ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > September
September 2006
Outlook on Jobs in 2030
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When we enter college, we tend to select the degree programs that are influencing us in the present vs. what will be hot 15 to 25 years from now. Retooling yourself after being laid off at 40 can be very painful and discouraging.
The number of U.S. students entering and graduating from medical and nursing schools is not enough to keep pace with the anticipated needs. Biomedicine, biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology will help us to live well into are 100’s, but there will be a need for medical practioners to manage medicine in the 21st century.
It is predicted that we will experience a shortage of geological, electrical and civil engineers in the U.S. Oil producing companies seeking geological and petroleum engineers may already be at that supply and demand point.
Technology that is impacting our lives is growing exponentially and there are not enough students seeking electrical and other related engineering degrees.
And of course, there will always be a need for teachers and educators. Educators are critically important, but unfortunately, these are not recognized as the highest paying positions.
Based on anticipated life expectancy, Americans will work up into their 70’s. If you are going to work that long, you may want to enter a field where the demand is high and the compensation will be rewarding. It is never too late to go back to school!
What do you think Atlanta’s job market will look like in 2030? Will there still be a shortage of nurses and will engineers still be in demand?
Benefits Hassles
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Believe me, I am grateful to have health insurance.
So this is not to complain, but is anyone else out there spending more time than ever untangling insurance claim problems?
Insurance companies increasingly seem to be questioning physician and hospital fees and when you think you are covered, but there is always some loophole that rejects your claim. Frustrating is too mild a word.
Benefits professionals tell me that you should go to your benefits administrator to help interpret benefits and navigate problems. But I know that at least one large employer in town, however, has eliminated this benefits role due to budget cuts.
Experts also advise educating yourself on company policies, etc. and knowing when you have to ask about pre-certification, etc.
In another words, being a good consumer is important. I get this but am concerned that unless there is a major overhaul of our health care system, our time spent on sorting out these hassles will only increase.
Do you get confused during open enrollment? Does your company have the adequate resources to help you understand your options or do you feel left out in the dark when it comes to choosing your benefits?
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Salary Negotiation: Get what you deserve!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While negotiation has become a common part of today’s business, most of us are uncomfortable negotiating our salaries. But today’s employer expects some type of negotiation, and we must be ready.
Avoid the question of salary, until you have an offer: On job applications under salary requirements, put “open,” “negotiable,” or “competitive.” If a salary requirement must be given, then give ranges (usually begin your range at 10% higher than your last salary and add $10K to get your range).
If asked directly how much you would like to make, try to avoid providing a number, but answer in vague terms: “What would a person with my background and qualifications typically earn in this position with your company?” Or: “I’d rather discuss salary when we are both confident that I am a good match for the position.”
Research your market value. Before you go into an interview, make sure you are armed with the most recent information on the salary ranges for the position that you want. Call directly into Human Resources and ask their salary ranges for the job you are seeking.
It is also helpful to compare specific salary ranges from job listings, see ajcjobs.com listings for example. Do not take an offer on the spot. How valuable and in demand will you seem if you accept an offer the moment it’s presented? Instead, either take home the written offer or take notes on the details of the offer. Tell the employer that you would like to go over everything very carefully, and set up a meeting for the next day.
Knowledge is Power. Examine the entire compensation package. Be sure to consider insurance, stock options, 401(k) plans, pension and profit sharing plans, salary progression, vacation days, paid holiday, and sick/personal days.
Make sure you know your worth so you can negotiate favorable terms when you accept you next position.
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Got an Elevator Speech ready?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the most fundamental ways to market yourself or your business is to develop a polished ‘elevator speech’ that tells the listener who you are, what you do, and why that should be relevant to them.
The terms elevator speech, elevator pitch, or 30 second commercial are derived from the concept of generating interest in what you do in the same amount of time it takes to travel a couple of floors on an elevator with someone who is in a position to help further your goal.
It is a technique often used by entrepreneurs who are seeking potential investors, salespeople who are prospecting for new clients and jobseekers who are marketing themselves to a potential employer.
