop the Aircraft industry from dumping engineers after their first five years in favor of younger cheaper engineers, so to the Commission must change the economics of discrimination. By requiring companies to report is the first step in bringing a dirty little “not so secret” secret into the daylight.

Make companies report their demographics by race, sex, and age. If they can explain it, all well and good. If not, then that’s the time for some serious conversations.

As an IT Architecture and Business Process Reengineering consultant, I know this can be done relatively quickly and cheaply. I can help or advise the Commission or its staff, at my own expense, by phone or email, anytime.

Thanks for your consideration of my input,
fjohn

Ferdinand J. Reinke
3 Tyne Court
Kendall Park, NJ 08824

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JOBSEARCH: Adjusting expectations

Thursday, July 22, 2010

http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/case-study-the-maltese-expat/

Case Study: The Maltese Expat
by Simon Black
July 15, 2010
Bath, England

*** begin quote ***

Here’s what’s most intriguing about her, though… she’s always worked. Even as a 70-year old widow in Malta, she still has a job. In her own words Emma says, “I’m a war baby. My generation doesn’t think that anyone owes us anything, doesn’t think that it’s other people’s responsibility to take care of us.”

*** end quote ***

That’s a generational difference: the past generation (No one owes us anything), the current generation (We expect the good life with little effort.), and the future generation (We’re entitled to the good life.)

Argh

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JOBSEARCH: Demographic shift and the implications of it

Sunday, July 18, 2010

*** begin quote ***

The federal government says that 40 percent of all U.S. workers will be 55 or older by the end of the year 2010. Your workforce is part of this demographic shift. What issues with the aging workforce do you and others face, and how will you deal with them?

*** end quote ***

Just as the ERISA diktat changed the pension ripoff scam of the aircraft companies, there has to be a significant change in age discrimination law. We can have workers idle from 50 to 65. As the politicians and bureaucrats raise the Social Security retirement age, it’ll worsen the problem. The problem originates in the whole concept of benefits. Like most diktats, it distorts the marketplace. What has to happen is that people buy their own benefits. Employers have benefited form this scam for too long. And, workers over value their benefit packages. It creates a society of serfs who are afraid to change jobs. The new plantation. We need to become a nation of consultants. And the tax diktats have to change to match the new realities. Pensions, social security, and such have to be “personal”.

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JOBSEARCH: Form for free may be just the thing for thee

Monday, July 5, 2010

http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2010/06/22/networking-tool-for-everyone-free

Networking Tool For Everyone (free)

Posted in June 22nd, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Instead, imagine that you have completed a BUILDING MY NETWORK form in advance of the meeting. The form lists the companies you are interested in, the contact people, the issues confronting the business and the department where you want to work. This way your contact has something to react to, and to refer to later.

*** end quote ***

Any free advise is good.

I like McKay66 and I like Lucht’s structured networking meeting.

But this is a good idea to have an ice breaker of targets.

If I have a gripe with it, it would be that in might get you down in the weeds BEFORE you’ve established what “field” you should be working in. Part of the structured networking is to listen to what the target has to say about your situation.

Sometimes that is something “strategic” that you never considered.

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JOBSEARCH: grid targets as a memory jogger

Sunday, June 20, 2010

http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2010/06/18/heat-up-your-job-searching-skills-networking-101-and-102/

Heat Up Your Job Searching Skills: Networking 101 and 102

POSTED IN JUNE 18TH, 2010

*** begin quote ***

He had prepared an 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper laid out in a grid. He had printed every company he was interested in, the contact person’s name, number, email address, linked in name, and issues now confronting that company (his own analysis). My new friend left me his sheet and simply asked if I knew anyone from these companies or who might know these people.

*** end quote ***

“Guess which one I helped more?”

May I humbly suggest that you should have written: “Guess which one I was able to give more help?”

(I’m sure that Number One’s failings would not annoy you enough to deliberately NOT help. Number One just didn’t set up the framework for you to maximize your effectiveness. Never mind efficiency. Number One was much further along on the “dikw (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) curve”. Number One is asking for data, (e.g., who’s hiring me); some names. Number Two is asking for and sharing wisdom (i.e., different way of presenting the knowledge of targets and helping you fit your knowledge into a shared model).

Excellent wisdom presented, imho. (That means I’ll steal this and make it my own. With appropriate credit, of course.)

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JOBSEARCH: Gather all your contacts on GMAIL

Saturday, June 19, 2010

http://lifehacker.com/5556898/the-complete-guide-consolidating-your-contact-list

The Complete Guide to Creating a Consolidated, Master Contact List

*** begin quote ***

The most important part of the process is to pick an easy contact management solution that will incorporate information easily while still being able to export to a variety of formats (Outlook and others) and sync to your smartphone.

Google Contacts fits the bill nicely in a variety of ways. It supports CSV (comma-separated value) files from other Google accounts and Outlook. (CSV is a common export format, but the fields vary slightly between Google-exported CSVs and Outlook-exported CSVs; Google Contacts can handle either); it can also import the vCard format, which is supported by Apple Address Book.

