March 2008
Monday March 31, 2008
Posted by: eyoung at 11:53AM CST on March 31, 2008
By Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times SAN FRANCISCO — As the birthplace of technology, Silicon Valley may have more gadgets per capita than any other place on the planet. Yet, even here, "always on" can be a real turn off. Frustrated by distracted workers so plugged in that they tune out in the middle of business meetings, a growing number of companies are going "topless," as in no laptops allowed. Also banned from some conference rooms: BlackBerrys, iPhones and other personal devices on which so many have come to depend. Meetings have never been popular in Silicon Valley. Engineers would rather write code than talk about it. Over the years, companies have come up with innovative ways to keep staff meetings from sucking up time. Some remove chairs to force everyone to talk fast on their feet. Others get everyone to drink a glass of water beforehand. But as laptops have gotten lighter and smart phones even smarter, people have discovered a handy diversion, making more eye contact these days with their screens than each other. The practice became so pervasive that Todd Wilkens turned to his company blog to wage his "personal war against CrackBerry." "In this age of wireless Internet and mobile e-mail devices, having an effective meeting or working session is becoming more and more difficult. Laptops, Blackberries, Sidekicks, iPhones, and the like keep people from being fully present," he wrote in November 2007. "Aside from just being rude, partial attention generally leads to partial results." His San Francisco design firm, Adaptive Path, now strongly encourages everyone to leave their laptops at their desks. His colleague, Dan Saffer, coined the term "topless" as in "laptop-less." Also booted are mobile and smart phones, which must be stowed on a counter or in a box during meetings. It took some convincing, but soon people began connecting with each other rather than with their computers, Wilkens said. "All of our meetings got a lot more productive," he said. ... (more)Wednesday March 26, 2008
Posted by: eyoung at 9:13AM CST on March 26, 2008
Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. — Prosecutors say a video shows a Connecticut correction officer running a 40-yard-dash in women’s clothing and high heels — at a time he had claimed he was too injured to work. Garrett A. Dalton of Naugatuck has been charged with workers compensation fraud. He’s accused of taking part in a radio station’s contest for Hannah Montana concert tickets last year. Not only did he have to dress in drag, but he had to carry an egg on a spoon. Authorities were alerted after someone saw Dalton in a TV news report. Prosecutors say the 41-year-old collected more than $5,000 in workers’ compensation after he reported a work-related injury in June. Court documents do not list an attorney for Dalton, and his phone number is unlisted. And no, he didn’t win the contest.
Tuesday March 25, 2008
Posted by: eyoung at 3:03PM CST on March 25, 2008
By Tom Musbach, Yahoo! HotJobs Bad bosses are easy to spot in the media, and many people like to compare their managers to the ice queen Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" or the clueless Michael Scott on "The Office." Good bosses may get less screen time, but everybody wants one. What, exactly, makes a boss "good"? In a recent survey by Yahoo! HotJobs, U.S. workers identified several qualities they consider necessary for a good boss. The traits are listed below in order of importance. Top 10 Good-Boss Traits 1. Communication/listening skills 2. Effective leadership skills 3. Trust in employees to do their jobs well 4. Flexibility and understanding 5. Intelligence 6. Teamwork skills and even temperament (tie) 7. Interest in employee development 8. Ability to share credit 9. Successful in finding and retaining new talent 10. Presentation skills "The results of this survey suggest that today's workers are pretty savvy about what it takes to be an effective manager," says Liz Bywater, president of the Bywater Consulting Group, which is devoted to improving organizational performance. "An excellent boss must possess many, if not all, of the qualities identified on this top 10 list." What do you think: What makes a good boss? Wednesday March 19, 2008
Posted by: eyoung at 12:44PM CST on March 19, 2008
If I think back -- way, way, way back to the spring of 1993 -- I can vaguely remember being sort of excited when my college acceptance letter came. I was definitely more excited yesterday afternoon when this letter arrived from that same university: “DEAR ELIZABETH F BLAUSTEIN: THIS IS THE FINAL PAYMENT NOTICE FOR YOUR LOAN.” The letter is printed in all caps, omitting unnecessary punctuation like the period after my middle initial. They’ve used a no-frills, all-business, default font to notify me of this major life event. There’s no fancy seal; there’s no embossing or calligraphy. The letter wasn’t signed by the university president. There’s not even a school logo. It’s just an inexpensive piece of standard copy paper with a black-and-white print-out of what I’ve spent over the past 10 years for the previous four. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR AUTODRAFT PLAN,” the letter ends. “SINCERELY, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.” And that’s it. The final correspondence from my university about my education. The last of my student loans. I forgive my alma mater for its obvious lack of excitement, for skipping the congratulations and well wishes. Sure, they could have added a simple: “Hey ELIZABETH F BLAUSTEIN, great job making all those payments on time!” They could have included some purple confetti, or a witty “I spent 10 years paying for NU and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” T-shirt. But of course, the magnitude of this event is understandably lost on them. And that's OK. I’m excited enough for both of us. It took 10 years and nine months, but I’m officially a debt-free college graduate. Whoo-hoo!! Go NU!! I remember vaguely how I celebrated getting into college. How does one celebrate finally paying that education off??
