Monthly Archives: August 2009

Friday Funnies: Bored at Work

Posted on August 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

Posted in Humor

Tagged Bored at Work, Friday Funnies, Funny Video, Work Humor

Breaking Out of Groupthink

Posted on August 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

Have you ever been trapped in the frustration of a meeting that was not functioning well? Have you sat in a meeting where you did not speak your mind because you knew the risk, or the futility of it? Perhaps you have suffered through more bad meetings than you participated in useful ones. Have you ever sat in a meeting where nothing of value was accomplished, and it seemed like a terrible waste of time, yours and everyone else’s? Reflecting on it later, did you wonder what it was that caused the teams to be so ineffective?

The situations that lead to these nonworking meetings tend to fall into three categories:
1. We are so sure that everyone is in agreement that we don’t want to be the lone dissenting voice.
2. Our team has always been “right.” We have been on the cutting edge for as long as anyone can remember — therefore we must be “right” now.
3. The boss says we must — therefore we must.

To continue reading click here.

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Posted in Management Tips

Tagged Bad Meetings, Corporate Meetings, Dr. Bea Carson, Good Meetings, Groupthink

Recession Wire Interview: The Confidence Game

Posted on August 25, 2009 | Leave a comment

I was recently interviewed by Recessionwire.com for an article about confidence in interviewing. This is a great topic due to the amount of layoffs and the need for people to find work. When layoffs and job loss occur, coupled with no one calling you back after submitting your resume to dozens of job opportunities. Your confidence can take a visible hit, which can inadvertently undermine your job interview opportunities.

Article:

The Confidence Game

Mark Twain once wrote that the only things required for success are ignorance and confidence. If we humbly assume a good measure of the former, then the only thing needed for a successful job search is confidence.

Simplistic? Perhaps. But for those of us who awake each morning to face yet another day of launching resumes into the ethers and throwing ourselves at the mercy of old cronies or long-lost college cohorts who just might provide that magical, silver-bullet nexus of our LinkedIn fantasies, it can be difficult to crank up the old confidence meter to the appropriate level of chipperness. Each non-returned inquiry and “we’re not hiring right now” response is one more pinprick in the life raft of our confidence.

But let’s get real—sinking beneath the waves simply isn’t an option. That means we must meet each pinhole in the raft with a fresh wad of Double Bubble, chewed vigorously and confidently. Sure, you can hide in the closet now and then, shut the door, cover your mouth with an unused business suit and let out a primal scream or two. But then shake off the dust bunnies and get back in the living room.

“Everything you do, say, or write is a reflection of your confidence,” says Nick Reddin, business development manager for Manpower, one of the largest employment services companies in the world. “Your resume, cover letter, hand shake, telephone demeanor—everything should project that you are ready to take on the position you are applying for.”

In his position at Manpower, Reddin talks with hundreds of prospective candidates, both as an employment advisor and on behalf of employers. He says his instincts can tell when a candidate is been through the grinder and is starting to feel defeated.

To continue reading click here.

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Posted in Nick Reddin, World of Work

Tagged Confidence, Interview Techniques, Layoffs, Manpower Inc., Nick Reddin, Recessionwire.com

Visual: U.S. Unemployment Map by State – July 2009

Posted on August 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

July unemployment rates exceeded 10% in 15 states, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Michigan reported the highest jobless rate among all states in July at 15.0%. Other states with unemployment rates of more than 10.0% were Rhode Island, 12.7%; Nevada,12.5%; California and Oregon, 11.9% each; South Carolina, 11.8%; Ohio, 11.2%; North Carolina, 11.0%; Kentucky, 11.0%; Tennessee, 10.7%; Florida, 10.7%; Indiana, 10.6%; Illinois, 10.4%; Georgia, 10.3%; and Alabama,10.2%.

North Dakota registered the lowest unemployment rate among all states in July at 4.2%.

Jobless rates rose year over year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in July.

The number of U.S. mass layoffs rose 40.5% in July compared with the same month last year, and the initial claims for unemployment insurance related to mass layoffs rose 35.6%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

In July, there were 2,157 mass layoff actions compared with 1,535 in July 2007. There were 206,791 associated initial claims for unemployment insurance in July compared with 152,499 in the same month last year.