*** end quote ***

Plaxo has size limits and its “clients” cause problems.

Cardscan is now limited to those who buy their card scanner.

Google’s Contacts does NOT do periodic verification with contacts, consolidate the results, and replicate updates out. And it has quotas!

Outlook and Apple Mail have “address book” functions that are limited.

LinkedIn locks you in.

Too many dead ends and islands of data.

Argh!

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JOBSEARCH: “Turkey” stuff moved to my own domain

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

I’m preparing to cut my last ties to Comcast. So my famous turkey stuff had to move from “lxu” to http://goo.gl/kBtz. Feel free to use or steal as you see fit. fjohn

p.s., Let this serve as a reminder to never ever put anything up on anything but your own domain. :-) Do as I say; not as I sometimes did!

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JOBSEARCH: “Eliminating the unemployed” will be punished in the marketplace; no law required

Monday, June 7, 2010

http://www.career-resumes.com/the-unemployed-will-not-be-considered-what/

The Unemployed Will Not Be Considered. WHAT???

by Jason Alba http://www.jibberjobber.com/

*** begin quote ***

I read this article on The Huffington Post: Disturbing Job Ads: ‘The Unemployed Will Not Be Considered.’

In my opinion (Jason Alba, not Career Resumes),

*** end quote ***

>should be illegal

Argh! Sorry, but I “violently” disagree. Well as “violently” as a little L libertarian can.

Perhaps, I can illustrate the “dead end” and counter-productive nature of that reaction.

We have laws against “age discrimination”, how well are they working? Ditto “sex”. Ditto “race”. Ditto, ditto, ditto.

Using the “guns of gooferment” just ensures that it will be our collective feet that are getting shot.

Let’s examine how well WW2 Wage and Price controls worked for today’s employees. We have the “benefits trap” that tie health benefits with employment by laws and tax policy that are inescapable.

ERISA rules, make it more expensive to do business in the US.

Departing from the original Constitutional method of financing the Federal Gooferment with excise taxes and tariffs allows the exporting of jobs overseas.

Creation of the Federal Reserve Bank, (which by the way ain’t Federal, doesn’t Reserve squat, and ain’t a Bank), allows the Gooferment to monetize spending into debt and distort the marketplace interest rate. That creates “malinvestment” in the marketplace. And, the investor, entrepreneurs, the poor, the fixed income, and the worker suffers.

So, please, immediately any thought of “illegality”. It will do nothing to solve, ameliorate, or even prevent the problem. Making something “illegal” just: drives it underground (i.e., age = overqualified), increases costs (i.e., EOE = dumb disclaimers on any job ad), and doesn’t solve the problem (i.e., resumes with gaps will still be dumped automagically).

>Does being unemployed change your

Yes, it does. It’s affects your whole attitude about life, your self-worth, and your outlook. Hopefully for the better. But not necessarily. Once you’ve been nuked, I feel you become a “turkey”. You’re never as self-confident as you were pre-unemployment. That may be good. That may be just “growing up”. That may be a spark to do bigger and better thing (e.g., you with Jibber Jobber). While you’re unemployed, some of your dikw (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) ages. Data ages badly; wisdom perhaps not at all. In the Technology arena, a month can be like a life time. (A funny story: I know one techie, who was out so long when his particular technology went out of fashion, that he went to sell cars. When that didn’t work out five years later, the technology pendulum had swung back and his tech was back in style and he picked up where he left off. Just lucky or evidence of the stupidity of large organizations. It was hard on him, but he survived.)

>still a lot of ignorant thinking to change

I think that contains the seed of what will happen. Don’t you think that turkeys will have long memories? What will be that company’s reputation in the future when it has to compete for talent? And, the pendulum always swings.

And the HR type that initiated that type of restriction may not have a very long career in HR.

The economists always point out that irrational discrimination or discrimination in socially unacceptable manner costs the company dramatically. “Irrational”, like “No blonds”, eliminates all Swedes. This means that their hiring pool is artificially constricted. If that company wants to hire a Swedish translator, they may have to pay more or be unable to fill the position. That company would be at a competitive disadvantage and would lose in the marketplace. “Socially unacceptable”, like “No <insert favorite minority>”, will bring about a boycott by the minority and their sympathizers. (Note, the state transit racial segregation laws were vigorously opposed by white bus and train owners because they fear financial ruin. Prior to those laws, no one had to sit at the back of the bus.) The Free Market administers discipline quickly!

“Eliminating the unemployed” will be subverted (i.e., everyone will have their own consulting company and internet side businesses), marginalized (i.e., folks will make them “anathema”), and eventually punished by the invisible hand of the marketplace (i.e., hiring the employed will raise their costs, they will miss “bargains”, and be at a financial disadvantage to their competitors).

>You can tell this makes me mad

Me2. I’d conserve your anger for the bigger “structural” problems that we Turkeys have.

