October 29, 2004

Stressed? Forgetaboutit
Posted by at 11:33 AM

If you've ever gone through a stressful day and realized you've forgotten something of utmost importance, you're not alone according to a Yale Medical School study which has found a scientific explanation for the oversight: stress makes you forgetful.

Stressful situations in which the individual has no control were found to activate an enzyme in the brain called protein kinase C, which impairs the short-term memory and other functions in the prefrontal cortex, the executive-decision part of the brain, says Dr Amy Arnsten of Yale Medical School.

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October 28, 2004

Truth in advertising - resumes etc. on the web
Posted by Colin Moor at 5:45 PM

How many versions of your resume are out circulating on various sites on the web?
Have you ever written a negative blog or inflammatory email? Do you ever worry that too many different versions of your professional credentials can get you into trouble? CareerJournal.com has some sobering advice to consider.

There's a bevy of information on the Internet, including things you may not realize are out there. Searches can turn up everything from personal Web sites and blogs to old company newsletters to articles you wrote for your college newspaper. "It's almost like a shadow résumé you haven't exactly made but it's following you around," says Pam Dixon, director of the World Privacy Forum, which studies workplace privacy issues. She says some of the worst problems for job-hunters arise when people fire off angry or vulgar e-mails that find their way onto the Internet. "Most Google damage is self-inflicted," Ms. Dixon says.

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There's no crying in baseball
Posted by Diane Danielson at 1:24 PM

Unless you're a Yankees fan. But there's also no crying in the office either. A recent article in the Sun Sentinel looks at the negative stereotypes that can result from leaky tearducts in the workplace.

You are in an important staff meeting when suddenly your boss begins to criticize your work, in front of your co-workers, your subordinates, other superiors, everybody. You want to defend yourself, but, to your horror, you feel your eyes filling with tears.

Oh baby, I've been there... (My trick - impromptu allergy attack including sneezing and a bit of hacking. Works like a charm.)

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Active participation in your job search
Posted by at 10:25 AM

Via Heather's blog, I discovered Staying Grounded. Some high points:

• Select a few job boards on which to post your resume.
  
• Make a list of place you'd like to work and write down why you want to work there. (I would add, what benefit would the company obtain from hiring you?)
  
• Organize a file about each company, specifically looking for people whom you know there and what the company does.
  
• Look at their open positions every week, and when you find a position that interests you, contact the employee(s) you know to see if they will refer you.
  

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Finishing the job
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:45 AM

The 2004 Boston Red Sox did it. They went all the way and finished the job that has remained unfinished for 86 years. It is heartening for all of us in a job or out of a job - persistence, dedication, single-minded focus on their objective. And, perhaps most important of all, never failing to believe in themselves, even down 0-3 to the Yanks. More to come, but for now, a huge congrats and undying thanks to the 2004 Sox on a job well done.
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October 27, 2004

Trick or treat
Posted by Jason Butler at 3:08 PM

The Wall Street Journal gives some good advice for workers who just love dressing up for office Halloween parties.

[A]void drinking too much alcohol.

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October 26, 2004

Engage a mentor to increase your flexibility
Posted by Diane Danielson at 3:35 PM

If you're thinking of asking for flextime, or even if you're an employer considering whether to grant an employee flextime, you might want to check with your mentor. Your "flexibility" mentor that is. In Sunday's Balancing Acts, BostonWorks' columnist, Maggie Jackson highlights the connection between flexiblity and mentoring.

Put together flexibility and mentoring - two big guns in any business arsenal - and you have a powerful combination. And that's just what the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau is doing with a ground-breaking program called ''Flex-Options'' that is tackling one of today's most thorny workplace challenges: how to create a flexible business culture.

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No Benjamin, the one word is not "plastics," but "nanotechnology"
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:02 PM

In 1967, Mr. Robinson offered The Graduate's Benjamin Braddock one word of advice: plastics. But now some 35 years later, it seems that the word has changed, especially if the advice is given to Betty, Bianca, Billie Jean, or Bobby Sue. According to a recent article on www.smalltimes.com, if you want stability, flexibility and job security in the workplace, go into "nanotechnology" and other science specialties.

