Images in this blog from: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I think of getting gas for my car or truck and drive around and for the past 2 days have seen the prices go on the rise, again, I cannot help but think to myself the words WTF! I am sure I am not the only one to think the same. These are some harsh economic times for a lot of people and I am NO EXPERT on gas but come on! Because of one fire or some incident , does that make it right to automatically raise the price of gas?? The cost should stay the same until the next shipment of gas purchased by the gas station is delivered, not a second after an incident. When a cow dies, does the price of milk soar that same instant? Hmmm, maybe better off not asking that one. Don’t want give anyone any ideas.

I do believe we import a lot of our oil. Why? Not sure. Not sure if it’s more of a political thing. Can we just not drill our own off shore? I mean, no matter how you look at it and what anyone can do, we are all going to get screwed with prices sky rocketing. I remember about a year ago or so one of my uncles, who is business savvy, turns to me and says do you know that by next summer gas will hit $5 a gallon? I looked at him and just said yeah, ok, sounds about right, jokingly, but it did make me think. Well, he was not off by much! Who knew?? We have already toppled the $4 mark and then some not too long ago. Recently, it seemed that gas prices were slowly going down a couple of cents here and there and I’m sure we all thought there would be some relief and hopefully the gas prices would keep dropping.

Well guess again people. Now, because of a recent incident I am not familiar with and I have no idea what impact that would have on gas, the price jumped up a few cents already. Am I missing something here? Am I the only one questioning what is going on with gas? Is anyone really monitoring this industry to put some type of control in place or are we being crooked while losing more of our hard earned money? Seriously! I have been unemployed for 2 years and was just offered a position and accepted the offer. Only thing now is, I have to pay a toll both ways for a bridge, pay for gas and pay for a big chunk of my family medical plan. It’s not like the job is paying even close to what I was really making, but it’s a job with potential and I really needed to also get out of the house! My out of pocket expense will only go up now and will take money out of my family as well. I cannot have my wife stay home full time with the kids because we need noth incomes. Something I’m sure alot out there can relate to. Am I the only person that is stressed out about the gas gorging? Can anyone stand up for the average Joe and say “Hey, enough is enough” and put something in place to control the cost of gas?

I would not hold my breath. The Gas companies would be the only ones benefiting, someone say corporate greed? We do not benefit anything, not you, me or even the Gas Station. They charge more because they are being charged more and they make almost nothing from what I hear off of has and we the consumer, have to bite our lips every time we fill up our gas tanks and watch that cost dial roll up, up and up! What else is there to do? Maybe take a bus or train to work? Get a Motorcycle or Vespa? Walk? Some of us really do not have a choice but to drive to work. I’m sure a lot of people have not traveled or driven far for vacation due to the cost of gas. I’m sure a lot of us either went to close locations to stay, just going to your local beach or maybe did what I did; get an above ground pool to keep the kids occupied during the summer while I spent time job searching. Whatever the case, all those vacation spots I’m sure are hurting in today’s economy. I’m sure people who were able to travel did a lot of window shopping at gift stores instead of the usual let me buy this and that.

Anyways, not to fall off track here, I have been feeling pretty nauseous and irritated whenever I see my Gas low light turn on or level hitting bottom and know it’s time to refill. It does not pay to drive around looking for cheap gas. Why? Because you’re wasting gas and $$$ doing so! Hopefully things will settle down and the prices start to drop again instead of it rising. Who Knows?

Well, just heard on the news today about the Midwest not getting enough water and causing drought that is effecting the growth of corn. Who knew that corn was that important economically? This is also playing a factor now with Gas prices as well as the produce we buy at the supermarkets. CNN reports a possible 6% increase on produce. This increase would be due to the Mississippi River being the lowest in water level ever! Cargo barges carrying a lot of items cannot carry as much anymore due to the weight and already the bottom of these barges are lightly touching the floor of the river. It was even considered that they may close the river to barges all together! This will in the end make getting goods to us harder and being delivered by land which costs a lot more money.  

So, I guess we all will see worse in our current economic crises before even thinking that things will eventually be turning around for the better and until then, we must try and get by.

All images in this blog are from:  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

That is today’s question. Some may ask what do you mean? There are plenty of jobs out there. Well, Yes and NO. Let’s first discuss the 3 main methods of job hunting. First one is looking and searching on the Internet, second is using Recruiters and third is Networking.

