There has been much coverage over the past year on the health care debate. Most of the debate has been over the level of the government's role in providing accessible health care to Americans. The Obama administration has made health care reform a top priority, and this topic seems to have polarized Americans over just how the health care system should be overhauled. Should health care be mandated? Should the government provide an alternative to private health care coverage? Should benefits be extended to all residents, or only citizens? This is a complicated topic that includes many layers of delicate material and reaches many different industries, special interest groups, and populations.
Besides the obvious political implications, the decisions politicians make have, and will continue to have an effect on the job market now, and for years to come. One argument for universal government sponsored health care is that employers will have more options to provide health care benefits to employees. More options may mean lower costs to small to mid-size companies, that are currently getting hammered with rising costs. This also has implications on unemployment, and how quickly the job market improves. With so much uncertainty surrounding not only the economy, but the future of health care, there is a feeling that employers are waiting on the sidelines before they make decisions on whether to hire more employees. The data show that there is an increasing number of companies that are ready to hire, yet the actual number of new jobs does not match this information. In other words, employers are cautious, and waiting for more certainty before hiring again.
The moral of this story? Health care reform will have an impact on the job market.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Move Back In With Your Parents? How About Your Parents Moving in With You?
This is another interesting article I found on the Pew Research Center's website. I highly recommend you visit this website from time to time, as it has very interesting articles that follow trends in various themes such as economics, politics, education, foreign policy, etc.
This particular article talks about a recent trend that they attribute to the Great Recession. That is, that there is a growing trend of more than one generation of family living in one household. This can happen for several reasons, but there are certain cultural and economic trends that one must consider before making conclusions. Some cultures are more likely to live in a multigenerational household than others. Another factor is economics. People may live under one roof to save on rent or mortgage. This makes sense for some people as well, especially if grandparents are retired and available to provide childcare. This can be seen as a symbiotic relationship: the parents receive childcare from person(s) they trust. The grandparents may benefit from having a more affordable housing option (especially if they are on e fixed income), and they may be more likely to be connected with other people, so that they have more interaction with others. (a common problem for some elderly when they retire)
The economic factors are what this article focuses on. The Great Recession, as many people call it, may be a contributing factor to the growing incidence of multigenerational housing in the United States.
As always, click on the title at the top to follow the link to the article.
This particular article talks about a recent trend that they attribute to the Great Recession. That is, that there is a growing trend of more than one generation of family living in one household. This can happen for several reasons, but there are certain cultural and economic trends that one must consider before making conclusions. Some cultures are more likely to live in a multigenerational household than others. Another factor is economics. People may live under one roof to save on rent or mortgage. This makes sense for some people as well, especially if grandparents are retired and available to provide childcare. This can be seen as a symbiotic relationship: the parents receive childcare from person(s) they trust. The grandparents may benefit from having a more affordable housing option (especially if they are on e fixed income), and they may be more likely to be connected with other people, so that they have more interaction with others. (a common problem for some elderly when they retire)
The economic factors are what this article focuses on. The Great Recession, as many people call it, may be a contributing factor to the growing incidence of multigenerational housing in the United States.
As always, click on the title at the top to follow the link to the article.
7 Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss
This is an article I ran across today that lists 7 things that you should never say to your boss. Now, there are probably more than 7 things that you should never say to your boss. And I don't typically recommend that you get your career or life advice from the rotation of the articles that appear on your Yahoo! page when signing in to read your email, but sometimes they are fun to read.
Click on the title up at the top to read the article.
Click on the title up at the top to read the article.
12 References You Do Not Want To See
This was an article that was sent to me recently by a colleague. It is more fun to read about someone else's mistakes and/or poor fortune. But I think the message is somewhat clear, and is also directly relevant to the topic of this blog. That is, be midful of the people that you choose to be your references. Make sure you choose people that know you well, and will talk positively about your work! This seems somewhat simple, but as the article points out, it is not a message that everyone has gotten!
More Evidence That You Should Not Post Your Drunken Party Pics on Websites...
