"One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy;
One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself."
Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project
Two ways to help others, make them happy, and increase your own happiness:
Friday, October 17, 2008
Increasing Your Chances of Getting a Job
In these frightening economic times it is important to remember:
- If you are employed, do not quit your job until you have secured a new one.
- Since 80% of jobs are found through networking and according to one study Internet job searches have only a 4% success rate, don't spend all of your time sending resumes to jobs posted on job boards on the Internet.
- If you send your resume as an e-mailed attachment, when possible, follow up with a snail mailed copy on good quality paper in a 9x12 white envelope.
- Always send a handwritten thank you note within 24 hours after an interview - your name printed or embossed on the note will enhance your chances. Since only 10% of all candidates send thank you notes, this will imoress the employer and may clinch the job offer for you.
For more tips visit http://www.aresumes.net/
Women Are More Stressed by Economic Fears
According to the American Psychological Association's recently released Stress in America survey, conducted in June and August, more women than men (84 percent to 75 percent) expressed fear about the economy, and many reported new physical and emotional symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, overeating and chest pain.
The gender difference is probably attributable to a combination of the extra family responsibilities carried by women, especially working women, and the fact that "women are just more open about reporting stress," says Katherine Nordal, the APA's executive director for professional practice.
Women 44 and older reported feeling the most anxious about finances, and that could have a real impact on their long-term well-being, according to Nordal.
Economic Stress is Worse for Women
The gender difference is probably attributable to a combination of the extra family responsibilities carried by women, especially working women, and the fact that "women are just more open about reporting stress," says Katherine Nordal, the APA's executive director for professional practice.
Women 44 and older reported feeling the most anxious about finances, and that could have a real impact on their long-term well-being, according to Nordal.
Economic Stress is Worse for Women
Sunday, October 5, 2008
159,000 Jobs Lost in September - Highest in 5 Years
In September, 159,000 were slashed — more than double the cuts made one month before. It was the ninth straight month of job losses. For the first eight months of the year, the economy lost an average of about 75,000 jobs each month.
A staggering 760,000 jobs have been lost since January.
The Labor Department's report, released October 3, 2008, also showed that the nation's unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, up sharply from 4.7 percent a year ago. Over the last year, the number of unemployed people has risen by 2.2 million to 9.5 million.
The government’s monthly snapshot of the labor market detailed a relentless assortment of woes afflicting American working families.
Job cuts in September:
A staggering 760,000 jobs have been lost since January.
The Labor Department's report, released October 3, 2008, also showed that the nation's unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, up sharply from 4.7 percent a year ago. Over the last year, the number of unemployed people has risen by 2.2 million to 9.5 million.
The government’s monthly snapshot of the labor market detailed a relentless assortment of woes afflicting American working families.
Job cuts in September:
- Manufacturing - 51,000 (442,000 lost in 2008; 4 million since 1999)
- Retailers - 35,000
- Construction - 35,000
- Transportation and Warehousing - 16,000
- Financial Services - 17,000 (172,000 since employment peaked in that part of the economy in December 2006). And that was before the bankruptcy of the Wall Street titan, Lehman Brothers; the bailout of the mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the fire sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America; the near disintegration of the insurance giant American International Group; and the government takeover and sale of Washington Mutual.
The rare instances of job gains in September:
- Health Care - 17,000
- Mining - 8,000
The unemployment rate could hit 7 or 7.5 percent by late 2009. If that happens, it would mark the highest since after the 1990-91 recession. Some economists say the jobless rate could rise even more before the situation starts to get better.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
More Job Cuts Expected
The financial crisis in the U.S. could have wide-ranging effects on the job market and is having an impact on the number of layoffs planned in various sectors. It is still too soon to know how much worse it will get as the bailout acceptance or rejection will influence decision makers in the near furture.
The number of job cuts announced in September rose as the economy slowed, according to a report released today.
Positions lost rose 7.2% to 95,094 from 88,736 the previous month, and were 33% higher than the same month last year, when 71,739 cuts were announced, according to outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
September brought the announced layoff total for the third quarter to 287,142 - the largest number since 2005, according to the report.
The number of job cuts announced in September rose as the economy slowed, according to a report released today.
Positions lost rose 7.2% to 95,094 from 88,736 the previous month, and were 33% higher than the same month last year, when 71,739 cuts were announced, according to outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
September brought the announced layoff total for the third quarter to 287,142 - the largest number since 2005, according to the report.