First the Internet.  There seems to be a lot of open jobs on sites like Careerbuilder, Dice, Monster, Simplyhired, Indeed, LinkedIn and so on but when you’re searching on the web and apply to multiple jobs, realistically, and this question are for those currently unemployed looking for a Corporate job or really, just any job. The question is what percentage of positions you applied for on the internet did you actually have gotten a reply or even interests from either a recruiter or a hiring company? How many times have you seen the same position day after day relisted? Sometimes those positions make you wonder if it is really an opening. Who knows? I also question some of the Job Description’s to the position. Sometimes it seems to be a lot more then what the position or title may make you think. This either tells me that the poster either does not understand what they are looking for or trying to find that one person to do the job of 5 people which seems to be the norm today. Maybe that is why a lot of those positions are relisted on a daily basis with no closure.

To me, I feel and it does seem that most of my applications end up in a black hole. By that being said and from what I also understand is that certain sites you apply for a position also having what I think is a “Weeding Out Process”. This means  that the system you applied on can either look for choice words relating to the position or just simply put you in a trash folder or similar so your application may never have been seen by the actual recruiter or hiring manager. I think that this process is unfair but it is what it is. How can a company or recruiter simply push your application to the side without actually taking a peek, seeing your qualifications and even possibly meeting you face to face, or at least a phone interview to see what you are about? But I guess they must have some sort of good reason. I am sure they are bombarded with resumes for all sorts of position in today’s high unemployment climate. But will say this is pretty frustrating to the average job seeker such as myself.

So, that is my take on Internet Job Searching.  I’m sure you all have your own opinions.

Second, Recruiters. I personally must have about 30+ recruiters I currently use. Some are those who I dealt with during my years as a hiring manager while others are new contacts that either found my resume on the web or have actually contacted me via applying for a position. Recruiters are probably one of the best means to finding and landing a job. They usually have a lot of Human Resource connections in companies and may even deal with hiring managers directly. They would usually call you to find out about your background, what have you been doing and what you’re looking for. Then they see if they have any current openings available to consider you for. So you know a phone interview or face to face with a recruiter could be just as important as an actual interview with a company.

But also be aware, Recruiters do work on commission so if they do not currently have something open for you now, they could easily brush you to the side to find the right candidate for their current openings. That is how they get paid, commissions. You cannot blame them really; they also must make an income. For the Recruiters you do have a good relationship with, they have you on there “Radar” and will reach out to you if they see something that would fit your background. If you’re fortunate enough to get a Job Interview scheduled, then you’re on your way hoping to land the position. Only thing you would need to slightly worry about are the other candidates applying for the same position and hoping you are the best candidate that stands out of the crowd.

The biggest worry, which I can personally say has happened on more than one occasion is losing out on an offer because the other candidate was referred to by an internal employee. That would be part of the next method I will touch base on below. Overall, Recruiters to me are a valuable resource.

Word of advice. Try and apply for positions of equal or better levels. Reason I say this is because personally I have applied to many positions, even on the lower end but in most cases, I have been deemed “Over Qualified”.  For some other positions I have interviewed for, I got the sense when asked what I did and I could see it in the hiring managers eyes, I maybe bringing too much in and in turn, job security clicks in for them. Not saying that this happens a lot, but does happen. Some of us have done the job of a few people so bringing too much to the table may actually hurt your chances of being considered. Who knew that being “Over Qualified” would be a bad thing?

Third, Networking. One site which is great for Professional Networking is LinkedIn. I have heard both pros and cons to LinkedIn but to me it’s a great site to setup a profile and explain who you are, where you work, provide information and some details of your professional background and skills. There is also a Job Search section which can be useful and you can apply directly to those positions using your LinkedIn profile and can create or join a group as well as follow companies. You can connect to former and current colleagues, family, friends and other professional business contacts. You can also have Recommendations posted that would give an insight of the type of worker you are to anyone who would be interested in you. Unlike Facebook which is more for posting pics, videos and for other more personal use, LinkedIn is the Professional Business Site for Networking. 

Another Networking method is your current contacts. Possibly managers you worked for in the past or co-workers that maybe in other companies, friends and family. In today’s world of hiring, it’s pretty much of whom you know and you could possibly get a referral that will give you an edge against other candidates. This does not mean that their company would have any current positions available for you but it’s nice to have these connections in case anything should arise and have a slight edge. Networking can be means of meeting with recruiters, business associates or anyone else. Maybe going to an after work social Network gathering of business people near your location to try and network with people and present yourself to possible clients or company representatives. Hey, you never know.