If you are actively engaged in a job search, having an elevator speech is critical to your success. If someone asks you what kind of job you’re looking for, what are you going to say? Now, let’s suppose you’re lucky enough to get an interview. When the hiring manager says, “Tell me about yourself,” what will you say? A smart jobseeker will, of course, smile and deliver his or her elevator speech without hesitation.
People tend to fall into two camps: Those who have a professional, yet conversational elevator speech and those who ramble on and on, almost thinking out loud. I’m sure I don’t have to explain which one will make the better impression. You will find that, like a resume, an elevator speech will always be a work in progress that you will adapt to a given situation.
For example, at a career fair, a jobseeker might say: “Hi, I’m Mary Smith and I’m currently working in the financial industry for a small, local lender. After rising through the ranks at my current company, I’m looking to transition into a mid-level management role at a larger institution. Who would you recommend I contact that might be able to share some insight regarding these kinds of opportunities?”
However, in a networking environment, the jobseeker would first want to build rapport before launching into the “Who do you know…” question, so she would ask the listener “What is your role within your organization?”
The possibilities for wording an effective elevator speech are endless. Just be sure to include basic details such as: who, what, where, when, why and how.
Does anyone have any great examples of an elevator speech they’ve heard recently? This is a great chance to get feedback on your current elevator speech! Let’s hear them!
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I don’t care - Whatever it takes!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Make it happen!
This phrase can be very powerful and very dangerous. Managers and executives who bark out these words can be sending a mixed message to their subordinates.
“I don’t care” could be interpreted as “it is okay to do something unethical” and the translation of “what ever it takes” could be the okay for “integrity is not important”.
However, this is usually not the intent of the message being sent by the boss. Most workers want to do well, however, perceive pressure can distort critical thinking, which initiates poor choices in behavior.
Employees who choose to do unethical and illegal things to increase sales or improve profits in organizations eventually get caught.
Their intentions were to get the job done to satisfy the goals of the organization but their primary responsibility should be to do that in the most ethical way.
Managers are better off replacing the phrase mentioned above with, “I care about us getting results and I want us to do what ever it takes to achieve these results, as long as it is ethical and legal”.
Once integrity is lost, we have nothing.
Have you known of anyone who has lost their job because of they did something unethical or illegal?
Or where you asked to do the unthinkable? Where there any consequences for you or the company?
The Outsourcing Scramble
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was recently talking to my son’s good friend from high school days.
Seems he’s been working for a big company for several years and not unexpectedly, they have decided to outsource his job out of the country.
The part that was unexpected was that they planned for him to travel to the other country prior to leaving his job to train the “new” replacement workers. The trip was portrayed as a travel opportunity.
First of all, the fact that the job is being outsourced to another country is irritating, unconscionable and makes me want to never buy anything made by this company ever again.
But come on now, really, should we as Americans ask a fellow countryman to train his replacements? Is this a new level of corporate depravity?
Unfortunately, I don’t think this phenomenon is that unusual. I guess it just supports what I have seen happening as my kids entered the work-force in high school.
It’s my observation that there’s this whole generation out there who have been abused as teens by fast-food and supermarket employers who see them as disposable units. These young people are disposed of easily and don’t require benefits.
One mistake or call-in and you’re out, there are dozens waiting to replace you. While in college, they were abused by the food-service industry as waiters (oh excuse me, servers) and bar tenders or numerous other employers. Now that they’ve graduated from college (or maybe not) their jobs are being outsourced to other shores never to return.
Maybe this sounds too negative but there is a limit to the number of self-employed jobs out there.
I feel pretty hopeless about the future of the outsourcing phenomenon but if we can’t do anything tangible about it, can we at least make some jokes about it?
What’s your best or most unbelievable outsourcing story - but be careful, don’t identify yourself or the offending company - your job may be next!
Put $5 on UGA…legal?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Worlds Series, the NASCAR Nextel Chase and the weekly football pools that will be administered in work locations throughout the U.S. over the next few weeks, may be illegal.