We, as a society, “we” collectively “waste” expensively a lot of “human resources”. From around age 15 to age 25, we confine workers to what is euphemistically called “school” from which they emerge with a bug debt, unrealistic expectations, and no ROI. From age 50 to 65, “we” again discriminate against the “older expensive worker”. From age 65 to 75, “we” again waste frivolously and expensively in “retirement”. With life spans lengthening and political, financial, and intellectual memes failing to recognize and adapt. we have BIGGER problems to solve.

The silver lining is that: (1) such stupidity will be punished in the marketplace; (2) the unemployed will compete by forming their own businesses (as you know, I think were bound to become a nation of one man bands like the movie industry); and (3) Americans have rebellion, energy, and innovation in their genes and memes.

We will survive. The turkeys will inherit the earth! So lets go peck them to death!

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I did over look three ideas which I should have gotten in about unemployment and how it changes the individual.

(1) It wipes out your savings.

It does something else.

(2) You never look at companies the same way again. Your motivation never aligns with the company’s again. Any company. It’s like the monologue by the character Colonel Jessep played by Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men”.

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, … … Because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want it all to be back the way it was. You hang on every illusion that it was all just a mistake.”

One of the points I missed was that: (3) you still cling to the innocence that you deep down in your heart know it was all a mistake. Your name just wound up on the wrong list. You’re really not the turkey. But like we used to say in Delta Beta Mu a long time ago, you’re a turky because you being at the turkey farm is prima facie evidence that you’re a turkey and it was not a mistake. The sooner you learn that the better off you will be.

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JOBSEARCH: Revising SFYG again for 2010 (June 2010)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Success for your generation is:

  1. Recognize that you may not work professionally from Age 50 on;
  2. You mush have ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;
  3. Cultivate an interest in life long interest in learning — education — get a degree cheap — they can’t take it away from you;
  4. Seek a NON-OFFSHORABLE white collar job in order to save big bux;
  5. Develop a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber;
  6. Start one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;
  7. Create a second business or avocation – under the radar – start small part-time;
  8. Grow a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you;
  9. Buy assets that hold their value over time; and
  10. Emulate the Amish and Mormons for their sense of community, simple thrifty living, and true to core values.

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JOBSEARCH: Myths are killers in job search

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/6-myths-that-stand-in-your-way/

6 Myths That Stand In Your Way
April 18th, 2010 by Mark Harrison

*** begin quote ***

1. Myth: There is time

2. Myth: You can rely on other people

3. Myth: You are important

4. Myth: You should put others before yourself

5. Myth: Conflict should be avoided

6. Myth: The difference between success and failure is LUCK.

*** end quote ***

Ahhh, myths, I can relate to this one. I was so … … stupid, lazy, dumb,

Shoulda, coulda, and woulda!

Paradigms are the way we perceive the world (i.e., the JoHari window). Memes, like genes for ideas, are the units of thoughts that transfer and modify behavior.

Myths are a erroneous paradigms and memes.

So is the problem, the difference, that we now perceive them as “wrong”. By what standard?

So we have paradigms and memes that, being wrong, interfere with a successful life and a successful jobsearch.

Some of them that have particularly screwed me up.

1. I believed people. They lied. I acted on those beliefs. And, I did damage that I can’t even know or assess.

2. I “coasted” when it would have been trivial to do the work. Again, another hit that can’t be assessed.

3. I read a mensa piece (i.e., human being owner’s manual) many many moons ago. I thought it was a joke. Little did I know how true it was.

4. I have heard many of the self-help gurus and read many of the self-help texts. Read, but didn’t grok. Preused but didn’t action.

5. I didn’t play the “political game” at my various stops along my career path. Who knows what could have been?

6. I urged people to forgive themselves. I have to do the same. The “more than a year” amnesty. All sins forgiven; not forgotten.

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JOBSEARCH: Build a inet biz; it may take off

Monday, May 3, 2010

http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/01/advice-from-founders-who-bootstrapped-their-way-to-success-2

Advice From Founders Who Bootstrapped Their Way to Success
by Vivek Wadhwa on May 1, 2010

*** begin quote ***

It was founded in 2000, after Nickell, then a 20-year-old web developer, won a t-shirt-design contest. With an investment of $1000, he built a website to which people submitted t-shirt designs, and the favorites were printed in limited-edition runs. In 2006, the company had gained traction, was generating nearly $10 million in revenue, and took a small investment from Insight Venture Partners.

My Q&A with Jake:

Would you have taken a VC investment if you could have, when you started?

Definitely not, as I was starting a hobby and not a business. It’s kind of like asking if I would consider a VC investment to help me start learning to skateboard. Sure, I’d spend a couple hundred bucks on a board, some pads and maybe some materials to build a ramp, but I’m not looking for millions or even hundreds or tens of thousands to just create something for fun. Even if I was starting a business, I don’t think I was raised that way or have that type of personality. I didn’t even have my first credit card until I was maybe 23, so I really just don’t do well with spending money I don’t have.

*** end quote ***

This timely post reinforces my formula points #5 and #6. (imho)

Success for your generation is:

{Extraneous Deleted}

(5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;

(6) a free time hobby that generates income;

{Extraneous Deleted}

In the cited example, the hobby became his internet business and it carried him away. We should all be so lucky.

