August 30, 2006

What's it like to be a professional sports writer?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:24 AM

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a sports writer, following your favorite team, like the Red Sox, Celtics, or Patriots, throughout the entire season? Sounds pretty glamorous, doesn't it?

Well, maybe. Now we can give you a real feel for that job as Boston.com correspondent David Ropeik's Fenway Park Insider goes behind the scenes at the home of the Red Sox to show us any number of different places and positions, including being a member of the Red Sox press corps:

Imagine attending every Red Sox game, home and away, for free. You have a front-row seat, and it's free. The airfare to the away games, and the nice hotels when you get there ... all paid for by your newspaper or television station. You get to be around the players, talk with manager Terry Francona every day, hang out in the dugout and the clubhouse. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Now imagine that starting with spring training in February, and running into October if the Sox make the postseason, you are rarely home. You don't get to see your friends, your spouse, your kids, or sleep in your own bed very much. You work 12-hour days, sometimes 18- and 20-hour days, with no overtime. Some of the people you work with are friendly, but a lot of them are competitive and constantly looking to outdo you. Oh, and the players? Yeah, you get to be around them a lot. But many of them are kind of wary of being around you.

Welcome to the life of a reporter covering the Boston Red Sox.

In addition to reading Ropeik's piece, you can check out his companion "Meet the Press" photo gallery on the same subject.

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Tips from TV
Posted by at 8:44 AM

Dwight Schrute, from NBC's much-hyped show "The Office" (which was inspired by England's much-hyped show "The Office") may be a fictional character, but this is no deterrent for Fortune Magazine. The publication interviewed Schrute, or rather Rainn Wilson acting as the lovably nerdy character, to see what advice he had to offer for job seekers.

Fortune: What would you like about a cubicle? What would be your favorite thing?

Schrute: I could put pictures on the wall of Michael Scott and my cousin Mose and my laser tag team.

Fortune: I'm sure as a young person climbing the corporate ladder you're a big Fortune reader...

Schrute: Absolutely. I love their articles in Fortune that have to do with pirate ships that have sunk off of Barbados. Abandoned gold mines that still have a great deal of treasure in them in the Congo. And ruins in Peru...Oh wait a minute, that's Fortune Hunter Magazine.

Okay, I wouldn't recommend taking Schrute's advice verbatim. But it's entertaining nonetheless.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

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August 29, 2006

A generation defined?
Posted by at 3:29 PM

Today on WBUR's "Morning Edition," there was a piece about Beloit College's practice of providing staff with a sort of cheat-sheet to the mentality of incoming freshman.

"Each year, Beloit College in Wisconsin publishes a list of historical and cultural touchstones that have, and have not happened, during the lifetime of entering freshmen. Subjects range from the Soviet Union to carbon paper. Steve Inskeep talks to Adam Kennedy, a freshman at Beloit."

Mind you that I'm at least six years older than the entering freshman class (you do the math) but I remember the Soviet Union, and I've certainly sent mail involving stamps in my lifetime. But I also know who NAS is - take that, Steve Inskeep!

This leads me to believe that, given the increasing speed with which we develop new technologies, and the corresponding ways that society changes in reaction to technology, we may have to redefine the time limits for a generation.


You can listen to the piece here.

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August 28, 2006

Workers' pay lags productivity, profits
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:32 AM

Today's Globe reports a not-so-happy trend for the nation's workers:

Despite a lengthy period of economic expansion, the current US economy may become the first period of sustained growth since World War II in which real wages for workers also failed to increase.

What's your situation? Do you feel as though you're ahead of the game when it comes to earnings these days? Or are you having a hard time making ends meet?

Join the others who have already posted and let us know on our message board "Are your wages keeping up?".

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August 24, 2006

Green jobs
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:51 AM

Global warming and climate change are certainly very much on the public's mind these days. For this you can give a fair portion of the credit to former Vice President Al Gore, whose An Inconvenient Truth is not only a theatrical release film but, in book form, an in-depth look at global warming that is currently the #1 nonfiction paperback bestseller on the New York Times list.

But what does this have to do with jobs, you say? I'm here in the BostonWorks Job Blog to find my next job, or just a job, or find out how to get a raise or ace an interview or write my resume, something practical to help me get ahead.

