In a labor market where a single open position can receive resumes from dozens, even hundreds of hopeful applicants, just getting to the interview stage is an accomplishment for many job seekers. But once one lands the elusive interview, what are the sure-fire ways to make the wrong impression?
Most Harmful Common Mistakes
Hiring managers say the following are the mistakes most detrimental to your interview performance: Continue reading
By Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler
By Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler
A very well-written article in MIT’s Technology Review, “Tectonic Shifts in Employment’, contends that Information Technology is reducing the need for certain jobs faster than new ones are being created. Noting that, “6.3 million fewer Americans have jobs than was true at the end of 2007. And yet the country’s economic output is higher today than it was before the financial crisis.”
The MIT article admits several elements are in play but claims that technological obsolescence is the predominant factor. A similar case was made in Bloomberg Businessweek, Did That Robot Take My Job? at the beginning of the year. There’s no question that technology destroys jobs (and creates new ones) but is the gap as wide as these articles suggest?
We’re not sure.
We think the use of contingent workers, for example, has increased to astounding levels and the accounting of this headcount is almost non-existent within companies when it comes to calculating productivity from F/T. As a result, firms show productivity spikes when in fact they may be using as much or more labor to accomplish their goals.
We’re also concerned about unmeasured anecdotal evidence surfacing where well-known large companies consciously ratchet their performance technology tools to push individual workers (in the service/exempt classification) to unsustainable levels i.e. burning them out by forcing them to work longer hours to meet quotas etc. (And no, we are not talking about some other country here perhaps someone has been adopting a few developing country techniques here.) These onerous practices are similar to what we used to study in grad school as abuses from the 2nd industrial revolution, 1880-1920, that led to the rise of unions.
It makes us think some of the productivity gains we report might just be sleight of hand.
– Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler work full time consulting, educating and discovering how talent and opportunity connect through emerging technology. They can be reached via email at mmc@careerxroads.com, phone at 732-821-6652, or on-line at http://www.careerxroads.com.
Wages and confidence are surging in the global oil and gas industry, according to the annual Salary Guide produced by Hays Oil & Gas and Oil and Gas Job Search. The Salary Guide, based on over 14,000 respondents worldwide, reveals an industry generally brimming with confidence despite widespread concerns over the global economy.
Employer confidence has seen a large increase with 26.7 percent extremely positive about the current market: up from just 9.7 percent in 2011. Three quarters of all employers expect staffing levels to increase in the next 12 months. Matt Underhill, Managing Director of Hays Oil & Gas, comments: “There has been a distinct move to employ permanent staff rather than contractors for many oil companies, which displays an outlook that suggests the industry is on a firm footing. However, conversely there is still great demand for contractors due to a raft of major projects coming on board and new regions increasingly using contractors. With the upward progression of contractor rates throughout 2011, the signs are positive as we enter 2012.” Continue reading
Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes an Economic News Release outlining the duration-of-unemployment in the United States. As of February 3rd, 2012, the numbers indicate that longer than six month job searches still prevail. According to the survey, in January 19.3 percent of job seekers found work in less than 5 weeks; 22.4 percent in 5 to 14 weeks; 15.4 percent in 15 to 26 weeks; and the majority, 42.9 percent, found that their job search extended past 27 weeks.
According to Laura M. Labovich, founder of Aspire! Empower! Career Strategy Group, a DC-based career firm, “As a job seeker, getting expert career advice at the onset of a search is critical, and can shorten the duration of unemployment in the long run.” Continue reading
Top pay among Class of 2011 bachelor’s degree graduates went to finance majors landing financial manager positions with banks, according to a report published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
NACE’s Winter 2012 Salary Survey shows that the average starting salary for these graduates in this position and industry was $67,700. Continue reading
A direct correlation between tracking employee time and an increase in productivity has been observed after analyzing data about how people typically spend their time at work. This information was compiled by DeskTime through its analysis of over one million of work hours.
The study shows that the average employee will spend 12 percent of the working day using what DeskTime considered to be the unproductive applications of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.. This amounts to 65 hours a month, which have not been used productively. Only 59 percent of the day is spent using applications, which DeskTime deemed to be productive.
The data demonstrated that after a month of using a time tracking system and sharing that data with the employees, the productivity of those employees increased by 15 percent. The statistics also showed that the typical employee used a high number of different desktop applications, web sites, and other applications. That indicates that they did a lot of link-jumping at work. Though this may be a good indicator for, for example public relations employees, it might not be the best result for, say, programmers.