Areas such as nanotechnology require a highly trained workforce that can adapt to the challenges inherent in interdisciplinary and less traditional research. The combination of a scarcity of researchers – both men and women – with those skills, and a growing recognition that a diverse workforce better serves a diverse customer base is prompting some companies to step up their recruitment and retention efforts.

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It's about managing user trust and expectations
Posted by at 1:12 PM

Here at BostonWorks we really try to do our best at giving you the best job seeker experience within our power by providing you with frequently updated job news and information, job hunting tools and tips, and of course, job listings (21k+ local jobs and counting) the way you want them. It's one reason why in 2003, we earned a place among CareerXRoads Top 50 Recruitment Web Sites.

But we are only human, this is only a Web site, and we know we can always do better for you. And sometimes when we're lacking, job seekers must take thing into their own hands and look elsewhere - recruiters, networking, around the Web. If that happens, here's a few things to look for in a good recruitment web site.
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Announcing The 2004 Stevie Awards
Posted by Diane Danielson at 9:36 AM

No, this is not the award for the best Stevie Nicks imitation (that would undoubtedly go to Joan Cusack in School of Rock). The Stevie Awards are for the top Women Entrepreneurs of the Year. Two of this year's award winners hail from Massachusetts - AllergyBuyersClub.com, based in Newtonville, won for best overall company of the year, nonservice business; and Communispace Corporation of Watertown, won for best overall company of the year, service business.
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October 23, 2004

What's your value?
Posted by at 10:32 AM

Via Recruiting.com, I found A Talent Management Strategy. Peter Weddle notes what the best talent is -- and what companies are looking for:

• Those rare individuals who possess skills that are critical to business operations and are in critically short supply; and
   
• Those rare individuals whose contribution to the enterprise significantly exceeds the norm and raises others to that same high level of performance
  

How do your skills match up?

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October 21, 2004

Quality time we could all do without
Posted by at 8:34 AM

Having recently moved about 32 miles and 45 minutes south from where I work in order to move closer to family and buy more than a 75-year-old, falling-down, thatched hut for our seven years of hard-earned pennies, my wife and I have recently returned to the thrill of an average commuter lifestyle.

The ride itself doesn't bother me as having driven at least an hour -- sometimes 2 1/2 hours each way -- for every job I've ever had, I've come to look upon it as thinking time, with sports & talk radio, and audio books, helping to avoid common drive-time distractions and fill the void. My wife's adjustment has been a bit tougher; For years her work/personal/professional life revolved around a 5-mile radius.

But the happiness, personal and investment benefits have more than balanced out the pain of commuting to work again for both of us. And sure driving in Mass. with all the crazies is a risk as it always has been. I just hope all this commuting doesn't kill us.

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October 20, 2004

Techie-Geeks need not apply
Posted by at 2:17 PM

Minnesota life appears to be Taking the Long View on IT. From the article:

In looking for prospective employees, Ann Wolbert, a human resources representative at Minnesota Life, says that a well-rounded background is as important to the company as technology aptitude. "We don’t want the techie-geek," she says. "We want someone who has balanced academics, worked, done an internship and held a leadership position in some club or organization."

They make a strong case for hiring for cultural fit and training in technology.
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Charles Stein's reading my mind
Posted by at 11:02 AM

OK, maybe more like I'm reading his regarding my blog entry from a couple of days ago, where I begged the definition of "what normalcy in this job market means" not realizing that the veteran Globe Business columnist had already written on the topic of my rhethorical question.

I've given this topic a lot of thought though these many months working here at BostonWorks, where we tend to live, think and breath all things recruitment, and I must say I tend to agree with Stein's initial assessment.

...maybe what we are dealing with is not temporary at all. Maybe something fundamental has changed in the labor markets and what we are witnessing is not an aberration, but a new definition of normal. What could explain the change? A new mind-set on the part of employers. "The last thing anyone wants to do today is hire someone," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Decision Economics in New York. Employers are living in a world of excess capacity, brutal competition, and limited pricing power. In that kind of environment, managing expenses is critical and the biggest expense that can be managed is the expense of people.