The industry with the largest number of initial claims for unemployment benefits from mass layoffs in July was elementary and secondary schools with 20,769 initial claims. Temporary help services was next with 20,377 initial claims.

A mass layoff action involves at least 50 workers from a single workplace.

Click on picture to enlarge.

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Posted in Unemployment, Workforce Trends

Tagged Nationwide Unemployment Picture, North America Unemployment, Unemployment July 2009, US Unemployment Map

Friday Funnies: Is this your Idea of Good Management?

Posted on August 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

Click on picture to enlarge.

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Posted in Humor

Tagged BabyBlues, Friday Funnies, Micro Management, Work Comic, Work Humor

55 and Older have Gained the Most Jobs in this Recession

Posted on August 19, 2009 | 2 Comments

The Who famously sang they hoped they’d die before they got old. Clearly, they didn’t want a proper job.

So far in this recession, 6.6 million jobs have been lost on a seasonally adjusted basis. That wipes out six of 10 jobs created in the last, unusually jobless, economic upswing. Every age group has lost jobs.

Except, that is, the cohort aged 55 and over, which has gained nearly one million positions. What’s more, over-55s accounted for two-thirds of net jobs created in the upswing.

This has less to do with gray flair and more with a statistical wrinkle. The first of the postwar baby boomers hit official retirement age in 2011. That demographic bulge has been rolling through the age structure — in and out of the workplace — through this decade. According to Census Bureau estimates, the overall population age 55 to 64 grew by 9.4 million between July 2001 and July 2008. That isn’t dissimilar to the roughly eight million increase in the ranks of employed over-55s between November 2001 and now.

But the figures point to more than just a demographic change. Over the same time period, the proportion of over-55s in employment rose five percentage points, possibly reflecting a need to re-enter the job market after the bursting of a tech bubble and a housing bubble damaged their net worth.

Meanwhile, labor participation fell for every other age group. For those age 16 to 24, for example, the rate fell almost 10 percentage points, to under half, even as that population group expanded. A graying work force focusing on rebuilding its nest egg while the young struggle for entry doesn’t bode well for an economy dependent on sprightly consumers.

Original Source: Liam Denning

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Posted in Baby Boomer, Workforce News

Tagged 2009 Recession, Baby Boomer, Job Creation, Mature Worker, Older Worker

Webinar Alert: Retention – When It Can’t Be About the Money

Posted on August 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

Join Manpower on Wednesday, August 26, from 11 am – 12 pm CDT, as we host a complimentary webinar entitled, Retention – When It Can’t Be About the Money.

The old saying “you get what you pay for” holds true and is always the case when it comes to your employees. The problem is that most employers think only in terms of dollars when, in your employees’ minds, “compensation” is about much more than money.

Human Resources surveys repeatedly show that people who love their jobs would not leave for a 10 percent pay increase. Only about four percent would consider an offer of 15 percent or more and the other 96 percent wouldn’t consider it at all unless the offer was at least 20 percent to 25 percent more.

So, if it isn’t about the money, what is it your people want from you? What are the intangibles that keep great people on-board and motivated?

During this webinar, you will learn:

The four most important things employees of each generation want from their jobs
The number one motivator that every manager has 100% control over
The key ways to find out each employee’s drivers
The largest mistake managers make that causes great employees to leave

Click here to register.

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Posted in Manpower Event, Webinar

Tagged Employee Retention, GPHR Credit, Manpower Webinar, PHR Credit, SPHR Credit, Webinar

McDonalds Gets Real Value from Mature Workers

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

New research from Lancaster University Business School has shown that employees aged over 60 have delivered a significant boost to business at McDonalds. Levels of customer service are reportedly 20% higher in restaurants with staff aged 60 or over with 69% of McDonalds’ managers saying older workers empathize and connect well with managers, 47% saying older workers go the extra mile to deliver the best possible service and 44% rating highly the role of mature workers in bringing mentoring skills to help develop younger staff.