Well, that's what this post is all about. Because careers and the environment are not mutually exclusive, and in fact "green" jobs and careers are themselves heating up. This is not just about curbing industrial pollutants, though that is certainly a critical and ongoing area of endeavor. It is also about developing the next generation of products and services, such as cost-effective renewable alternative energy sources, that take us beyond where we are now, that address underlying global enviromental issues, and that allow us to create both a sustainable environment and economy.

Some of the big boys are already in, most notably GE, whose CEO Jeffrey Immelt has famously stated that "green is green" - ie, businesses that pursues enviromentally-friendly policies can also make money. See the EcoImagination section of GE's website.

Now, what about those jobs?

>> You can start right here at BostonWorks, where at last count there were more than 350 positions relating to the environment.

>> Sustainable Business.com has a section of their site called Green Dream Jobs with hundreds of listings. The site is also a good place to learn more about the entire subject of environmentally friendly business.

>> EnvironmentalCareer.com is dedicated to jobs and careers in wildlife, renewable energy, environmental compliance, sustainability, and related areas.

>> ECO.org, the Environmental Careers Organization, is a national, non-profit organization that develops professionals for the environmental field through paid environmental internships.

These challenges are not transitory. They are real and they are here to stay, and they will require the best and brightest minds to solve them. So get going now on your own sustainable career plan.

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August 22, 2006

Firm grip and look 'em in the eye
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 5:06 PM

First impressions always count for a lot in an interview. And a very important part of that impression, along with your timeliness, wardrobe, grooming, and overall demeanor, is your handshake.

"Really?" you say. "How important can it be?"

Well, in a recent poll of employers conducted by NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the handshake beat out body piercing and tattoos as a key factor in the hiring decision:

Thirty-three percent of employers said a candidate's handshake would have a strong influence on their opinion of a job candidate compared with 31 percent who say the same about a body piercing. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said obvious tattoos would have a strong influence on their opinion of a job candidate.

Presumably that's a positive impression for the flesh-pumping, a negative for the metal and ink, though I suppose it depends on the corporate context (eg, Wall Street vs. Silicon Valley).

Call it Anthropology 101, but I've always been a firm believer in the handshake as a crucial part of an introduction, personal or professional.

Career coaches will tell you the same: you've got to get right back to the "web" (between the thumb and forefinger) of the interviewer's hand, not squeeze out on the fingers; hold firmly but not too tight; hold just long enough (let the interviewer release first); and look them straight in the eye with a friendly expression. Without a strong handshake - the limp-wristed dead fish, the early release, the avoidance of eye contact - doubts are raised about the candidate's trustworthiness, reliability, all kinds of things.

Remember, the handshake is also your last official act of the face-to-face interview as well, so not only is it part of your first impression, it's a big part of your lasting impression, too.

Still skeptical? See what some other experts have to say:
>> Avoid these 10 interview bloopers (QuintCareers)
>> Interview do's and don'ts (Career Services at Virginia Tech)

. . .and it's international:
>> During the interview (University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia)

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E-commerce bus dev managers cash in
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:22 PM

Our friends over at Career Pro News spotlight an occupation that has real growth prospects: e-commerce business development managers:

E-commerce business development managers are people with the right combination of business and technical skills. They understand their company's products and services. They plan and deliver strategies to advance the company in the marketplace.
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In the world of e-business, there are two main goals: attracting business and maintaining customers. That's why the job of the e-commerce business development manager is so challenging and involves ongoing learning. Besides understanding the product and the customer, the advances in technology cannot be overlooked.

Learn more at CPN's parent site, career portal Bridges.com.

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August 21, 2006

24 hours in Boston
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:17 PM

There's some work and some play in this unique photo gallery, 24 photos of 24 hours in the life of Boston:

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The ten most dangerous jobs in America
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:20 AM

You may think you're in the line of fire working away at your PC in your cubie each day, but there are some jobs where physical danger really is part of the job description.

Following on from my recent post on the ten best jobs in America, here is a list from CNNMoney.com of the ten most dangerous jobs in the country:

For many occupations danger is part of the job description. That is made abundantly clear every year when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its annual census of fatalities in the workplace.

The report for 2005, released this week, includes data on fatal work-related injuries by industry, gender, age and, especially, by occupation.

The BLS does not count combat deaths in its survey; if it did, the military would undoubtedly have qualified as America's most dangerous job last year.

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August 17, 2006

Making the most of the phone interview
Posted by at 3:36 PM

If you're in the job market and anticipating an interview, you're more than likely going to be screened by phone as a first step in the process. Here's an article from CareerJournal.com to help you prepare: Four Tips for Acing Interviews by Phone.

