These may not be the most compelling reasons for an employer to condone a day off, but it is true that much of America will be tuned into the game on Sunday.  Last year, a record 111 million viewers tuned in to watch the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While it’s not likely to receive national holiday status anytime soon, we at Glassdoor were curious to see if many people are planning to take time off to recuperate from overzealous Super Bowl celebrations. We also wanted to uncover the productivity level and mood in the office for those who do punch in. Here’s what employees had to say in our Superbowl survey*:

• 20% of employees say that morale is typically better in the office the day after the Super Bowl
• However, 22% of employees also note that it’s commonly a less productive day than usual
• One in ten (8%) employees plan not to work the day after the Super Bowl
• One in ten (9%) employees plan to take Monday off as a vacation
• 3% admit that they will take a ‘sick day’ the Monday after the Super Bowl

When we asked employees if their employers offer any sort of perks on the Monday after the Big Game, several Glassdoor users noted that they are either allowed to work from home, use as a flex day, or have their regular Monday morning meeting postponed for later in the day. Some also reported that their employers buy breakfast for employees the Monday after the game.

What’s your work experience typically been like on the Monday after the Super Bowl? Let us know below.

* Online survey was conducted between 1/28/11 and 2/3/11. Included responses from 500 Glassdoor users including those who are employed (full/part/self) or unemployed but looking.

Should Monday After The Super Bowl Be A National Holiday? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. What Super Bowl Ads Can Teach You About Marketing Yourself
2. Labor Day Survey Reveals Holiday Is More About Summer’s End Than Workers
3. Avoid Career-Damaging Mistakes At Your Office Holiday Party

Increase Your Visibility

If you toil away in your cubicle without anyone knowing you’re there, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. You need to promote your work not only to your own boss, but to your boss’s boss. That means sending your boss regular updates on your numbers, forwarding along compliments from colleagues and clients and making sure you’re the go-to person even for just one project. Be gracious and thank others for their help and your self-praise won’t come off as self-aggrandizing.

Become Your Boss’s Favorite

At the end of the day, it’s not about numbers, it’s about relationships. You need to have technical competence, but if your boss just doesn’t like you, it doesn’t matter how much quantum physics you know. A new survey shows that despite companies’ efforts, favoritism still exists in the workplace. So apply yourself to building strong relationships with your superiors just as you would to working on a particularly rigorous balance sheet issue. Don’t layer on the brown-nosing, but make a concerted effort to know their favorite topics, sports teams and other personality aspects that will help you to connect with them. Do that and you’ll be sitting in the company box come Super Bowl.

Time Your Vacation Well

If you’ve only been with the company three or four months, taking a week-long vacation isn’t likely to be received well by your superiors. If you’ve been there for some time, however, it won’t be frowned upon if you go away at Christmas with the family. If your boss tends to “forget” the person when they leave the office, make sure to check in daily and also make clear you’re accessible on e-mail. If your boss asks you to cancel your trip, however, it’s a good idea to acquiesce.

Don’t Multitask

This piece of advice seems counterintuitive in an age where we’re expected to juggle multiple documents, news reports, sets of data and Gchat conversations with the click of a mouse. But don’t be lulled into complacency: Research shows you’re not working at your best when you switch rapidly from task to task. Taking the time to refocus even after a brief conversation with a friend can eat up valuable brain activity. So slow down, concentrate on the task at hand and really apply yourself. Anything less will demonstrate your work may not be good enough to justify keeping you in place.

Still Ask for What You Deserve

If you’ve been doing the work of several people, you should be compensated for your extra time. You don’t need to walk on eggshells simply because it’s a bad economy and many people at your firm have been laid off. Those who rise in their careers know their self-worth and know to ask for a bigger salary or bonus if they deserve it. Career experts say it’s worth a shot, especially if you’ve got a strong justification for asking for more money. – Originally posted on FINS from the Wall Street Journal by Julie Steinberg

Five Tips For Keeping Your Job is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Tips For Making & Keeping New Year’s Resolutions
2. Advice On Keeping Your Job Search Fresh
3. SSSHHH! 3 Tips To Quietly Look For Your Next Job

Pictures are critical for career sites because they help show the culture of a company – that’s one of the most important criteria job candidates look for.

The best employers themselves are getting into the picture mix too.

Check out Yelp’s Careers page:

…or Hotwire’s Careers section:

Video Is Next 

The next wave of visual transparency will be video.

Videos are really just moving pictures and so they provide an even deeper look into a company’s culture.

The very best employers I know already have videos about their companies or are actively working on them.