But don’t over look the essential point, bootstrap a hobby into a source of income.

Thanks to my old workmate Vivek. Guess I should have listened to him more when we worked together. Who knew he was so smart?

(Sotto voce: He didn’t seem that smart at the time.)

ROFL!

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JOBSEARCH: An example of “Using Your Corporate Email”

Sunday, May 2, 2010

http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/24/how-not-to-handle-a-resignation-gracefully

How Not To Handle A Resignation Gracefully
by Jack McKenna on Apr 24, 2010

*** begin quote ***

I should note, that instead of responding, he instead removed my email account. Real pro of him. Good thing I forwarded it to myself first :P

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Now while the story is about who’s the bigger a hole, a fact which is debatable.

I would like to direct your attention to the email account. And, how fragile that threat is.

http://goo.gl/TA1k

You should be EXTREMELY careful how you use any email address that you don’t own and control. You’re employer can nuke your email address on a whim as you are escorted out of their premises. Even your Internet Service Provider, whom you pay faithfully every month, can nuke you or change your email address on a whim. Sell out, buy out, merge, or exit the biz and you are the one who is screwed!

Your address book may go up in internet smoke in a heartbeat never to be seen again.

You try and find everyone who knows you by that email address. And, remember, you may not have given someone the address. They could have gotten it from a third party. Try and find those.

And, when you used that now lost email address to register for sites, you’re stuck with the obsolete sign on. And, don’t have a a password malfunction with the now defunct email address because you can’t get a password reset there. Good luck changing that old email address for a new one. (I’ve even seen a site restore my old one on me!)

Bottom line: If you don’t own your own domain, you are asking for trouble and the Universe will send you what you ask for when you can least afford it.

For a few bucks? Don’t say you weren’t warned.

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JOBSEARCH: Remember Sacajawea’s baby

Monday, April 12, 2010

http://thomsinger.blogspot.com/2010/04/pay-it-forward.html

Sunday, April 04, 2010
Pay It Forward

*** begin quote ***

“Mad Men” there is a great quote. Bert (the founder of the ad agency) tells Don (the main character) “that Sacajawea crossed the country with a baby on her back, and somewhere there’s a baby who thinks he discovered the Pacific Ocean”.

*** end quote ***

Here’s admirable advice with a great TV quote as a memory “hook”.

Remember Sacajawea’s baby!

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JOBSEARCH: Hold on by your fingertips

Sunday, March 7, 2010

On Mar 3, 2010, at 11:35 PM, LUDDITE wrote:

*** begin quote ***

Interesting….a ‘slew’ of people got RIFed this past Monday. And do you think they picked me, no! They think I won’t hold out but I will fool them…work till I am 75! :-)

*** end quote ***

Ahh, it makes a “teacher” proud when the student exceeds the master. “Go For The Gold” ain’t just for the Olympics!

A vestige of the “gold watch” era, the companies make workers “disposable”.

Part of “jobsearch” is: (1) making sure you do NOT have to search for one in this terrible job climate for fat old white guys — like expense avoidance is much better than saving after-tax money; AND (2) if you are going to get nuked, you need as much money as possible to cushion the blow. No way anyone should ever “voluntarily” leave a job without very careful consideration.

Argh!

Remember: Success for everyone’s generation is:

(1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;

(2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you;

(3) a NON-OFFSHORABLE white collar job in order to save big bux;

(4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber;

(5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;

(6) a free time hobby that generates income; and

(7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you.

Can’t preach it enough!

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JOBSEARCH: Revising SFYG for 2010

Monday, March 1, 2010

Success for your generation is:

(1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;

(2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you;

(3) a NON-OFFSHORABLE white collar job in order to save big bux;

(4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber;

(5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;

(6) develop a second business or avocation – under the radar – start small part-time;

(7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you;

(8) buy assets that hold their value over time; and

(9) emulate the Amish and Mormons for their sense of community, simple thrifty living, and true to core values.

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JOBSEARCH: Prepare Three Envelopes

Saturday, February 27, 2010

THE WISDOM OF “THREE ENVELOPES”!

Remember the old joke?

*** begin quote ***

A newly-hired top executive for a major company is just settling into his new office when he is visited by the form chief, who had been fired. The displaced executive appears friendly, shakes his hand, and says, “Look, if things get really bad for you, I have something that may help.” And he handed the new executive three envelopes. They parted amicably, the new executive quickly dismissing departing executive’s visit as a result of the shock of his situation. The three envelopes he tossed into the bottom drawer of his desk. Six months later, things were in crisis for the new executive. He was worried, and did not know where to turn or whom to call. Then he remembered the envelopes. He opened the bottom drawer, and took out the first envelope. Inside there was one sheet of paper with a single sentence: “Blame your predecessor.” What a great idea! He followed this advice, and things went very smoothly again. About 6 months later there was another crisis. The new executive again was desperate, when he remembered the envelopes. He reached into the bottom drawer and took out the second envelope. The page inside said, “Reorganize.” So the executive completely reorganized the corporation, and things were going quite well again. About 6 months after reorganizing, things began to fall apart. After employing the best consultants and trying everything he could imagine, things were still getting worse. Then he remembered the third letter. He was sure it would save him. He tore it open, and read the message inside. It said, “Make three envelopes.”