Mindy Gikas was interviewing a senior-level manager on the phone in October when suddenly the job candidate paused. He said he was reading an email, recalls Ms. Gikas, a managing director in New York at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, a unit of WPP Group PLC of London. "It showed me that his conversation with me wasn't very important," she explains. He wasn't invited to interview in person.

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The ten best jobs in America
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:43 AM

According to CNN/Money and Salary.com, that is:

MONEY Magazine and Salary.com researched hundreds of jobs, considering their growth, pay, stress-levels and other factors. These careers ranked highest.

Is your job on the list? Take a look.

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August 16, 2006

Watch and learn
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:23 PM

Ever wonder what a Phlebotomist does? What about the oft-cited Tool and Die Makers? Or how about Personal Financial Advisors? Or Microbiologists?

I could go on and on. Why? Because I'm about to send you to the Career Voyages website. More specifically, I'm sending you to a section of the site, a joint venture between the US Departments of Education and Labor, that houses hundreds of video shorts profiling different jobs. All the videos are grouped by industry, and they even highlight high-growth ("In Demand") occupations. There is also a special section for occupations in Emerging Industries, such as Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.

Visual learners, here's your chance. When you have a little time and want to watch a little TV (in this case, literally) and explore some potential career options, check out Career Voyager's video page.

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August 15, 2006

Are you a purple squirrel?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:12 PM

Or maybe you're a noncom, a mortician, or a WD?

These are all shorthand terms used by recruiters to describe job candidates:

Recruiters, like many specialized professionals, have pet words and phrases they pull out regularly at work. These code words can speak volumes about what a search executive is thinking about a candidate.

Here is a sampling of terms -- some more common than others -- that search executives say they often rely on when assessing potential hires:

Check out the article from Career Journal and I think you'll agree that, from the candidate's point of view, purple squirrel is probably the most desirable among these potential designations (with WD a close second).

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How to survive your twenties
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:01 AM

The real world can be a shock to those used to college. Seldom will you step right in and take over. Here is a good blog posting about surviving your twenties while in the working world.

College mostly trains people to deal in higher-level abstractions. Outside of math, engineering, and the hard sciences, there aren’t many fields in which the real-world is so easily modelled. An econ class can teach you about supply and demand, but it can’t tell you what to do when nobody is buying the product your company just spent $500,000 building. Additionally, classes tend to focus on the actions and duties of the higher-level people in an organization. The positions of recent graduates don’t usually emphasize the thinking portion of the job, more the mundane daily tasks that need to get done. Graduates don’t realize that the first job (or first few jobs) that they have a basically a paid apprenticeship during which they are best seen and not heard.

I vaguely remember my mid-twenties. I believe I was doing a whole lot of perl and a whole lot of Absolut. I miss the nineties. Good times.

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August 14, 2006

Hey, maybe TV's not so bad after all
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 5:24 PM

Ask my kids and they'll tell you: I spend an inordinate amount of time chasing them away from the TV and extolling instead the wondrous virtues of books. "That thing's rotting your brain! You better read. You'll be sorry some day. . ."

But here's the story of a guy who grew up watching TV and turned it into a career - the President and CEO of TiVo, Tom Rogers:

I ALWAYS had an interest in television. I was a great “Leave It to Beaver” fan, although it was already mostly in reruns when I was a kid. Monday family dinner was early, so we could watch “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” together.

My parents gave me a subscription to TV Guide when I was 10 or 11. I kept the magazines stacked up at my bedside. There was one page in the middle about what was going on at the Federal Communications Commission. It was a little look into a world I didn’t know about before.

The developing Rogers was clearly more than your average couch potato. He went through Wesleyan University in three years, then on to Columbia Law School. His resume includes stints at a Wall Street law firm, several years as an attorney with the US Congress, and working for GE before TiVo.

Moral of the story? Well, I won't back off from my anti-TV preaching. A little balance is all I ask. Equal time for reading, please.

But more to the point is that almost any interest, whether it develops early or late, can point to a future career choice. Broadcasting, after all, is a big industry, and plenty of folks work at it all day and make good money and make the world a better place (well, some of them).

What are your interests? What do you do in your down time? What have you always liked doing since you were a kid? If you like spending time doing it, have you ever thought about pursuing the field as a career?

Our earliest interests are worth exploring, because they show what we are drawn to, on our own, voluntarily, without adult pressure or guidance. And these interests say something about us.