To end this blog “Where Are All The Jobs”, I’m using this as a figure of speech to those saying you can find anything, anytime, anywhere? Really? Unless you’re not currently unemployed, sorry to say that, you truly do not understand today’s harsh ongoing job search for millions out there so this is why I wanted to post this to hopefully try and explain it a little better. Day after day I hear more and more negative possible job losses, corporations still looking to trim or outsource employees or that employee’s are not truly happy working at their current jobs because of being overworked and not appreciated but they have no choice but to stick it out and hope for the best. Trust me, I have hear this from various people in various business fields so there has to be some truth to this.

So before anyone says or thinks you can snap your finger and get a job, ask any unemployed person how easy it really is today to find one. It’s not a question of laziness, or going back to school to get that degree or online certificate and definitely not because a person does not care to bother to get a job. Even with utilizing the above methods looking for a job, it just seems to be a losing battle.

Let’s be real here. Really, think about it. Anyone who had a job of course wants to work and bring in some kind of income, pay those bills and provide for their family. It’s not just that simple anymore. Things have drastically changed, for the worse and it will be a long time before it turns around and get any better. It is a new corporate world out there now. Is it only going to get worse? Answer is who knows where this is going and will there eventually be enough jobs out there to trim that Unemployment Rate down!!!

Well, I thought I was done with this blog until I noticed this article posted this morning that the title caught my eye from CNBC, written by Jeff Cox: “Economy Creates 163,000 New Jobs but Rate Rises to 8.3%”. It sounded like there were alot of jobs out there being created but then why was the unemployment rate rising also? That only means that 163,000 people that may have just lost their jobs or a combination with already unemployed people may have gotten a job but there are still plenty of people out there still unemployed and it’s growing. Supply does not meet the demand. You can create a million jobs but if the Unemployment Rate stays the same or increases, does it really make a difference? Slightly, just less people in the unemployment line. Are these jobs actually held by US Citizen’s or are they being outsorced overseas? Who knows? Would like to find an actual Statistic breakdown on that online. So to finally end this blog, again I state, WHERE ARE ALL THE JOBS??

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Who knew that we are where we are in today’s economic catastrophe.

Let’s begin with the Corporate Financial firms making millions & billions while also getting “stimulus packages” to help those corporations from avoiding filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Where did all the stimulus money go? Executive corruption? Trading fraud? Huge excessive executive bonuses and payouts? Money laundering? Who knows where all the money went and if it will ever be paid back?? Did the President not state prior to giving out the stimulus packages that every penny would be accounted for?  There is a site kind of stating where the money went at http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/default.aspx but No Break Down do I see which business companies got how much and how it was used. Should I really be surprised? Nope. Who suffers the most? Tax Payers.

Then we have the housing collapse. Value of homes that were overvalued. Mortgages given to those spending well beyond their income and not insuring that the loans would be paid back? So in turn, homes for sale or being foreclosed are at an alarming rate. Home building put on hold and even stopped due to lack of home buyers.Who knew how much of a negative impact would be put on the housing situation due to the negative economic fallout.

Mom and Pop shops, as we know them, and other small businesses in serious trouble. With the economy spending less and watching every penny, these shops as well as others are closing like there is no tomorrow. Every one of us has seen or knows someone who had a business who had to close their doors due to the economy and people just not spending. It is a sad thing to witness driving around and seeing For Sale, Rent or Lease signs on store fronts. Even seeing “Going Out Of Business, Everything Must Go”. Who knows if and when these stores will ever re-open?  I’m wondering how the owners of such stores and buildings can survive without having income come in to pay for the real estate taxes and other bills.

The economy today leaves most of us today in awe, job insecurity and wondering if and when things will change for the better. At this point, I don’t think it would matter who will be President as these issue’s will do not have an easy fix. It will take years or maybe even decades to try and get back to some type of normalcy. This is not just for a state or our country alone. This is affecting the Whole World! Some worse of then others. Who knows how things will pane out over the next year or decade or ever!

But we all hope for the best for our retirement, children and our future! May God Help Us All.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

WHOKNEW? Why me? Why you? Why any decent working professional. Well, I think the title of this article says it all. Unemployment, what a very, very harsh and scary word. But yet living up to its name through these trying times we face.

I’m sure we all know of at least one person who is currently unemployed. We all know of at least one person who has been out of work for at least 6 months, a year or longer. Who knew that it would get so bad? Losing your work for whatever reason; position eliminated, lack of work, downsizing or just plain fired.

