When you’re applying for a job, you can make the hiring manager’s job easier by making a mistake that immediately eliminates you from contention. Oblivious, lazy behaviors can knock you out before you even get into the ring. [More]
unemployment
Fewer People Filing For Unemployment
By 10.21.11
The Labor Department provided a sign that the job market may be creeping out of its dreadful depths. For the fourth consecutive week, the rolling four-week average of people applying for unemployment benefits declined. The 403,000 applicants in the span ending last week were down from 409,250 in the frame ending the week before. [More]
"Guess The Next Cashier To Be Fired!" Contest Not Good Morale Booster For Cashiers
By 10.3.11
A judge has ruled that the “guess the next cashier who will be fired” “contest” concocted by a convenience store manager created a hostile work environment. Several of the employees left after it and the judge ruled that their unemployment claims could not be dismissed on the basis of the workers leaving voluntarily. Here is the text of the kooky contest memo: [More]
680 lb Man Fired For Being Obese
By 9.29.11
Ronald at one point weighed 680 lbs, a fact that never interfered with his ability to do his job. He received high marks in his performance reviews. Despite this, he was fired for his weight. [More]
Senators Blumenthal And Franken Ask Social Intelligence Corp About Using Your Facebook Photos In Employer Background Checks
By 9.26.11
Senators Blumenthal and Franken have figuratively posted on Social Intelligence Corp’s Facebook wall a poll asking the company to answer several questions about its background check business. What makes this company’s service unique is that it scours the internet profiles of prospective employees and flags them for things like holding drinks or holding guns. [More]
Fed Expected To Launch Next Monetary Easing, "Operation Twist"
By 9.20.11
The Fed is widely expected to tomorrow announce the latest round of monetary policy tweaking designed to loosen up markets. It has the cute name of “Operation Twist.” Here’s how it works. [More]
US Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rose To 414,000
By 9.8.11
Claims for unemployment benefits rose by a surprise 2,000 to 414,000 last week, sending stocks downward. Economists had predicted a drop in claims to 405,000. [More]
How To Get By When You Run Out Of Funds
By 9.2.11
Thanks to the volatile job market, many people are only a missed paycheck or two away from a financial emergency. Stockpiling a massive reserve fund isn’t an option for everyone, so it makes sense to develop a contingency plan for a monetary worst-case scenario. [More]
Employers Added No Jobs In August, Unemployment Still 9.1%
By 9.2.11
A dismal jobs report sent all three major stock indexes, the barometers by which the nations measures its self-esteem, tumbling early morning Friday. The government reported that employers added no jobs in August and the official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1%. The last time the headline employment rate was zero was February 1945. [More]
Bank Of America To Cut 3,500 Jobs, Thousands More Could Also Be Axed
By 8.19.11
The nation’s largest bank is trying to get a wee bit smaller — at least in terms of payroll. A newly uncovered memo reveals that Bank of America plans to cut at least 3,500 jobs in the upcoming months, with the possibility that thousands of additional positions could also be eliminated. [More]
Tips For Making Job Hunts Easier
By 8.15.11
Because of the difficult job market, many people who never expected to be scanning job ads and sending out resumes are doing exactly that. In order to streamline your search and spend as much time as possible chasing promising leads, you’ll need to be smart about the way you conduct your search. [More]
9 Not So Cheerful Stats About The State Of Unemployment
By 8.2.11
Just in case you were feeling hopeful about our nation’s recovering workforce, those Pulitzer-winning buzzkills at ProPublica had to go and compile a whole host of facts and figures that could turn your upside-down frown back into a regular frown. [More]
Not Just Hair Dye: An Older Guy's Guide To Getting A Job
By 7.25.11
It’s not just a matter of putting on a few doses of “Touch of Gray.” John shares his strategies for getting a job as an older guy in the youth-obsessed technology field. While the last story we wrote about this focused on the power of personal connections to open doors, John makes sure that his resume is very nice and Google-friendly. [More]
Unemployment Rises To 9.2%
By 7.11.11
Dashing hopes buoyed by preliminary reports on Thursday, the official Labor Department jobs report on Friday said the economy only added 18,000 jobs last month. This brought the unemployment number up to 9.2% from 9.1%. But one man’s gloom is another’s boon… [More]
Strong Jobs Data Lifts Markets
By 7.7.11
Markets rose as a day before the Labor Department releases its official monthly jobs report, two other reports came out that strongly suggesting it will be a pretty good one. [More]
Consumer Spending Sputtered In May
By 6.28.11
In a sign of economic wheel-spinning, consumer spending fell by an inflation-adjusted .1% for May, the government announced Monday. [More]
Georgia Program Replaces Migrant Farm Workers With Ex-Cons
By 6.24.11
Recent immigration crackdowns in Georgia have left the agricultural sector with a labor shortage. A big one. An unscientific poll puts the gap as high as 11,000 workers, but plants still have to be harvested. The governor responded to farmers’ complaints with a new program that puts people on probation to work in the fields at minimum wage, with bonuses for high production. This seems like an ideal match: probationers have a higher unemployment rate than the general population, and farmers need people in the fields. It turns out, though, that hard work, hot weather, low pay, and inexperienced workers don’t make for a very bountiful harvest. [More]
Unemployment Claims Rise By 9,000
By 6.23.11
Doing nothing to help views that the job market is weakening, the Labor Department announced this morning that jobless claims rose by 9,000 last week. It was the largest increase in a month. The dim news just added on to the pile of sad following the Fed’s no-surprise-to-anyone pronouncement yesterday that the economic recovery wasn’t happening as quickly as we once thought. [More]