*** end quote ***

To my fellow abused corporate “employees”:

May I give you some advice? Painfully learned. From before the time you “get” the job, you must be aware that it will end. Maybe badly. So, my advice is to prepare, from before you start, for it to end badly.

You know of all the hurdles getting in and you need to know all the hurdles in getting your value out. Here are my thoughts:

(1) You must have at home all the things you will need for your “employment” lawyer to review when you bring your claim to him. (And, you will. When your future employer hands you that severance agreement to sign and you feel you’ve been screwed, tattoed, and not even give a t-shirt! You’ll be visiting a very expensive lawyer wnating him to punish that employer.) Carve out a dedicated space for all the material you’ll have to collect.

(2) Every communication from your employer should be captured and catalogued. An index is essential. That’s the initial offer letter, performance appraisals, copies of checks, expense reports, and the final severance offer.

(3) Like the sneaky bastards they are, there will be a lot of stuff that magically doesn’t get put on paper. That extra week of vacation, concessions, comp time, over time, consideration for being on call 24×7, yada, yada! Oral agreements are worth the paper that they are printed on. You must get in the habit of documenting everything. You don’t know what will be that one fact that could weigh in your favor.

(4) You must be the “chronicaler” of all personnel actions. Keep a “desk book” (i.e., that blank book that has one page per day) of every thing that heppens to your co-workers. Layoffs? You need to itemize every name, age, and anything else you can think of. Capture all org charts. No org charts? Make your own. Same for promotions, demotions, laterals, and transfers. You have to be your own HR department!

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JOBSEARCH: We Don’t Need As Many College Grads

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/

Are We Educating for the Right Jobs?
We Don’t Need As Many College Grads As People Think
Steve Roesler

*** begin quote ***

How Many College Graduates Does the U.S. Really Need?

*** end quote ***

I have lately questioned the ROI of an “expensive” college education.

I’m sure I’m not the first. Nor, the last.

By “expensive”, I think efficient and effective. Efficient, in that, it’s affordable. Effective, in that, it leads to a lifetime of satisfying and rewarding employment in the service of others.

REMEMBER my personal formulation of “Success For Your Generation”

Success for your generation is:

(1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;

(2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you;

(3) a NON-OFFSHORABLE white collar job in order to save big bux;

(4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber;

(5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;

(6) a free time hobby that generates income; and

(7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you.

I disagree SLIGHTLY with Steve on “We can and should question whether the current system is designed to effectively produce what, and who, is needed.” That’s a good MACRO question. But as participants in the job market, we can’t care about grand scale problems; we have to worry about the MICRO question. What’s good for me?

The country is beset with so many political problems caused by “fuzzy thinking”. A good college education might help create an “educated electorate”. Unfortunately the current education paradigm — schools completely under the control of secular progressives who think esteem is more important than wisdom — is unlikely to produce the hard-nosed pragmatic thinkers we need to work our way out of these problems. (My personal suggestion is to KICK the gooferment out of education completely. It’s only job is to prevent the residents from force. So private schools should be the rule; with the gooferment ensuring that there is no fraud.)

I think that my alma mater, Manhattan College, strikes a great balance. Remember it’s just the “well”; it’s the students who bring the energy and the “bucket”. When I was taking my engineering courses, I questioned the need for philosophy, theology, and literature courses. Upon reflection, maybe those were MORE important.

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JOBSEARCH: Resiliency and Learned Helplessness

Saturday, February 13, 2010

http://artofmanliness.com/2010/02/03/boosting-your-resiliency-part-2-avoiding-
learned-helplessness-and-changing-your-explanatory-style/?utm_
source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+
TheArtOfManliness+%28The+Art+of+Manliness%29

Boosting Your Resiliency-Part 2: Avoiding Learned Helplessness and Changing Your Explanatory Style
by Brett & Kate McKay on February 3, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Len gets fired from his job:

   * If Len tends to a Me, Always, Everything thinking style then he might explain this event by saying, “I’m such an incompetent accountant. I was always out of my league at the office (Me). I’ll never be able to find another good job. (Always). My wife is probably going to leave me now. Man, my life is so screwed up. (Everything).”

   * Now if Len has a Not Me, Not Always, Not Everything explanatory style, then he might explain this event by saying, “I got fired because there just isn’t very much work for me to do anymore, and the company is trying to be more efficient. (Not Me). The economy is really making holding a job difficult. But things will eventually turn around. (Not Always). The job wasn’t a good fit for me anyway; I really wasn’t using my true talents. At least I have a good wife at home to help me through this (Not Everything).”

*** end quote ***

That’s why I preach the Turkey’s Credo:

“It’s not you (job seeker). It’s not me (a fellow seeker). It’s them (bastards)!”

