JOBSEARCH: An oldie but a goodie

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Surf over to my “turkey farm” and review some of the key points. Regardless of why you have been out of the workforce, you have a “unique value proposition” to express. You can unlock same value for some one. If you can’t, what are you selling? You have to find out what that value is. Then, you craft a “unique sales proposition” (i.e., how do I get someone to hire me). Then, you build a resume and cover letter to that purpose.

I counsel “turkeys” (i.e., people who have gotten the axe from their employer). I’ve been axed several times. After the first time, it should NOT hurt. And, it certainly shouldn’t be a surprise. Happens to everyone. If it doesn’t then you’re playing your cards to tight to the vest.

Your letter and resume have to tell a story. They have to initiate a conversation. You want them to make the reader pick up the phone and say “how did you do that? can you do it for me?”.

It’s hard work. The hardest you’ll ever do. But, you’ll be motivated because you’re working for yourself.

I’ll close with one story. An “old” turkey (i.e., one who has been out of work for a “long” time) was sent to me for “help”. So, I looked at his resume with a three year hole in it. I naturally inquired, in my blunt cavalier injineer way, “been in jail?”. Mind you this was the resume he was sending out and didn’t understand why no response. He said “no, i was caring for my dying wife”. My jaw dropped to the floor.

He wasn’t telling his story. We fashioned a “job entry” that said something like “Care Giver, Medical Treatment Assistant, and Medical Billing Expert” with three bullet points. Recruiters hate holes in time lines; they suspect you’ve been in jail or worse off having the fun that they are not having. Any way, this turkey had a senior level IT job in an HR department working on their benefits billing systems in less than five weeks.

All I did was get him to tell his story. All you have to do is to tell yours. AND, express what you are going to do for the reader.

Good luck,
fjohn
just a big old fat turkey hisself

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MONEY: Error Employees Make

Saturday, August 25, 2012

http://www.ricedelman.com/cs/pressroom/pressroom_detail?pressrelease.id=3234

The Most Common Error Employees Make

For Immediate Release
August 10, 2012

*** begin quote ***

Unfortunately, only 9% of the nation’s 60 million workers who are eligible to participate in 401(k) plans contribute the maximum, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The Plan Sponsor Council of America says only 5% of employees do so. And a recent survey by CouponCabin found that 73% of Americans aged 18–34 — the group whose long-time horizon offers them the best chance of creating wealth by retirement — don’t invest for retirement at all.

*** end quote ***

I’m not a “financial advisor”. Nor do I play one on TV. 

Remember the sources of my education: I’m just a fat old white guy injineer with: Law “degree” from watching Judge Judy; Medical “degree” from watching Doctor Phil; Building “degree” from watching “Holmes on Homes”; Investing “degree” from reading about Bernie Made-off; and creating caring human relationships from studying the movie roles of Gunny Ronald Lee Ermey!

And, while generally and usually agree with Ric, and by way of disclosure I am a Customer of Ric’s, I think I’d like to quibble with him a little.

Not that folks should be worried about the future and saving everything they can. He and Dave Ramsey together are good pundits. But I disagree with both around the edges.

But back to Ric and 401Ks.

There are at least three specific incidents where the 401K advice hits a boundary.

(1) Some 401Ks REQUIRE you to rollover into the company’s 401K. There is the infamous case of the guy who rolled a million dollar PGE IRA into Enron and is now living on welfare or social security.

(2) Some 401Ks are really “house organs”. The CFO makes a sweetheart deal and the employees get screwed. High fees, limited choices, and you name it.

(3) Some 401Ks are not worth chasing to get the limited match.

Then there are some TINFOILHAT considerations:

(A) The Gooferment desperate for money needs 13T$. The IRA / 401K holding is 14T$. All the politicians and bureaucrats have to do is to twist the arms of ~2500 “custodians” and give the “owner” an “enhanced social security benefit” and all their portables are solved. For YOUR OWN GOOD of course. (Yeah, it can’t happen here — the FDR gold grab, GM bailout, … … the Japanese Internment, Trail of Tears, … … yeah trust your Gooferment.

(B) The 401K is in dollar denominated assets.What if the Fed does QE3+4+5 … and we get a Carter stagflation? Remember 21% Treasury Bills that were losers in a 30% inflation world? The dollar has lost 99% of its purchasing power in 30 or 40 years at a few percent. No doubt that I like nickels, silver and gold.

All I’m saying is do trust. Have a Plan B, Plan C … and some bullion in your basement.

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FLASH: Mad Gunman 1 NYPD 10; and who’s more dangerous?

Friday, August 24, 2012

http://www.inquisitr.com/311349/bloomberg-confirms-one-dead-bystanders-accidentally-shot-by-police-in-workplace-shooting/

Bloomberg Confirms: One Dead, Bystanders Accidentally Shot By Police In Workplace Shooting
Posted: August 24, 2012

*** begin quote ***

In the gunfire on the street between Jeffrey Johnson and the NYPD officers, seven men and two women are said to have been hit, all are likely to survive their injuries.