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October 19, 2004

Google's hiring but, can you pass the test?
Posted by at 1:08 PM

Never mind those standard interview questions such as "what are your strengths/weaknesses" or questions like "how would you move Mt. Fuji," can you "write a haiku describing possible methods for predicting search traffic seasonality?" Or, are you creative enough to fill in the blank for this question? "This space left intentionally blank. Please fill it with something that improves upon emptiness."

Read more of Google's creative way of picking talent on News.com: Do you have what it takes to join Google?

If you want to work for Google, you'd better have a favorite math equation and a penchant for word problems.

Google, well-known for its search technology, is now applying its creativity to its search for new employees. The company has created mysterious billboards and two-page ads featuring word problems and now is moving into SAT territory with the Google Labs' Aptitude Test, which appeared recently in several technical magazines.

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Kick'em when they're down
Posted by at 8:29 AM

Drought is somewhat of a colossal understatement in describing the technology job market these past few years. And just when it seemed things might be returning to some "normal" level (whatever that means to you) Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that Q3 saw companies laying off techies again in large numbers.

"High-tech job cuts are on the way up as the end of the year approaches," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Behind this trend is the fact that technology companies have virtually no pricing power."

Job cuts in technology jumped 60 percent between July and September to 54,701, compared with 34,213 layoffs in the second quarter. Computer companies alone saw job cuts jump 127 percent, to 30,624.

We can only hope that the election, the holidays [insert your own mitigating variable here] will bring some closure to this morass in professional hiring and that after the first of the year, talent will again equate value for businesses, they'll begin hiring again, and we can get back to some aspects of normalcy in the technology sector and beyond...

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October 18, 2004

Back to work with you, Bob Cratchit
Posted by at 3:32 PM

Had Ebenezer Scrooge realized, he could have gotten a lot more labor out of his only and most downtrodden employee, had he just given up that lump of coal for the work stove. A landmark study has found that typing errors increase and productivity decreases, as the temperature in the office drops.
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October 15, 2004

Where have all the Webgrrrrls gone?
Posted by Diane Danielson at 3:01 PM

CNET reports that women are losing ground in the computer sciences. However, women are making strides in the other areas like the medical sciences.

A study released Wednesday by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology found a decline in the share of computer science jobs held by women in a recent 20-year period.

In 1983, women held 30.5 percent of the jobs in the category of computer systems analysts and scientists, programmers and postsecondary computer science teachers, according to the commission. That figure declined to 27.2 percent in 2002.

On the other hand, women have increased their share of jobs in the natural sciences and in engineering, according to the commission.

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October 14, 2004

Jobs: It's about making the donuts
Posted by at 1:45 PM

BusinessWeek has a great interview with Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs, with some decent nuggets of thought for anyone thinking of going the entrepreneurial route. And unlike most going their own way in the search of riches, Jobs says his drive has always been to choose innovation over market share, and create the best product possible versus just being the biggest, or the richest.

I used to be the youngest guy in every meeting I was in, and now I'm usually the oldest. And the older I get, the more I'm convinced that motives make so much difference. HP's primary goal was to make great products. And our primary goal here is to make the world's best PCs -- not to be the biggest or the richest.

We have a second goal, which is to always make a profit -- both to make some money but also so we can keep making those great products. For a time, those goals got flipped at Apple, and that subtle change made all the difference. When I got back, we had to make it a product company again.

Via Kottke.
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20% annual rise in offshoring seen
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:50 AM

It's a hot election issue - the continuing movement of jobs abroad and away from US workers - but the trend does not appear to have a simple solution or to be likely to reverse itself anytime soon:

In a paper released yesterday. . .META Group Inc., a Stamford, Conn., consulting and research firm, says the outsourcing trend will grow by 20 percent per year through 2008 as more US firms focus on cutting labor costs. META estimates that 60 percent of US firms will send some technology work abroad by 2008.

