Wiser Worker Blog

These are some of the terms people have chosen so far and The New York Times actually breaks it down between unemployed and employed. Giving you a glimpse of how people who fit in your situation feel. So take a moment to visit and share and most importantly blow off some steam………

How Do YOU Feel??????????????

These days you can’t open a paper, turn on the news or log on to your computer without hearing about the unemployment situation.   Every media outlet in the country is talking about how high the unemployment rate has gotten or about how hard it is to get a job. Today I logged on to msnbc.com and was hit by today’s article entitled “More states see jobless rate top 10 percent”.  On the surface this is a pretty eye catching topic, but then I started to wonder what does this all really; to me and then to you the job seeker.

So I dug deeper to take a look at what the unemployment rate is and what it means and how it affects you. So I started with my friends over at Wikipedia to get the boiled down version of the unemployment rate.  They define the unemployment as when a person is available to work and currently seeking work, but the person is without work, pretty cut and dry right; and the rate of unemployment is the number of people who are not working.  Who records and reports on this data?  I often wondered who was the keep of all this wonderful news……

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They provide a comprehensive body of data on the: labor force, employment, unemployment and persons not in the labor force.

Where do the statistics come from? Because unemployment insurance records relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and because it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country.  Click here, I actually have included the latest compilation of their unemployment reports.

This information is useful on many levels but it’s important to remember this…its just a report, there are jobs in your market.  If you are looking for a job, keep looking and visit wiserworker.com daily to see the newest opportunities for people just like you. While the unemployment rate is widely talked about it’s also just a number. You are a person who is looking for a job; in my mind that’s more important.

Continue to focus on finding a job because that’s what’s important!  

Believe it or not I only recently started drinking traditional plain black coffee, it wasn’t something that I enjoyed (or at least I didn’t know I enjoyed). I was however a Starbucks junkie….total typical customer and you can bet I ordered the most ridiculous forms of coffee and you can even get coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee…score!   I realized that I liked the idea or the lifestyle of coffee more than the actual drink. How do coffee and job search fit together?  It’s all about networking and it today’s tough economy you better get good at networking and a lot of coffee have been enjoyed while in the passion of networking.  

The coffee lifestyle is so much more interesting than the actual drink, businesses all over the globe have made hills of money in coffee by glamorizing the lifestyle.  Over the years I have used coffee as the ice breaker in many business deals as way to open the conversation. I have never been to a networking event that didn’t at one point have coffee and the conversations that have happened around the coffee station are ones to remember. Those are the ones that are important and lead to better days and relationships.  

When you start your day tomorrow over a cup of coffee and you visiting wiserworker.com looking for a job think about how you can use your skills to network and find a better opportunity. Regardless where you are from Starbucks to McDonalds you can start up a conversation while you are getting a refill or adding some sugar.  Utilize a coffee break to interact with your co-workers and learn how you can grow as an employee. You can learn so much while enjoying the age old friend your favorite cup of joe.

Let’s face coffee’s not only is it a lifestyle it’s a tool!

While President Obama has been busy at working on a new stimulus package….scam artists have been working on a way to scam people on out of their hard earned money.  BE SMART and don’t fall victim to this newest trick that won’t leave you with a treat.

The latest scam looks like this…..you receive in the mail what looks like a “stimulus” check but watch out it’s not from the government. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs recently uncovered a scam in which potential victims receive an official-looking fake check in the mail along with the promise of thousands of dollars in the form of a “secondary stimulus check” if they register by calling the provided toll-free number.   Don’t call that number……and as I have advised in many prior blog entries…..don’t ever give your social security number to someone on the other end of the phone.

From Scambusters….What information NOT to give on the phone
Con artists tend to rely on the Internet and the U.S. Postal Service, but, according to data compiled by the Federal Trade Commission, more than 31,000 scams were initiated by phone in 2007. 

You never know who you’re going to get a call from, however you should know that there are some things that you never tell anyone by phone. Here are a few:

·         Social Security numbers.  Your social security number allows criminals to apply for credit cards in using your name. Keeping that information under your hat will help keep your identity (and your credit score) safe.