- The computer industry took the biggest hit, with 25,715 positions on the line after PC maker Hewlett-Packard announced the largest workforce reduction of the year, the report said. HP said it would cut 24,600 jobs worldwide as a result of its acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. But since those cuts were a result of the deal and not a consequence of the ailing economy, the report noted, HP's workforce could gain many of those jobs back.
- The struggling auto industry came in second place, with plans to drop 14,595 jobs
- The apparel industry came in third place, announcing 8,350 cuts, according to the report.
- The data showed that finance industry had announced 8,244 job cuts in September, compared with a spike of 27,169 during the same month last year as the credit crunch began to unfold. But they did jump from 2,182 in August.
Whether the $700B bailout plan is approved by Congress - and what form it takes - will affect the number of layoffs that may eventually be announced, according to Challenger.
"One of the big questions is: Are there going to be more runs on banks and financial institutions?'" he told CNNMoney.com.
If there is no bailout plan, financial job cuts will likely increase, according to Challenger. On the other hand, if all banks take advantage of the government's offer, the number of layoffs could be limited, since no one institution is singled out.
But if a bailout plan passes and is only embraced by a few institutions, that would emphasize the weakness of those companies, and we might see more job cuts, he added.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Highest Jobless Claims in 7 Years
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to their highest level in seven years due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The department said new requests for jobless benefits for the week ending Sept. 20 increased by 32,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 493,000, much higher than analysts' expectations of 445,000.
The two hurricanes added about 50,000 new claims in Louisiana and Texas, the department said. The four-week moving average, which smooths out fluctuations, rose to 462,500. That's the highest it has been since Nov. 3, 2001. The level of new claims was the highest since shortly after the 9/11 attacks, when it reached 517,000. David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities, said Thursday's figure is the second-highest since July 1992. Claims have topped 500,000 only a handful of times in the past twenty years, he said, and were consistently above that level during the 1991 recession.
Even excluding the effects of the hurricanes, jobless claims remain at elevated levels. Weekly claims have now topped 400,000 for ten straight weeks, a level economists consider a sign of recession. A year ago, claims stood at 309,000. The report "reflects a marked deterioration in the job market." Resler wrote in a note to clients. "That deterioration may well accelerate as the distress in the financial markets deepens and the effect of credit impairment spreads to other sectors." The number of people continuing to draw jobless benefits last week was 3.54 million, up 63,000 from the previous week and nearly a five-year high. The four-week average of continuing claims was 3.49 million. Other economic indicators Thursday were also negative.
Highest Jobless Claims in 7 Years
The department said new requests for jobless benefits for the week ending Sept. 20 increased by 32,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 493,000, much higher than analysts' expectations of 445,000.
The two hurricanes added about 50,000 new claims in Louisiana and Texas, the department said. The four-week moving average, which smooths out fluctuations, rose to 462,500. That's the highest it has been since Nov. 3, 2001. The level of new claims was the highest since shortly after the 9/11 attacks, when it reached 517,000. David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities, said Thursday's figure is the second-highest since July 1992. Claims have topped 500,000 only a handful of times in the past twenty years, he said, and were consistently above that level during the 1991 recession.
Even excluding the effects of the hurricanes, jobless claims remain at elevated levels. Weekly claims have now topped 400,000 for ten straight weeks, a level economists consider a sign of recession. A year ago, claims stood at 309,000. The report "reflects a marked deterioration in the job market." Resler wrote in a note to clients. "That deterioration may well accelerate as the distress in the financial markets deepens and the effect of credit impairment spreads to other sectors." The number of people continuing to draw jobless benefits last week was 3.54 million, up 63,000 from the previous week and nearly a five-year high. The four-week average of continuing claims was 3.49 million. Other economic indicators Thursday were also negative.
Highest Jobless Claims in 7 Years
Monday, September 22, 2008
Where the Jobs are for Retirees
With the crisis in the financial markets and the volatility of the stock market, retirement may mean working at least part-time for many people.
According to a recent AARP survey, 8 out of 10 baby boomers want to keep working after they "retire," some because they expect to need the income or medical benefits, but many others because they aren't yet ready to feel they've been put out to pasture. "I really want to stay active and challenged," said Ortiz. "I've seen plenty of former colleagues retire and die shortly afterward, and I think that's because they had nothing compelling going on in their lives."
So let's say you're trying to plan your golden years, you've picked out a couple of places where you might like to live, and you're wondering about job opportunities there. Most towns' Chambers of Commerce are happy to send you an information packet describing local employers, and a subscription to the local paper will let you keep an eye on help-wanted ads in the area.