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Mass., California set for big gains
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:30 AM

A new Milken Institute report says that the two coastal states of Massachusetts and California are in a good position for big economic gains as the economy regains steam, and Rhode Island is not far behind:

Massachusetts and California are poised for the biggest economic gains, according to a new study that credits those states' sizable investments in technology and science, while Rhode Island is ranked among states with the greatest improvements in such areas.

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When working doesn't pay
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:17 AM

Msot of us are happy to have jobs and be productively employed in a tough economy. But what about those folks who are at work and yet still fall below the poverty line? According to a new report, that includes more than a quarter of our working population:

More than a quarter of all working families in the United States, including 20 million children, are considered low-income or poor, an independent report said yesterday.
- - - - -
Citing 2002 Census data, the report found 9.2 million families with at least one working adult and one child under 18 -- or 27.4 percent of such families -- fall into the government's measure of low income. This means they earn less than the federal poverty threshhold, or less than $36,784 in 2002.

You can bet these folks - if they have time - are tuning in to the presidential campaigns and what the candidates offer as remedies. While the issue is complex, there is no doubt that to be working and still falling behind is among the bleakest of scenarios.
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October 13, 2004

Your boss is watching
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:42 AM

A PC World story demolishes all myths about Net privacy at work.

Myth number ten: Even if my bosses catch me doing something naughty on the Net, they can't fire me for it. I've got bad news for you: Companies can and will fire people over Net naughtiness. According to the AMA, one in four companies surveyed in 2004 had terminated employees for violating their e-mail policies, up from 22 percent in 2003 and 17 percent in 2001 (there was no 2002 survey). So don't say you haven't been warned.

(via Worthwhile)
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October 12, 2004

Beware job scams
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:19 AM

I've had my jpbutler.com email address for five years now. It's great, because people have a consistent way to contact me; it's awful, because the minions of spam have me on every list imaginable. Every once in a while, I get a particularly evil one, a spam which tries to prey on my unemployment to scam me out of my money.

Here's one I got today:

You will be paid working for us

1) Typing the company's sales, administrative letters and mailing lists;
2) Sending out our e-mails;
3) Surfing the Internet for us and get paid;
4) Clerically handling classified ads for us; or
5) You can tell us what you can do, and we will try our best to provide and facilitate to suit your needs.
(Note : We have also added transcription typing and translation to our new work-at-home jobs)

The job, which consists of 99% typing is simple and easy once you know how. Free trainings on and offline will be provided once a week (not compulsory). You will also get to know or learn more about PC and the Internet.

There is no limit as to what you can do. How much you earn is up to you. If you are willing to work and learn, earning US1000 plus extras monthly or weekly part/ full time at home month-after-month is absolutely possible. The job can be done on or off-line. For proven good workers, we can provide typewriters, computers and software free. There is a one-time earnest deposit of US13 (RM49.40) which will be refunded to you in full. So please be serious in accepting this job offer. Registration is free. The deposit is a must and refund is guaranteed in writing. This is necessary to ward off the many curious -only home job- seekers. [emphasis added]

No legitimate jobs require you to pay them a deposit. None. This is a scam. Beware of any job "advertisement" which requires you to pay a deposit or give them your social-security number before an interview.

Evil.
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Computers have no judgment
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:11 AM

The New York Times reports on yet another hassle for business travelers: computer audits of their travel expenses.

Of course, there's a huge problem here. Computers have no judgment; they can only do what they are programmed to. They're like the Terminator: you can't argue with them. This situation inevitably leads to waste and aggravation.

[Chicago consultant Marc] Christman said today's systems are sophisticated. For example, a corporate travel manager can specify to the penny what is acceptable for meals, hotel expenses, and what kinds of incidentals are allowable. The systems also let managers set exceptions, either by department or by employee, "so that they can keep a close eye on the mavericks," Mr. Christman said.