·         Bank account numbers.  When you give your bank account number to a stranger, you risk being wiped out by thieves. Anyone who asks for it may be up to no good.

·         Maiden names or birthdates.  Con artists can use even the most innocuous information to bilk people out of their money. You may use your mother’s maiden name or a birthdates to confirm your identity, but criminals can do the same thing.

How will you know if you are getting a stimulus check? 

Generally you may want to wait until you receive notification from the IRS, last year when we were due refund check you may remember about a 60 days before they were deposited you received a letter. If all else fails check out the IRS website or AARP.  Also you can be sure that if we were to be receiving a large stimulus check in the mail it would be announced on just about every news outlet. Be smart if it seems too good to be true then it probably is…..

Are you less likely to be laid off?  Today on Businessweek there is some good news for older workers out there. Apparently, with all the lay offs going on, businesses are leaning more towards keeping their 55+ workers over the younger employees.

Companies nationwide are laying off workers by the tens of thousands. But many are trying to spare the post-55 set from the ax, a reversal of the top-down trends in past waves of layoffs. They’re being driven by legal concerns—since boomers are in a protected age group—and by a need to keep experienced hands in place to keep the companies running and positioned for an upturn. “Seniority matters,” says Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

All age groups are being hit by cuts now coursing through Corporate America, but government statistics so far suggest that the burden is falling far more heavily on younger workers.

The article goes on to suggest that companies are paying particular attention to veterans and doing what they can to hold onto them.  So there you go, a little silver lining for you in some tough times. I guess that means if you thought you couldn’t get hired let alone keep a job in such a tough economy, now you know that you can.  Be sure to check out our Putting Americans Back to Work Job Fair dates to start off your job search in your area.

Read full BusinessWeek article.

Over the weekend something pretty amazing happened The Arizona Cardinals earned a trip to the Super Bowl. Being an Arizona native this is a day I have been waiting for and waiting literally for years…..but on Sunday January 18, 2009 it happened the Arizona Cardinals are on their way to Tampa, Florida. And you know what it’s exciting; even if you aren’t a football fan it’s exciting. The Arizona Cardinals and especially Kurt Warner have reminded me that if you think you can…YOU CAN.

What you may or may not know is that at the beginning of the season Kurt Warner was brought in to be our backup quarterback and there was all the usual speculation that he was too old to play and especially too old to be a NFL quarterback.  I remember thinking “this guy must LOVE the sport to be still doing it”. He took it in stride and said he wanted to be a team player.   Pretty soon he was our starting quarterback and the magic just happened.

Kurt Warner knew he wasn’t too old to be a NFL quarterback and he went out there and proved it to anyone who had doubts about his ability. My wish for you is that when you are looking for jobs think about Kurt Warner and what he has accomplished, and how he accomplished it.  I have no doubt that is was hard from him, but if you look at his story nothing has come easy for him and he always charges ahead.

Ask for help and look for guidance, WiserWorker.com and The AARP Foundation are here with as many services as you can utilize. It’s not always about what you can do but more about what you THINK you can do. So shed the limitations and get out there the job market needs job seekers just like YOU!

Earlier this year and a wise man said to a large group of people “Tough Times Don’t Last, but Tough People Do” at the time this statement struck me as profound, but today it means more to me than it did on that day.  Our labor market is in what I can only describe as tough times, I also know we are a nation of determined people. The answer: job seekers need to dig in and ask am I a tough person?  In this labor market the tough people will prosper and will professionally survive.  

If you are a job seeker you need to get tough. It’s a essential for survival in the workplace.  You might ask yourself what does it mean to be a tough job seeker. As a person who works with job seekers and employers daily, I think a tough job seeker might possess these attributes:

Confident in their abilities to succeed

Aggressive - know what you want and they go after it

Skilled - a full profile of abilities to enhance your resume

Determined to be the best candidate!

Innovative– create solutions without supervision

Mentor – have the desire to share your knowledge with others.

Problem Solver – ability to solve a problem on your own

Diverse Experience - years of life learned skills.