In a continuing effort to scare people, mostly students, from posting pictures of them partying (or anything that might embarrass or compromise), I am posting this link of an unfortunate story. The full link to the story can be found by clicking on the title at the top.
Basically, a defendant in a DWI case received a harsher sentence because of pictures that were posted on a social networking site. The pictures help establish a pattern of risky behavior. Sometimes first time offenders receive much reduced sentences because they are a first time offender. That is, they have not established a pattern of poor judgement and behavior. This is done to differentiate between those that have just made a mistake from those that have a clear history of poor behavior and are in need of rehabilitation. I think the essence of this sotry is that the person in question received a stiffer sentence because a pattern of behavior was established by her history of related poor behavior. In other words, she had not been convicted of prior crimes, but her pictures served as evidence that showed a pattern of related poor behavior. Very unfortunate, but also a very interesting discussion topic.
This of course, goes back to my hope to educate people to be very mindful and careful of the information that you post. The internet is an open, voyeuristic medium--the information you choose to share could potentially be shared with anyone...including schools, potential employers, even the courts!
Basically, a defendant in a DWI case received a harsher sentence because of pictures that were posted on a social networking site. The pictures help establish a pattern of risky behavior. Sometimes first time offenders receive much reduced sentences because they are a first time offender. That is, they have not established a pattern of poor judgement and behavior. This is done to differentiate between those that have just made a mistake from those that have a clear history of poor behavior and are in need of rehabilitation. I think the essence of this sotry is that the person in question received a stiffer sentence because a pattern of behavior was established by her history of related poor behavior. In other words, she had not been convicted of prior crimes, but her pictures served as evidence that showed a pattern of related poor behavior. Very unfortunate, but also a very interesting discussion topic.
This of course, goes back to my hope to educate people to be very mindful and careful of the information that you post. The internet is an open, voyeuristic medium--the information you choose to share could potentially be shared with anyone...including schools, potential employers, even the courts!
Top Ranked Job Search Sites
Top Ranked Job Search Sites by Dept. of Labor
A link to the article can be reached by clicking on the blog title.
It's official: The list of top job search tools on the web, according to the US Department of Labor's Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge.
Divided into six major categories, here are the results in alphabetical order:
Career Exploration Tools
ASVAB Career Exploration Program
Career Coach
CareerNoodle
CareerOneStop
FastWeb
Great Job!
JobTitled
Kuder Journey
Monster Career Advice
Monster Career Benchmarking
Career Planning Tools
50+ Career Coach
Career Ready 101
CareerScribe
GadBall.com
Monster's Making It Count Program
National Career Readiness Certificate
Optimal Resume
ResuWe
Susan Ireland's Resume Site
The Riley Guide
General Job Boards, Listing Sites, and Aggregators
America's Virtual OneStop
CareerBuilder. com
Careerstallion. com
Indeed.com
JobSearchUsa. org
LinkUp.com
Monster Newspaper Partnerships(PDF)
Monster.com
Simplyhired. com
USAjobs.gov
Niche Job Boards
Specific Occupations:
Excelle
HR Guru
Inside Tech
Media Buzz
Sales HQ
State/Local Job Tools:
Employ Florida Marketplace - Florida's Online Career Resource
IHaveAPlanIowa - Everyone Needs a Plan To Succeed
Illinois workNet
WECAN- Wisconsin Education Career Access Network
Workforce Central Florida
Military/State/ Local Government:
Fire Link
Military.com
Police Link
Transition Assistance Online
VetJobs
40 and Older Worker/Senior:
AARP Job Board
OurExperienceCounts
Retired Brains
Diverse Populations:
Diversity & Inclusion Networks
MarylandDiversity. com
TexasDiversity. com
Ex-Offender:
GoodWill services for Ex-Offender
HIRE Network
The Next Step/WOTC Solutions
Students:
AfterCollege
Monster College, a Monster Community
OSU-OKC Job Postings
Social Media Job Search
Door64.com
GreenJOBS.pro
JibberJobber. com
JobHunt.org Twitter
Jobs-Assistant
Linkedin Jobs Group
Susan Ireland's YouTube Playlists
Susan P. Joyce's Linkedin Group
TweetMyJOBS. com
Other Job Matching and Career Advancement Tools
Alison.com
Career Directors International
Department of Education- Training Grants
Human Capital Institute
Monster Evolutions
Monster Real-Time Labor Intelligence
Monster’s Keep America Working Tour
SkillUP
Step 9: Apply for a Job Using Shortcuts
WaggleForce
Demographics of Social Networking Sites
I came across this interesting artcle on a website that I regularly read, The Silicon Alley Insider www.alleyinsider.com.