Check out Buddy Media’s short video clip:

And employers such as Salesforce, Twitter and Klout are having their hiring managers interviewed on sites such as my own, Ongig:

I predict images and video of employers will be standard on the Web within five to ten years.

Any careers site that doesn’t have pictures and videos will soon be considered archaic… like help wanted newspaper ads are today.

Photos & Videos: The Wave Of The Future Of Job Postings is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. 5 Tips To Avoid Fake Job Postings
2. Nailing The Job Interview; A Past, Present And Future Perspective
3. Job Search Of The Future: 10 Trends To Watch

Check out these five companies hiring cashiers now…

WalMart Cashier

“Excellent job for a college student like myself. If I ever needed more or less hours, certain days off or a schedule change, management was always very supportive of me and worked with me.” – WalMart Cashier (Lewisville, TX)

“you will have to work with a number of people all types so you will have to be good at good customer service a be able to work at a fast pace.” – WalMart Cashier Associate (Chicago, IL)

Hourly Pay: $8.52

_____________

Home Depot Cashier

“Flexible schedule, great for those working at HD for a second job” – Home Depot Cashier (location n/a)

“They make you work on weekends mandatory.” – Home Depot Cashier (Fairfax, VA)

Hourly Pay: $9.37

_____________

Lowes Cashier

“The company cares about its people and has almost monthly cookouts. They are usually fair in their dealings with employees and customers alike.” – Lowes Head Cashier (Springfield, MO)

“Constant rotating shifts. Can be early 1 day and close next day. Raise are not based on merit. Small pay raise at same time for each anniversary.” – Lowes Cashier II (Chandler, AZ)

Hourly Pay: $9.42

_____________

Wegmans Cashier

“Wegmans is a great company in itself to work for. They care about their employees- always giving coupons for things to keep you living a healthy lifestyle. Things like running shoes, healthy foods, etc.” – Wegmans Cashier (State College, PA)

“Benefits don’t kick in until a year after employment. Have to be able to work during most holidays as Wegmans is open 364 days of the year. Stand all day and only get a 10 min break every 4 hours.” – Wegmans Cashier (Princeton, NJ)

Hourly Pay: $8.73

_____________

Fresh Market Cashier

“People look after everyone, nice people good pay, OK hours” – Fresh Market Cashier (Huntsville, AL)

“No communication. I subscribed to customers email just to get information.” – Fresh Market Cashier (Greensboro, NC)

Hourly Pay: $8.13

_____________

Do you work in retail? Share a company review or salary report on Glassdoor and help others get the job they want.

Jobs In Retail: Cashiers – Who’s Hiring, What They Pay & More is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Four Non-Retail Jobs Hiring During The Holidays
2. Hourly Jobs: Top Companies to Work For
3. Macy’s Hiring 78,000 Workers; Employees Reveal Life Beyond The Sales Floor

The retail sector plans to add about 600,000 seasonal staffers between October and early January, down from 627,600 last year, said John Challenger, chief executive officer of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

That number is a relatively good sign for holiday job seekers, considering the recent layoffs in several industries from media to consumer goods, he said. Many retailers are boosting their seasonal staffs as they get ready to open early on Black Friday and take on the holiday rush.

“There are a lot of temporary hires going on as retailers gear up for the holiday season,” said Challenger. “Consumers might be opening up their wallets a little bit more over the holiday season.”

Among the major retailers that will boost their seasonal hiring, Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target said they plan to add more holiday workers than they did last year.

This season Macy’s plans to hire 78,000 holiday workers for its 850 U.S. stores, including Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, up 4% from last year, the company said. Part of that seasonal job growth is for the midnight opening of Macy’s department stores on Black Friday alone.

Kohl’s said it plans to hire more than 40,000 holiday workers this season for its 1,129 U.S. stores, up 5% from last year due to store growth, the company said. In line with last year’s seasonal hiring, Kohl’s expects to bring on an average of 35 additional associates per store. The company had no additional staffing information for Black Friday.

Target plans to hire “slightly more holiday workers” than the 92,000 seasonal staffers it took on last year, the company said. For Black Friday, Target’s 1,767 U.S. stores will increase their staffing by about 67%.

For some of those temporary workers, their performance over the next two months could determine future job opportunities.

“Last year, nearly 40% of the people who joined stayed on after the holidays as regular team members,” said Molly Snyder, a Target spokesperson. “So there is a tremendous opportunity for people to take the holiday season and turn it into a regular year-round position.”

That’s good news for those who find work this season. But the boost in holiday hiring for Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target does not reflect an increase in seasonal employment across the retail industry, said Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board.