If you’re not already become a tough person, when you apply for a position go into confidently. When you interview for a job put your best foot forward, highlight how you intend to make the company you are interviewing with a better place.  Don’t place all your focus on the negative rather highlight the positive.  The media tends to report on the negative because let’s face it that’s what sells.

Hang in there; what I can tell you is WiserWorker.com places new postings on our site every day. We strive to provide you with up to date information.  I can also tell you that people just like you are using online job boards more now than ever.  I can guarantee you WiserWorker.com is here to stay and wait out the storm with you because we are an organization made up of tough people who are here to help you the tough job seeker.  

In case you were curious, Jeff Littlejohn is the wise man who said “Tough Times Don’t Last, but Tough People Do” to our group. He is our leader and one tough guy.

Don’t get sucked in too crisis mode; The purpose of this blog is to provide valuable insight on improving your life through finding financial security.   In short our mission is to help job seekers find jobs and it’s the hope of WiserWorker.com that job seekers with jobs will be able to achieve financial security.  

Pretty cut and dry, right?  Not so much, the media repeatedly reports what’s wrong with the economy complete with all doom and gloom, you can stomach. For instance; just this morning on MSNBC.com there was an article titled “Hard times have some flirting with survivalism” which essentially talks about people panicking and hording food, the person that was interviewed for the article (who refused to give his real name) was quoted as saying he felt we were “entering the Greater Depression.” Doesn’t it speak volumes that the interview subject doesn’t want to give his name?  

My point, yes let’s get back to jobs and the mission….don’t you think it would serve the American people better by talking about how we can fix the situation we are in?  How you can prevent further doom and gloom? Oh I don’t know maybe let’s talk about how we can create more jobs or maybe how people can find a job with the skills they have or learn new skills to find different jobs. Let’s focus on how to fix the problem and not how to survive as the world gets worse. We have an obligation to each other to get out of the situation.

How can you help?  Well start with the basics: Stay focused, keep your resume updated keep your eyes open and figure out how you can make a positive impact on the situation.  For me I am going to make sure I have the best possible website for jobseekers and provide as many resources as I can.

I am reminded of something I read by Helen Keller “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”     

American Specialty Health is the latest company to make a commitment to older workers and join WiserWorker.com in the quest to get older workers hired! I am excited to share what I know about their company and to direct you to their job openings.  They are hiring for lots of different positions from administrative to management, you can check out their job listings online at WiserWorker.com. 

American Specialty Health is one of the nation’s premier personal health improvement organizations, providing specialty benefit programs, fitness programs, health coaching and worksite wellness programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Based in beautiful San Diego; they have over 600 employees and cover more than 13.4 million members in specialty benefit, fitness, and coaching programs.

They have both Full time and part time positions available; excellent benefits for all shifts!  

What makes American Specialty Health such a great place to work? I took a look at their website and they have lots of great employee perks too many to mention.  Just to give you a preview here are a few:

·         Exercise Rewards Program (employees receive cash for working out)

·         Eleven paid holidays plus Floating Holiday

·         From our corporate-casual dress code (Jeans & Tennis shoes Monday-Friday!)

I encourage you to take a company tour on their website via video. Then come back to WiserWorker.com!  Let American Specialty Health know you heard about them here! 

Good Luck!

The NPD Group, reported recently that Baby Boomers were taking the internet by storm…watch out teenagers your parents are surfing the web. 61% of Baby Boomers have viewed and downloaded video.  Videos give you a big impression in a bite size format and leave you wanting for more. This gets the baby boomer generation thinking and researching for more and that’s more information.  Guess what? The Older Worker Generation is spending 87% of their time surfing the internet, or about 123 minutes online daily.

Not only have that 41% of Baby Boomers been taking in the social networks sites, they are interacting.  That’s right they are taking advantage of the social features and meeting people. You might run into your parents on Facebook so you better be nice! These sites are no longer for the teeny boppers. 

On average the typical Boomer will experience two major life events surrounding career, family, finance or health each year. These events can and will have a major impact on attitudes, life goals and consumer behavior.  You bet they will turn to the internet to find solutions from finding a job to seeking advice and WiserWorker.com will be here to help.