For business travelers like Carver Clark Farrow, the managing partner for a law firm in San Jose, Calif., it is one thing to have a sensible travel policy. It is quite another to be "unimaginative, pennywise and pound foolish," as one client recently was. "It's O.K. to spend $85 on a hotel, $15 for parking and another $15 for breakfast, but if you spend $90 for a hotel where parking and breakfast are included, you're over budget," he said. "And it's O.K. to drive 400 miles in your own car and to get reimbursed at 34 cents per mile, for a total of $136. But get a comfortable rental car and pay $75 and you're in trouble."

This silliness always annoys me. If you trust me enough to run your entire website, argue your cases in court, or answer your phones correctly, you'd think you'd trust me to not cheat on my expenses.

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October 8, 2004

Politics and jobs
Posted by at 1:25 PM

With the second presidential debate for 2004 scheduled for tonight, the latest employment stats for September should be a hot topic. Robert Gavin explores the employment issues facing the candidates; from the differences in their economic plans to how they plan on handling job outsourcing, in "Job-creation proposals skirt the underlying causes."

[The] vastly different approaches underscore the philosophical divide between the candidates, according to economists. Bush, with both the size and structure of his tax cuts, has largely embraced supply-side theories, which argue that cutting taxes leads to greater savings and investment, creating the capital to fuel not only business expansions but emerging technologies and companies that drive job growth.

Kerry's proposals, on the other hand, follow more of a demand-side model, targeting tax relief and government programs at middle- and lower-income families. Many economists say these families tend to spend more of their incomes, boosting demand and, subsequently, production and jobs....

Still, economists say Bush and Kerry are only beginning to address the underlying causes of the nation's painfully slow job growth: technological change and globalization. As these historic forces have accelerated, job losses in economic downturns are increasingly becoming permanent. In the face of hard times and fierce competition, companies that once called back workers when the economy improved are instead adopting new technologies that allow them to produce more goods and services with fewer employees. Often, too, they are shifting production to lower-cost nations.

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Some Bank of America trims will affect MA
Posted by at 11:42 AM

Today's Globe follow-up to Nicole's post yesterday about the Bank of America layoffs, is indicating that about 140 employees will be cut in the Bay State.
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Show me the jobs
Posted by at 9:19 AM

The September jobs report is out and
the numbers are weaker than expected, although the unemployement rate held steady.

The nation's civilian unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent.
Job growth was held down by losses in manufacturing, retail and information services. September's net increase of 96,000 payroll jobs was less than August's rise, which was revised down in Friday's report from 144,000 to 128,000.

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October 7, 2004

So you think your job stinks
Posted by at 3:01 PM

There's been a lot of writing lately about job dissatisfaction but Robin Nagle, an anthropologist at New York University, and author of the forthcoming We All Wear Green: Loading Out with Sanitation Workers in New York has the epitomy of a stinky job, as she spent a week as a NYC sanitation worker in training.

When hundreds of tons of garbage are heaped in one place, the stink is overwhelming—but only at first. Sanitation workers swear that you get used to it, and by the end of my on-the-job training (OJT), I no longer minded it. The stench is the cloying, frowsy odor of an over-fecund culture. We produce and consume in vast quantities and at great speed, and the refuse has to go somewhere. No matter the individual components, when it's all mashed together, trash generates a signature smell.

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BoA announces cuts - not in Mass.
Posted by at 1:01 PM

While it doesn't appear to affect Massachusetts, Bank of America is planning some cuts to its workforce: Bank of America to cut 4,500 jobs, 2.5 percent of work force, as result of FleetBoston merger.

Bank of America, which currently employs about 178,000 people, said the reductions will not affect employment commitments it made after complaints by state officials in Massachusetts.

Bank of America announced last month that the wealth and investment management business would move to Boston, concentrating one the company's four major business lines in Fleet's former headquarters city. That move was viewed as an effort to reassure Massachusetts officials that the company is committed to the Northeast.

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October 6, 2004

Incubator space
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:32 AM

When just starting out, young companies are often clueless and not focused on their facility and support needs. Enter Cambridge Innovation Center:

CIC supplies full-service office space for start-ups, so companies can show up and start working without hiring a receptionist, choosing an Internet provider, or renting copiers and fax machines. This means young firms have an executive conference room with webcam features when clients are in town, even if they share an executive office with five other CEOs.

