A case for taking sick days

Posted on November 28, 2011
Filed Under Corporate Policy, Employment, Health, Keeping your Job, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

Every fall, a grand battle plays out. Imposing brigades of parasitic submicroscopic organisms barrage our body’s natural biological defenses. Like waves of enemy soldiers crashing upon a beach, their numbers enable this army of parasitic foes to progress forward and slowly march, as one united column thirsting for triumph, to victory. Although those mechanisms protecting our body’s delicate ecosystem are ultimately, with the help of modern medicine and rest, capable of beating back this powerful fleet, it does so only after the barrage of enemy forces punches holes in its defenses. Like Rocky, we battle back from a seemingly vulnerable state to claim victory. Before that happens, however, our body and the parasite become a unified whole. We become toxic—a parasitic ark. Each time we sneeze or cough, troops that are invisible to the naked eye come pouring out, and the war rages on. Got the picture? While sneezing and coughing in the company of others may seem like a rather innocuous event, the fact is, sneezing and coughing can be indicative of numerous things, not least of which is that you are housing throngs of tiny organisms hungry to enslave the immune systems of everyone around you. Read more

A woman, a resume, and a balloon, Part II

Posted on November 25, 2011
Filed Under Cover Letters and Resumes, Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

The story of Ms. Elangwe, a women who recently harnessed the raw power of helium to send her resumes flying (literally) into the hands of recruiters, highlights a few points every job seeker should consider when faced with today’s job market. I think the most important takeaway (there are a number) is that today’s job seeker needs to get creative. Though not every job seeker is willing to stuff balloons with their resume, there are things they can do to get the attention of prospective employers. Read more

A woman, a resume, and a balloon, Part I

Posted on November 22, 2011
Filed Under Cover Letters and Resumes, Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

Perhaps it was the symbolism that drove Sherell Elangwe to use the power of helium balloon flight to deliver her resumes into the less than eager hands of employers. “Wait, what?” you may be asking. That’s right. A resident of North Carolina, Ms. Elangwe decided balloons were a safer method to deliver her resumes than that tiny “submit” button hanging around the bottom of every vacancy announcement. While her decision to use helium-filled balloons points to an uncomfortable irony, it helps to throw light on a barren job-scape, desperately in need of irrigation and seeding. It also suggests that job seekers faced with a similar predicament might be best served digging a hole in the ground and dropping their resume into it. The absurdity of Ms. Elangwe’s decision underscores an important point: despite economic gains, private sector hiring is still weak and job seekers must pull out all the stops when applying for positions. Read more

Two reasons why realism is critical to any job search strategy

Posted on November 17, 2011
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

Realism, as an artistic movement, sought to capture the world and humanity as it exists. Realist art, in some ways, supplanted idealized depictions of human existence with depictions freed of aesthetic ornamentation or exaggeration and dramatic effect. Naturally, and because of its emphasis on, well…what’s real, the subject matter of realist paintings, for this uncultured critic, tends to be a bit dull when compared with more impressionistic or sublime artistic expressions, like the work of J.M.W. Turner. After leaving graduate school, I saw my professional experience and qualifications through a decidedly idealized lens—one which was focused not on the qualifications I possessed, but rather those I thought I possessed, or wished to possess. I wanted the world to see me as I wanted to be; not as I was. In short, I saw my professional qualifications and experience through a lens that was less than realistic. Although it is important not to stray too far in either direction—it is possible someone who is entirely realistic about their career outlook to border on cynical—a lack of realism could frustrate attempts at real progress. In light of this, even though it is important to have goals and allow yourself to feel some optimism about your qualifications and professional experience, realism is an important tool in every job seeker’s toolbox. Read more

Even more things you shouldn’t say or do at an interview

Posted on November 14, 2011
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job, Interview | Leave a Comment

Every now and again CareerBuilder comes out with a list of unbelievable acts perpetrated by job seekers in interviews. The acts detailed on its lists seem to touch the limit of human absurdity, with some so thoroughly unbelievable that they seem more like performance art than an excusable gaffe or a simple misstep committed by someone unfamiliar with interviewing etiquette. CareerBuilder’s career blog, TheWorkBuzz, recently supplied a new list—the contents of which were provided by staffing firm Robert Half—which goes far beyond past lists, detailing acts so absurd, they seem almost to come straight from the mind of Kurt Vonnegut. Read more

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