It is human nature to be competitive. To help us satisfy this human desire, many of us compete through our favorite sports teams.
Office pools are fun, build camaraderie, are relatively inexpensive and provide an opportunity to pick up extra cash, if you are lucky.
According to a survey’s completed by the Society for Human Resource Management in 1999 and 2002, office betting does take place in many work locations, with the employer’s knowledge.
So, what are the chances of employees in your work location getting busted? As long as the betting stakes remain low, the risk is low.
The FBI tends to focus on higher profile crimes, however, if the winnings move into the thousands, it does spark their interest and they will come-a-calling.
Do you partake in these activities? Does your company have a policy against office pools?
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Cover letters: I’d like to introduce myself
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We all know resumes are an important part of landing your next job, but what about the often forgotten cover letter?
A cover letter is a very important part of grabbing the reader’s attention and holding on to that attention with your resume.
A cover letter is your chance to come across to the hiring managers with amazing intellect and gain enough interest so they go to your resume and give it their full attention.
Here are some tips that will certainly get the reader’s attention with the cover letter so that your resume will be noticed:
NEVER: To Whom It May Concern
Get a name. If you just send it addressed, “To Whom It May Concern”, chances are nobody is very concerned. Not you - for not taking the time to get the name of the person this resume should be in front of, or the hiring manager - why do they want to hire someone so uncommitted? Call around, go online, call and extract this information from the secretary - do something to get a name and spell it correctly. This does a couple of things. It demonstrates your willingness to go the extra mile to the hiring manager and it gives you a name to follow up with (as your cover letter will state).
Short and Simple
A cover letter should be less than one page - always. Stick to the facts. As you start your cover letter, think of the hiring company’s perspective. What differentiates you? Keep this in mind as you begin writing your cover letter. Now begin to introduce yourself. If you got the name by referral, say it: Bob Jones suggested I contact you in regards to the XYZ positions available with Coca-Cola, and I am submitting my resume for your review. If you got a recommendation from a club or organization with which you are affiliated, mention that. It immediately differentiates you from the 100s of other letters right away. Always try to find that edge.
Close it with follow-up
After you have shown the hiring company the perfect candidate for their position through the body of your cover letter, you must keep the momentum and close strong. It is not uncommon to mention you will follow up on a specific day. Close with a take-action plan. When are you calling them? How will you be in touch, e-mail or phone? Phoning is usually best. Then be sure you call them on the day you specify. That is the last chance you have to demonstrate your togetherness. Follow up with a call and get into that interview. That is where you’ll be sure to further display your ability to be an asset to their company.
So put your best foot forward. Now that you have an idea of how to get started on that cover letter, pull up your old drafts, evaluate and tweak, taking the aforementioned into account, and impress your next employer. First impressions really are important, so be sure your cover letter is unforgettable for the right reasons.
Sexual orientation matters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I often hear, “we all get along fine,” and “not that there’s anything wrong with that.” I also hear derogatory remarks about gays and lesbians at work. But how does sexual orientation affect equity and equal access, equal employee rights and opportunity in the workplace?
On Friday afternoon or Monday morning, some of the discussion on the job is about what you’re planning or what you did for the weekend. The complete question but usually not stated as such is, “what are you going to do or what did you do … with your spouse (or person of the opposite gender)?’
That question, and others like it, can put pressure on a person that is gay. Not considering that the person you’re talking to may be gay is making the assumption, even though unintentional, that he or she is straight. Being straight often carries the privilege of not having to even think about the sexual orientation of the person with whom one is talking or the impact of such a question.
When we walk into someone’s cube or office, we can often see pictures of the person’s spouse, family or special friend … of the opposite gender. For a gay person, it is the exception to display pictures of his/her partner. The gay person often carries the pressure and stress of keeping her/his personal life out of the workplace. Such stress can lead to lost productivity and issues of job longevity and retention.