*** end quote ***

On one private club / gun range I frequent, the Range Safety Officer (and, there has to be one on duty for the range to be open) is required by club policy to announce “LEO on the line” so that those on the line can retire to safety. And, the backup Assistant Range Safety Officer comes to the line to observe the LEO or LEOs on the line. Note the club’s ONLY THREE accidents have been when LEOs were involved. A regular member is ejected and loses his deposit if they or their guest violates a safety rule.

Further, most gun owners know that the cops don’t practice enough to maintain proficiency. Unlike the Marines and the Military Police who practice a lot.

So why are we surprise when civilians get hurt when the kops “protect and serve”?

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INTERESTING: Titanic sunk by a “cold water mirage”

Friday, August 24, 2012

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Did-the-Titanic-Sink-Because-of-an-Optical-Illusion.html

Did the Titanic Sink Because of an Optical Illusion?
New research may have found the reason why the ship struck an iceberg: light refraction
By Tim Maltin
Illustrations by Charles Floyd
Smithsonian magazine, March 2012

*** begin quote ***

An unusual optical phenomenon explains why the Titanic struck an iceberg and received no assistance from a nearby ship, according to new research by British historian Tim Maltin. Atmospheric conditions in the area that night were ripe for super refraction, Maltin found. This extraordinary bending of light causes miraging, which, he discovered, was recorded by several ships in the area. He says it also prevented the Titanic’s lookouts from seeing the iceberg in time and the freighter Californian from identifying the ocean liner and communicating with it. A 1992 British government investigation suggested that super refraction may have played a role in the disaster, but that possibility went unexplored until Maltin mined weather records, survivors’ testimony and long-forgotten ships’ logs. His findings—presented in his new book, A Very Deceiving Night, and the documentary film Titanic’s Final Mystery, premiering on the Smithsonian Channel at 8 p.m. on April 15—are distilled here:

1. The Titanic was sailing from Gulf Stream waters into the frigid Labrador Current, where the air column was cooling from the bottom up, creating a thermal inversion: layers of cold air below layers of warmer air. Extraordinarily high air pressure kept the air free of fog.

*** end quote ***

Fascinating. 

This video explains and rationalizes the reason that Titanic didn’t see the iceberg that sank it.

Human frailty. We don’t know what we don’t know and our paradigms fail us.

I wonder how many “optical illusions” have tripped me up over my life?

Argh!

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INTERESTING: India’s blackout is in the USA’s future

Thursday, August 23, 2012

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/infrastructure/
us-woefully-unprepared-for-a-blackout-like-indias-analysis-11413652

U.S. Woefully Unprepared for a Blackout Like India’s: Analysis
Two major blackouts last week left hundreds of millions of Indians in the dark. PM contributor Glenn Harlan Reynolds says despite its advanced grid, the U.S. needs major improvements in infrastructure and preparedness to be ready for a major power loss.
By Glenn Harlan Reynolds

August 6, 2012 2:16 PM 

*** begin quote *** 

Last week, India suffered two huge blackouts. Tuesday’s cut power to 370 million people; another one on Wednesday blacked out 670 million people, making it the worst blackout in the history of humanity.

Talking about this with a colleague, I said, “Don’t worry. That can’t happen here.” “Why not?” she asked. “Because we don’t have 670 million people,” I replied.

*** end quote ***

As a fat old white guy injineer, E-lect-trick-al for that matter, I know how fragile our infrastructure is.

A power outage for a week and we are in TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It).

Civilization will break down in a month.

Personally, I’m suggesting that only the Amish, the Mormons, and a few preppers will survive.

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MONEY: Polish Ponzi hurts; a lesson for the USA and the Federal Reserve System “dollar”

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/and-why-you-always-demand-physical

Aaaand It’s Gone: This Is Why You Always Demand Physical
Tyler Durden’s picture
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/14/2012 21:09 -0400

*** begin quote *** 

We have said it over and over, we’ll say it again. For all those who for one reason or another would like to boycott the broken markets, yet trade gold in paper form, please understand that all the invested capital is at risk of total loss and can and will be lost, commingled and rehypothecated, not necessarily in that order, with little to zero recourse and the residual claim on liquidating assets pushed to the very end of the queue. Because if Lehman, MF Global, Peregrine, and countless other examples were not enough, here comes Amber Gold: a gold-based investment ponzi scheme out of Poland, in which it is likely needless to say that the gullible investors never had actual possession of the gold. And when they tried, it was gone. All gone.

*** end quote ***

Why do you trust that someone else is watching your assets?

Argh!

Ponzi is the meme.

Social Security Insurance, fiat paper money that channels John Law, and any promise made by politicians and bureaucrats!

Cynical?

Nah, realist.

Save your nickels!

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SERVICE: GIST goes bye bye; don’t depend on anything in the cloud?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Gist
We started Gist in 2008 to make connecting with your key contacts faster and easier to help you create stronger business relationships. In February of 2011, we become part of Research In Motion (RIM) to bring the Gist vision to millions of BlackBerry customers. Since our acquisition we built the BlackBerry Playbook Contacts app and more recently, our team has been tasked with creating the native address book/contact manager for the next generation platform, BlackBerry 10.