Among the other big-box retailers, Crate and Barrel plans to hire roughly the same number of holiday workers as they did last year, the company said, while Best Buy said in late September that it plans to cut its holiday hiring in half this year.

“For some of these big department stores, the fact that they are adding 4% or 5% more workers is good news” considering the broader economy, said Levanon. – Originally posted by FINS from the Wall Street Journal by Damian Ghigliotty

Retailers Staffing Up For The Holidays is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Four Non-Retail Jobs Hiring During The Holidays
2. Retail Industry Report Card; Overstock.com & REI Highest Rated Retailers
3. REI Highest Rated Retailer; Retail Industry Report Card 2011

1. Welder

Mean annual wage: $35,220*

Welding involves using extremely high heat to melt and fuse pieces of metal together permanently. About two-thirds of welding jobs are in manufacturing industries. Many employers report difficulty filling positions requiring knowledge of the latest technology.

2. Hairdresser

Mean annual wage: $26,510

Opportunities in this field are expected to grow faster than average as aging baby boomers seek coloring treatments and other advanced services. Many stylists enjoy flexible hours, and more than 40 percent are self-employed.

3. Animal caretaker

Mean annual wage: $22,070

Bathing, grooming, feeding and exercising animals are among the tasks of workers employed by kennels, pet stores, shelters, zoos and individual households. Job prospects are promising, as the companion pet population is expected to continue growing.

4. Tree faller

Mean annual wage: $38,660

A physically-demanding occupation, fallers cut down trees using chain saws or mobile felling machines. They use knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control the direction of its fall and minimize tree damage. Fallers train on the job through logging companies and trade associations, with safety instruction being a top concern.

5. Security guard

Mean annual wage: $26,870

Concerns about crime, vandalism and terrorism continue to increase the need for guards. Most states require licensure that involves a background check and some classroom training, with more stringent requirements for armed guards. Duties may include using monitoring equipment, checking identification and searching vehicles.

6. Tile and marble setter

Mean annual wage: $41,830

Setters apply tile and marble to floors, walls, ceilings, countertops and patios. Trainees progress from carrying materials to cutting tile and applying grout. Most salaried setters are employed by contractors working on nonresidential projects, while most self-employed setters work on residential projects.

7. Pest control worker

Mean annual wage: $32,480

Both residences and businesses rely on exterminators to rid structures of bugs, rodents and other pests. Through a combination of study and on-the-job training, pest control workers learn how to set traps, safely use pesticides and identify points of entry. Jobs are more plentiful in warmer climates and larger cities due to the greater number of pests in these areas.

8. School bus driver

Mean annual wage: $28,660

All bus drivers must obtain a commercial driver’s license with proper endorsements, which requires a skills test of operating a bus safely and a knowledge test on rules and regulations. A clean record is important, and liking children is helpful.

9. Groundskeeper

Mean annual wage: $25,430

Groundskeepers perform a variety of tasks, including sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking and sprinkler installing. They are employed by landscaping firms, educational institutions and local governments. The field is expected to grow as aging homeowners need help maintaining their yards.

10. Telecommunications line installer

Mean annual wage: $50,080

Employed by construction contractors, utilities and telecommunications companies, installers put in new cable to provide telephone, television and Internet connections to businesses and residences. Much of the work takes place outside and can involve heights and confined spaces. Formal apprenticeships are common.

11. Customer service representative

Mean annual wage: $32,780

Nearly every business and industry needs representatives to help with customer inquiries. Reps may provide information online, by phone or in person. Training focuses on the company and its products, the most commonly-asked questions, system operation and communication skills. Bilingual reps are particularly in demand.

12. Coin, vending and amusement machine servicer

Mean annual wage: $31,950

Servicers install, maintain, stock and repair slot machines, food and beverage machines, jukeboxes, arcade games and other similar machines. Not surprisingly, the metropolitan area with the highest employment level in this occupation is Las Vegas.

13. Locksmith

Mean annual wage: $37,550

Locksmiths install and repair locks and other devices to safeguard homes, businesses and property. They also make duplicate keys, generate new keys to replace lost ones and respond to emergency calls to open doors that have been locked accidentally.

14. Bartender

Mean annual wage: $21,310

Besides filling drink orders, bartenders check the identification of customers and maintain inventory of bar supplies. With tips being a substantial part of earnings, good people skills are a plus.