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Posted by: eyoung at 10:48AM CST on March 12, 2008
PRNewswire-FirstCall What’s the most unusual thing a candidate did in a job interview? Fall asleep? Disappear? Bring his or her mom? CareerBuilder.com released its annual survey of the most outrageous interview mistakes candidates have made, according to more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals nationwide. This year’s Top Ten list includes: 1. Candidate answered cell phone and asked the interviewer to leave her own office because it was a "private" conversation. 2. Candidate told the interviewer that he wouldn’t be able to stay with the job long because he thought he might get an inheritance if his uncle died -- and his uncle wasn’t "looking too good." 3. Candidate asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview. 4. Candidate smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room. 5. Candidate said she could not provide a writing sample because all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was "classified." 6. Candidate told the interviewer he was fired for beating up his last boss. 7. When applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn’t want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking. 8. A candidate for an accounting position said she was a "people person," not a "numbers person." 9. Candidate flushed the toilet while talking to interviewer during phone interview. 10. Candidate took out a hair brush and brushed her hair. Vote for your favorite: What blunder is biggest? In addition to the most unusual blunders, employers were also asked about the most common and detrimental mistakes candidates have made during an interview. More than half (51 percent) of hiring managers cited dressing inappropriately as the most detrimental mistake a candidate can make in an interview. Speaking negatively about a current or previous employer came in second at 49 percent, and appearing disinterested ranked third at 48 percent. Other mistakes included appearing arrogant (44 percent), not providing specific answers (30 percent) and not asking good questions (29 percent). "Interviews give employers a window into what it’s really like to work with a candidate -- how they react under pressure, what motivates them and how they interact with others," said Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. "If a candidate is overly negative, plays the blame game, is easily frazzled or doesn’t come prepared, it usually sends up a red flag for employers. Be knowledgeable about the company, rehearse answers to potential questions and always maintain a professional manner." Haefner offers the following tips for successful interviews: • Do your homework: Nothing says "I’m not that interested in this job" like someone who has done no research and knows little about a company. It’s easier than ever to find information about a company and its activities. Candidates who don’t could be perceived as lazy, unmotivated or disinterested.• Don’t get too personal: The last thing an employer wants to do is to hire someone who brings all their personal drama to the office. Even if the interview seems casual, always keep it professional and avoid sharing unnecessary personal information. • Be honest: Interviewers don’t expect you to have all the answers. Often they are testing your reaction to "tough questions" to see how you respond under pressure. It’s much worse to get caught in a lie than admit you don’t know something. If you are unsure of an answer, it’s OK to say you don’t know but then outline the steps you would take to find out. This will demonstrate you’re a problem solver. • Prepare for these common open-ended questions: "Tell me about yourself?" "Why do you want to work here?" "What motivates you?" These questions may seem easy, but because they are so broad, candidates can get tripped up by them if they don’t know where to start or when to end. • Don’t go negative: No matter how tempting it is to share woes from prior jobs or how much an interviewer is pushing you to do so, it’s never a good idea to say negative things about a previous employer. The interviewer will assume you will also be likely to bad mouth their company in the future. This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 3,016, hiring managers and human resource professionals between Nov. 13 and Dec. 3, 2007. |
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