All Is Not Well In Farmville!

For all of you Farmville addicts (I am not counted among your numbers), here is something rather interesting to read:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/zyngas-tough-culture-risks-a-talent-drain/?ref=business

Survey shows brighter business outlook, but continued weakness in employment

I just came across this piece from NJbiz.com and it certainly show mixed results from employers in NJ. While I am encouraged that more companies plan to hire than have staff reductions, I am very concerned that over 70% expect to simply remain stagnant with no anticipated growth. We all really that the bleeding needs to stop before healing occurs but I have been looking forward to 2012 as they ear where recovery would start to take place. Please read the attached article and feel free to share your feelings with me.

Survey shows brighter business outlook, but continued weakness in employment: All Business • All New Jersey

Pothole Alert!

Everyone (myself included) wants to earn as much income as possible. The stresses of our economy, including healthcare costs, over-the-top gasoline prices, college tuition, etc., have made us all seek out as much money as we can. Naturally, job seekers are looking for great offers but there is a potential pothole to fall into if you are not careful.

A client recently asked me to fill a position and I started contacting potential candidates. The pay range given to me was a bit low by pre-2008 standards but fairly realistic in our current marketplace. Several candidates I spoke with had previously earned significantly more money. Thanks to the very weak market, I identified two extremely solid candidates more than happy to accept modest pay.

A third candidate returned my call but I quickly determined his experience level, while very good, was a bit less senior than the others. I told him what I felt was the pay rate I could submit his resume for and he got very upset with me. This individual has been out of work for over 6 months yet wanted to earn about 14% more than he did at his last job which put him about 20% higher than the two more qualified people. Once I told him I was going to hold off on adding him to my pool, he tried bargaining with me!

Honestly, as a recruiter, it is to my benefit to place candidates at the highest pay rate possible. However, if a recruiter or HR representative tells you that you are asking for too much money, please listen to them. The worst thing you can do is eliminate yourself before you even get the opportunity to interview for a job. Think smart, beware of potholes, and you will succeed!

Economic Indicators Improve Slightly

No one promised a speedy economic turnaround but any increase is better than a decline so I would put this news into the positive category!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-11-18/leading-economic-indicators-up/51295010/1

Calling All Future Professors!

Here is some very intriguing and interesting information. Universities are fighting over a diminishing number of academically trained PhD's worldwide and many are having to go to alternative plans to fill their classrooms. The Wall Street journal provides to interesting insight on this situation:
http://online.wsj.com/articleSB10001424052970204224604577032232809553166.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_
careerjournal and I encourage you to take a look.

Anyone with a Master's Degree and a decent amount of professional experience might want to look at college level teaching if the corporate world is not offering great opportunities right now. While perhaps this was not a financially attractive option 3 or 4 years ago, I suspect that the current playing field might yield different results. An academic environment might not be the perfect venue for everyone but, if you are in need of a new challenge, this might be worth researching before ruling it out!

Taking a Closer Look at Integrity

For the past several days, I watched the horrors at Penn State University unfold with a heavy heart. My parents both graduated there as did my sisters and scores of other family members and friends. Academically, PSU is one of the nation's great learning centers and still is. The cloud that has now covered the entire school is tragic at many levels but especially because of the fact no one stopped a predator from destroying so many young lives.

As a child, I remember my grandfather, who had zero interest in football, placing a petition in the entrance of his small clothing store about 20 miles west of the school asking Joe Paterno to not leave for the NFL. I asked him why this was so important and he told me it was because Joepa meant so much to the local economy and there was not a better man with higher mral standards (something my granfather was very big on) to be found.

My dad and I spent countless Saturdays in NJ struggling to get the radio broadcasts from Happy Valley so we could follow the legend of Joepa. My daughter was 2 weeks old when she sat in my lap as I tried to get her to understand the greatness of this program as they demolished U. of Cincinnati on 9/1/1990.

For years, I defined integrity as Joe Paterno and PSU Football and have always defended the program when others tried to challenge it. High graduation records, swift correction of disciplinary issues, refusing to pour it on when playing lesser opponents, all signs of high integrity, or at least that is what I thought.