15. Plumber

Mean annual wage: $50,360

One of the largest and highest paid construction occupations, plumbers install and repair the water, waste disposal and drainage systems in residential and commercial buildings. Plumbers also install bathtubs, showers, sinks, toilets, dishwashers, waste disposers and water heaters. Licensure typically requires two to five years of experience and passing a test covering the trade and local codes.

*All wage figures per Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 – Originally posted on Aol Jobs by Beth Braccio Hering

Degree Not Required: 15 Jobs You Can Land Without Going To College is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. How To Make Up To $19/Hour Before You Get Your College Degree
2. What Is Your College Degree Worth?
3. 4 Reasons Why Having A Liberal Arts Degree Can Help Your Career

Make your job hunt multi-media. We’re all so used to accessing everything online that many of us forget to look at the papers. Often, we can get away with this—most everything that’s printed in a hardcopy format is published online as well. The crucial word there, is most: particularly in small towns, there will still be jobs that only end up in the local trade papers and dailies. So keep your favorite job sites bookmarked and keep checking the local job listings online, but make a trip down to the local convenience store at least once a week and pick up the local publications—keep all your bases covered.

Be flexible. Depending on just how small the city is in which you’re looking for work, there may not be a wide range of specialty positions available—and certain jobs may not even exist in the area. If you’ve been working in a very niche industry, you might have a hard time moving into an identical job in a smaller city. This doesn’t mean you need to switch careers entirely, but start thinking about ways your current skills can be applicable in industries related to your previous jobs, or in positions that are slightly outside what you’ve been doing. The more you’re willing to adapt, the more successful you’ll be in your job hunt.

Keep it personal. In any job market, networking is key. The old cliché, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” holds true everywhere—but it’s especially apt in smaller cities. And while social networking and email can get you far, the best way to build up a personal network is usually the old-fashioned method of meeting people face-to-face. Go to any networking or career events in the area. If your industry has a professional association in your area, join it and go to every meeting you can make. And don’t limit yourself to professional organizations: join local community groups in which you’re interested: anything that’ll help you build your network. You’ll probably end up making a few good friends out of it too!

And as ever, don’t hesitate to reach out to your existing contacts and seek their help in expanding your network. An introduction and a little bit of conversation over a cup of coffee or a bottle of beer can go a lot further toward landing a job than a social network link request.

Remember that all the strategies you’ll use in a big city will work in smaller ones, but just as the smaller city will have a more personal feel to it, try treat your job search the same way. Networking is as important as ever—if not more so—and just as it is anywhere else in an unpredictable economy, you’ve got to adapt to survive.

How To Find Jobs In Small Cities is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Pink Slip Capitals: Tips on finding jobs in the cities with the most lay-offs
2. Where Are The Jobs? Go West, Young Man – Just Not Too Far West
3. Online Professional Networking For Beginners

And although my oldest of three years is only starting preschool for the first time, very soon she’ll be getting older and then so will my youngest and then they’ll be going back to school again and again, to someday make the working world a better place.

But that’s not the back to school I’m going to talk about in this article.

There’s something much more serious to contend with today.

Consider this – the unemployment rate is still over 9% in the US, even though 117,000 jobs were added in July.

Then consider this – according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 14 million unemployed Americans, more than 44% have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. That takes a huge toll financially, psychologically, emotionally and physically.

You’ve probably also read the articles in the past two years about how the unemployed “need not apply.” True, the employed always get preference in job searches; their experience is certainly more recent and their skills fresh and up to date. The longer you’re out of work the more likely your abilities atrophy and the harder it becomes to find sound employment, of any kind.

There is hope, however. For those of you unemployed, as long as you’re willing to “go back to school” in some fashion and own your professional development – even be willing to change careers all together – then there is hope for you to again become (and hopefully remain) relevant and employable.

Here are four career management “reset” activities I recommend:

1. Literally go back to school.

Always wanted to get your GED? Finish your 2-year or 4-year college degree? Get an MBA or a Ph.D.? Get professional certification? Then do it. Although education alone is no guarantee for job fit, companies do prefer educated applicants, preferably those with higher education, a college degree and/or professional certification.

2. Update your skills.

Take special courses online or via local community services or paid programs to update your professional skills – everything from social media to computer programming to marketing to business development to management training to – you name it. Stay fresh and stay relevant in the marketplace you’re trying to get back into.

3. Find a mentor. Then become one.

What’s critical about this one is that there are lots of employed professionals in your own backyards and networks who would be more than willing to give you advice and career guidance, even introducing you to potential employers via the backdoor (meaning, it’s who you know as much as it’s what you know). Once you’re gainfully employed again, pay it forward and become a mentor yourself.