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Playoff fever
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:18 AM

Here we go again! October baseball, and the Sox are back in it. And as we all know, it's tough to concentrate at work when the Sox are in the heat of post-season action:

Executives around Boston ended business meetings with a handshake and a cheer of ''Go Sox" yesterday, turned office televisions from CNN to baseball, and left the office early to catch the team's first playoff game against the Anaheim Angels, which the Sox won 9-3. The weekday afternoon matchup, which started around 4 p.m., sparked workplace debates across Massachusetts, as some companies gave in to Red Sox mania, while others insisted that everything was business as usual.

While yesterday's game was during work hours, tonight's 10 pm start will send many into the office bleary-eyed tomorrow. Hey, if you get any grief, just tell your boss to get his/her priorities straight!
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Families first for "slacker" generation
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:03 AM

Maybe being part of the slacker generation is not a bad thing. It seems that Gen X'ers and Gen Y'ers are the anti-Boomers because they value family over work, as outlined in a new study. The study showed that younger generations value jobs which allow for personal lives.

A study released yesterday by the Families and Work Institute reveals that younger generations -- ages 18 to 37 -- are far more family-centered than older workers and, surprisingly, less focused on advancing in the workplace than their predecessors.

The study, commissioned by the American Business Collaboration, a consortium of eight top US firms, found that 52 percent of college-educated men were focused on career advancement in 2002, down from 68 percent a decade earlier. Additionally, 36 percent of college-educated women were interested in increased work responsibilities or advancement in 2002, down from 57 percent in 1992.

Admittedly, some of the disenfranchisement with work might be the result of weathering two recessions for the top end of Gen X'ers (aged 23-37, in 2002 at the time of the study), and graduating right in the midst of one for Gen Y'ers (aged 18-22, in 2002).
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October 5, 2004

Wanted - Employees seeking Shangra-La
Posted by Colin Moor at 6:17 PM

Whatever happened to those companies that advertised, if not evangelized, about "worker-centric" cultures, "employee friendly" office environments, and highly customized, flexible benefit options. Has our "it's still a corporate buyers market" employment scene all but banished those values and priorities? Not quite. This month's FastCompany discovers there are still organizations that understand and genuinely appreciate the value of their employee assets. Check out a little bit of corporate Shangra-La out on the Left Coast.

Imagine a sharply angled building with walls of sea-green glass. Just inside the front door is an auditorium full of people doing aerobics. Past the auditorium is a two-story white hallway flooded with light from outside. The left wall is adorned with stars bearing people's names; the right leads to meeting rooms with brightly colored walls and furniture. Upstairs, the walls are decorated with photos of smiling people at parties and on camping trips. Beside the stairs, a man in jeans carries on a cheerful conversation about fermentation with someone on the second floor. Believe it or not, this is not a high school or a college campus. This is a biotech company.

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Melrose Place meets Trump Tower?
Posted by at 5:40 PM

Jen at Gothamist notes that The Donald is looking to do a
scripted series a la The Apprentice.

The suits at NBC are realizing that when they deal with The Donald, they are dealing with this all-consuming organism (not unlike Kang, just with a combover): The Donald is looking at a scripted series set at Trump Tower. We can hear the pitch now: "It'll be like Melrose Place, but just in a shiny apartment building in midtown Manhattan. Think Peyton Place meets The Apprentice, just with actors acting crazy."

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America loves a bargain and Fortune smiles on Meg Whitman
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:22 PM

For the first time since Fortune debuted its list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 1998, Carly Fiorina of Hewlitt-Packard has not retained the top slot. This year that honor goes to Meg Whitman of eBay. Check out the Boston Globe for a quick summary of the Top 10 Most Powerful Women. (Fortune magazine requires a subscription to get the entire list, but it does provide a few free details online).
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September not so good for the job market
Posted by at 2:10 PM

Reuters is reporting that the month of September showed an eigth month high for job cuts.