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JOBSEARCH: Students, use your content to get ready for job search

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

http://www.careersolvers.com/blog/2010/01/25/career-management-it-takes-a-village/comment-page-1/#comment-2201

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Career Management: It Takes a Village

*** begin quote ***

Last week I attended the first of many college planning meetings at my daughter’s school. Jammed into the school auditorium with 200+ other neurotic parents of high school juniors, I listened to details about student entrance exam test dates, transcripts, and application deadlines.

*** and ***

In some ways I think career management starts well before a person’s career starts. And choosing a college that is going to help with that process should be part of the plan. You know the saying; it takes a village to raise a child…I think every child needs that same village to start their career.

*** end quote ***

I don’t understand for the inet generation to not create a “personal brand” using their high school and college work. I advise the College kids that I speak with to create a web presence. I am astonished that kids studying MARKETING have NO web presence. I’m all so astonished that they seem to fail to understand the concept of “indelible digital dirt”. Career management starts with making a sale of one’s labor possible. imho.

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JOBSEARCH: A relo is a test of faith?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/Conan-OBrien-will-leave-Tonight-Show-81160232.html

Conan O’Brien will definitely leave ‘Tonight Show’
By ANTOINETTE KELLY
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, January 11, 2010, 2:43 PM

*** begin quote ***

“Conan uprooted his family, his life and moved to Los Angeles and they have not given him enough time” the friend said. “It is outrageous what they have done to him.” O’Brien’s family is extremely upset that the massive lifestyle change they made and the new responsibility O’Brien assumed has been taken so lightly by NBC.

*** end quote ***

It certainly is a good lesson to anyone considering a corporate relo deal.

I remember one fellow getting axed as his plane was enroute from Sweden to Houston and he was so screwed.

To relo, you MUST HAVE a contract. History is replete with lessons. If they won’t give you one, how can you trust them?

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JOBSEARCH: What can we learn from college coaches

Saturday, November 28, 2009

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=abdoqoaxMIls

Notre Dame Football Can End Coaching Arms Race: Scott Soshnick

*** begin quote ***

Thanks to an indefensible extension awarded by White, the former athletic director, Weis is under contract through 2015. And he’s owed about $18 million. Talk about your buyout bonanzas.

That money could have gone to things like pay for scholarships, professors or infrastructure.

If Notre Dame, where academics actually matter, even for athletes, is about to embark on yet another coaching search, I suggest they proceed with one person in mind: the late National Collegiate Athletic Association President Myles Brand.

It was Brand, the first college president to lead the NCAA, who time and again voiced concern over what he called an arms race for coaching salaries in revenue-generating sports like football and basketball.

Imagine if Notre Dame established at the outset of its search a salary limit of, let’s say, $1 million. Just because you spend more doesn’t mean you’re getting better.

*** end quote ***

For my part, the lesson I take away is “You ain’t gonna be around long”.

I’ve learned that lesson. Even if you’re diligent, work hard, keep your nose clean, you’re going to get screwed.

An inept boss, a treacherous one, and even a good one, isn’t enough to save you.

So what is the strategy and tactics that you should adopt to minimize the damage?

Make no mistake, there will be damage!

Strategies:

  1. Ruthless financial discipline. (Small leaks and big leaks need to be stopped cold.)
  2. Realistic emergency fund ready. (Double your expected unemployment time.)
  3. Never ever stop networking. (Remember your new job is to find your next job.)  

Tactics:

  1. Keep helping folks via social networking like LinkedIn and Facebook.
  2. Seek exposure — blog, speak, coach — inside and out.
  3. Document your “lessons learned” regardless if you share them or not.
  4. Continue — or begin — collecting McKay66 sheets on EVERYONE. (JibberJobber anyone?)

Summary:

Thanksgiving is the holiday that focuses on turkeys. This big turkey knows of what he speaks. He’s had his tail feathers plucked numerous times.

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JOBSEARCH: Failures?

Monday, November 2, 2009

Admit your failures, take credit for them, embrace them, and own them. When you willingly take responsibility and ownership even for the failures, you’re positioned for magnificent success.

— Ralph Marston

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Much easier said than done.

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JOBSEARCH: Allan Hoving “GameChanging” podcast

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/GameChanging

*** begin quote ***

Change the Game

As fresh faced little kids we were all told … “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Then we went out there and found out it really did matter.

More than that, we found out that life wasn’t always fair. You didn’t always get the breaks. Sometimes the game didn’t go your way.

There’s a lot of things in life you can’t change. You can always change the game.

We’re fascinated by people, ideas and events that do just that – change the game.

Join us every Monday night at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern and prepare to look at business, collaboration and the real time internet in a totally new way.

*** end quote ***

Know Allan Hoving from my “love affair” with Execunet. (Not their fault that no one wants “old dogs”.) If Allan has something to say I’m sure it’s informative and interesting.

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JOBSEARCH: Rejection

Friday, October 23, 2009

AN EMAIL I RECEIVED

*** begin quote ***

This email address is used for outgoing messages only. Replies will be undeliverable.

Thank you for your interest in employment with Prudential! On September 30, 2009, Prudential upgraded to a new electronic job application system.