4. Find and take part-time or contingent work.

Of any kind. Preferably relevant to your career path, but not necessarily. I say this only because no one needs to bleed out when they’re trying to stay afloat. Sometimes there can be thousands of people applying for 100 slots when a new “store” opens, so why not be one of the more qualified if you’re recently unemployed. Or, take part-time seasonal work or contract work, even if you have to cobble together enough projects to eat.

And here are a couple of related recommendations for employers:

Cross-train your top employees and executives.

Ensure they learn and comprehend all the moving parts of your business. Because if you don’t, your internal mobility will be limited and costly when you need to fill knowledge gaps fast.

Let your employees volunteer and/or focus on personal projects.

This is a great way for your employees to learn other hard and soft skills, all of which will benefit your business. If your employees are overworked and underappreciated, like many currently employed are, sparks of collaborative caring and innovation will fly out the window faster than your declining customer service and revenue.

It’s a scary world today. Global economic uncertainly is keeping businesses from hiring. If you’re unemployed today, do whatever you can to reset and become relevant again in the workplace.

Good luck.

Back To School Of Another Kind: Four Career Management Reset Activities is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Should You Go Back To School To Get A Job?
2. Avoid Career Limiting Activities Like The Plague
3. How To Get Ahead In Your Career…And Still Be Kind

1. Don’t listen.

You heard me. Don’t listen. Not to everyone. But stop listening to the jobs numbers. Every pundit on the planet is analyzing and over-analyzing every tick in the number of jobs lost, jobs created, number of new applications for unemployment, whether those numbers are going up or down… Who cares? You shouldn’t. So don’t listen. Companies actually are still hiring. It’s just that the way they’re doing the hiring has changed. You’ve probably seen this. Perhaps you’ve got a friend who’s landed a job working for her boyfriend’s uncle. Or, a cousin who’s now working for his former summer camp counselor. The truth is that the way people get jobs nowadays is completely different than it used to be. In fact, according to recent studies, 50 percent of new hires come from referral, and 25 percent come from employees’ social networks. That means that over 75 percent of new hires come from networking or a direct recommendation and introduction. If this is true, then it is time for you to put those social (on and off-line) networks to work for you and get yourself out there.

Try to ignore all of the griping about “how bad it is out there.” It’s only bad if you decide it’s bad. So stop complaining, turn off the TV, video game console, stop texting, and get a handle on your future. Oh, and remember, don’t listen.

2. Ignore Wall Street and Washington.

There is a hashtag trending on Twitter that uses a four-letter word (#expletiveWashington) and another #WhereAreTheJobs. Americans are fed up with Washington posturing. Between the Debt Crisis, the downgrading of U.S. debt and the tanking of the stock market, working Americans are disgusted that Congress merely tipped a hat toward job creation and then gave themselves a five-week vacation. We’re fed up. And rightly so if you ask me. So what should you, the job seeker, do? I say ignore them. And here’s why.

Whatever scenarios end up playing out in Washington and whatever roller-coaster plays out on Wall Street, the fact is that it is going to have little effect on you, at least for the near term. No amount of deals, tax hikes, tax cuts, deficit reduction, regulation, debt ratings downgrade and market fluctuation are going to drive a short-term net effect of motivating businesses to create new positions, and hire more people. In fact, it might do just the opposite. So I say, don’t hold your breath.

Chances are that this “trickle down” economic approach is unlikely to make “Help Wanted” signs suddenly go up all over the city. Not today. Not tomorrow.

So stop listening when the folks in Washington say be patient, the jobs are coming. Instead, turn away from the rhetoric and look straight in the mirror. You’ll discover that the person looking back at you is the only person who is going to help get you back to work any time soon. It’s time for all of us to grab our bootstraps and get going.

3. Stake your claim.

Our country has always been about staking claims. Claims were staked during the Louisiana Expansion, the California Gold Rush, and in 1969 when we placed an American flag on the Moon. Just recently, Walt Disney Studios staked a claim by trademarking “Seal Team 6,” the Navy team that brought down Osama bin Laden. The funny thing about claim-staking is that we rarely do it for ourselves.

But here’s something every job seeker should know. Careers don’t just happen. They are made. And if you don’t stake a Claim in Your Own Career, believe me, no one else will.

This incredibly simple piece of advice is actually not that simple. Imagine that you are a marathon runner, or a Mount Everest climber or a very determined dieter. All of the individuals have made a strong commitment to doing something with determination and tons of effort. No one ever said it was easy to get to the top of Everest. The same can be said of building a career. No matter how much hoping you do, your school’s career counselors and your folks aren’t going to do it for you.