In addition to our core focus on the Contacts app, we have been given expanded responsibility for everything social at RIM including BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook and Twitter apps and instant messaging as well as much of the identity platform, location services and user analytics features.

With all this responsibility, we feel even more empowered to deliver a truly unique and amazing experience for aggregating, enhancing and connecting you deeply with your key contacts. All of this feels pretty exciting, but you may have noticed limited innovation on the core Gist product offering over the last year. In an effort to make the most of our new focus, we have, with heavy hearts, decided to shutdown the stand-alone Gist service. Sigh.

As of today, we are no longer accepting new users and Gist.com will officially be closing on September 15, 2012. Click here to read the blog post and learn how to get your data out of Gist so you can transition to another service.

Thanks,
The Gist Team
http://www.gist.com

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Argh!

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MEMORIES: The Grand (Central) Hyatt; the visit makes me sad

Monday, August 20, 2012

This past week end I had occasion to stay at the The Grand Hyatt in NYC over Grand Central Station for work.

It was in the Fall of 1967 that I attended the Injineer’s Ball in that very same hotel with my beloved.

Made me very sad.

What can I say? If I knew then what I know now, would it have made a difference? If I knew then what I know now, could I have changed the course of history? Would I have lived with more zest knowing that the end was fast approaching?

Or, would by knowing, would something different have happened?

Argh!

In my Great American Novel, CHURCH 10●19●62, I postulated an etherial “probabilities” machine.

*** begin quote ***

(Upon having his name invoked, Saint TAQ checked the Eternal Possibilities Machine, which generates all the possibilities for use in creating the alternative worlds. In all those probability lines where those three survived to lead the survivors, everyone died. Marie never was in a place and motivated to open the water valve. No one else would have found and read the directions. Saint Taq petitioned the Lord to soften Jody’s heart to Marie’s pain. And vice versa.)

*** end quote ***

— CHURCH 10●19●62 (volume 1) page 45

Were I had such a thing to “know” the difference?

Argh!

Sadly, we’ll never know.

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INTERESTING: Sleep is not the cousin of death

Sunday, August 19, 2012

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-three-ss-you-must-get-right/

The Three S’s You Must Get Right

*** begin quote ***

You hear it all the time: “It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change!” or “Fitness is something you live!” It seems like every health guru out there with a diet and/or workout plan says something to that effect. Unfortunately, if you fully subscribe to their prescriptions and do so for life, you’re still only changing what you eat or how you work out.

While that’s most of the battle, it’s not enough. Diet and exercise are simply vital components of a lifestyle. If you make a permanent modification to your diet and exercise without addressing the other things that encompass a “lifestyle,” you’re selling yourself short.

Which is why I believe it is necessary to focus on the other stuff, too. I’m convinced that good health, longevity, happiness, and weight management come down to far more than just diet and exercise.

*** and ***

Sleep

Sleep is not the cousin of death, and no, you shouldn’t hold off on sleeping until you’re dead. Sleep is restoration time. It’s when your body repairs itself. And, chances are, you’re not getting nearly enough of it.

Are you? How often do you get a “good night’s sleep?” Do you regularly wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day?

If you are like most people you are not getting good, regular sleep. You’re hitting the snooze button several times, fumbling for your coffee fix, and yawning at work. You’re staying up late with the TV going or you’re taking your laptop into bed.

It wasn’t always like this. For millions of years, up until about a hundred twenty years ago, humans all over the world enjoyed restorative, refreshing, regular sleep. When the sun went down, they either went to sleep or started getting ready for it. Life would wind down. Candles and fire were too costly to burn all night, every night, so nighttime meant bedtime.

*** end quote ***

This will be the hardest part of going primal.

I am NOT a good sleeper.

We’ll see.

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal

Friday, August 17, 2012

From: WSJ.com Editors <access@interactive.wsj.com>
Date: Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 12:10 AM
Subject: WSJ NEWS ALERT: Watchdog Offers Mortgage Rules
To: reinkefj

__________________________________
News Alert
from The Wall Street Journal

A federal consumer regulator is expected to propose Friday the first set of national standards for the mortgage-servicing industry, which has been riddled with problems in the wake of the housing bust.

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal, loan servicers would be required to evaluate homeowners’ applications for loan-assistance within 30 days of receiving an application and would be barred from going ahead with a foreclosure until a final decision has been reached on a borrower’s application for help.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444900304577579591114136230.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

 

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Talk about locking the barn after the whole herd has left the building!

I can’t wait to see the details of this.

Does it “charge back” the originator with the costs. IBM used to have a commission back out program when a Customer was “lost”. Needless to say, they lost very few Customers and, when they did, a sales team exited with the Customer.

Does it set standards for downpayments, ARMs, negative amortization, and balloons? In the “old days”, home mortgages were 50% down and 5 years max. Needless to say there were few if any defaults. Compare that to the NIJA no down no income no job applications of the subprome mess. Clearly these protections should apply to the Donald Trumps. He can stand the loss, but the “little people” need to be taught the lesson.

As a little L libertarian, if I have to have Gooferment, let’s at least try to pretend it can do something.

Argh!

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