Nov. 26 Journalism: Today is my day off and as usual I’m productive by looking for a job. I haven’t been on Linked In in a long time. I have gotten emails from them about new jobs. I decided to click on them. There is one for social media manager. The requirement is a degree in professional writing, communications, English, or journalism. This proves that if you are majoring in journalism, you don’t have to just write for the newspaper, you can be a social media manager.
Nov. 27 Business news:
Toronto Star: The newspaper Toronto Star and Harlequin books are owned by Torstar. Torstar is losing money because ad revenue is down.
Pixar Canada: This was in Oct. 2013, but I will tell you now. Pixar Canada closes down in Vancouver and lays off 100 people.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/disney-shuts-down-pixar-canada-s-vancouver-studio-1.1958844
Sears: On Oct. 31, 2013, I read that Sears is selling 5 of their locations for $400 million. Now today I read that they’re laying off 800 people. The article here:
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/sears-canada-deepens-cuts-with-another-800-layoffs-in-repair-parts-and-services-1.1561680
Indigo bookstore: On Nov. 7, 2013, I read that the bookstore sales are decreasing. Well everybody’s getting Kindles.
Blockbuster: On Nov. 7, 2013, I read that they will close 300 stores and keep 50 of them open in the US.
Nov. 28 Temp: I’ve been reading “Temp” by the author Douglas Copeland. He has a 20 part short stories in the Metro. It’s about a young woman named Shannon and her adventures working as a temp. It has quirky characters.
On the pages, there are these little business facts:
Generation Wait: On Nov. 15, 2013 I read this in Metro. I found the longer article about it.
“Burdened with college debt or toiling in low-wage jobs, they are delaying careers, marriage and having children. Waiting anxiously for their lucky break, they are staying put and doubling up with roommates or living with Mom and dad, unable to make long-term plans or commit to buying a home — let alone pay a mortgage.
"I'm constantly looking for other jobs," says Jeremy Bills, 27, of Nashville, Tenn., who graduated from Vanderbilt University in May 2011 with a master's degree in human and organizational development. Originally from Tampa, Fla., Bills has stayed put in his college town in hopes of finding a job in management consulting or human resources. Instead, he has mostly found odd jobs like pulling weeds and dog-sitting.”
My opinion: In the Metro, the headline said “Sound familiar?” Yeah. I wouldn’t say we’re delaying our careers, we are looking for careers. We are delaying marriage and having children. If you want to get married, sure you can. But don’t have kids if you’re in debt.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/generation-wait-share-young-adults-who-move-hits-50-year-2D11591053
“80% of jobs are secured via networking.”
On Nov. 18, 2013: “A Statistics Canada study showed that temp workers earn on average 16% less than their permanent peers.”
“Smile like you mean it- 85% of the decision to hire or promote an employee is based on the individual’s attitude.”
Nov. 20, 2013: Workers in temp jobs were 37% less likely to be absent than permanent workers.
Workers who worked there for 1-3 months were 27% less likely to take an absence than those who’ve worked there longer.
Wal-mart: “Federal officials in the US are prepared to file formal complaints against Wal-mart for allegedly violating the legal rights of protesting workers last year.”
“67% of job seekers would accept a lower salary if they company had exceptionally positive reviews online or a lot of positive press (65%).”
Sexting: This belongs in my business email. On Nov. 1, 2013 in the Metro, Mike Benhaim writes: “Oops. A teaching assistant at the University of Iowa sent her math students an email saying ‘Hi Class, I attach the solutions for number 76 and 78.’ Instead, she accidentally sent nude pictures of her and a man pleasuring themselves. The images went viral immediately.”
The lesson is don’t sext. I remember listening to 91.7 The Bounce radio station and someone called in saying that if you do send a sexy picture of yourself, don’t have your face or head in the picture so you can’t really be identified.
Dec. 2 Customer Service book: My brother bought the book called Customer Service Training 101 by Renee Evenson (2nd edition.) It was for school. He’s done with school so I decided to read it. The book talks about how to deal with customers through the phone, emails, and face-to-face. It’s also about effective communication and relationship building.
I would grade this book average. B-. It was a fast and easy read, but it didn’t really tell me anything new. It did give practical advice and tips.
http://www.bullseyepublishing.com/
Inspired: I think the best part of the book was Chapter 10, “Being the Best You Can Be: The Total Package.” It was inspirational and positive to read about writing down your goals and focusing on them. Asking questions about: “Am I proud of my efforts?”
I guess I like to read inspirational things. It’s a little more right-brained. Most of the book was left-brain practical work.
Dec. 3 Job offers: I did have a few job offers this year. I did get hired at the Edmonton Elections. I was then told the job was 8am-9pm. That’s an 11 hr shift. She then told me what the day was going to be like. The voter comes in and you get them to fill out and sign the form. You direct him to this other table where the ID gets checked. You direct this person to another table to fill out ballot.
The ballot is then passed onto another person who faxes it. After she told me about it, I had to think about it. There was also a 3 hr training session prior to it. After about a day of thinking, it didn’t appeal to me, so I called them and said I wouldn’t take it. It’s no major loss or gain by taking or not taking the job. Yeah, well at least I voted.
Staffing agency: I did get hired from the staffing agency Trades Labor. I found the ad on Kijiji, and it didn’t say anything that it was from a staffing agency so I applied to it. I got a call on Saturday and then I learned that it was Trades Labor. So I turned it down.
I then thought maybe I should have taken it and start somewhere. I then looked for confirmation on the internet by typing “staffing agencies are good.” It did lead me to this link:
http://www.recruiter.com/i/3-myths-about-staffing-agencies/
It discusses that staffing agencies don’t charge fees, they do hire entry and senior level jobs, and it’s not just temporary. I did a read a Metro article about you use these agencies are good if you are looking for temp work, want to try something new without a big commitment, and if you had taken a leave from work, you can get your feet back into it.
I checked on Lola’s World blog post about her bad experience with them. There are now 105 comments on it. There is one comment that is kind of neutral:
At Nov. 6, 2013,
Pierre Grima said:
IT Jobs UK
http://thinkinglola.blogspot.ca/2005/08/why-recruitment-agencies-suck.html