It is up to you to take responsibility for your future. So when you think you’re looking for a job “all day long,” count up how many hours you spent NOT looking for a job. My guess is you’re not as committed as you think you are.

4. Be a car.

Some of the most iconic branding in the world sits on the back of every car on the road. Those shiny metal words and symbols hold meaning for us. When you see the word Volvo, you immediate think “safety” or, if from a younger generation, “boring.” The four interlocking rings of Audi say superior engineering, and the word Prius just makes you feel like you’re doing something good for the environment. That’s because the car companies have figured out how to make you think and feel a certain way about them.

You need to be a car. Well, not exactly. But you do need to understand who you are and what you want to be in the world. Because getting a job is about selling yourself. And by being clear about what you can offer to hiring managers, you will be able to get people to buy into the brand that is you.

One way to figure out what you want to do, and align that with what you’re good at is to identify what passions drive you to get out of bed in the morning, what interests captivate your attention and what skills you have to offer. I call the place where these three overlapping circles intersect the Sweet Spot (see diagram). Your Sweet Spot can help you discover the essence of your brand, and is an essential component of differentiating yourself from other hungry job seekers.

• Ask the most creative person in your life to help you do the following brainstorming exercise to discover your Sweet Spot.
• Grab three sheets of paper and some colored pens. Title one page with Passions, another with Interests, and the third page with Skills.
• Fill in the pages using the definitions above, being as open-minded as you can be. Once finished, randomly select one item from each list and begin brainstorming interesting things that you could do with your life that would allow you to work at the place where your Passions, Interests and Skills intersect.
• Example: Passion – experiencing new things. Interest – learning about different cultures. Skill – writing. Brainstorm idea – Travel the world, experience new things and meet people of varying backgrounds. Write a professional travel blog or for a magazine.

5. Think backward.

If you want to surf, you better go where there are good waves. And if you don’t know any good surf spots, chances are you’d find some other surfers and ask them how to find the cool spots.

Now apply this thinking to your job search. If you want to make movies, go to the places where people make movies. If you want to make cool software, you should find places where people are making cool software.

This logic seems simple, but it’s not how most people think about looking for a job. Most people start by poring through job sites seeking out open opportunities that sort-of-maybe-kind-of fit their skills. Next, so relieved to have found a potential job match, they contort themselves into believing that they’d be happy working at this particular company, even if the company is a widget company and the job seeker intensely dislikes widgets. Unfortunately, that’s how desperate some people feel about their job prospects.

I want you to Think Backward. What if instead of looking for job listings first, and companies second, you begin looking for companies first, and jobs second. This seemingly backward thinking works for getting into good surf, why can’t it work for finding a good job?

Here’s how it works. Instead of using sites like Monster.com or Idealist.org to look for job openings, use these sites to explore company profiles and see what kinds of companies are out there. See if you can find organizations that are doing things that get you really excited. Don’t worry if any jobs exist right now. That’s not the point. The point is to discover what makes you tick. This process, which up-ends that traditional way of job searching, is something I call Reverse Engineering the Job Market. Here’s the basic idea.

• Find companies and organizations that are doing things (making products, providing services) that get you really stoked.
• Don’t worry about whether there are any job openings — in fact, don’t look. Just get to know the place.
• Read the mission statement. The history. The leadership. Get a sense of the company culture and whether it would be a cool place to work.
• Look on the team pages and learn what sorts of people work there. Would you like to meet some of them? Do they have the kind of job you’d like to have?

If you answer yes to some of these questions, you’re ready for your next tip.

6. Enchant people.

Do you love your iPod, IPhone or Mac? Or do you just love going into the Apple store ‘cuz it’s so cool? Apple computer has captivated all of us with its inventions. In his recent book, Apple’s former chief evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, talks about the three pillars of Enchantment: likability, trustworthiness and a great cause.

Your ability to identify, interview for, and land a job are, in my mind, a pretty great cause. Or at least that’s how you need to think about it.

In today’s very picky job market, where getting a job is based as much on who you know as it is on what skills and experience you have, you better figure out how to be likable, trustworthy, and a good cause.

Part of your full-time job to get a job is to meet with and enchant as many people as you can. Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks to find, meet and befriend people who already work at the types of companies you want to work for. These “in” people are your ticket to getting a job.

Take a look at the team pages on a company’s website. See if you can find someone in your networked-network that can make an introduction, or help you get an introduction. Be a good listener (for Tip No. 6, please ignore Tip No. 1), and people will take an interest in you. From there, it’s all a numbers game.

