Oases in a turbulent jobscape

Posted on May 3, 2012
Filed Under Career Change, Employment, Finding a Job, Hiring Forecast, Recession | Leave a Comment

Though the storm clouds bearing down on the global economy have, in recent months, begun to part (some), and while the tides of pervasive uncertainty beneath which imperiled job seekers and job-holders were once submerged have begun to recede, there is still an overwhelming sense of job insecurity as a number of question marks, the biggest of which relates to future composition of the EU and Europe’s ongoing sovereign debt crisis, still loom. In short, like investors, who, at the height of the economic crisis, sought ‘sure bets’—safe places to stash their investments capable of weathering prolonged market volatility—job seekers are still searching for that job oasis. Read more

‘Job creep’

Posted on April 13, 2012
Filed Under Career Change, Corporate Policy, Employment, Health, Keeping your Job, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

While a constant parade of new, handheld, mobile devices has enabled us to adapt to, push forward, and thrive in the new techno-centric culture that emerged as a result of a slew of interconnected technological innovations that came to define the mid-late 20th century, culminating in the creation and spread of personal computing and the Internet, in the 21st century, I have sometimes found difficult the task of finding my bearings in a culture that is constantly evolving with the technology it creates. Rarely am I able to pause and wonder whether, in fact, I am indeed better off. Although the Information Age has done just what its name purports—eased access to and democratized information, breaking down some of those social or cultural barriers which, in the past, might have obstructed access to education—the emergence, and quick embrace of handheld, mobile devices has allowed us to remain ‘plugged-in’ while making us more accessible. Though I am careful not to bemoan the very innovations and technology allowing me to compose this blog post, social and cultural values have changed quickly to accommodate the, oft blindingly fast-paced, technological innovations of the 21st century, many of which affect each of us on a personal level (in some way), and have, since their invention, chipped away at our work-life balance, something I refer to as ‘job creep’. Read more

Uniting your passion with your profession

Posted on March 29, 2012
Filed Under Career Change, Employment, Finding a Job, First Job, Keeping your Job, Promotion, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

By Shun McGhee, Guest Contributor

Walking through the mall as a wide-eyed 25-year-old I approached a book store. As I was just about to pass the store one of the books caught my attention. The title was “How I Retired at 26! A Step-by-Step Guide to Accessing Your Freedom and Wealth at Any Age” by Asha Tyson. Desperate to change my financial predicament and rapidly approaching age 26, I was drawn to the book. I picked up the paperback with some skepticism. I thought, “This could be another pyramid scheme.” I decided to skim the book a little just to see what it was about. In the pages I read while at the bookstore, the author assured readers she was not promoting a get rich quick scheme of any kind. This made me a little more comfortable and I decided to buy it.

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Translation vs. Transposition: How to apply military experience in civilian markets

Posted on February 27, 2012
Filed Under Career Change, Cover Letters and Resumes, Employment, Federal Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

Admittedly, the lines connecting military experience and professions in the civilian sector are not always clear cut. In fact, the translation of military experience into civilian terms is not always easy—some ideas, experiences, skills, and qualifications may not always seem translatable, computable, or easily applicable. Thinking about the difficult task of translation with which servicemen and servicewomen are often tasked brings to mind something poet and translator John Ciardi wrote in his introduction to his translation of Dante’s Inferno, writing, “I believe  that the process of rendering from language to language is better conceived as a ‘transposition’ than a ‘translation,’ for ‘translation’ implies a series of word-for-word equivalents that do not exist across language boundaries any more than piano sounds exist in the violin.” Although Ciardi’s words ring true as it regards the business of translation, many employers (including the federal government) have come to realize our men and women in blue are not only highly trained, but possess an array of unique skills and abilities carefully honed through military service. Using Ciardi’s metaphor, even if piano sounds may not exist in the violin, a violin can certainly carry a melody played on a piano. So too, even if the specific duties one performed while in the military may not directly correlate to professions in the civilian sector, employers have come to realize that military experience and knowledge can be easily transposed, and put to use in the civilian workplace. Read more

Odd jobs

Posted on February 7, 2012
Filed Under Career Change, Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

Before I start, allow me to draw a distinction. What I intend to talk about are not “odd jobs”— shorthand for irregular, perhaps short-term work. Rather, I want to talk about odd jobs. Have you ever watched the television show Dirty Jobs? Although I realize the intention of the show is to showcase jobs which, literally, require that one get down and “dirty,” what I enjoy most about the show is, in fact, the variation of jobs it highlights. Jobs you’d never known existed. Elephant nose-hair clipper. Human penguin. While neither of those aforementioned jobs exist (to my knowledge), I think they capture the spirit of Dirty Jobs nicely—a show which brings attention to some of the more odd and peculiar elements comprising America’s job-scape. And despite the name and its focus, I think what’s driving Mike Rowe, the show’s host, are venerable, almost democratic intentions: the show is as much about people who get dirty at work as a vehicle through which Rowe is able to examine, first-hand, the bowels (no pun intended) of Western society and reveal each and every single gear that helps to power the Modern Age. Keeping this in mind, Rowe’s object is to show—in the same way that a documentarian might—how each gear (every job in America’s job-scape), from investment banker to zoo keeper, is equal and ultimately works toward the same goal. The philosophy driving Dirty Jobs aside, I, like a lot of people (I think), am interested in odd, uncommon jobs. Not because of what they may speak to, but because of their novelty. Thus, TheWorkBuzz must have had me in mind when it recently published its list of “least common jobs in America.” Read more

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