The article provided basic information about the demogrpahics of the user base of three of the most popular social networking sites, Facebook, LinkeIn, and Twitter. It did not include MySpace in the data, there are probably a couple of reasons for this. One, they received their information from anotehr source, and the source did not research the data for MySpace. The other might be that MySpace's popularity is declining. Active users have been declining steadily over the last year or so, while Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have been enjoying a growing active user base. Because they have a growing interest, they are more relevant to those that are researching trends of how people use social networking sites.
The graphs and breakdowns are listed in this news article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/is-your-target-audience-on-twitter-facebook-or-linkedin-2010-2
The article provided basic information about the demogrpahics of the user base of three of the most popular social networking sites, Facebook, LinkeIn, and Twitter. It did not include MySpace in the data, there are probably a couple of reasons for this. One, they received their information from anotehr source, and the source did not research the data for MySpace. The other might be that MySpace's popularity is declining. Active users have been declining steadily over the last year or so, while Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have been enjoying a growing active user base. Because they have a growing interest, they are more relevant to those that are researching trends of how people use social networking sites.
The graphs and breakdowns are listed in this news article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/is-your-target-audience-on-twitter-facebook-or-linkedin-2010-2
Interesting Article About the Millenial Generation
I read this interesting article the other day about some research that the Pew Foundation did on behaviors of the Millenial Generation. Millenials are defined as the population that currently fall in the 18-29 year old demographic (born in years between 1981 and 1992). For career counselors, it is interesting to study this generation, as it can represent a large population of the people we serve, especially if we work in a college setting. In other words, I must know the people that I am working with on a daily basis.
According to the research, compared to other generations that came before them, they are more more racially diverse, less likely to be affiliated with a religion, less likely to have served in the military, and are "on track to become the most educated generation in American history."
This is powerful information, especially the quote that states this generation is more educated than any preceding them. As the article points out, they are entering the job market in one of the most difficult times in recent history. The recession we are currently experiencing is considered by many to be the most far reaching and devastating since the Great Depression. Yet, this population of Millenials tends to have far more of an upbeat and positive attitude than other demographics. Why is this? There are several possible scenarios. One theory is that younger people tend to be less focused on the future in general, and that they still have that feeling of invincibility. Are there other reasons? And what are the consequences for an entire generation of young people that have been, and continue to be affected by economic hardship? If they enter the workforce later than other generations, despite being more educated, what are the long term effects on their careers, and their financial stability? One growing problem is the lack of retirement planning that Americans face. American savings rates have been declining on a steady pace over the last 10-20 years. Combined with the latest economic hardship, what affect will all this have on the Millenials? The generation coming out the Great Depression tended to save more money, knowing what was possible. Will today's Millenials follow that pattern as well? Or will their optimism keep the overall savings rate declining? What do you think?
A link to the Pew Research article is posted here:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1501/%20millennials-new-survey-generational-personality-upbeat-open-new-ideas-technology-bound
According to the research, compared to other generations that came before them, they are more more racially diverse, less likely to be affiliated with a religion, less likely to have served in the military, and are "on track to become the most educated generation in American history."