What I have learned this past week is that no one is perfect. No one can go through life without making mistakes. Accountability is essential at all levels. Whistle blowing is essential to a safe and healthy workplace and should not be frowned upon. All employers, public, private, governmental need to be held to a higher level and looked at through a more powerful microscope than ever before. We all need to taka our jobs even more seriously than most of us now do and demand higher levels of integretity from our organizations and ourselves.

The Great Depression

Today being Veterans Day, I thought it would be a good time to look at the past, for better or for worse. My respect and admiration goes out to those who protect and sustain this nation of ours.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html?scp=2&sq=unemployment&st=cse

A Breath of Fresh Air

My wife and I took a much needed, 2 day trip from NJ into New England this past week. On our journey back, we stopped at a popular retail outlet center in CT. We were there midday and went hunting for a place to have a casual lunch. Like most similar centers, eateries are very limited so we were surprised to find a small, apparently privately owned, cafe offering light food. The business appeared to be staffed by one young woman who was cooking, filling orders, and running the cash register all at once.

Had this been one of the places selling $5 dollar foot longs, slurpees, etc., and only one person was on duty, I doubt service would have been so great. This individual managed to fill orders promptly, kept smiling, and made pleasant small talk with each patron. Not only were her products well prepared and moderately priced, we actually felt like our business was deeply appreciated.

No matter who your customer is, internal or external, retail or corporate, one time or long term; there is only one way to treat them. Success is created by treating every customer or client as the most important one you will ever have!

Some Positive News?

I just came across this somewhat positive story about our employment situation. Considering how rare it is to read any sort of good news, I opted to share this with my readers. Thanks to the New York Times for the report:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/more-churn-in-job-market-is-hopeful-sign/?scp=2&sq=job%20market&st=cse

Making Lemonade

From the title of this entry one might think I changed careers from placement and coaching to culinary arts. Not true! My chef skills are limited though I can cook just about anything on a BBQ grill! Through a rather winding path, I will tell a story that ultimately has to do with an individual's career choices.

Everyone needs a diversion from their work routine, some sort of outside activity or interest. One of my sidelines is coordinating high school marching band competitions on weekends. It gets me out among very talented young people, interacting with scores of volunteer parents, and usually, lots of fresh air and exercise. The October snowstorm that overpowered NJ last week casued many schools to cancel, reschedule, or move their shows into indoor facilities. I had the pleasure of working at 3 reconfigured shows in the last several days at North Plainfield, East Brunswick and Hillsborough NJ. All the organizations did a splendid job of regrouping but my focus here is on North Plainfield.

On Sunday morning, October 30, I approached their stadium to see firefighters spraying water onto the turf in a valiant attempt to melt the field and eliminate over 5 inches of heavy snow. The fire chief consulted with the public works crew, school administrators, etc. then informed the band director and me that the effort would not be good enough. Within minutes, the parent organizers had everyone hustling concession food from the field to the school cafeteria, the band director and her staff helped my team reorganize the show to fit the building's capabilities, and the custodial staff quickly got the facility prepared to host about 10 bands with all their equipment and several hundred spectators. Part way through the show, I stopped one of the lead parents and complimented her on how well things had turned out. She looked at me, smiled, and said "we make great lemonade here!" That was absolutely the truth!

You are probably wondering how this relates to a job search. Well, it certainly does! Many folks desperately looking for a job stay close to their comfort zone and unintentionally miss opportunities. Just yesterday, a gentleman called who had been an electronics technician for a company that made x-ray equipment for over 20 years. The company moved to the Philippines leaving him out of work. He had applied to every related service company within an hour of his home to no avail. I asked him how many hospitals he had contacted to see if they hired on-site support to keep their equipment running 24/7. There was a moment of silence before he told me no one had ever suggested that before.

Please look outside the box when job hunting. Be creative and do not give up when a huge stumbling block presents itself. Turn those pesky lemons into lemonade!