Labor Day's True Meaning

"Labor Day is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 3 in 2012) that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers."  This definition was taken from  http://www.wikipedia.org/  and is a pretty concise description of what Labor Day is supposed to be about.

Most people seem to identify Labor Day as the final day to travel to shore points, mountain resorts, casinos, or other recreational areas based on where you reside.  The day has also become a huge event for shopping malls, big box stores, and even automotive dealerships.  Traffic jams abound later in the day as thousands of motorists try to rush back home to begin the school and/or work week on Tuesday morning.

It seems to me that Labor Day has quickly become another meaningless holiday soon to be followed by Thanksgiving if retailers get their way.  Do you ever stop to think about where we would be if our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had not worked tirelessly to put food the dinner table or provide for their children's education?  The U.S. Department of Labor has created an informative  webpage, http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm which I encourage you to view.  If you happen to patronize a retail store or restaurant, hand over tolls to a highway toll collector, purchase gasoline, pick up prescriptions at your pharmacy, or conduct business on Labor Day with anyone at all, please remember to thank them for their hard work and dedication!

I am having one of those days where, after a long day of travel, I cannot sleep or focus on one topic very long.  This is not new for me, rather a state of mind travel has caused for at least the past 30 years. As a result, I do not go far from home very often but sometimes life gets in the way.  The good thing is, I get a chance to clear loose ends out of my memory bank so here we go!

• The state of NJ reported unemployment at 9.8% just about the honorable Governor Christie was invited to give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention so I am happy to hear he will not talk about the recovery process as part of his speech.
• I am anxious to see clear cut details from both Presidential candidates on how they will create jobs and reduce unemployment.
• Not-for-profit organizations seem to be hiring development professionals with a flare for engaging new financial supporters.  If you have a solid marketing or fundraising background, this might be an avenue to explore.
• With the price of gasoline rising nationwide, I wonder if increased transportation costs to deliver goods to market will start us on another economic downturn.
• On a completely different subject, please remember that an 8 page resume is way too long to submit for job opportunities. 
• On yet a different front, is Roger Clemens serious about making a comeback at age 50?
• I was in a well known donut shop chain's shop in Easton, PA today and saw an example of how to treat customers exceptionally well.  No matter what type of work you do, make sure you put forth your best effort every day!  

Making Tough Decisons

Several people I have had contact with recently have been faced with a really tough challenge.  They were offered the chance to interview for multiple jobs simultaneously.  You would think this is excellent, considering have tough it is to get just one real live interview these days but there is a dark side to this.  What should you do if the first employer to offer a job is your second or third choice to work for?

The possible scenarios are as endless as the number of combinations one could throw together at a really good sandwich shop!  If an offer comes your way that is not your top choice, the first thing to do is tell that company you will get back to them within 2 business days as you want to consider all your options and properly review their opportunity.  Next, get on the phone and send emails to the other potential suitors, tell them you have an offer in hand, but really want to hear back before making a decision.  If they tell you they will get back to you the next day, wait for them but not more than 24 hours.  Should they say they are extremely interested in you but need a week or two to make a decision, you have some soul searching to do.

I saw someone tell the place that made an offer that they needed a week to weigh their options but the company went with someone else.  Unfortunately, the offer fell through from the desired company and the person was left with nothing and had to start looking around all over again.

Someone else I spoke with took the less desired job, tolerated some difficult situations and kept working hard.  About 6 weeks later, one of the more desired employers called and said their budget had loosened up and they wished to make an offer.  While my standard advice is to never switch jobs in less than six months, we weighed the options and this time it made sense and it has worked out quite well.

My advice is, if you need to work and you only have one really solid offer, take the job.  You might actually find yourself in a great situation!  If not, keep your options open and see what develops.  The worst thing to do in a difficult economy is turn down a job when all other options seem to be on hold.

Honesty and Resumes, Perfect Together

Being a sports fan lately has been a bit challenging for me.  First, I am not terribly excited by the events in the Summer Olympics (though I admire all the dedicated athletes)! Second, my beloved Phillies have tanked this season.  Third, it is a tough time to be a Penn State football fan.  Regardless of all that, I still peruse the various sports web sites when time permits.  A few moments ago, I came across the following link: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-08-11/doug-martin-villanova-assistant-resigned-investigation-resume-jay-wright and was stunned to see that Villanova University had released a recently hired assistant basketball coach for being inaccurate on his resume.

Doug Martin is not the first coach fired for this.  In fact, Notre Dame asked, George O'Leary, its head football coach to resign before his first season with them began in 2001 for similar reasons.  Misrepresentation of where an individual played sports, graduated college, or gained work experience is unacceptable.  The higher profile jobs like college coaches come under very close scrutiny so I am a bit confused how Villanova missed this when checking Mr. Martin's resume

Here is my question to you, my readers.  Is it really worth running the risk of getting caught during a reference check or background check?  Not only will you probably lose the job you were hired for, it now will become next to impossible to get a new position any time in the near future.  In this case, the coach had played college basketball at a lesser known school.  His record as a college was stellar and I do not feel where he played college basketball would have kept him from getting hired.  Please think long and hard about the contents of your resume and make sure you are able to back up and prove anything you select to include!

Success Rates of Retraining

Here is an interesting article I found in The Washington Post dealing with the impact of providing re-training to unemployed workers whose fields have pretty much dried up:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/07/are-the-unemployed-for-looking-for-work-in-all-the-wrong-places/

Summer Creates Excuses!

While they are not very good excuses; the summer heat, gardening, trying to get in extra walks, being distracted by the demise of my beloved Phillies, and going through my own change of employment all contributed to my absence from the blogging scene for a few weeks.  Shame on me for not practicing what I constantly preach about never changing one's pace throughout the year, especially if you are in job search mode!  I will admit that momentary breaks to recharge the brain are healthy just so you do not totally shut the engine down!

Summer time is a great period to switch things up and experiment a bit with your job search.  If you have let your Linked In activity slip a little, summer is a great time to follow new companies, set up job search alerts, add new connections, and clean up your list of groups and perhaps join a few new ones.  My recent personal experience is perfect proof that keeping your list of companies you are following fresh is invaluable.  It is important to read the news posted by these companies each and every day as you never know when an incredible opportunity might pop up!

If you can afford a few days away, the change of location might do you some good.  While visiting a different venue, pick up the local newspapers and scope out the job market.  You might just find an opportunity worth pursuing and, while less likely, you may find a job in your home region posted out of town just because the company hopes to broaden the range of people noticing their needs.

Opportunities tend to appear when they are least expected.  Even though it is perfectly natural to take a little bit of down time, please remember to keep your eyes and ears open each and every day!.