thecareerbeat.com Blog

Risky business: online shopping at work

The temptation to shop online while at work gets much stronger at this time of year. Despite the known risks, many of us do it on the sly anyway — like using a cell phone while driving.

In fact, 1 in 5 workers (21%) said they will shop online for holiday gifts this year while working. The statistic comes from a new survey, conducted by financial staffing firm Accountemps, that was released a week before Cyber Monday — typically the biggest day of the year for online shopping.

After Cyber Monday last year, 41% percent of Yahoo! HotJobs users said in an online poll that they had made a personal online purchase while on the job.

Shopping at work may violate workplace policy for many employers, but the rule is often hard to enforce.  And it’s so easy to pop over to a retailer’s site and knock off a few stocker stuffers from your list, right?

Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of “Job Hunting for Dummies,” has some good words of caution:

“While some companies look the other way when employees browse retail sites in moderation, online shopping is frequently against company policy. Workers need to familiarize themselves with their firm’s rules on acceptable Internet use during business hours and follow these guidelines throughout the year.”

To help minimize your risks, check out some of the useful ideas in the article “Cyber Monday Survival Tips for the Office.”

Here’s a good one from Charlie Graham, CEO of Shop It To Me: “Arrive at work early on Cyber Monday to do quick sales checks. Then, shop on your lunch hour, during breaks, or at the end of the work day.”

And here’s another, courtesy of yours truly: “Ask yourself, ‘Is the discount I’ll get right now on this scarf worth getting fired?’”

Workers behave better during recessions. Surprised?

Yes, U.S. employees have been behaving better during the Great Recession, according to the annual National Business Ethics Survey.

The survey found that measures of ethical behavior — the amount of misconduct observed, the willingness to report misdeeds, the strength of ethical cultures and the pressure to cut corners — all improved since 2007, when the survey was last taken.

The Ethics Resource Center, which conducted the research, noted a similar pattern from 2000 to 2003, when the dot-com bubble and 9/11 affected most workplaces.

While this is good news, I’ll bet most of us would rather have no recession and more workers behaving badly.

For a great example of unethical behavior at work, enjoy this clip:

For tips on how good behavior can help you get ahead at work, try these:

• The Most Valuable Employees Tame Tensions
• 5 Ways to Wow Your Boss
• How Nice Guys Can Get Ahead

The big pileup: social networking sites

Metaphors abound in descriptions of social media sites today. They are “exploding,” the “next big thing,” the “new media revolution.” Here’s another that will be familiar to anybody who watches football: They’re the center of a big pileup.

Everybody — including job seekers, recruiters, marketers — is jumping on them, trying to get a piece of the action in the midst of a chaotic jumble. Sometimes you scoop up a new job lead or connect to a promising candidate. Or you come up empty-handed and a little bruised.

Some recent bits of data to consider:

• 51% of online U.S. adults utilize social networking sites (Forrester Research survey)
• 36% of job seekers have used at least one social networking site to help find a job (Yahoo! HotJobs poll)
• 80% of companies use or are planning to use social networking sites to fill vacant positions (Jobvite survey)

Hiring pros recently shared their insights about social networking sites as part of the Yahoo! HotJobs Recruiter Roundtable. It’s no surprise that they differ in their usage of the sites and in their opinions about effectiveness.

“It is important to remember that all of these technologies simply enhance the job search; they will never replace the face-to-face connections that are critical to a successful search,” says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Why stay on the sidelines? With careful execution, you can position yourself to get more rewards than bruises from piling on.

Challenger’s firm offers these tips that job seekers can use on social networking sites:

* Advertise your job loss. Telling “followers” that you are looking for a job can be not only therapeutic, but also incredibly useful to finding a new position. Hundreds of recruiters are on Twitter and have no problem following your tweets.

* Build your brand. Start a blog discussing industry trends as you see them. Include discussions about your work, and tweet about your blog — as well as other industry developments.

* Join groups. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Yahoo! Groups allow users to create and join professional groups. This is a great way to build contacts and communicate with others in your field.

You can find more tips in these articles:

• Hiring Pros Share Insights About Social Networking Sites
• Social Networking Basics for Job Hunters
• Tweet Your Way to a New Job

Rocker opens up about unemployment-themed video

Last week I wrote an article for Yahoo! HotJobs about a compelling new music video that features real unemployed people while trying to help them get hired. The video dramatizes the new single “Breathe” by Ryan Star, an emerging rock star whose debut album “11:59″ will drop in early 2010.