If you would like to be considered for a position at Prudential, please create a new profile. Any job applications, resumes, and/or cover letters that you submitted to Prudential prior to September 30th, were not converted to the new system. Going forward, you can check the status of your application by logging in at any time.

Thank you.

Prudential Staffing

*** end quote ***

(1) Don’t you just love the “caring”. It just screams “we control the monologue”.

(2) Not me. I haven’t applied there in a long time. Bet everyone got the same date.

(3) Create a new profile? Ya gotta be kidding. It takes a half hour to answer all the screens. No, not that desperate for rejection.

(4) “Thank you”. My data wasn’t important enough for you to migrate. Some thanks.

Why would anyone want to deal with them?

Just wait until the economy turns around and the good candidates are scarce again. (Assuming the gooferment gets out of the way!) People have long memories.

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JOBSEARCH: non-off-shorable

Monday, August 31, 2009

Updating my meme for the future generations:

Success for your generation is:

(1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;

(2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you;

(3) a white collar job, non-off-shorable, in order to save big bux;

(4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber;

(5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open;

(6) a free time hobby that generates income; and

(7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you.

# – # – #

It’s become apparent that any job that can be moved off-shore will be. The cheaper wage rates are making it more and more attractive for work to move globally.

Stories about IBM and their “playbook” style consulting can be done from anywhere.

TATA has an order of magnitude in any bidding war. My friend, a TATA-competing consultant, was told by the TATA sales guy that “they just offered contacting manager to drop the last zero off any bid they received”. Over drinks, the contracting manager confided to my friend that is exactly what he did. The contracting manager took my friend’s proposal for 1.2M$ and TATA took the bid at 120K$. The consulting company my friend worked for went out of business shortly after that.

So, when you look for that white collar job, make sure it’s one that will stay here. (Whereever here is for you!)

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JOBSEARCH: Advice to a new grad

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

>Great, thank you for getting back to me!

You’re welcome. I try to help all my fellow Jaspers. That’s why I “do” Jasper Jottings.

>Do you know how I could get in contact with the two people you mentioned?

{Extraneous Deleted}

>I do have a blog, but I’m not sure

Well, recruiters use Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and websites as tools in their recruiting.

>Could you eleaborate on the other ideas

Spelling?

I’d suggest that you need to take a peek at my http://tinyurl.com/lxu93 for some of my concepts in job search. You’ll see that I focus on what is YOUR UVP. Unique Value Proposition. What problem are you going to solve for some one else? And how will you retain some value for yourself? What’s unique to you? Then you focus on the USP. Sales. How do you sell yourself? (I’ve been asked and actually outlined a 16 week moodle course on my view of the steps.) The problem that you might have is that you may not have enough DIKW! (Data is not information; Information is not knowledge; Knowledge is not understanding; Understanding is not wisdom. – Cliff Stoll and Gary Schubert) Data is the atomic level. Information is data with dimensions or context. Knowledge is predicted information. Wisdom is the boundaries. You may need to network to get the DIKW to define, market, and close the deal.   

>could really use some guidance

Well, I’d start with the http://tinyurl.com/lxu93 site’s reading list. “Job changing at 100k+” by Lucht is both a book and a work book. I’d borrow the book but buy the workbook. Lucht has the idea of a very structured face 2 face networking meeting. I swear by it.

> because as you said, this market is hard!

Hard for us old guys; you youngsters, the world is your oyster!

>That is great about your book, I have written a novel too.

Congrats.

> It was edited, but I’m not sure how to go about getting published.

That’s a chore.

> How did you publish yours?

I self-published on Lulu and it’s available on my Lulu storefront. http://tinyurl.com/26u3rc And the big one volume book is on Amazon Marketplace. The two volume paperback will be on regular Amazon shortly.

>Thanks!

Anytime.

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JOBSEARCH: Wake up call

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1755584

Firing Day
by Kimberlee Williams

*** begin quote ***

Your palms are a little sweaty, and you’re a little nervous. But the decision has been made, and now’s the time. “You’re fired.”

*** end quote ***

An excellent wake up call.

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JOBSEARCH: Here’s good advice; has nothing to do with “coaching”

Saturday, July 11, 2009

http://hoopscoach.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/starting-line-in-coaching/

THE COACHING STARTING LINE
Posted on July 4, 2009 by hoopscoach
(Part 4 in a series on the coaching profession)

*** begin quote ***

For the past few days I have been blogging about the coaching profession. I have touched on a few different topics Improvement, Work Ethic and Why We Coach. Every experienced coach has their own personal story on how they entered the business. Most stories are very interesting. Next time you are talking with a peer, ask them how they got their start?

{Extraneous Deleted}

If you want to enter coaching at the collegiate level, you better try and get with someone who is good. You better be ready to start at the bottom and have a small pay check (if you’re lucky enough to get paid). Entering coaching, there is no surefire, direct way. Everyone has their own story (as mentioned before). You can start as a team manager and become a sponge. Learn everything you can about the business. Maybe you played for a guy in college who is a head coach and he hires you. Maybe you know someone who knows a head coach looking for someone. However you get in, it’s a growing process-don’t be in such a hurry to advance. There are no short-cuts.

