Back in April, the New York Times wrestled with the issue of whether the unpaid intern was legal or not. One of the conclusions stated: "California and some other states require that interns receive college credit as a condition of being unpaid. But federal regulators say that receiving college credit does not necessarily free companies from paying interns, especially when the internship involves little training and mainly benefits the employer."
Well TLNT wrote this week that the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has begun to crack down on businesses that do not pay interns and offers some keys about complying with the law. While the DOL has issued a "fact sheet", TLNT does a great job of translating that for Human Resources and figuring out where problem areas still exist.
And then there's the factor of which degree to choose when you're in school? Well Monster.com and Yahoo! HotJobs issued a list of the worst-paying college degrees (H/T Wendy). A good list of majors to avoid for students and areas where Human Resources should take notice.
Well once those college students graduate, what is waiting for them? Not much. The New York Times wrote back in July that many are trying to join Teach for America--but few are actually chosen for the very selective positions. But yet many graduates from some of the most prestigious colleges around the country are applying there for the job security and resume booster that it provides.
Last piece of advice for the college grad (or, really, anyone else) comes from The Oatmeal: "What your email address says about your computer skills." A funny must-read for anyone who is applying to a job with an @aol.com/@yahoo.com/@hotmail.com address.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday in the Park
Not exactly in the park, but it is a beautiful Saturday to be there and if you want some great links while you're lounging in the sun.
From ben's blog, some advice about the right way to lay off an employee. The steps? Get your head right, don't delay, be clear in your own mind about why you are laying people off, train your managers, be visible and be present. "After seeing their friends laid off, employees were no longer willing to make the requisite sacrifices needed to build a company. He said that although it was possible to survive an isolated layoff, it was hugely unlikely that a company would experience great success."
From ESPN New York, an interesting conflict between the New York Jets and a female reporter. The interesting part of this story has been the response from other female journalists who have been less than supportive of Ines Sainz, the woman who filed the complaint of discrimination and harassment.
Interview Tips has 20 ways to nail an interview with some hilarious videos of people who didn't come close to doing so (H/T Wendy). Number 16 may be the worst.
There are job reports out there, but finally there is The Hidden Job Report.
And lastly, some advice about what a company blog should look like from The New York Enterprise Report (H/T Jennifer)
From ben's blog, some advice about the right way to lay off an employee. The steps? Get your head right, don't delay, be clear in your own mind about why you are laying people off, train your managers, be visible and be present. "After seeing their friends laid off, employees were no longer willing to make the requisite sacrifices needed to build a company. He said that although it was possible to survive an isolated layoff, it was hugely unlikely that a company would experience great success."
From ESPN New York, an interesting conflict between the New York Jets and a female reporter. The interesting part of this story has been the response from other female journalists who have been less than supportive of Ines Sainz, the woman who filed the complaint of discrimination and harassment.
Interview Tips has 20 ways to nail an interview with some hilarious videos of people who didn't come close to doing so (H/T Wendy). Number 16 may be the worst.
There are job reports out there, but finally there is The Hidden Job Report.
And lastly, some advice about what a company blog should look like from The New York Enterprise Report (H/T Jennifer)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Astronology - Attracting and Retaining Organizational "Keepers"
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Monday, September 20, 2010
"Disaster" Planning
Most companies--especially since September 11th--have instituted pretty robust disaster recovery plans. If everything goes to junk, what who does what and who goes where? But what happens when things are less than disaster level--or rather becomes not a disaster for the company but for the employees? How does your company react then?
An example of that was seen today. With the huge fire in Harlem of New York on the bridge which connects Manhattan to the Bronx, Westchester, Connecticut (and other areas), Metro-North commuter rail service was suspended coming and going to Grand Central Station, one of the busiest train stations in the entire world.
Employees had to think fast about how to get from work to home, regardless of which direction they are going. Some companies let employees go a little early to give them the opportunity to seek alternative transportation and others provided extra transportation. My company decide to take all the New York City train commuters and put them on a van from Stamford, CT to Grand Central.
Companies can do things like this all the time--and at times at no cost to the company. Letting employees work at home on days that are supposed to be really snowy or providing updates when traffic or train conditions do appear to everyone in the office are little things some companies do to avoid "disasters" for their employees. While they may seem like small gestures, they can be important ones to help keep employees happy and productive--when I didn't have to worry anymore about how I was going to get home today, I sure know I was.
-Andrew
An example of that was seen today. With the huge fire in Harlem of New York on the bridge which connects Manhattan to the Bronx, Westchester, Connecticut (and other areas), Metro-North commuter rail service was suspended coming and going to Grand Central Station, one of the busiest train stations in the entire world.
Employees had to think fast about how to get from work to home, regardless of which direction they are going. Some companies let employees go a little early to give them the opportunity to seek alternative transportation and others provided extra transportation. My company decide to take all the New York City train commuters and put them on a van from Stamford, CT to Grand Central.
Companies can do things like this all the time--and at times at no cost to the company. Letting employees work at home on days that are supposed to be really snowy or providing updates when traffic or train conditions do appear to everyone in the office are little things some companies do to avoid "disasters" for their employees. While they may seem like small gestures, they can be important ones to help keep employees happy and productive--when I didn't have to worry anymore about how I was going to get home today, I sure know I was.