When a company culture isn’t welcoming of gays, even though unintentional, gays often don’t attend company activities. Often when this happens, gay people are seen as not being interested or caring about their coworkers and company. Most often such a conclusion couldn’t be further from the truth.
In certain states such as Massachusetts, single GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) individuals and same-sex couples are permitted to adopt. Also, Massachusetts permits a person to adopt his or her same-sex partner’s adopted child. Florida prohibits single GLBT people and same-sex couples from adopting. Also, in Florida, a person probably cannot petition to adopt his or her same-sex partner’s adopted child. Given these current laws, if one person of a same-sex couple living in Massachusetts that has an adopted child were to get a job opportunity/promotion to Florida, the adoption might not be recognized legally. The couple would have a very big decision to make; one which a straight married couple would not ever have to consider. The company wanting to hire or transfer the person who is gay might lose out on an excellent employee. The rights that gay people have or don’t have varies from state to state: Laws in Your State and Your Community.
Other useful links for reference are Human Rights Campaign & Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
In many Fortune 500 companies, leadership encourages groups of like gender, sexual orientation and race, for example, to form employee groups called Affinity Groups. In addition to groups for men, women, GLBT, Hispanic, Asian, African American, and Disabled employees, there are also groups for white women and white men. The purpose of the Affinity Groups includes addressing workplace issues of theses groups. The purpose also includes developing marketplace strategies to increase market share and profitability in these segments.
So what matters and why does it matter in the case of the GLBT employees? In the U. S., 51% of the Fortune 500 companies offer Domestic Partner (DP) Benefits. In Georgia, 50% of the Fortune 500 companies offer DP Benefits. To those companies, it matter a great deal, i.e. promotion and retention of good employees.
Gay and straight, what are your feelings about this subject? What goes on in your company regarding the interaction between gay and straight employees?
Has your sexual orientation been a roadblock between you and that rewarding promotion? Has sexual orientation ever impacted your relationships with coworkers?
Ford to cut 10,000 more jobs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yet again, Ford is slashing over 10,000 salaried jobs, shutting down two more plants and offering buyouts to all of its 75,000 American hourly workers in order to cut financial corners and reshape the company.
The cuts are due to consumers shifting to smaller, more fuel efficient cars over trucks and sports utility vehices.
The nation’s second largest automaker’s latest cuts bring the total number of plant closures to 16. Click here to read more.
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What’s in a name?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sure at one point or another in our lives, we’ve wondered what our lives would have been like if we had a different name.
Would a Gertrudina have led the same life as a Tiffani?
Take the classic example of Screech and Zach of Saved By the Bell. Our society believes that identity is shaped by the things around us and rightfully so. It’s difficult to dismiss names or titles as null when we become personally affected by society’s perception of us.
In the corporate world, names and labels mean something. CEO, VP, CFO… Ph.D., M.D., M.B.A., server, exotic dancer, public facilities sanitizer—they all portray a certain identity to whomever might be looking at your business card or resume.
So, why don’t you do something about it? Many people may not realize the weight of a name or job title, or if they do, they don’t know what can be done about it. Just as there are courts to legally change your name from “Fluffy” to “Elizabeth,” there may be a way out of “Clerk II” into a title like “Assistant Manager.”
Job title negotiation is something that everyone should be aware since they can play such a significant role in how you are perceived by recruiters or potential new employers.
What many candidates may not realize is that a job title is read and then quickly used to group an individual into a corporate identity.
In this way, having the right job title becomes vital to not only who you are, but who you might become. By setting yourself in the right direction, you’ll end up much happier in the long run. Why live with restrictions on your future when you don’t have to?
While larger and more structured firms may be a bit more difficult to negotiate with, job titles are usually surprisingly flexible and figuring out the right one should become as standard as salary negotiation.
Always think proactively and stay one step ahead of the game. Know what you want to be called and ask for it.
By shaping your own future and determining who you want to become, you won’t have to be stuck living like “Dexter” for the rest of your life!
Will women ever catch up?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest census figures on male and female earnings just came out. The news is not encouraging although some might argue otherwise.