McDonalds employs 1,000 people aged 60 or over. Of course, older workers aren’t perfect but this shows that those organizations who are prepared to recruit, develop and retain them can reap real bottom-line benefits. Like B&Q, Sainsburys, BT and other such organizations before them, they’re to be commended for recognizing the strengths of an age-diverse workforce. We’ll really be lovin’ it when other mainstream employers do the same for white collar and managerial employees – and the notion of a truly multi-generational workforce is so commonplace as to no longer be newsworthy.

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Posted in Workforce Generational Trends

Tagged Generational Diversity, Lancaster University Business School, Mature Worker, McDonalds, Older Worker

Friday Funnies: Persistence

Posted on August 14, 2009 | 1 Comment

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Posted in Humor

Tagged Demotivating Poster, Despair.com, Friday Funnies, Persistence

Stabilizing Your Workforce Amid Layoffs

Posted on August 13, 2009 | 2 Comments

If you look at the United States, the total number of mass layoff events was more than 23,000 in 2008, involving nearly 2.4 million individuals. In the United Kingdom, unemployment levels rose by 530,000 people over the three quarters beginning in July 2008. Some of the world’s leading companies are trimming their workforces due to the economic pressures of what we are now told by our elected leaders is a “deep” recession.

Indeed, a great number of companies are facing this challenge, but those with effective leadership are faring much better. So how can leaders stabilize the workforce to ensure that the inherent uncertainty in today’s environment and associated redundancies at their own companies aren’t divisive and disrupt business as usual? Businesses need to understand what it is that employees look for from their leaders, whether that be the senior team or the line manager.

Between 2005 and 2008, as part of a comprehensive study about why people follow leaders, Gallup collected information from more than 10,000 national adults (aged 18 and over) to obtain their opinions about leadership and why they follow. This research formed part of our larger study on leadership, including more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, behavioral research data from more than 1 million work teams, and polling results from 50 years of research.

In our follower study, respondents were asked to name the leader who has the most positive influence in their daily life. The word positive was included to ensure that we were not studying leaders who have a predominantly negative influence. Then they were asked to list three words that best describe what that leader contributes to their life.

Click here to continue reading.

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Posted in Employee Engagement

Tagged Gallup, Layoffs, Workforce Leadership, Workforce Stabilizing, Workforce Trends

Manpower Wins – Best Temporary Employment Service 2009

Posted on August 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

First, we would like to thank all of you that voted for Manpower. We consider it an honor to have received this award and appreciate the recognition tremendously. Our goal in this business is to help people find meaningful work, while at the same time meeting the needs of our customers. Knowing how important the role of work is in the lives of those that walk through our doors everyday, is what motivates us to be the best. We thank you for recognizing our efforts, our passion, and our everyday commitment to you.

Article from the Des Moines Business Record.

Best Temporary Employment Service

Manpower Inc.

Mike Lynch has found one silver lining in the nation’s economic struggle: “I don’t recall a time when I’ve had more meaningful, heartfelt conversations with people,” said the president of Manpower Inc.’s Central Iowa franchise. “Everybody is in the same boat, and whether the conversation is personal or about business, it gets to the depth of what’s good and bad.”

Lynch’s mother, Helen, opened the Manpower office here in 1953, and his father was one of the first customers. Lynch, with 27 years of experience in the business, said the past few months have been “a bizarre and interesting kind of a ride,” but foresees smoother sailing in the near future. At Manpower, “I think we’re going to see a gradual increase during the rest of the year,” he said.

The office handles temporary employment services as far north as Fort Dodge and as far south as Creston. “Technology and the professions are a growth area for us,” Lynch said. “Clerical and administrative support are kind of a specialty, and there’s a fairly robust light industrial division. We’re not highly involved in health care and the heavy industrial stuff.”

Revenues have been basically flat for the year, he said. “We’re seeing new customers every day,” he said, ‘but the flip side is that things are going out the back door as new business comes in the front door, as we see large layoffs from the larger companies in town.

“It’s the old saw – it’s all about relationships,” Lynch said. “As we have the opportunity to connect with people during hard times, my belief is that it will make better times that much richer for everybody.”

