Jobs

(Sobering) Thought for Today – 5/28/10

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The New Republic: Reality For The Unemployed : NPR

Of the 908-person sample, 67 percent remained unemployed but were still looking for work, and an additional 12 percent had given up and dropped out of the labor force. Only 21 percent had found jobs (only 13 percent full-time) and were currently employed. A stunning 28 percent of the newly reemployed had been looking for work for more than one year, and 6 percent for more than two years. Fifty-five percent accepted a pay cut in their new jobs; 13 percent took a cut larger than one-third of their previous salary.

Women (26 percent newly employed) did somewhat better than men (18 percent). Surprisingly, young adults (29 percent newly employed) did better than 30 to 49-year olds (21 percent). Not surprisingly, this is a terrible time to be over 50 and out of work: Only 12 percent of these older workers had managed to find jobs.

A Stands for…?

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One Volcano, 4 Friends, and Many Career Ideas | paulacaligiuri.com

Opportunities, even those that change your plans in unexpected ways, may be exactly the ones that will help move your career – and your life – in a wonderful direction.

Attitude. And I’ll keep posting about this so that it sinks in and sticks.

Get a Life, Not a Job

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I made a new friend the other day.  While catching up on my non-book reading I came across a manifesto from http://changethis.com/ with the title Get a Life, Not a Job. My curiosity took hold; I thought this short essay might help me figure out where I’m headed in my life and career, so I read it.  Then I contacted the author to tell her how much I liked her manifesto.  Now we’ve connected on LinkedIn and I’ve made a new friend.

My new friend’s name is Paula Caligiuri. The following bio comes from her website:

Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D. is a work psychologist dedicated to helping people navigate the professional and personal challenges associated with their careers. She is the author of several books including Get a Life, Not a Job: Do What You Love and Let Your Talents Work for You, which FT Press will publish in April 2010, and the career blog. Dr. Caligiuri is a frequent contributor to CNN on career and management topics and has completed a pilot for a television show, CareerWATCH.

Dr. Caligiuri is also a Professor in the Human Resource Management Department at Rutgers University, where she teaches courses in career management and global human resources at the masters, PhD, and executive levels. She is an internationally recognized expert on global careers and strategic human resource management. She has lectured in numerous universities and has been a speaker for many major corporations in the United States, Asia, and Europe.

As a consultant, Dr. Caligiuri is the President of Caligiuri and Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that advises leading global organizations on ways to ensure the success of their internationally-oriented talent through assessment, training, and development.

Dr. Caligiuri holds a M.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State University in industrial and organizational psychology.

The book should be an awesome read.  You can get a copy of Paula’s manifesto by clicking the link below.  I’ve also added a link to her website on my sidebar.  I get a steady stream of visitors to my site who are looking for work.  I do hope you find or create what you are looking for.

69.04.Get a Life

Work as Paradox

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The Job Satisfaction Paradox for the Self-Employed – BusinessWeek

How can the self-employed earn less money, work more hours, and experience more work-related stress than the wage employed—yet still report greater overall job satisfaction? The answer appears to be that people value highly the autonomy, flexibility, and opportunity to work in a small organization .

Many studies show that the desire to be one’s own boss is one of the leading motivators of self-employment. Others report flexible schedules are a key motivator of self-employment. Moreover, human beings have a preference for working in settings where they can interact with all the members of the organization, according to research by Bruno Frey and Matthias Benz of the Institute of Empirical Economics of the University of Zurich.

In short, the paradox isn’t such a paradox after all. People will work harder, earn less, and put up with more stress so that they can enjoy the freedom, flexibility, and work environment that self-employment provides.

Another View of the War in Mexico

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Business owners and investors!I’ll be in San Antonio for the annual AHOU meeting.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the city has changed since my last visit.

Who’s creating US jobs? Mexicans. / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com

“In fiscal year 2008, the US issued E-1 and E-2 visas to 1901 Mexicans and their families, nearly three times the level of a decade before. “

Where are all of these Mexican immigrant investors going? San Antonio!

Remote Work – Who Are Those Guys?

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What are the Top 10 nations for online workers? / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com

And the fastest-growing major economy for freelance work?

The United States. “We’re seeing a huge number of Americans come online,” says Brian Goler, vice president of marketing for oDesk. “More and more people are working this way.”

Perhaps they have to because of the economic downturn. Perhaps they want to.

The Contingent Workforce – a $425 Billion Market

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You’re Hired. At Least for Now. – Kiplinger.com

The job is not a timeless fact of human existence.  It is a social artifact.

William Bridges wrote these words over 15 years ago.  We need to fully understand this concept and decide what kind of future we want for ourselves.  Do you want to be in or out?  Nearly four years ago I started my business on a part-time basis.  One year ago, I became  100% self-employed. If you are an underwriter, the time to be an independent for hire has never been better.

If you’re in underwriting management your options for creating the right hybrid model to fit your needs has never been better.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

I have a mortgage, two kids in college, and a small fleet of cars to support.  Hire me please.