U.S. planned job cuts soared to an eight-month high in September while new hiring rose only slightly....

Job losses in September were particularly heavy in the computer, transportation, telecommnunications and consumer products industries, the report said.

Adding to the glum jobs picture was the slow pace of new hiring in September. The report said employer hiring announcements revealed only 16,166 new job openings in that month compared with 132,105 in August.

For more, read: US job cuts at eight-month high in September"

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October 4, 2004

Confrontation, no excuses, and showing the baby
Posted by at 11:12 AM

Mike Wallace of CBS' 60 Minutes interviewed the old coach, Bill Parcells, last night about Parcell's recent write up in the Harvard Business review about his secrets to success (lots of confrontation) and his grueling 14-hour, six-day-a-week work schedule.

I think confrontation is healthy, because it clears the air very quickly," says Parcells. "And most of these athletes that you deal with are pretty well used to that kind of thing." Has an athlete ever taken a swing at him? "Oh, yeah," he says. "We've had a few of those. That's OK."

And in other news about the toughest job in sports, how 'bout dem Patriots, eh?

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Tips for new/recent college grads
Posted by at 11:05 AM

I'm in the midst of my fall conference season, so I'm meeting lots of managers. The good news is that many of them are hiring new or recent college grads. The bad news is that no one I've met is hiring more than one or two. If you have less than two years of experience, you'll still have to look hard. But here are the things these hiring managers are looking for:

• Specific information about work you've done. You don't need years and years of experience in your field (or some other field, for that matter), to find a job. But you do need some specific information about how you've succeed in something similar to, or in, your chosen field. If you have paying job experience, great. If not, look for some volunteer work. For those of you in technical fields, do some open-source work. You'll increase your skills and might be able to use the people with whom you've worked as references.
  
• An appearance that says "I'm ready to work." You don't need an expensive suit -- you may not need a suit at all. But an interview is a formal meeting, and you should look serious about your work. Ladies, no bra straps or bared midriffs or too-short skirts. Gentlemen, please wear pants that cover your underwear and a shirt that tucks in. Many of the hiring managers I met were concerned about having to tell an employee he or she was inappropriately dressed -- they were concerned about being perceived as harassing the other sex. One of the hiring managers said, "I wish that candidate had listened to his mother about his clothes."
  
• Information about how you can help the hiring manager. If you have even 24 hours of notice, make sure you've reviewed the hiring company's web site, and any information you can discover about the company, its founders, and its products. Then reflect back on your life to date, and see if you can relate any of your experiences to this opening. Remember, whether you were a camp counselor or a cashier at a supermarket, you have customer service experience -- and you can relate that to the customer service job you're applying for.
  
• Network with your college alumni office. You might be surprised at the services they offer. Sometimes, alumni are looking for new hires from their schools. Sometimes, the alumni are willing to network with you. Sometimes, the alumni office is willing to help you (post-graduate) with your search.
  

That's all I heard for now. If I hear more in my travels I'll post more. And if you learned something while you were/are interviewing, please comment.
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Yes, ladies, size does matter
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:31 AM

According to a recent article on bizjournals.com, when women entrepreneurs are looking for funding, they need to "[f]inance for the company they want to become."

It sounds simple, but Ms. Osolind says most women business owners don't think that big. She cited studies that show female owners are less likely to take on corporate credit lines or seed funding, and many won't pursue financing because they fear they won't qualify.

"Without debt or equity, you will not be able to grow in scale," says Ms. Osolind, CEO of Re:invention Inc., a Chicago company offering marketing services to women-led businesses.

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Before applying, check out the blogs
Posted by Jason Butler at 6:17 AM

The New York Times Job Market discusses how blogs affect the hiring process. Job seekers can check out employers, and vice versa.

"It sounded like the person who wrote it really knew what the job was and understood the business. It was written by someone you would want to talk to."

The blog entries of others at Cheskin intrigued him. "I got the sense this was a company where the employees really enjoyed their work," said Mr. Feldman, who was hired in June. "If I had not read the blog I doubt I would have applied."

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