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Posted in Manpower News

Tagged Best of Des Moines, Des Moines Business Record, Manpower Inc., Mike Lynch

College Job Fair Trends

Posted on August 11, 2009 | 1 Comment

The article below is from a piece I wrote for the Des Moines Business Record. With the economy being what it is, the typical landscape of hiring and firing have definitely changed. One of the changes I have noticed in particular is at college job fairs. While they have always been interesting, these times have made them even more so.

Article:

One of the things I get to do in my job is stay alert to the trends taking place and shaping the way people hire and fire. I tend to write about these trends when I see something that particularly stands out to me as being different from the norm. To be honest, I have recruited at more job fairs than I care to remember – numbering somewhere in the hundreds, I am sure.

Job fairs are interesting as a whole; it is almost a social experiment. You have people who for the most part just want the free stuff at your booth, you have the people who didn’t bring a resume but want you to interview them on the spot, and you have the people who are going booth to booth with their friends, dressed and acting completely unprofessional and yet wanting you to hire them. On the upside, you do meet a lot of very well-prepared professional people who attend job fairs and make them worth your time.
Click here to continue reading.

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Posted in Nick Reddin, Workforce Trends

Tagged College Alumni, College Job Fairs, Des Moines Business Record, Manpower Inc., Nick Reddin

Full U.S. Unemployment Picture – July 2009

Posted on August 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Below is the A12 chart from the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) for July 2009. The A12 is the most complete picture of what is going in the work force to date. It is often referred to but rarely shown in its entirety. While they do not break it down by individual state this way, the trends per state typically are represented very well by the overall picture.

As you will notice when looking at the chart, you will need to click on it to read it – unless you have some freaky super eyesight thing going on.

Click on picture to enlarge.

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Posted in Unemployment, Workforce Trends

Tagged A12, BLS, Full Unemployment Picture, Jobless Rate, July Unemployment, US Unemployment July 2009

Friday Funnies: Outsourcing and GPS Satellites Gone Bad

Posted on August 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

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Posted in Humor

Tagged Friday Funnies, Funny Gps Story, Gps Satellites, Outsourcing

What are the Most Prestigious Jobs? – 2009 Survey

Posted on August 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

Every year at this time, The Harris Poll asks whether an occupation can be considered to have very great prestige or hardly any prestige at all. This year there are some changes as well as some stability in what occupations are considered prestigious and what ones are not.

These are some of the results of a nationwide telephone survey conducted by Harris Interactive among 1,010 U.S. adults between July 8 and 13, 2008.

Most Prestigious Occupations

The occupations at the top of the list are:

 Firefighter (62% say “very great prestige”),

 Scientist (57%),

 Doctor (56%),

 Nurse (54%),

 Teacher (51%), and

 Military officer (51%).

Least Prestigious Occupations

Looking at the other side of the list, only 15% or fewer adults regard the following occupations as having very great prestige:

 Real estate agent/broker (5%),

 Accountant (11%),

 Stock broker (13%),

 Actor (15%).

Substantial majorities of adults (from 65% to 80%) believe that these occupations have “hardly any” or only “some” prestige. Additionally, several occupations are regarded as “very prestigious” by more people this year than they were last year:

 Business executive, up six points to 23%,

 Military office, up five points to 51%, and

 Firefighter, up five points to 62%.

However, even with this improvement, business executives are still near the bottom of the list with 62% of Americans saying they have only some prestige or hardly any prestige at all. Two occupations lost four or more points since last year:

 Farmers, down five points to 36%,

 Accountant, down four points to 11%.

Click picture to enlarge.

So what do you think? Did the survey get it right?

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Posted in Workforce Statistics, World of Work

Tagged Best Jobs in America, Harris Poll, Most Prestigious Jobs, Workforce Trends

Visual: Job Openings by Industry – July 2009

Posted on August 5, 2009 | Leave a comment

The chart below is from Indeed.com and represents a great deal of data and insight into the U.S. job market for the month of July. The information can help you figure out where the best industries are to focus your job search. If you are not aware of Indeed.com they are an aggregator of jobs from just about everywhere, even on the moon. Ok, maybe not on the moon – seriously though, their data is about as good as it gets when it comes to job opening activity. If you have never used their job board I would encourage you to check out their site at Indeed.com.