7. Make 5 your lucky number.

Most people think that 7 is the luckiest number. I’ve no doubt you’ll change your lucky number once you learn to Network by 5′s. When I was a bright-eyed, freshly minted grad, I moved to L.A. to make it in Hollywood. Through a random meeting in a busy lobby, to a phone interview, to an in-person sitdown, I found myself interviewing for a job that wasn’t the right fit. Instead of giving up, this woman and I started chatting, using some good, enchanting techniques (a shared love of sports or travel can be a great start), and we ended up deciding to be friends. I suddenly had an “in” person.

I turned to my new friend and said, “I’m new in town and don’t know anyone, or what the jobs actually are out there. Do you think that you might have five friends who’d be willing to talk to me for five minutes about what they do?” My new friend agreed and with each meeting I had, with each new person I met and befriended, I had another “in” person. By the time I had been in Hollywood for five weeks, I had met 54 people at studios around the city. When Disney called to ask me to come in for an interview for my dream job (as a director’s assistant), they told me my resume had been submitted to the pile eleven times. No doubt they had come from all of my new friends. If you want to Network by 5′s, here’s what you should do:

• Ask your “in” person to give you the names of five people who might be willing to share five minutes of their time to tell you about what they do for a living.
• Whether in person or on the phone, become a genuinely interested listener. Learn everything you can about what this person does, and how they got to be doing their job. Know that this meeting is not about you. Ignore your need for a job and focus on letting the person in front of you tell their story.
• Ask enchanting questions and make a new friend. The funny things is, that if you do this well, they’ll end up thinking you’re wonderful, and they’ll turn the conversation to you.
• Know your personal career brand so you’ll feel comfortable talking about yourself and what you are looking to do. Always have a resume to share. At the end, if you feel they’ll be open to it, ask them for the names of five of their friends.

In no time, you’ll know scores of people doing the kind of work you want to be doing, and your job search will be on the fast track.

8. Be like aspirin.

Aspirin is a great painkiller, and when a hiring manager is looking to bring on a new employee it is usually because the organization is feeling a bit of pain. It could be that someone left the company, there’s too much work for the existing staff, or a new initiative needs some additional attention. Whatever the case, when you go in for a job interview, your job is to be like aspirin and make their pain go away. What exactly does that mean?

Imagine you’re going in for a sales job and your responsibility will be to cover a certain territory selling a product. The best way for you show that interviewer that you are the right person for the job is to demonstrate your skills as a salesperson. No, I don’t mean you should go into Crazy Eddie sales mode. But you can relay stories about past sales experience (perhaps you helped sell out all the tickets to a school fundraiser) or about your fearlessness in making cold calls. Believe me when I tell you that, just like you, your interviewer is looking to get the interview process over with and get back to work as soon as possible.

Interviewing can be hard and scary. It always feels like there’s too much on the line and you’re so nervous about landing the job that it can be hard to stay calm and focused on your interviewer’s questions. Before the big day, research the company and your interviewer. Put yourself in their shoes and see if you can figure out some of the challenges they might face. And remember this important point: If you can make their work-related headaches go away, you’re going to be a rock star in their eyes.

9. Go see a movie.

Finding a job is a full-time job. It can be exhausting and demoralizing. Honestly, it’s easy to just want to crawl into bed and ignore the entire thing. Here’s what I want you to do: Go see a movie. I don’t care which one. Just go have some fun being distracted for 120 minutes in a dark movie theater. Give your brain, your ego, and your keyboard and mouse a rest. Remember that life is fun and you will, once you Stake Your Claim (No. 3), be on your feet.

10. Stay the course.

To find out your score at the end of a round of golf, you have to stay on the course for the entire 18 holes. To find out your marathon time, you have to complete the 26.2 miles. And to land a job, especially one that you really want, you have to keep at it. No one ever said this would be easy. And as new grads enter into the toughest job market in the past 80 years, it takes a special something, an extra special kind of commitment and determination and willingness to try when others have given up. You may have finished your final exams, but this is the first test of your working life.

Find people to help you along the way and help you keep focused. My 85-year-old mentor is one of the people who keeps me on track. If you can’t find a mentor, buddy up with a friend and hit the library or the local coffee shop together. Keep each other motivated, inspired (and caffeinated if necessary). Just don’t lose hope. So… don’t listen and just ignore Washington. If you do these things, you might never realize that the news out there is bleak. -  Originally posted on Aol Jobs by Susanne Goldstein

10 Tricks To Landing A Job After The Great Recession is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Top 4 Ways To Beat A Recession
2. Apply Early To Improve Your Chances Of Landing An Interview
3. How To Make A Great Impression At Your New Job

With pink slips fluttering on Wall Street and markets reeling from debt crises in Europe and the U.S., finance professionals are avoiding risky decisions, validating poor ideas to win favor with managers, jumping to more stable firms and steering clear of collaborative projects that could reflect well on co-workers – all in hope of surviving the next round of layoffs – according to bankers, finance consultants and recruiters.