Men had inflation adjusted median earnings of $41,400 last year. Women earned a median salary of $31,900. Apparently this earnings gap has not changed much over the last few years.
The wage gap has been shrinking, albeit slowly, over time. In the last 16 years the female to male earnings ratio has increased from 60% to 77%.
Why is this? Men and women started at lower salaries years ago and therefore have been playing catch up ever since.
Another key explanation revolves around the differences between men and women. Most women don’t ask for more money. I have seen this in my consulting practice for years.
Before they take a job, women often don’t see negotiating salary as an option they have. Since it is always harder to bump up a salary once they are hired, getting increases becomes a real challenge.
Is it that we have been conditioned to play nice and not push too hard for fear being seen as too pushy? Or is it a lack of confidence?
And what about men? In general, men see asking for more money as something they deserve. They negotiate, go for it (and often they get it!) That makes it all the more easy for the men who have follow in their path, etc., etc.
Also, though very difficult to prove, there is still subtle bias going on. I have heard male managers wonder why they should offer a woman more money if “she is just going to leave the workforce to attend to her family”.
While they don’t typically verbalize this, it seems to be a notion still flying around. Organizations need to take a lead in promoting salary equity as well.
When will we ever get to the point where this difference is not an issue? Will we still be singing the same tune at the next census? To this blogger, the song is getting old.
Have you been affected by this issue? Why is this gap still there? Any ideas for individuals and/or companies on making this a non-issue?
Overwhelmed by email?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although an increasing number of people in today’s workforce don’t remember it, there once was a day without email.
Business was conducted via telephone, in person and through written correspondence. While I think that we are frequently wise to embrace the wisdom of the past, I’m certainly not here to disparage the value of electronic mail as a business tool.
I would be among the first to extol the virtues of technology. The advent of email, IM, and wireless communication has made an immeasurable impact on businesses of all kinds. But it has put an increased demand on users to respond promptly to keep pace with the speed of business today.
Let us all validate the suffering of those of you with business email accounts, who (if you’re actually doing your job) are not sitting in front of a computer all day.
Salespeople, physicians, and educators are great examples. Yet, the email blizzard that awaits these hardworking individuals at the end of each day can be overwhelming.
Even people who are in front of their email most of the day, and who make an effort to keep up with email, can quickly be thrown into a backlog situation by a day or two of meetings or (heaven forbid) a vacation day.
So, rather than recognizing that not everyone has easy access to email and cut these folks some slack, what do we do?
We become indignant and say things like, “I sent Mary an email three days ago and she still hasn’t returned it!” Or “John is just terrible about returning email!”
Ironically, the counterpoint is just as true. When someone responds to an email right away, we immediately think to ourselves. “Wow, that Steve must not have anything better to do. He responded to my email before knew what hit me. Does he just sit around on email all day?”
It’s likely that we’re all guilty in our own ways. Unfortunately, our outgoing emails are not as important to the recipient as they are to us.
Rather, our attitude is, to paraphrase the adage: “Lack of planning in your work day, does not constitute an emergency in mine.” Now, if you’ll pardon me, I have a million emails to return.
Take this job and shove it!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Come on…we have all wanted to say that to a boss, at least once. Hopefully, it was just a low moment in your life and you didn’t.
If you are going to work 30 to 40 plus years of your life, you should do the things you are going to enjoy.
We often don’t know what that is, until we start performing that type of work.
Famous author Brad Sugars stated that while attending high school and college, he worked at over twenty places so that he would learn what he did not want to do in life.
Every work experience is a great experience, even the ones we dislike and should be treated as a great opportunity to learn.
Once you have learned all that you need to learn, and something tells you that it is time to move on, develop a strategic plan to get you to your next career opportunity.
Do not burn any bridges. You may need to rely on your previous employer for a reference, plus you never know who they may know.
The grass is always greener…
Before jumping ship, make sure the next opportunity is going to enhance your life, not be a step backwards.