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Posted in Workforce Statistics

Tagged Biggest Hiring Trends, indeed.com Industry Hiring Trends, Job Openings by Industry

What Metro Has the Most Jobs Available Per 1000 People – 2nd QTR 2009

Posted on August 4, 2009 | 2 Comments

Rankings Second Quarter 2009
50 most populous metro areas ranked by job postings per capita.

Rank (Last Qtr Rank)	Metropolitian Area	Job Postings Per 1000 People
1 (1)	Washington, DC	133
2 (2)	Baltimore, MD	90
3 (3)	San Jose, CA	80
4 (7)	Austin, TX	56
5 (6)	Hartford, CT	54
6 (9)	Seattle, WA	53
7 (8)	Salt Lake City, UT	52
8 (11)	Denver, CO	50
9 (5)	Boston, MA	49
10 (4)	Las Vegas, NV	49
11 (15)	Charlotte, NC	49
12 (10)	San Francisco, CA	47
13 (12)	Milwaukee, WI	41
14 (30)	Atlanta, GA	40
15 (13)	Cincinnati, OH	39
16 (14)	Oklahoma City, OK	39
17 (22)	Orlando, FL	37
18 (23)	Richmond, VA	37
19 (24)	Jacksonville, FL	36
20 (16)	Dallas, TX	36
21 (18)	Phoenix, AZ	36
22 (19)	Columbus, OH	36
23 (21)	San Antonio, TX	36
24 (20)	Tampa, FL	35
25 (31)	Kansas City, MO	34
26 (34)	Indianapolis, IN	34
27 (33)	Sacramento, CA	34
28 (17)	San Diego, CA	33
29 (27)	Philadelphia, PA	33
30 (35)	Nashville, TN	33
31 (29)	St. Paul, MN	33
32 (26)	Louisville, KY	33
33 (40)	New Orleans, LA	32
34 (25)	Houston, TX	32
35 (28)	Cleveland, OH	32
36 (37)	Providence, RI	31
37 (36)	Pittsburgh, PA	31
38 (38)	Memphis, TN	30
39 (32)	Virginia Beach, VA	30
40 (44)	St. Louis, MO	30
41 (39)	Portland, OR	30
42 (42)	New York, NY	28
43 (41)	Birmingham, AL	28
44 (46)	Chicago, IL	27
45 (43)	Riverside, CA	26
46 (45)	Los Angeles, CA	24
47 (47)	Buffalo, NY	24
48 (48)	Rochester, NY	19
49 (49)	Miami, FL	17
50 (50)	Detroit, MI	15

Data courtesy of Indeed.com

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Posted in Workforce Statistics

Tagged indeed.com, Most Jobs by State, Most Jobs Per Capita, State Job Outlook, US Job Opportunities

Crazy Business or Brilliant Start-Up? #16

Posted on August 3, 2009 | 2 Comments

Out to help those looking for a quick relaxation fix, a new drink from Canada offers ‘an acupuncture session’ in every can. An antidote to energy drinks like Red Bull, Slow Cow was developed to help people de-stress.

Under the premise that caffeine-packed drinks tend to increase anxiety, Slow Cow contains theanine, chamomile, valerian, passiflora and other ingredients known for their calming effects. The beverage is meant to increase mental awareness while improving relaxation, without the post-hit dip that caffeine and other stimulants cause.

Slow Cow, whose tongue-in-cheek logo apparently did not amuse Red Bull, might have found a gap in a market saturated with energy drinks of every possible variety. It’s not the only beverage to position itself as a relaxation drink, mind you, (Drank is another), but Slow Cow gets the vote for best branding. Seems like a natural fit for spas, hotels, airlines—or anywhere else consumers could use a serving of relaxation.

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Posted in New Business Ideas

Tagged Anti Energy Drink, Drank, Franchise Opportunities, New Business Idea, Red Bull, Slow Cow

Monthly Archives: August 2009

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