There are many ways to learn more about potential career areas, but one great place to start is the O*Net online site. (Caution: there's a lot to explore there. Once you go in, you might not come out.)

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August 12, 2006

The generational divide in the office
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:45 PM

When asked recently about the biggest issues facing HR departments, my answer was easy - boomer bosses coping with gen Y employees. This month there's a great article from SHRM (www.shrm.org) on the generational divide in the office.

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August 11, 2006

"Please don’t make me go on vacation!"
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:44 AM

Could this be you?

If so, according to a report in today's New York Times, you are not alone these days in the US workforce:

...Even as the American vacation is dying, the anxiety surrounding it is surging, according to surveys of workers released in the last year. Employees are sweating over every aspect of their getaways, from whether taking time off dooms them to the want ads to whether the work they will face when they return will keep them from ever leaving their cubicles again.

Check out these related Job Blog posts:

>> Vacation time (6/19/06)
>> Learning to chill (6/22/06)
>> Go ahead, take that vacation (7/5/06)

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August 8, 2006

Healthy workstations
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:54 PM

In the old days - wa-a-a-a-y back, like hunting and gathering days - humans' occupational hazards might have included, say, getting eaten by an over-sized land mammal, or expiring from lack of nourishment on a several days' hunt.

These days, many workers' office-based, work-related injuries are a little less drastic. Rather than suffering from too much activity, we tend to suffer from too little, such as sitting too long in front of a computer screen. This can cause real problems - and does.

Fortunately, we have help. To the rescue comes (BostonWorks' sister site) About.com Health expert Mona Khanna, MD, MPH, to give us some tips on how to avoid such injuries. Check out her helpful video by visiting this page and selecting "Healthy Workstations" from the Health category. Allow 3 minutes for viewing.

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Fired by text message?
Posted by at 1:27 PM

A woman in London was fired via text message last week, in a move a British piercing and jewelry shop said was "keeping in touch with youth culture."

Katy Tanner, a 21-year-old sales assistant, received the message while she was off work with a migraine, the South Wales Echo newspaper said Friday. The text message said: "We will not require your services anymore...Thank you for your time with us."

Seems a bit harsh. At least it wasn't an instant message. You can read more here.

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The hub of innovation
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:44 AM

No one would dispute that Boston has history. Pilgrims and the Revolution come quickly to mind.

But what about Boston's historical role as an innovator in business and commerce? A new book, Boston Firsts, takes a look at that role. For an interview with the author, Lynda Morgenroth, including a discussion of King Gillette's straight razor and more, check out WBUR's Morning Edition.

Today Boston is still a hub of innovation - think high tech, biotech, healthcare, finance (mutual funds, as in Fidelity), and more. And innovation means jobs. Here are three more links to keep you headed where the growth is:

>> Information from The Boston History & Innovation Collaborative on innovation in the region's business.
>> The 2006 Boston Globe 100, profling the region's leading firms and industries.
>> The Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development data on employment, industries, and occupations.

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Summer vocation
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 8:58 AM

In today's Globe, master photographer (and summer game afficionado) Stan Grossfeld transports us to the Cape for a look at Cape Cod League baseball. Or more specifically, for a look at the amateur players in the league and what they do to earn their keep on the side:

When you stroll into a Cape Cod League baseball game, there's a feeling that you've entered a Norman Rockwell painting. Admission is however much you feel like dropping into a pail. Free scorecards are usually on a table, the stack held down by a rock. Old-timers sit in torn lawn chairs and talk about how scrawny "Nomah" was as a college kid. Wide-eyed kids swarm around ballplayers who treat them like little brothers. You half expect the public address system to play "Old Cape Cod" by Patti Page.
- - - - -
The players are not yet millionaires.

Some even work second jobs in libraries, factories, fish markets, and restaurants. The majority work mornings in baseball clinics up and down the Cape.

Check out Grossfeld's photo gallery of the players and their at-work alter egos.

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August 7, 2006

MBA competition heating up
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:02 PM

The economy is back and hiring is up - and that is attracting many more applicants to the country's - and increasingly the world's - MBA programs:

[The Graduate Management Admission Council]'s president and chief executive, David Wilson, said that the economy is now healthily balanced and that the job market for MBAs is strong.

A survey by the group released in May found the average starting salary for MBA graduates rose 4.2 percent to more than $92,000.