In summary, the results of the analysis demonstrate that access to employee time tracking statistics are beneficial both for employees to self-manage an increase in their own productivity, as well as for managers to understand the working habits of their employees.
It may still be winter, but many companies will soon begin looking for college students and graduates to fill summer internship positions and entry-level jobs. Finding a job and applying for it may be the first step to securing a position, but it’s the interview that can often be the most difficult. That’s why candidates need to be prepared to answer all interview questions – from the most common to the most bizarre.
To help get a leg up, Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, dug into the thousands of interview questions shared by job candidates throughout the past year to shine a light on 25 of the most oddball interview questions.
The lesson here? Expect the unexpected.
1. “How many people are using Facebook in San Francisco at 2:30pm on a Friday?” – view answers
Asked at Google. More Google interview questions.
2. “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk.” – view answers
Asked at Acosta. More Acosta interview questions.
3. “If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?” – view answers
Asked at Hewlett-Packard. More Hewlett-Packard interview questions.
4. “What do you think of garden gnomes?” – view answers
Asked at Trader Joe’s. More Trader Joe’s interview questions.
5. “Is your college GPA reflective of your potential?” – view answers
Asked at the Advisory Board. More Advisory Board interview questions.
6. “Would Mahatma Gandhi have made a good software engineer?” – view answers
Asked at Deloitte. More Deloitte interview questions.
7. “If you could be #1 employee but have all your coworkers dislike you or you could be #15 employee and have all your coworkers like you, which would you choose?” – view answers
Asked at ADP. More ADP interview questions.
8. “How would you cure world hunger?” – view answers
Asked at Amazon.com. More Amazon.com interview questions.
9. “Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?” – view answers
Asked at Pinkberry. More Pinkberry interview questions.
10. “Does life fascinate you?” – view answers
Asked at Ernst & Young. More Ernst & Young interview questions.
11. “Given 20 ‘destructible’ light bulbs (which breaks at certain height), and a building with 100 floors, how do you determine the height that the light bulb breaks?” – view answers
Asked at QUALCOMM. QUALCOMM interview questions.
12. “Please spell ‘diverticulitis’.” – view answers
Asked at EMSI Engineering. More EMSI Engineering interview questions.
13. “Name 5 uses of a stapler without staple pins.” – view answers
Asked at EvaluServe. More EvaluServe interview questions.
14. “How much money did residents of Dallas/Ft. Worth spend on gasoline in 2008?” – view answers
Asked at American Airlines. More American Airlines interview questions.
15. “How would you get an elephant into a refrigerator?” – view answers
Asked at Horizon Group Properties. More Horizon Group Properties interview questions.
16. “You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?” – view answers
Asked at Epic Systems. More Epic Systems interview questions.
17. “How many planes are currently flying over Kansas?” – view answers
Asked at Best Buy. More Best Buy interview questions.
18. “How many different ways can you get water from a lake at the foot of a mountain, up to the top of the mountain?” –view answers
Asked at Disney Parks & Resorts. More Disney Parks & Resorts interview questions.
19. “What is 37 times 37?” – view answers
Asked at Jane Street Capital. More Jane Street Capital interview questions.
20. “If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess?” – view answers
Asked at Rain and Hail Insurance. More Rain and Hail Insurance interview questions.
21. “If you were a Microsoft Office program, which one would you be?” – view answers
Asked at Summit Racing Equipment. More Summit Racing Equipment interview questions.
22. “Pepsi or Coke?” – view answers
Asked at United Health Group. More United Health Group interview questions.
23. “Are you exhaling warm air?” – view answers
Asked at Walker Marketing. More Walker Marketing interview questions.
24. “You’re in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?” – view answers
Asked at Tesla Motors. More Tesla Motors interview questions.
25. “How do you feel about those jokers at Congress?” – view answers
Asked at Consolidated Electrical. More Consolidated Electrical interview questions.
Think you could handle these questions during an interview?
Several new reports out today offer further evidence of a strengthening economy and a promise of accelerated hiring.
The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.4 percent in January. Sales have now increased 21 percent since a recession and are actually six percent above the pre-recession high. Thanks to increased consumer spending, companies are rebuilding inventories, which grew by 0.4 percent in December. The restocking of inventories, in turn, helps boost factory output, which increased by 0.7 percent in January, according to the Federal Reserve. Continue reading
A new survey indicates that U.S. employers are expected to greatly increase their hiring of college students for internships this summer. Intern hiring is expected to increase 8.5 percent from last year while co-op hiring is expected to jump by 7.5 percent. Continue reading