Write letters to coaches, pick their brains. Ask to work their camp in the summer. Make calls, shoot off e-mails and introduce yourself. Let people know what your aspirations are. Attend clinics and try to speak with the coaches after it’s over. In the beginning of your journey, be prepared to work hard.

If you are lucky enough to get in, don’t be afraid to get down and dirty. You may have to wipe up sweat off the ground, hand water out to players and rebound for them late into the night. Look for things to do.

*** end quote ***

Seems like that’s a success formula for anyone starting out in ANY line of work. IMHO!

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JOBSEARCH: Another silent hazard in the job search

Friday, June 26, 2009

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12514244

Google recruiter: Company kept ‘do not touch’ in hiring list
By Steve Johnson, Elise Ackerman and Sue McAllister
Mercury News
Posted: 06/03/2009 07:00:44 PM PDT
Updated: 06/04/2009 10:14:46 AM PDT

*** begin quote ***

A recruiter who left Google last year says that the company had maintained a “do not touch” list of companies including Genentech and Yahoo, whose employees were not to be wooed to the Internet search giant.

That revelation could be significant in light of this week’s disclosure that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Google, Yahoo, Apple, Genentech and other tech companies conspired to keep others from stealing their top talent.

Although Google declined to comment on the list or other aspects of the investigation, Palo Alto attorney Gary Reback, who has been involved in a number of high-profile antitrust cases, said having such a list is not unheard of and not necessarily illegal.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Hard enough to get a job and the companies limit the opportunities.

A plague on all their houses.

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JOBSEARCH: A fellow blogger picks up my favorite story

Thursday, June 4, 2009

http://misspinkslip.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/lets-unleash-the-experts-pay-it-forward-with-your-job-search/  

Let’s Unleash the Experts: Pay It Forward With Your Job Search
June 4, 2009 · 1 Comment

*** begin quote ***

I’ve been trying to tell you how important it is to be “nice”. It works. I promise. Read the following story from a guy we’ll call “The Big Turkey”:

*** end quote ***

Wonder who this “The Big Turkey” could be? ROFL.

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JOBSEARCH: Turkeys must plan for “retirement” at 50!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-retirement24-2009may24,0,885521.story

Early retirement claims increase dramatically

Instead of working longer as the economy worsens, more Americans are calling it quits before age 66. The ramifications could be profound for the retirees, families, government and social institutions.

By Mike Dorning

May 24, 2009

*** begin quote ***

Once they lose their jobs, older workers have a harder time finding new ones. On average, it takes laid-off workers 55 and older nearly a month longer than their younger counterparts to find new employment, and the gulf has been growing recently, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

*** end quote ***

I’m much more skeptical than the BLS.

For turkeys (i.e., fat old white guys who had high paying jobs), they must plan, that when they lose their current job (as they surely will), for the contingency that thewill be unable to find another.

Ever!

Not one at a lesser pay. Not one that is “yuckier”. Not one that is “elsewhere”.

No, they may never find another one at all.

That has terrible ramifications.

That means at age 50 or later, what ever you have is all that you will ever get. That means at 50, you may never have health insurance again. That means at 50, you will begin to draw against your “pot of gold” (i.e., your total savings and investments).

You may have to be the Greeter at WalMart to permit yourself the luxury of dining on the expensive dog food.

You may, in fact, be on welfare and / or food stamps in your not-so “Golden Years”.

You may be “medically bankrupt” if you get sick without insurance.

Sacred yet. You should be.

Immediately, turkeys using my not-patented not-copyrighted formula for “job replacement interval” —

{For those, who aren’t aficionados of the Big Turkey’s methodology for calculating “job replacement interval”. Using my patented and copyrighted methodology, you can easily determine how many months YOU will need to find a new job. That is a function of: Annual Salary; the likelihood of a layoff in your company, industry, or skill set; the ease of finding another job in their skill set; their age; and the economy.}

— I’m adjusting the age penalty formula from (Less than 40 is 1; 41 to 49 is 2; 50 to 57 is 3; 57 and up is 4) to (Less than 40 is 1; 41 to 45 is 2; 45-50 = 4, 51-55=8, 51-55=16, 56-60=32, and 61 is 64).

Yes, after 56, I don’t think you can get another job again ever.

My formula may be wrong, but it should serve as a wake up call.

Plan as if there was no job to work at tomorrow. There may well not be.

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JOBSEARCH: Turkeys have to deal with their feelings!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/15/time-makes-a-list-of-tech-failures-microsoft-checks-it-twice/

Time Makes A List Of Tech Failures, Microsoft Makes It Twice by Leena Rao on May 15, 2009

200905161120.jpg

*** begin quote ***

Time Magazine recently published a list (completed by 24/7 Wall St.) of the “Top Ten Biggest Tech Failures Of The Past Decade.” Microsoft Vista, Microsoft Zune, Gateway, YouTube and the Segway all made the list.

*** end quote ***

I was attracted to the picture.

In job search, the search is usually preceded by a job “loss”.

It feels like this picture.

Heck of a way to end a career.

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