"There were more recruiters coming to campus, and there were more offers than they had the year before," Wilson said. "One of the real drivers for registration and test-takers is evidence on the back end [that] a graduate is going to get a job."

Interested in learning more (or more learning)? Start resarching MBA programs now.

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August 3, 2006

Good news, bad news for the local finance sector
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:56 AM

Are the promised regional employment benefits of Bank of America's 2003 acquisition of FleetBoston finally happening?

The report in today's Globe provides some evidence that this is the case:

Bank of America Corp. executives said yesterday that they will add 1,300 jobs in New England by the end of this year, primarily in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The bank is hiring across several lines of business, including its Boston-based Global Wealth and Investment Management division, a Rhode Island call center, a Waltham "client relationship center," and new staff for its branches.
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Currently, Bank of America employs 16,600 people in New England. With the new jobs, it is on track to be back at Fleet's former employment level by the end of this year, said Anne Finucane, Bank of America's global marketing and corporate affairs executive.

Meanwhile, on the downside, Boston-based mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments continues its out-migration of jobs from the region:

Fidelity Investments said yesterday that it plans to spend $100 million in North Carolina and add 2,000 jobs in another out-of-state expansion for the Boston mutual fund company.

Wait a minute: Bank of America is based in North Carolina and is adding jobs in Boston, and Fidelity is based in Boston and is adding jobs in North Carolina?. . .

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August 2, 2006

The 3rd Act
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:37 AM

Here's an audio blog. From today's NPR Morning Edition comes this segment on "The 3rd Act", older workers looking for work in their 60's and beyond:

Some workers who are past retirement age and still want -- or need-- to work find it very hard to land jobs. Lisa Belkin, a reporter for The New York Times, tells Don Gonyea that changing demographics mean older people need to carve out a new spot for themselves in the workforce.

Start here to get to the NPR.org page, then click on the "Listen" button. Allow for three minutes listening time.

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One of the crazy ones
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:15 AM

Around here we're used to hearing a lot about Theo the Great. The young General Manager of the Boston Red Sox is amazing and a wunderkind. Anyone who can bring the first major league baseball championship to the city in four score and six years deserves to be lauded.

But a female GM of a baseball team? Yes, it's true, and she's right here in our backyard. Robin Wallace's career story is both fascinating and inspirational, chronicling how the 29-year old attorney blazed a unique path all the way from Alabama to New Hampshire:

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in square holes, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as crazy, we see them as genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

NASHUA, N.H. -- Sitting in a sparsely decorated office, Robin Wallace turns her chair to glance up at one of the mint-green walls where a dry-erase board displays her handwritten mantra.

"Yeah, I like that," Wallace says of the quote from Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers.

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August 1, 2006

The very definition of results
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:58 AM

We may not all be performing our jobs on the national stage, but we do all want to achieve the best results we can in our chosen line of work. And right now, who epitomizes results - with a capital "R" - better than Big Papi, David Ortiz?

Here's what columnist Dan Shaughnessy had to say in today's Globe after yet another display of game-ending heroics by the slugger last night:

This simply does not happen in baseball. Ortiz has turned major league baseball into Wiffle ball games you'd play with makeshift rules regarding rooftops, clotheslines, and summer winds. Big Papi is an action superhero come to life. He is a cartoon figure who jumps off the screen and gets it done in real life in real time. He is the mythical Joe Hardy with no apparent time limit on his powers.

Can your boss, or anyone else in- or outside your organization, say something similar about you? OK, unfair comparison. The guy is a phenom. But he can inspire us and give us something to shoot for.

I marvel at the guy because he has truly raised the bar of this relatively new occupation called "Designated Hitter." Four, five, maybe six times a game he walks out of the dugout, strolls up to the plate, and goes to work for 5-7 minutes. He can't do it in the field with his glove, only at the plate and on the basepaths. That's pressure. It's also tough because he's not really in the full rhythm of the game. Sitting on the bench while his teammates are in the field, he could easily get cold. So how does he do it?! Time after time. Minute for minute, based on time expended, no one else comes close to Ortiz's productivity level.

Here's another way of thinking of this in career terms: here's Ortiz's resume, his calling card, if he ever goes looking for that next position (which, of course, he must N-E-V-E-R do!).

As you perform your everyday tasks, ask yourself: are you compiling your list of walkoff hits for your resume? How will you sell yourself in the future?

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Job hopper redux
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:08 AM

Looks as though our friend Dilbert will be running a job hopper series this week. Check out installment #2.

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