thecareerbeat.com Blog

Easing commuter shock: the new priority

As a new poll suggests that rising gas costs are a hardship for 9 in 10 adults, many workers are struggling with commuting issues.

“We’re making job offers that are being declined because of gas prices,” said Kerry Kiley, Bay Area regional operations manager for staffing giant Adecco. “It’s happening daily, for positions that pay up to $50,000 or $60,000. People are looking for jobs closer to home.”

That quote comes from a San Francisco Chronicle article that explores how some Bay Area residents are coping with the higher commute costs by taking lower-paying jobs that are closer to home.

Some employees are seeking help from employers in the form of public transit discounts, flexible schedules, and telecommuting. Experts suggest that workers prepare a “positive spin” for such requests, highlighting how the incentives can boost the company’s reputation for being environmentally conscious and employee-friendly.

Easing commuter shock is an increasing priority for workers and job-seekers, and this article offers good advice for getting help from your employer.  Also check out this piece on ways to cut commuting costs.

Happy Pride weekend!

This weekend is Pride weekend, with big parades in San Francisco and New York. I want to give another shout out to my employer, Yahoo!, for its support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees. The company has created a special site, pride.yahoo.com, and will have a booth at San Francisco’s Pride celebration on Sunday.

Below is a photo I took as I volunteered at Yahoo!’s Pride booth last year. It exemplifies one of the most frequent thoughts I have every year as I observe some of the people enjoying Pride: “What does this person actually do for a living?”

Where the jobs are: technology

“Here’s a hint for high school graduates or college students still majoring in indecision: Put down that guitar or book of poetry and pick up a laptop. Study computer science or engineering, and plan to move to a big city.”

So begins a compelling BusinessWeek article (posted on Yahoo! HotJobs), that I would love all my siblings to read, for the benefit of my nieces and nephews. If the youngsters are really into computers, rejoice and nurture that interest! (Easy for me to say, not being a parent.)

The article is based on a survey that finds tech jobs are still growing (no surprise), even as the economy sputters. And the expansion spreads to plenty of places other than Silicon Valley or Seattle.

It’s important to remember there are so many facets to the high-tech industry. If you don’t want to be an engineer, what about a project manager?  How about a marketing manager, or a data analyst?  The company I work for is considered part of the tech/Internet industry, yet my daily functions require very little programming know-how or background.

Research also shows that fewer students are majoring in computer-related fields, so there is decreasing competition (among U.S.-born workers) for these lucrative and rewarding fields.  Carpe diem!

Survey says: Cover letters matter

“Submitting a resume without a cover letter is like not shaking hands when meeting someone for the first time.”

So says David Willmer, executive director of OfficeTeam, which just released a survey on cover letters.  Of the executives polled, 86% said cover letters are valuable when evaluating job candidates.

The poll focused on 150 senior executives from the largest U.S. companies, but maybe recruiters have a different opinion.

“Unless the job seeker is making a significant career change (i.e. different field) or is a fresh college graduate, I rarely look at a cover letter,” Lindsay Olson, partner at Paradigm Staffing, told Yahoo! HotJobs in a Recruiter Roundtable session on cover letters.

Other recruiters in the session also suggested a decreasing importance for cover letters.

What to do?  For what it’s worth, I remain pro-cover letter — even if it’s just the body of the email with your resume attached.  They can’t hurt (unless they are badly written and riddled with typos).  This article has good  tips on writing a successful cover letter.

Job satisfaction up; consumer confidence down

More than 4 in 10 workers (41%) say they are “very satisfied” with their jobs, according to a survey this week by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

The good feelings aren’t translating to confidence about the U.S. economy, however. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey for June, released today, recorded its lowest rating in 16 years.

According to the New York Times, the survey also showed that many Americans feared they might lose their jobs or be unable to find work. Respondents who described employment as “plentiful” fell to 14.1% in June from 16.1% in May.

These days the good news/bad news yoyoing puzzles me (and countless others, I’m sure). Case in point: I was on FOX Business Network yesterday to talk about bright spots on the hiring landscape, yet I had to listen to so much contradictory gloom about layoffs and the economy while I waited in the studio that I felt like I was preparing to swim upstream alone.

Nonetheless, some industries are still experiencing job growth (e.g. health care, food services), and there will always be jobs available for people who are determined to find the right fit.

Think twice before wearing flip-flops to work

Very interesting poll results on Yahoo! HotJobs this week…

Q	Do you think flip-flops are appropriate summer casual footwear for the office?
Yes	23%
No	77%
16558 Votes to date

Waistlines as a workplace issue

Employers are paying a hefty share of the health-case costs associated with obesity in the United States.

As I mentioned in the post below, being overweight could become a job-threatening issue in some cases, as obese employees tend to miss more work and drive health insurance costs higher, according to this article in the New York Times.

Very few employers, however, penalize workers for weight gain; but more and more are providing incentives for weight loss, smoking cessation, and other health improvements. Solutions based on rewards are more likely to work and to improve employee morale.

I’m thankful U.S. employers aren’t going as far as those in Japan, where workers over 40 have to regularly meet waistline requirements (33.5″ for men, 35.5″ for women)!

Surprising behaviors that can put your job at risk

Think you can’t be fired for being a smoker or a frequent bungee jumper?  Don’t be too sure.

One company chief in Michigan ordered employees to quit smoking in 15 months or lose their jobs, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Such an edict wouldn’t fly for a California company due to state laws, but it’s an interesting example of employers having more authority over workers’ off-the-job activities.

“Most workers in the private sector don’t understand that, unless they live in Montana and Arizona, their job is at-will,” Paul Secunda, an assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi, told Yahoo! HotJobs. “At-will means an employee can be fired for good cause or no cause at all,” Secunda said.

Beside smoking and overeating, activities with less risk, like blogging or volunteering for a political campaign, can be fair game for termination.  You can find some important tips about protecting yourself in this Yahoo! HotJobs article.

Gotta give props

I’m delighted to see my employer get into the spirit of this month…

Working dads say parenting is toughest job

I’m a little late for Father’s Day, but I still think this survey is worth highlighting.

The majority of working dads (64%) — along with 71% of working moms — say that managing their family lives is more challenging than their careers. In addition, 55% of working fathers think their companies should do more to help them achieve a better work/life balance, according to an Adecco Workplace Insights survey.

“The perception that the work/life balancing act is mainly a female struggle no longer holds up in today’s workplace,” says Rich Thompson, vice president of training & development for Adecco Group North America.  ”As moms and dads continue more equally share responsibilities both at home and at the office, employers need to be mindful of this and ensure that they offer work/life benefits that are inclusive of both groups.”

For more, see the Adecco press release.

I am often amazed by my siblings, friends, and coworkers who are parents and working professionals — I don’t know how they do it!