Finally, employers would rather higher someone who has a job they are doing well and would like to grow vs. someone who is unemployed.
Have you ever just quit and walked out of the building? Ever reach your breaking point? At what moment, did you realize that you no longer cared about that job?
I’m Indispensable?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you ever reached the point in a job or a career that you feel indispensable to your company or coworkers?
You know, you gather around the coffee pot or over drinks with a friendly colleague and talk about how important your job is, what a good job you’re doing and then smile together conspiratorially when you think of the chaos you would cause if you suddenly left!
No one could possibly replace you because of the heights you have reached in skill, insider knowledge, business contacts or personal style.
When you reach that point, you may not realize it but you are probably standing on a peak in your career with nowhere to go but down.
At the very least, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Why would I say that? I’d say it because more than likely it’s true.
While dining with several friends the other night, the topic turned to the workplace as it often will. One topic we agreed upon is that not one of us was indispensable in our jobs.
We laughed about the times we thought we were, only to be reminded otherwise by an unexpected layoff, a corporate buyout, the ultimate reorganization scheme or when the smart young thing with a degree from a prestigious university came on the scene (often as our boss).
Try taking a prolonged leave, you’ll see the fallacy of indispensability and the corporate adaptation process in action.
A poem entitled There is No Indispensable Man by Saxon N. White Kessinger written in 1959 says it all.
My wife recently received this poem in her email as one of those annoying, bulk mailings for all contacts from a friend with too little to do.
I had to laugh when I read the simple analogy of a bucket of water as your workplace and your professional efforts as a hand disturbing the water momentarily.
When the hand is withdrawn, no hole remains and the water resumes its previously tranquil state. How true, in today’s workplace.
Have you ever noticed when someone leaves, retires or even passes on how quickly the corporate organism recovers?
Folks, I don’t mean to bring you down but another old saying summarizes it, “Cemeteries are full of people who couldn’t be replaced”.
Lest I leave you totally deflated, when you’re reminded of the transient nature of professional importance, don’t forget the opportunities you have at home to make a lasting impact with your family, friends, kids you teach or lives you touch as a volunteer.
There’s where you’re really indispensable.
Insider’s Guide to Resume Trickery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
George O’Leary (football coach) and Mark Brown (FEMA director during Hurricane Katrina) walk into an interview - what do they have in common?
Inaccuracies on their resumes. They may not have been caught right away, but you do not want this to be you.
It will destroy all hopes of your new career. You’ve worked too hard to let a seemingly little white lie turn into a sea of lies. Here is an insiders guide to the most common trickery on a resume:
Dates - People say they still work for companies they got fired from or they change months to make dates work out. The thought is “How will they find out if the company closed my branch?”
Creating a consulting job to cover gaps in employment - People create a fake company (only in the resume) for whom they were consulting. People think, “What is the difference? I know how to do all this stuff.”
Education - People put completed degrees they didn’t finish, add fake extended degrees or add a college when they did not attend college at all. People think that since they’ve had enough experience in the work place or were only 3 credits short, they’ve earned the right to list this education.
Job Title - People put down their bosses title because they were “Acting VP” most of the time anyway and they did everything the boss did regularly. Why can’t they get credit?
Compensation - People lie about their compensation. A person thinks, “I deserve more anyway and the industry pays more than what I made, why can’t I make more?”
Reason for leaving - In this time of layoffs and restructuring people feel they can lie about why they left. People feel like they can say there was a layoff at the company and they were phased out.
How can you look good and only give exactly what you’ve accomplished throughout your career? You think of the things you were responsible for that made a difference.
Make your resume honest and talk about accomplishments of which you are most proud. This does two things: 1)Your resume will sound good if you are mentioning your accomplishments throughout your career 2)Your interview will go great because of your energy.
It is understandable to see another friend’s resume and feel you have to embellish to make yours sound that good, but you do not. If you really think about it, you probably implemented something that saved the company money or made the company more profitable.
Think about it, write it down - match dollars or numbers to these accomplishments and you have a good start to completing your resume.
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