But now, thanks to a collaboration between AARP and a huge employment Web site for the over-50 crowd called RetirementJobs.com, there's a quicker and easier way:
According to a recent AARP survey, 8 out of 10 baby boomers want to keep working after they "retire," some because they expect to need the income or medical benefits, but many others because they aren't yet ready to feel they've been put out to pasture. "I really want to stay active and challenged," said Ortiz. "I've seen plenty of former colleagues retire and die shortly afterward, and I think that's because they had nothing compelling going on in their lives."
So let's say you're trying to plan your golden years, you've picked out a couple of places where you might like to live, and you're wondering about job opportunities there. Most towns' Chambers of Commerce are happy to send you an information packet describing local employers, and a subscription to the local paper will let you keep an eye on help-wanted ads in the area.
But now, thanks to a collaboration between AARP and a huge employment Web site for the over-50 crowd called RetirementJobs.com, there's a quicker and easier way:
- Go to www.aarp.org/money/work and enter the name or zip code of the town you're considering, plus a keyword describing what kind of work you're after ("sales" or "accounting," for example), and you'll get a listing of current job openings posted by local employers - many of them familiar national brand names like Staples (SPLS, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) - that welcome older, experienced workers.
- The AARP site offers a wealth of other information and support for anyone planning to launch a second career in retirement. Check out The Water Cooler, an online discussion group about career issues for people over 50, and AARP's blog, ShAARP Session.
- Not surprisingly, a broad array of other online resources are popping up to help the 70-million-member boomer generation navigate the post-retirement career waters. No matter where you end up living when you've bid farewell to your current career, if you plan to keep working, here's a sampling of other sites worth a visit:
Ageless in America - resources for older job seekers from Boom or Bust! New Careers in a New America co-authors Brad Taft and Carleen McKay.
RetirementJobs.com - part job board, part advisor, and coach for job-seeking seniors.
young2retire.com - Howard and Marika Stone, co-authors of Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life, offer coaching, a newsletter, profiles of interesting late-in-life career changers, and much more.
You may find all of these resources helpful, but don't forget to use the telephone and talk with people face-to-face to gain information, network, and secure retirement positions.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Job Losses and Aftermath of Financial Crisis
In the next few weeks, the fate of Lehman Brothers' 25,000 and Merrill Lynch's 60,000 staffers will be decided. Most will lose their jobs. What will happen to them?
If the past is any guide, they'll be fine. In time.
Even before the current mess, some 104,000 U.S. financial jobs were lost in the 12 months ending August--1.2% of the 8.2 million positions in the country as the mortgage-market bubble ruptured and Wall Street convulsed. It's particularly painful for New York City, where many of these firms are based. In the last downturn, after Sept. 11, the city lost 45,000 finance jobs. So far 11,000 have been lost this time around, but that number will grow considerably as the fate of the Merrill and Lehman employees is decided.
And while the losses are big, they are part of a boom and bust cycle that's as old as the industry itself. In the nearly seven decades since the Department of Labor started tracking this data, the financial-services sector has posted three larger percentage losses in the same 12-month time frame--back in 1942, 1944 and 1991.
Already other banks are swooping in to pick over the bones of the failed companies. Barclays, who bought the investment banking arm of Lehman Brothers could hire some 8,000 to 10,000 of the firm's top revenue generators. The biggest stars at Lehman and Merrill will also find opportunities at former clients, mainly hedge funds.
Many small and medium-sized institutions will also be thrilled to hire those laid off at top-tier firms, a talent pool that mostly shunned them during headier days. Of course, taking a job at one of these less storied firms will require staffers to check their egos--and their usual pay requirements--at the door. It's not all bad. "These people can become a bigger fish in the smaller pond since they bring big Wall Street experience," says Sandy Gross, founder and managing partner of Pinetum Partners, an executive recruiter firm specializing in financial services.
The best bet for non-revenue generating staff in marketing, communications, client relations, and IT my be to leave the financial sector and look for positions in the growing areas like healthcare and sustainable energy. However, the vast, complex merger of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America should have ample potential for IT employees. Either way, they should be fine – over the next five years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1.9M jobs created in computer networking, which will account for a quarter of all new jobs during the period.
Another, albeit lower paying option, is government. Expect a regulation boom in the wake of this crisis--and all the trappings that go with it.
Some of these laid-off employees will find work in places we have yet to imagine. "After financial collapses there is always innovation," says Ghilarducci. She points to the home mortgage, which was developed after the Great Depression and the junk bond market after the stock market lost its juice in the late 1980s. Recent history offers further proof: The same mortgage securities boom that created the current crisis also created hundreds of thousands of new jobs
Job Losses in Financial Crisis
If the past is any guide, they'll be fine. In time.