-Andrew
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Astronology - Straightening Ties
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Monday, September 06, 2010
Happy Labor Day
On Labor Day, be thankful to those who do labor for you: your employees. But while you and they are probably enjoying a day off, let's take a look at some links about your labor force.
First from the Wall Street Journal, an article from two weeks ago that got a lot of attention: "The End of Management." It's a provocative piece that makes you think if you would really be better off having managers who act like venture capitalists. It would certainly mean interesting things for the labor force.
Also from the Wall Street Journal, an older article that talks about how Goldman Sachs is banning naughty words in their e-mails, making sure their labor force doesn't use any language that will show up controversially in a congressional hearing like they had this past summer.
Next, from Yahoo! Finance via Bloomberg Businessweek, a nod to napping in the office (H/T Wendy). While before it was an act that could get employees fired, this article says that companies are more and more encouraging their labor force to get some zzz's at the workplace.
Lastly, from the New York Times Career Couch, a Q&A that asks about the separation between church and cubicle, among other labor-related topics.
Have a great weekend and enjoy your holiday BBQs!
First from the Wall Street Journal, an article from two weeks ago that got a lot of attention: "The End of Management." It's a provocative piece that makes you think if you would really be better off having managers who act like venture capitalists. It would certainly mean interesting things for the labor force.
Also from the Wall Street Journal, an older article that talks about how Goldman Sachs is banning naughty words in their e-mails, making sure their labor force doesn't use any language that will show up controversially in a congressional hearing like they had this past summer.
Next, from Yahoo! Finance via Bloomberg Businessweek, a nod to napping in the office (H/T Wendy). While before it was an act that could get employees fired, this article says that companies are more and more encouraging their labor force to get some zzz's at the workplace.
Lastly, from the New York Times Career Couch, a Q&A that asks about the separation between church and cubicle, among other labor-related topics.
Have a great weekend and enjoy your holiday BBQs!
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Talking About 20-Somethings
By now, everyone I know has read the New York Times Magazine article titled "What Is It About 20-Somethings". It's been debated, discussed, and reviewed in many places. But as a 20-something in the job force, I wanted to discuss it a bit here on the blog...because I feel that me and my fellow 20-somethings are getting a bad rap.
We're in the LeBron James-decision, 140-character-Twitter, look-at-me-on-YouTube generation. And yes, I know plenty of people fall into there--babies who were born with a trust fund and parents who can't say no turn into adults of my generation who have never really held a job before and don't know how to have someone else bossing them around. Some people I know thinks the world revolves around them and have facts to back that up: their parents tell them they're that important every day with their words, actions, and wallets.
But there are still plenty of people like me who was forced to get a job if we wanted money, who are trying to make something of ourselves, who may have had undergraduate saved for by family, but certainly chipped in and definitely paid their way through graduate school. We worked hard in school and work hard at work and we have ambition and goals. And while we may not know exactly what we want in our future professional and romantic lives (and some of those issues in our romantic lives have to do with our parents generation who made America the divorcing nation and made our generation question marriage from so many angles), I doubt any of our parents really did either--and we definitely see many of those who did want to have the flexibility they think we have.
It's also not our fault we were thrown into this economy during our first occupational experience. We didn't ask for a recession and nothing we did caused the decision. We didn't take out risky loans and we weren't old enough to make the decisions at the financial institutions that made them possible and then rolled them up into collateralized obligations. We want to succeed but we are getting killed in the job market by people who are much more experienced. That we lack that experience because of our age is certainly not our fault.
So while I know people in Human Resources are reading that New York Times Magazine article and wondering why they should hire a snot-nosed, good-for-nothing, 20-something-year-old, I want to point out that we all don't think our poop doesn't stink. Hey, some of us do, but most of us have great ideas and we have ambition and we want to go places. Some may think we're stuck in some phase called "emerging adulthood", but we'll be the best damn workers you can find.
We're in the LeBron James-decision, 140-character-Twitter, look-at-me-on-YouTube generation. And yes, I know plenty of people fall into there--babies who were born with a trust fund and parents who can't say no turn into adults of my generation who have never really held a job before and don't know how to have someone else bossing them around. Some people I know thinks the world revolves around them and have facts to back that up: their parents tell them they're that important every day with their words, actions, and wallets.
But there are still plenty of people like me who was forced to get a job if we wanted money, who are trying to make something of ourselves, who may have had undergraduate saved for by family, but certainly chipped in and definitely paid their way through graduate school. We worked hard in school and work hard at work and we have ambition and goals. And while we may not know exactly what we want in our future professional and romantic lives (and some of those issues in our romantic lives have to do with our parents generation who made America the divorcing nation and made our generation question marriage from so many angles), I doubt any of our parents really did either--and we definitely see many of those who did want to have the flexibility they think we have.
It's also not our fault we were thrown into this economy during our first occupational experience. We didn't ask for a recession and nothing we did caused the decision. We didn't take out risky loans and we weren't old enough to make the decisions at the financial institutions that made them possible and then rolled them up into collateralized obligations. We want to succeed but we are getting killed in the job market by people who are much more experienced. That we lack that experience because of our age is certainly not our fault.
So while I know people in Human Resources are reading that New York Times Magazine article and wondering why they should hire a snot-nosed, good-for-nothing, 20-something-year-old, I want to point out that we all don't think our poop doesn't stink. Hey, some of us do, but most of us have great ideas and we have ambition and we want to go places. Some may think we're stuck in some phase called "emerging adulthood", but we'll be the best damn workers you can find.