Job Scam Feeds on Desperation of Unemployed Workers

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Unless you’ve been hiding out in a black hole, you’re well aware of the scantness of the job market.  Chances are if you are not among the unemployed, you probably know a few people that are in the scramble for a steady monetary flow and health insurance.  Read more

Confessions of a Habitual Job Hopper

In my first five years of working in “the real world”, I held down five different jobs.  One of these was part-time and held in conjunction with my current day job.  However, when friends or co-workers would ask me about my job history, it would oftentimes seem that I was older than I really was — soley because of the fact that at the ripe old age of 25, I’d already amassed a whole resume page full of relevant job titles.

It was then that I realized I was what the adults called a “job hopper”.  With it’s adverse sound and generally negative connotation, I immediately jumped on defense — backing the countless responsibilities I’d been so lucky to nail down.  But the fact was — and still is — that I am indeed a job hopper.  And I’ve come to realize that there’s nothing wrong with that.

In fact, we’ve got a whole generation of job hoppers jumping into the work force.   While the recession may temporarily slow them down and dissuade them from making their usual career leaps, you can bet they’ll be back in full force once the economy builds up strength — moving from company to company looking for the next bigger and better thing.

Aside from the typical negative stereotypes of job hoppers, this isn’t necessarily a completely bad trend.  I say this knowing that I fit the description to a T.  So with a lack factual data about job hoppers (if there even is any), I will limit my ideas of the pros of “hopping” to my own experiences as a habitual job hopper.

Job Hopping Allows Companies to Keep New and Creative Ideas Flowing into the Workplace

Think about the first few months after starting a new job.  Maybe even up to the first year.  Most people generally have a good reservoir of creative ideas on how to more effectively manage projects, cut costs, be more creative — those ideas stem from many things, one being excitement over a new job and wanting to show your value to the company.  Job hoppers tend to crave that feeling and are able to capitalize off of it by producing fresh ideas often to a continually changing audience.  On the flip side, I think that employers can reap the benefits of the influx of innovative ideas coming in.  Even though the argument can be made that the person with the original idea may have left by the time the company is ready to implement said idea, fresh ideas are always good.  They can not only lead to better working conditions, but they can also motivate and invoke creativity in other employees.

Job Hopping Increases the Employee’s Ability to Shimmy up the Salary Ladder

Another good thing (for the hoppers, that is) is the ability to weasel up the salary ladder a lot quicker than someone working for the same company for 5 years.  When switching companies, one generally has far more leverage to negotiate a higher salary than their previous one.  On average, job seekers tend to nail down a 10-15% increase in pay when making a move to a new company.  Compare this to a typical raise of 5-8% when staying with the same company, and it’s not hard to see why frequently hopping the fence can be an attractive option.

Job Hoppers Build Networking Contacts at a Far Quicker Pace

Networking events are all good, but let’s be honest:  real contacts are made through day to day relationships.  Relationships with co-workers who’ve seen your abilities and your work ethic.  Job hopping can be tricky, as you certainly don’t want to burn bridges.  But if done right, constantly building and recycling your networks throughout different companies or even different industries, will build a huge pool of diversified contacts to turn to for future job prospects, career advice, or help when you decide to branch out with your own venture.

While it’s obvious that job hopping is clearly more beneficial to the employee over the employer, there are still benefits that can provide useful for both sides.  I’m a big believer in constant change, as nothing noteworthy has ever been born out of stagnation, and consistent turnover definitely delivers that change.

Even though it may seem audacious for a 25 year old to flaunt a two page resume, keep in mind that it certainly doesn’t mean those two pages aren’t warranted or that less energy was spent on their accomplishments — only that it was completed in a compacted manner.

*Salary increase statistics taken from CNN Money.

Five Prudent Job Skills That You Should be Honing

It’s no big secret that when the job market is down, employers have the upper hand.  If you’re one of the many people in New York who’ve been able to hold onto their current jobs, there’s a good chance you’re still feeling the heat of a possible layoff.  These are the times when you want to shine the most –  show that you’re a team player — let’s be proactive and focus on that synergy, people!  Let’s face it:  if there ever was a time to be “that guy”, the time is probably now.

So instead of lecturing you on the importance of due diligence, we’re going to recommend you execute a little multitasking:  brush up on the technical skills and kiss a little bit of ass.  To help you out, we’ve picked out the five most basic (and crucial) skills to master during this economic meltdown.

1. Above Average Computer Skills – Everyone under the age of 50 knows how to operate a computer, but surprisingly not everyone knows how to run a quick virus scan or even download the latest version of a specific software.  Even when there’s a delegated IT person, it’s still a huge relief when an employee knows how to take care of these issues on their own.  This isn’t rocket science, but in the eyes of an employer, you are saving them time and money spent on a professional.

2. Effective Speaking – This is all about basic communications and knowing how to verbally relate information to people.  For instance, say you have a boss who never takes responsibility for their mistakes and likes to be recognized constantly for their contributions.  You bring a suggestion for a better methodology to their attention, but since it undermines the system that they put in place, they immediately dismiss it.  By bringing skillful wordplay into the picture, you would focus on the ways in which it will enhance their current method.  The impact is always in the delivery.

3.  Research – Employers want to know that you have the ability to dig below the surface.  It could be an in depth question about the history of a certain client or as simple as your boss wanting to know how to use the “add” function in Excel.  If you don’t know the answer, Google it.  This works way too many times.

4. Writing – Your level of writing skill directly correlates into how people view you.  Think about receiving an email from someone you’ve never met.  If it’s concise, grammatically correct, and generally well written, you’d probably envision the person who wrote it being well put together and smart.  If they’re using 2 as a preposition, you’d probably imagine some idiot on a Sidekick.  The way we present ourselves on paper says a lot to employers about our intelligence and general capabilities.  Perfecting your writing skills is as easy as practicing — the more you write, the better you get.

5. Excel – This is the only specific program on the list — and for good reason.  It is the mother of all business programs because of it’s simplistic design and practically endless capabilities.  There’s a reason bankers slave away on their beloved spreadsheets for 16 hours a day — it’s a powerful program that allows you to do a lot of different things (like performing simple math in the margin of a budget while organizing a database of clients on the next sheet) which can be utilized in almost any industry.  It’s not the easiest thing to learn, but there are plenty of How-to books, and generally just playing around with the functions can teach you quite a bit.

Mastering the Job Search in 6 Easy Steps

Jumping back into the job pool?  Whether it’s your first job after college or a career change, you’ll realize pretty early on that it’s an extremely time consuming process.  But don’t get overwhelmed!  Diving into what can seem like the abyss of the job pool can really be quite navigable.  Here are 6 tips to help you on the job hunt: Read more