While doing my research, I gleaned interesting insights from Star that I was unable to use in the article, so here is more of the conversation, followed by a clip of the music video:

Tom Musbach: What do you hope is the message from your song and video for people who are struggling with unemployment?

Ryan Star: The essence of the song is that we’ll get through this together. That’s why the video has real people going through it right now; it puts a face to the problem. One of my best friends is in the video (the marketing professional), and I think that when you watch it you can in a way see someone you know. So I hope people take it personally and reach out those who they can help.

You collaborated on the video with artist Jonathan Lia. What surprised you about the making of this video or what surprises you about the final product?

Jonathan is brilliant and really executed the idea in a way that keeps the “real life” idea intact on film. When I watched the first cut I experienced something I never have with my own music. I got the chills. I thought, “Wow! This is great.” That’s the feeling I get when I watch others’ works that move me, so I felt so proud to watch it and be a part of it.

Your participation on the “Rock Star: Supernova” reality show was sort of like being in a long, public job interview before many “hiring managers” — the viewing public. What did you learn from that experience that could be applicable to other job seekers?

Well for starters don’t do what I do when they kicked me off of the show. I pretty much told Tommy Lee to f@*% off live on air. I am not a fan of burning bridges, but in this case they deserved it. They beat me up for weeks while the viewers had my back, and I felt like he had it out for me from the beginning.

What I truly learned was to be myself. I was on the show for one purpose and that was to do my best and let my true colors show. I knew at the end of the day I had to go back to New York after it all ended and had to hold my head up high with the work I did on the show. To this day I am proud of all of my performances on the TV show.

What was your first job as a paid employee?

My first real job was loading trucks at Jones Beach Amphitheatre on Long Island. The only real reason I was doing it was to try and sneak my demo tapes into the dressing rooms of all the big acts that came through every summer. The hours were insane and the pay was crap. Bumping into rock stars and moving their amps around was so humbling. I was so close to my dream every night, but on the wrong end of the totem pole.

Using gossip to your advantage

Last week I was on “View from the Bay” to talk about how gossip can sometimes be beneficial for your career.  It’s definitely a gray area, but knowing how to filter out the harmful stuff can lead to useful information.

Holiday help: landing a seasonal job

Staffing experts say the outlook for seasonal hiring during the holidays this year is slightly better than last year, but it still means that job seekers will face stiff competition.

Unlike past years, the pool of candidates for these jobs this year will include workers who have been unemployed for months or who are involuntarily underemployed.

To land a seasonal job, you’ll have to be resourceful, persistent, and resilient. Here are some tips for standing out from the competition:

1. Start early, and stay in the hunt. It’s always good to get a jump on the competition by getting your resumes or applications in early.  But if you hear that ‘Employer A’ (where you really want to work) isn’t hiring as of mid-November, that may change by early December.  Check back. Some retailers especially may be hanging back, reluctant to add staff until they see evidence that consumers are buying this holiday season.

2. Do some legwork in addition to online searching. Many employers may not take the time to post these positions online, so keep your eyes peeled for “help wanted” signs at local retailers or other possible companies in your area that you’ve targeted in your search.  Go into the businesses or stores and ask if they are hiring for seasonal help.

3. Network.  Get the word out about your job search to the people you know, and ask if they have suggestions for where else you might look. People are often open to helping others during the holidays, and the same is true for your contacts.

4. Be at-the-ready. Especially if you are inquiring in person about jobs, make sure that your appearance is interview-worthy, as you may be screened on the spot. Also have copies of your resume with you, as well as a pen or any other documentation that might facilitate your hiring.

5. Look beyond retail. Retail outlets are not the only sources for holiday jobs. Consider other employers in your area that may be connected to shipping, warehouse operations, or hospitality and catering.

6. Be flexible. The whole point of many of these seasonal jobs is that employers are adding extra hours or filling in gaps, so you should be versatile in terms of the hours and type of work that you can do. Reflect on your transferable skills and play them up. Flexible candidates will have an advantage!  Make sure you know your boundaries, of course, but then be willing to adapt as necessary.

7. Stay positive.  A positive attitude is critical for all job seekers today.  Being positive and confident will obviously be important for seasonal jobs that have direct contact with customers. But your attitude will register with everyone who is hiring, regardless of the job’s duties.  It’s easy to get discouraged in this job market, so make sure you are doing what you can to engage with your support networks and recharge your batteries.

See this “holiday hiring forecast” article for more on the outlook for this year.