Even before the current mess, some 104,000 U.S. financial jobs were lost in the 12 months ending August--1.2% of the 8.2 million positions in the country as the mortgage-market bubble ruptured and Wall Street convulsed. It's particularly painful for New York City, where many of these firms are based. In the last downturn, after Sept. 11, the city lost 45,000 finance jobs. So far 11,000 have been lost this time around, but that number will grow considerably as the fate of the Merrill and Lehman employees is decided.
And while the losses are big, they are part of a boom and bust cycle that's as old as the industry itself. In the nearly seven decades since the Department of Labor started tracking this data, the financial-services sector has posted three larger percentage losses in the same 12-month time frame--back in 1942, 1944 and 1991.
Already other banks are swooping in to pick over the bones of the failed companies. Barclays, who bought the investment banking arm of Lehman Brothers could hire some 8,000 to 10,000 of the firm's top revenue generators. The biggest stars at Lehman and Merrill will also find opportunities at former clients, mainly hedge funds.
Many small and medium-sized institutions will also be thrilled to hire those laid off at top-tier firms, a talent pool that mostly shunned them during headier days. Of course, taking a job at one of these less storied firms will require staffers to check their egos--and their usual pay requirements--at the door. It's not all bad. "These people can become a bigger fish in the smaller pond since they bring big Wall Street experience," says Sandy Gross, founder and managing partner of Pinetum Partners, an executive recruiter firm specializing in financial services.
The best bet for non-revenue generating staff in marketing, communications, client relations, and IT my be to leave the financial sector and look for positions in the growing areas like healthcare and sustainable energy. However, the vast, complex merger of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America should have ample potential for IT employees. Either way, they should be fine – over the next five years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1.9M jobs created in computer networking, which will account for a quarter of all new jobs during the period.
Another, albeit lower paying option, is government. Expect a regulation boom in the wake of this crisis--and all the trappings that go with it.
Some of these laid-off employees will find work in places we have yet to imagine. "After financial collapses there is always innovation," says Ghilarducci. She points to the home mortgage, which was developed after the Great Depression and the junk bond market after the stock market lost its juice in the late 1980s. Recent history offers further proof: The same mortgage securities boom that created the current crisis also created hundreds of thousands of new jobs
Job Losses in Financial Crisis
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Reasons to Always Send Thank You Notes
Only 10% of all candidates send thank you notes after job interviews. You can maximize your chances of securing a position by sending a thank you note within 24 hours after an interview. Make sure you get the exact title and names of all those with whom you have interviewed and take the time to write a thank you to each of them.6 Reasons to Send a Thank You Note
1. Remind the hiring manager who you are
2. Show the hiring manager that you really want the job
3. Enable you to highlight your unique ability to provide solutions and benefits will help the employer achieve specific goals
4. Illustrate your understanding of the importance of proper business etiquette and politeness in building professional relationships
5. Make you stand out since 90% of all candidates don’t send thank you notes
6. Might give you a second chance if your interview did not go as well as you had hoped it would
To maximize the benefit of sending thank you notes you can send an e-mail (for speed) and then send a handwritten note with your name printed or embossed on the note and the envelope. This will impress the employer and make you stand out from the rest of the candidates.
Every extra self-marketing tool can make a major difference in whether you are selected for the job.
For help in writing, or to purchase printed or embossed personalized thank you notes visit Thank You Notes.
Monday, September 15, 2008
2008 Best Performing Large Cities
Milliken’s 2008 Best Performing Cities – 200 Largest Metros
1. Provo-Orem, UT
2. Raleigh-Carey, NC
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Austin-Round Rock, TX
5. Huntsville, AL
6. Wilmington, SC
7. McAllen-Edinburg, TX
8. Tacoma, WA
9. Olympia, WA
10. Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, NC
The Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage, and salary and technology growth. The Best Performing Cities ranking depicts those U.S. metropolitan areas that are recording the top economic performance. The research was conducted prior to Hurricane Ike.
For the complete listing visit 2008 Best Performing Cities
1. Provo-Orem, UT
2. Raleigh-Carey, NC
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Austin-Round Rock, TX
5. Huntsville, AL
6. Wilmington, SC
7. McAllen-Edinburg, TX
8. Tacoma, WA
9. Olympia, WA
10. Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, NC
The Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage, and salary and technology growth. The Best Performing Cities ranking depicts those U.S. metropolitan areas that are recording the top economic performance. The research was conducted prior to Hurricane Ike.
For the complete listing visit 2008 Best Performing Cities
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