“There’s a lot of people who have been on edge for the last three or four years, so burnout is a factor too,” said Alex Jakobson, a managing director at RogenSi, a consultancy based in Australia and New York that advises sales staff at several Wall Street firms.

Indeed, there is much for finance professionals to fear. A number of investment banks have cut employees in recent weeks as trading volumes slipped, in some cases to their lowest point in years. Many analysts believe Wall Street is in store for a series of large layoffs in the coming weeks. Richard Stein, a partner in Toronto-based executive search firm Caldwell Partners, said the tally of job cuts might hit 80,000 by the end of the year.

Those kinds of forecasts aren’t lost on Street staffers. Scorelogix LLC, a Delaware-based analytics company, compiles a job-security score based on economic indicators and proprietary layoff information. In bullish markets, the “fear index” for finance and insurance hovers around 140; in April it was at 51.7 and hasn’t been over 100 since the start of the crisis, implying that job-security in the industry has stayed relatively low since the subprime mortgage loan market imploded.

The erosion of teamwork and productivity that comes from layoff jitters is subtle and slow – but destructive. Consider Goldman Sachs, which is in the process of cutting about 1,000 workers, in part, because of poor trading results. An investment banker at the firm, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said the sales and trading staff has been reluctant to offer attractive prices to corporate clients selling big blocks of stock.

Favorable prices on block trades help bankers win future underwriting business with corporate clients. But Goldman’s trading desks, facing layoffs, don’t want to take any more losses, even on trades that could win the firm lucrative business in the future.

Goldman declined to comment.

Batia Wiesenfeld, a management professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said banks and brokerages tend to let months pass between when they announce layoffs and when they cut workers, a tedious period that cultivates brain-drain.

“As soon as there is a spectre of downsizing, it isn’t fun going to work and your best people get out,” Wiesenfeld said. “It takes enormous effort on the part of management and a real commitment to turn around that vicious cycle.”

Take the investment bank at UBS, for instance. At least 13 senior U.S. professionals defected from the unit in the first half of the year. In a July 27 earnings release, the company announced that it would proceed with an undisclosed number of layoffs that would result in “significant restructuring charges.” The Swiss firm’s pretax investment bank profit slid 71% from the year-earlier period.

UBS declined to comment, as did Barclays and Citigroup.

Peter Cappelli, director of the Center for Human Resources at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, noted that employee loyalty typically climbs during economic downturns, as workers gain appreciation for their status. However, the opposite has happened since the recent recession, which officially ended in June 2009, he said.

As companies cut benefits and heaped more responsibilities onto incumbent employees, Wall Street folks have tuned out or “froze up,” according to Cappelli, who cited studies on worker engagement.

“Wall Street is pretty bad” at downsizing, Cappelli said, “and I don’t think they’ve become any more sophisticated.”

Credit Suisse, which said it would cut about 2,000 jobs in coming weeks, said it tries to keep rumors in check by facilitating face-time between junior and senior employees. Some of its most promising junior employees dine with the executive board members three times a year.

“It helps to boost morale and recognizes individuals on an ongoing basis,” said spokeswoman Karen Laureano-Rikardsen.

Goldman, when it cuts workers beyond its annual culling of underperformers, tries to do so quickly and thoroughly to refocus surviving employees on their work, according to David Schwartz, former head of human relations for the firm’s investment bank in Europe.

“Still, even in a firm where people are professional as they are at Goldman, people do get distracted,” Schwartz said. “I’d walk onto a floor for a closed-door meeting with senior partners and the whole floor would stop working.” – Originally posted on FINS from the Wall Street Journal by Kyle Stock.

Want more career advice and news from FINS?

When Working for Free Pays Off

Sales Trend of the Day: The new best place to sell drugs

The Ten Worst Things to put in Your Cover Letter

Fear Of Layoffs On Wall Street Distracting Workers is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Overcoming Layoff F.E.A.R.s – Part Four: Rejection Fear
2. Microsoft Layoffs Do Not Compute?
3. Overcoming Layoff F.E.A.R.s – Part Three: Achievement Atrophy Fear