Some of us, including myself being unemployed going on 2 years were at least fortunate enough to get a little severance package from work during our departure. Most of us probably just got a “Can you come into my office please” and being told of cutbacks and layoffs and leaving empty handed. Either way, there is never a good way to leave a job, but is much worse leaving empty handed. You have a mortgage or paying rent, you have to provide for your family or self, you have bills and other possible unforeseen expenses; you have to worry about Medical Insurance. Who knew how much of a negative impact, burden and stress losing a job could have on a person and family? If you are fortunate not to know, just ask the person you know unemployed.

On top of this, there are not many jobs out there aside of working maybe at a pizzeria, fast food restaurant, or some other odd job you normally would not do. By this, I do not mean that these jobs are worthless, not at all. But to those coming from the corporate world with specializations and a skill set for other types of work, this is not the answer for most. For the short term to bring some kind of income in, it will have to do. But for the long run, you most likely want to get something you have been learning and doing most of your career. Yes, some may change their career due to the current economic and unemployment situation, but most may not want to start a new career, especially when they have been doing the same type of work for over 20 or 30 years. Who knows.

Some major problems to unemployment is Job Security, Outsourcing and Off Shoring jobs. To me, job security means there is no turn around in the work force. Turn around is when people usually will leave their current jobs to go work for another company for either a better position, salary or challenge. In today’s world, people are struggling just to keep their current job, no matter how much they may hate their existing job. Outsourcing or Off Shoring is a way for a company to think they will save money and thinking that they will get back more, financially. With this being said, I’m sure you have noticed when you call a support or help line number, you get someone halfway around the world? Not understanding what they may say or having to repeat yourself numerous times? Who knew this would happen? Well, you can thank those company executives who think they were doing us all a favor. I only wished those Executives would call them on a daily basis to see how ridiculous this makes their company look.

 I remember a few years back recruiters used to knock at my door; I could walk out of my office, go the next floor or building and get a job with almost no problem. Today? Well, it’s unfortunately a new world out there and I really mean a new World out there. This is not just affecting us here in the US, but all across the world, impact is being felt both economically and unemployment wise. Who knew that we would have been in this situation just a few years back?

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To have a successful technology customer service group providing superior quality of service to their customers and users, there has to be a mutual joint respectfulness between Management and there sub ordinates.  Really, who knew? IT does give you an idea of what to think about at your work place and see if the Corporate Culture is true to their employees.

In this day and age, in some cases, this may be somewhat scarce as it seems that all anyone does is what is best for themselves, not the group or company. Unfortunately, this in turn would provide average to below average service, no respect amongst colleagues and would really damper the culture and atmosphere of any work place.  Workers will complain more, management and upper management in most cases are never satisfied and in turn, everyone is out against everyone and who knows what outcome may lie ahead?

What is even worse? Company mergers. It’s like a Star Wars movie when everything turns to the Dark Side. When new Management (Darth Vader) comes in from the company that was acquired and in turn, do whatever they want, right or wrong, just to show they have control. No matter how long the original employee(s) has been there, years of sweat, burning the midnight oil, caring for the company, staff and work, building a solid reputation, it all goes out the window in a blink of an eye. When new management feels threaten of these types of employees, they try to get rid of them, without question even from Human Resource and bring in their own people, without regard.

Who knew on how savage the Corporate environment could be. What does this say about management-employee relation? I bring this up because it is related to Management relations that for me turned out to be the worst case scenario. With the new management in place, when you have meetings to discuss major projects and they decide to take the wrong path to accomplish them successfully and you give your opinion to do the right thing; you get “Why are you always fighting us?” Excuse me? Is this not a meeting of open discussion to express our views? Fine, let’s do it wrong so you can learn a lesson. Then, before you know it, at the end, their wrong decision making is pinned on you, the scapegoat and only then do you realize what they really wanted to accomplish. 

But I will say this. When at the end after you are let go and then find out sometime after that the company realized what type of person, or in this case, looser(s) they brought in, not doing their job(s) and even doing something that would get them fired at the end, does bring a little satisfaction. Who knew this would happen? I knew by their work ethic. This also confirms a saying I pretty much live by: “What goes around, comes around”. Another good saying is if you “talk the talk, walk the walk”. I am one that has always done this. I Lead by Example.

It is really a shame with today’s economic issues, unemployment rising with no end in sight; lose of security in the job market and no turn over making getting another job more difficult. Who knew that we would get to this point today, not just in the U.S., but all over the world? But, I still value good relations & Networking. We are all part of a Team! One fails, we all fail. Management has to look beyond themselves and need to realize what is best not just for themselves, but for their employees and the company by taking on the Ownership and Responsibility!