This is powerful information, especially the quote that states this generation is more educated than any preceding them. As the article points out, they are entering the job market in one of the most difficult times in recent history. The recession we are currently experiencing is considered by many to be the most far reaching and devastating since the Great Depression. Yet, this population of Millenials tends to have far more of an upbeat and positive attitude than other demographics. Why is this? There are several possible scenarios. One theory is that younger people tend to be less focused on the future in general, and that they still have that feeling of invincibility. Are there other reasons? And what are the consequences for an entire generation of young people that have been, and continue to be affected by economic hardship? If they enter the workforce later than other generations, despite being more educated, what are the long term effects on their careers, and their financial stability? One growing problem is the lack of retirement planning that Americans face. American savings rates have been declining on a steady pace over the last 10-20 years. Combined with the latest economic hardship, what affect will all this have on the Millenials? The generation coming out the Great Depression tended to save more money, knowing what was possible. Will today's Millenials follow that pattern as well? Or will their optimism keep the overall savings rate declining? What do you think?
A link to the Pew Research article is posted here:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1501/%20millennials-new-survey-generational-personality-upbeat-open-new-ideas-technology-bound
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Web 2.0 Experience
I read an interesting article on SFGate.com the other day. I found it to be an excellent introduction to my recent area of focus: using the internet to effectively market yourself. In a relatively brief article, the Chronicle describes how the Web 2.o platform has not only changed people's online usage habits, but changed how many users search, share, and receive information. It describes the decline in ad revenues for newspapers and traditional television news, which is fueled by smaller audiences in each medium. Not only do people find their news on the internet more than they did in recent years, they often turn to social networking sites to perpetuate stories of interest (kind of like this blog). Of particular interest is the usage of the term "social currency", which describes how people use news to interact with one another online. This piqued my interest, I will research this to see if I can find more on this phenomenon.
If interested in reading this full article, you find it here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/03/01/BU7T1C7C5F.DTL
JV
If interested in reading this full article, you find it here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/03/01/BU7T1C7C5F.DTL
JV
I'm Back!
Hi All,
I have taken a bit of a hiatus from posting over the last year to catch up on my school work, and welcome my first child, our daughter! Yes, this last year has been somewhat of a whirlwind of events. My wife finished her Master's Degree last May! We gave birth to our daughter last September, which in itself was a life-changing, but fun event. She is now 5 months old--she is really starting to show her personality more with each passing day. I have been told this is a really fun age to witness, and so far I agree. Her mental progress seems measurable almost on a daily basis. It is also interesting to be a father now, as I have been working with children and adults on development, so it is an experience to practice a bit of what I preach.
Anyway, over the next several weeks I will be focusing my posts on something very relevant to me: Online networking, and how to leverage your online profile to get into your next job! I will be graduating from San Jose State this May. Despite the tough economic conditions, I am faced with finding employment at one of the local colleges. My emphasis is on career counseling, but I have experience as a generalist at Foothill College.
As I continue to leverage my own experience online, I will document the information that I find that works for me, as well as the information that does not work. I hope this information may find it's way to someone that will find it useful.
Anyway, good to be back, I look forward to many future posts, and hopefully discussions! Please send me a note if you have any questions and/or comments!
JV
I have taken a bit of a hiatus from posting over the last year to catch up on my school work, and welcome my first child, our daughter! Yes, this last year has been somewhat of a whirlwind of events. My wife finished her Master's Degree last May! We gave birth to our daughter last September, which in itself was a life-changing, but fun event. She is now 5 months old--she is really starting to show her personality more with each passing day. I have been told this is a really fun age to witness, and so far I agree. Her mental progress seems measurable almost on a daily basis. It is also interesting to be a father now, as I have been working with children and adults on development, so it is an experience to practice a bit of what I preach.
Anyway, over the next several weeks I will be focusing my posts on something very relevant to me: Online networking, and how to leverage your online profile to get into your next job! I will be graduating from San Jose State this May. Despite the tough economic conditions, I am faced with finding employment at one of the local colleges. My emphasis is on career counseling, but I have experience as a generalist at Foothill College.
As I continue to leverage my own experience online, I will document the information that I find that works for me, as well as the information that does not work. I hope this information may find it's way to someone that will find it useful.
Anyway, good to be back, I look forward to many future posts, and hopefully discussions! Please send me a note if you have any questions and/or comments!
JV
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