Friday, December 29, 2006

Election year

In an election yeah, the Washington Post's Robert Novak asks who is Labor's candidate in 2008? click here

It looks good for someone that there will be more jobs in 2007...but who will it look good for, that remains to be seen: click here

Lastly, from the New York Times, an article about the founder of Netflix and how his life got started on that path: click here

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Digging deep

Digging deep on this Thursday into the Human Resources news for you...

First, an article that asks: are your vacation days numbered? Another article about people not using their vacation days: click here

A reprint from the New York Times, but an important article that says to protect your career and identity when looking for a job: click here

And good news for those looking for a job, the indicators show that the January job market shows strong growth: click here

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Change Change Change

A lot of people are seeking change...this comes from the Boston Globe which says this change can be good: click here

The most glaring stats from this article are: "The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that people in their 20s change jobs every 18 months, and CareerJournal reports that 75 percent of all workers are job hunting." Wow.

The Boston Globe goes on to say that a personal coach can help talk you out of a slump and may be a good alternative to switching jobs completely: click here

And, lastly, the New York Times says that adult disabilities can be hidden on the job and how HR professionals can help recognize and treat them: click here

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Boxing Day Special

They don't celebrate it in America, but today is Boxing Day in Canada and we want to honor (or honour) the Canadian holiday...

First, from Amy Joyce of the Washington Post, the word that every day is Christmas: click here

Next, word from the New York Times about a woman plummer, who has a degree in Fine Arts...an interesting story: click here

And, lastly, from the New York Times career couch, advice about finding a mentor: click here

Friday, December 22, 2006

Less Than Conventional Friday

It's a less-than-conventional Friday with less-than-conventional articles...

First, an article that says the business and HR are going to have to prepare for less-than-ready workers: click here

Next, the salary increase for Asian companies was set by Mercer at 4.2% for 2007: click here

Lastly, an interesting take on hiring and keeping salespeople: click here

Thursday, December 21, 2006

We're Seeing Double

For some reason we didn't have a blog posted yesterday so today we're seeing double...as in double the dosage of the Astron Solutions' Blog!

First, from the Houston Chronicle, an outlook on 2007 seems to call for companies to give modest raises to their employees: click here

Maybe they should raise that raise because InformationWeek says that 75% of employees will look for a new job in 2007: click here

There has been much talk in the past few weeks about how insurers are going about handling civil unions: click here

Following up on a past blog article, this article states that human resources departments are forcing out more before retirement age: click here

Technology systems, like the ones Astron Solutions uses, are fast becoming the norm in HR programs: click here

And lastly, also from the Houston Chronicle: it may seem selfevident, but coming in sick is common but not good for productivity: click here

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Last Astronology of 2006

Two great article to prepare you for the last Astronology of 2006:

First, Amy Joyce talks about all those job titles that people are given and what they really mean: click here

And next, from the Washington Post, an article about the Democrates raising the wage for poor workers: click here

Monday, December 18, 2006

Back to The Basics

We had enough videos last week so we're back to the basics: articles

First, an informative article for HR professionals about the IRS's new guidelines on taxpayers substantiating their contributions to charities made through payroll deductions: click here

Next, from the Boston Globe, an article about pitching for flexibility after you get an offer and more advice in this column: click here

And more advice from the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester to use old job to show your skills, but don't let that old job define you: click here

Friday, December 15, 2006

Human Resources Managers

Collegerecruiter.com has an interesting video on what it takes to be a human resources manager...do you feel like this is how your job is?

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

I Work With Monkeys

The worst-case scenario for a Human Resources professional to be in...monkeys come in to interview:

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

YouTubing it with The Office

We went to YouTube again for another great clip about Human Resources, this time, a clip from The Office. Toby tells the Dunder Mifflin employees, they can ask him "any questions about anything", watch what Dwight K Schrute decides to ask him...

Monday, December 11, 2006

A little something different to brighten up your Monday...from YouTube...

Friday, December 08, 2006

Everybody's Working For the Weekend

Including us here at Astron Solutions so we'll make sure to give you some great Human Resources articles going into yours...

First, from the New York Times, an interesting article about people fighting against mandatory retirement ages: click here

Next, from the Washington BizJournal an informative Q&A about the role of Human Resources in a company and what one person sees as their role: click here

And, lastly, from Kentucky, word that they will be starting a HR Certification class at one of their universities...a far cry from really being certified, but a step in the right direction to make sure that HR professionals peform, well, as professionals: click here

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Start Them Out With a Quote

The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.

- James Baldwin



From the Boston Globe, an article that says that you should take care of your employees and they'll take care of you: click here



One of the reasons for that, as shown by the Indianapolis Star is that the rate of unscheduled absesnse rose to 2.5% in 2006: click here



One way to bring down that number is to successfully deal with office mourning and the Boston Globe has some ways to do so: click here





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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Perfomance Review Day

At the time of year when most people are getting the annual performance review, some companies do thing a little differently according to the Washington Post: click here

The Supreme Court is hearing a pay-discrimination case, a case closely watched by companies and civil rights groups, and definitely, HR professionals: click here

Lastly, I thought this had something to do with the Office ("Philly Papers, Union to Continue to Talk"...I could just see Jan getting upset about this one like in "Boys and Girls") but it ends up it has to do with HR issues, so a double bonus: click here

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Job Search Blunders on Astronology Tuesday

First, from Canada, an interesting article about the most common resume blunders encountered in Canada with typos and misspellings at the top: click here

Next, from Amy Joyce of the Washington Post, an article which states that there's no Holiday season for those searching for jobs: click here

And lastly, an interesting article that says the nonprofit skills can pay off in job search as people move to the private sector: click here

Enjoy Astronology and our treat of an extra article on this Tuesday!!!


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Monday, December 04, 2006

Start with a quote...

"Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties." - Doug Larson



What do you do when you've caught the flu but can't use any more sick days? Amy Joyce of the Washington Post has your answer: click here



An interesting article about Human Resource Outsourcing: click here



And from the blog world, an interesting piece from the "Know HR" Blog which discusses the amount of people who lie on their resumes: click here





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Friday, December 01, 2006

The Workforce

We start off on a very somber mood this Friday with an article from BBC News that talks about the crippling effect HIV/AIDS is having on the workforces of many countries: click here

In China, rising costs in major coastal cities are causing firms to relocate their operations, which brings a lot of new problems along with it: click here

And in the US workforce, it seems that the December job market shows modest employment growth: click here

Happy December!!!