thecareerbeat.com Blog

What if the president was an engineer or doctor?

Last week The Economist took an interesting look at the types of professions that world leaders had before getting into politics.

The leading profession is law (e.g. President Obama), and that is especially true in the United States. But Hu Jintao, president of China, was trained as a hydraulic engineer. Those two very different paths to power might explain a lot about how each president executes his duties.

The chart from the article (included here) depicts several surprising professions that make up the world’s politicians. I had no idea there were so many journalists who became politicians!

Interesting factoid from the article: Herbert Hoover was the last American president trained as an engineer.

Stimulus adds help for jobless

The (mostly) bad news keeps coming this week about unemployment. The Labor Department reported that first-time applicants for unemployment benefits rose to 667,000 last week, up from 631,000.

The number of people collecting unemployment benefits is just over 5 million, according to the Department of Labor. (Although there were fewer mass layoffs in January than December.)

I say “mostly” bad news because the stimulus plan has some items in it that can help people who are unemployed. You can get the full scoop from Kathleen Pender’s column in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.

I’ll call out some highlights:

1. You can qualify for extended unemployment benefits if you run out of your current benefits before Dec. 31, 2009.
2. Everyone receiving unemployment benefits gets a $25 per week raise.
3. You don’t have to claim on your federal income taxes the first $2,400 you receive in unemployment compensation.
4. People who lost jobs after Sept. 1, 2008 can get COBRA from their previous employer without paying the full monthly premium. If you qualify, you only pay 35%, while the government pays 65% for nine months.

That last item about COBRA is huge, because paying for health insurance takes a huge bite out of any unemployed person’s budget. People who’ve been laid off recently should check into this!

In related news from AP, Nielsen Online is reporting today that job sites saw a 20% increase in January (49.5M vs. 41.5M in 2008) in terms of unique visitors. The top two sites were CareerBuilder and Yahoo! HotJobs.

What jobs will the stimulus plan create?

The newly enacted stimulus plan — formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — has been all the talk in the last week. But the sheer size of the effort ($787 billion) has made it a little overwhelming to figure out how exactly workers may benefit.

More than a week after the bill was signed, the actual employment benefits are still unclear, and probably will be for a while.

The Likely Winners

A new article on Yahoo! HotJobs, “6 Fields That Stand to Gain from the Stimulus Plan,” sheds some light on what we might be able to expect. Broadly speaking, these six fields will likely see job creation: construction, the “green” sector (devoted to reducing dependence on oil), medical information technology, education, energy and utilities, and the federal government.

To delve into further job-creation details, check out the report “Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” from the Council of Economic Advisers.

All this could mean good news for surveyors, construction workers and managers, medical transcriptionists, conservationists, electrical and mechanical engineers, accountants, civil drafters, and software developers, among others.

Better yet, some of the jobs listed above do not require college degrees; an associate degree or certification could be your ticket.

What Next?

If the news has you thinking about a possible career change, you’re not alone. Hunger for such a change usually rises during a recession. But do some homework and reflection first, as recommended in the article, “Will a Career Change Work for You?”

Ultimately the stimulus plan is a gamble, but many experts believe it’s the right one.  With the administration’s emphasis on transparency, I would love to see a “thermometer” tracking actual job creation from this plan. Maybe recovery.org — or a very clever blogger or media outlet — already has this in the works?

Hmm. I might have just given a good idea to producers of Anderson Cooper’s CNN show, since he likes to “keep ‘em honest.” Go for it!

Poll: Obama affect on employment hopes

Wow.

Q	Despite the continuing economic crisis, has President Obama’s arrival improved your employment outlook for 2009?
Yes	48%
No	52%
10042 Votes to date

Source: Yahoo! HotJobs site poll, 1/26/09

How much do plumbers make?

The man known as Joe the Plumber has made news recently after he asked Sen. Barack Obama about his possible tax policy if he becomes president.

In the coverage there was some confusion about how much someone like Joe the Plumber actually makes in a year. I’m certainly curious about it. Fortunately some writers at PayScale.com looked into it.

According to the article “‘Joe the Plumber’ and Middle-Class Paychecks,” plumbers in Ohio (where Joe lives) make an average salary of $47,500 per year. Top-earners in that category make $81K.

The article also discusses the nebulous problem of defining “middle class.” In some parts of the country you can make a six-figure salary and still consider yourself middle class, whereas others would call you rich.

But it does seem fair to say that people who make $250K or more per year are among the top earners in this country. And cutting their taxes is not on Obama’s agenda (nor should it be).

More job-interview lessons from the election

A new article draws some interesting lessons from this election for job-seekers who are preparing for interviews.

