A Grown Up Snow Day

My cell phone rang at 5:50 this morning. I was already awake. It was forecast for us to get 5 – 12 inches of snow, and Indianapolis drivers do not handle 2-3 inches of snow well. I had given time to dig out and extra drive time. Our college might close. I mean it has a couple times in the six years I’ve been there, but there were no guarantees. However, as soon as I heard my ringtone, I knew It was official: we had a snow day.

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Job Searching While you Still Have a Job

I have a job. I have a decent job. So why on earth am I trying to do a job search in this lousy job market? Regardless of the economy, there is a point where you have grown as much as you can in your current job and it is time to start looking into other options. Of course you tend to have better luck when the economy is doing well, but just because your timing is off doesn’t mean you should put off your search.

Some job searchers are unemployed or disgruntled, and their job searches are often an uphill battle. They are in search of something/anything that might work. This usually results in applying for many less than ideal positions. If you have a job that is currently meeting your needs, and isn’t making you crazy, you can be more selective. You can take the time to look into jobs before you send off your resume and before you choose to interview. Yes you are exploring your options, but the pressure isn’t there to find something and find something quickly.

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You Try Working from Home

In today’s economy, it isn’t uncommon for people to have multiple jobs. Many people juggle two and three jobs just make ends meet. I am no different, except in that two of my jobs let me work from home. For some reason, people don’t understand that concept. If I was working at Starbucks, people wouldn’t call me and after I said I was at work and keep jabbering on for over half an hour. Working from home takes a certain level of discipline, and it is made harder by friends and family who just don’t get it.

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Success, Failure, and THEN Happiness

Sometimes you have succeed in order to fail. Sometimes success is failure. Sometimes you have have to fail before you can succeed. Sometimes, no, all the time, success isn't success unless you're happy. 

Those words are contradictory, yet coherent. Sometimes you have a dream in your heart, and a duty in your mind. You sacrifice the dream for the duty to be a good person. To take the fast track to respect and success. You excel at a vocation. You earn lots of money. Then you look around you, and the most inspiring moments are still the ones you see in dramatic films. 

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Finding a Job in 2008: The Hunt

I've been a recruiter, professionally, for nine years.  Recently, it seems more and more people are asking me about the best ways to find a job or how to improve their resumes and cover letters.  It's obvious, no matter which political side you sit on, that our economy is taking a major hit.  Employers are beginning to lay off people, albeit ever-so-secretly, but it's happening.  Employees are realizing that they need a job that pays more money since gasoline is up so high, the cost of food has radically increased and their economic stimulus check has already been spent.  I decided that maybe I should try to shed some light, from a recruiter's perspective, on the best ways for someone to land a job.

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Confessions of an Office Slacker

I work at a small office. A very small, very boring office where we do menial work that would be done far more efficiently by a computer or a zombie. Honestly, a computer could do my job far more efficiently and I live in fear for the day that my employer realizes this and puts a computer in my place. The computer also wouldn’t crunch loudly on sunflower seeds, text, twitter, or take frequent restroom breaks because she’s fidgety and can’t sit still for five seconds. The computer wouldn’t cost twenty grand a year and also would never, ever complain about it being too cold. Ever.

A variety of people are employed at my place of business, but most of them tend to be anti-social eccentrics who keep to themselves. They laugh at inappropriate times and have no clue what to say to you in the elevator. They live alone and don’t really talk to people and tend to be in their late 40’s. Being in my mid-twenties and fairly social, I tend to stand out. (more…)

Bring Your Dog to Work

According to a CNN/Money poll in 2006, 75% of all dog owners would work longer hours if they could bring their dog to work.  In this day of employers trying to create "work-life harmony" and adding more value to their employee's' benefits, bringing a dog to work sounds like a fantastic idea.  I'm here to tell you, it is!

As a recruiter for an advertising agency here in Dallas, I get to bring my dog, Deco, to work with me every single day.  I adopted Deco from the Animal Rescue of Texas back in June 2007 when he was just 3 months old. One of the important factors for me in getting a dog was the fact my employer allowed me to bring him to work. The last thing I personally wanted to do was leave a 3 month old puppy in a crate by itself in my apartment.  (more…)