The do’s and don’ts are quite helpful, without a hint of partisanship. I’m most intrigued by one that recommends that you keep your answers to two minutes, following a similar rule from the debates. Of course, the candidates aren’t always good at keeping their responses to two minutes. But job-interviewees should.

Interviewers can only take in so much information at a time, and they’ll want you to get to the point quickly. I know I’ve had my eyes glaze over as an interviewer when the candidate just kept talking. Of course, the two-minute rule isn’t completely literal, but it’s a good guideline. If you practice some answers before your interview, you’ll be surprised how easily it is to fill that span of time.

For more on the election’s relevance for job seekers, see my post on “gotcha” interview questions and the article “What the Election Means for Your Career.”

Better boss: Barack Obama

Adecco USA released an interesting survey today about how people feel about their bosses. (National Boss Day is Oct. 16.)

The survey asked employed working adults which presidential candidate would make a better boss, and 54% of respondents gave the nod to Sen. Barack Obama. McCain got 46%.

People value a variety of different qualities in a boss, so it’s hard to pinpoint what drove the result. But if I had been asked the question, I would have also favored Obama. He conveys authority but also seems approachable, and he strikes me as a better communicator than McCain. Good communication skills, in my opinion, are one of the biggest hallmarks of a good boss.

But maybe we’ll see something different from them in the debate later this week.

Read more about the survey at Adecco USA.

‘Gotcha’ interview questions?

Many years ago, when I was being interviewed for an editorial job at PR Newswire, my future boss asked me about how I got my news. She was interested to know what newspapers and magazines I read, what TV shows I watched.

The question was an ice-breaker of sorts, but I realized later it’s a great question for a job interview. How and whether you “consume” news says a lot about you. I’ve used the question ever since as an interviewer.

But when vice presidential hopeful Gov. Sarah Palin was recently asked the same question by Katie Couric for CBS News, she couldn’t name specific newspapers or magazines. (Why not at LEAST plug the local Alaska paper?) A similar blunder occurred when Palin was asked to name another Supreme Court decision (besides Roe v. Wade) she disagreed with.

The McCain-Palin campaign is now bemoaning these instances as unfair journalism. Really?? Watch the clips (available at cbsnews.com). Couric was quite gentle in her delivery, and asking for specifics is an example of her doing her job.

And since Americans largely doesn’t know Gov. Palin, it’s not a stretch for us to view this interview (one of the few she has granted since being named to the Republican ticket) as a job interview. Being vice president is a job — a very important job. A softball question about newspapers and a more substantive question about Supreme Court decisions are items that the American public, as the “hiring manager” in this case, are entitled to know about as they evaluate this extremely important decision.

Suffice it to say that so far Palin has given good examples of what NOT to do in a job interview. I hope for her sake she does better in the debate.

On a related note, read “Job-Hunt Lessons from the Campaign Trail,” for more corollaries.

Study: Solar tax credits will create jobs

If McCain and Obama are serious about creating jobs, they should look at extending tax credits to solar power companies.

A new study released today by Navigant Consulting claims that 440,000 permanent jobs would be created in the solar energy sector if Congress extends the solar investment tax credit for eight years.

I haven’t heard any good arguments about why Congress should NOT extend the tax credit. The stimulus could kick-start the kind of energy innovation that will help our country and our climate.

You can find the full press release and full study at the Solar Energy Industries Association site.

Solar-sector jobs aren’t the only ones poised for growth. Read more about green-collar jobs that have potential for growth and stability.

Survey: U.S. workers are bitter!

I’m a little late with this survey from late May, but I couldn’t let it pass.

More than half of U.S. workers (74%) say the American Dream is unattainable, and nearly half (45%) are “bitter” about how the political system has “caused a deterioration of [their] economic circumstances,” according the survey.

That’s pretty bleak.  The survey was conducted last month by Zogby International for The Marlin Company.  (For the full release, click here.)  The survey defines the American Dream as “the opportunity to have a nice home, financial security for you and your family, and hope for the future.”

Obviously the survey results should get the attention of politicians, as nearly all workers are feeling pressure from the faltering economy.  But do politicians really hold ALL the power for most of us to achieve the American Dream?

I wonder if people are assuming lots about a “nice home” and “financial security.” Isn’t hard work also part of the American Dream?

David Brooks offered some provocative insights on our collective loss of financial inhibitions and lack of perspective in his NYT editorial the other day, “The Great Seduction.” I offer it as food for thought.

In addition, here are some good advice pieces on weathering economic uncertainty and ways to recession-proof your income.