Kevin Wheeler has a good article on the ERE website today titled What Makes a Blog Work?  There is excellent information within the article if you are looking to start your own blog (something I strongly encourage).

Here is a juicy tidbit:

A survey published last fall by Forrester’s Charlene Li indicates that “24% of Gen Yers read blogs, which is twice as often as the 12% of Gen Xers (ages 27-40) and three times the 7% of Young Boomers (ages 41-50) that read blogs.”

Those types of stats are always fascinating to me.  After that, Wheeler provides 4 tips that all have merit:

Short and Fun

Personal

Story-based

Authenticity

He expounds on each point with insight.  I recommend you read the entire thing.

Comments(0)

Yahoo HotJobs has a story out today titled Recession-Proof Jobs in 2008.  First, I love this old media trick:

Economists at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley say the U.S. is heading for its first-blown recession in 16 years, and a recent CNN poll found that 57 percent of the public believe the U.S. is in a recession already, with the economy topping the list of voter’s worries.

16 years?  How about 8 years ago with the tech bubble?  Are we in a recession if CNN does a poll and people say we are?  Please, I would prefer to read what measurements show that we are in a recession today.

Enough of that.  Clearly the economy is slowing down from it’s torrid pace just as it always has and always will.  It is cyclical.  I am intrigued by the title of the article and when you get past the opening propaganda, you come to some interesting positions (my editing):

However, many employment sectors are expected to remain strong despite a possible recession, and job-seekers may have more success if they focus on recession-proof professions.

* Education. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has historically shown teaching to be relatively recession-proof. But demographics are important: High-growth areas like the Sun Belt offer much better prospects than the Rust Belt.

* Energy. “This is a major issue for the global economy, and jobs related to oil and gas, alternative energy and even nuclear are likely to see strong growth,” Challenger said.

* Health care. Almost half the 30 fastest growing occupations are concentrated in health services — including medical assistants, physical therapists, physician assistants, home health aides, and medical records and health information technicians — according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

* International business. “If you have a strong knowledge of other cultures, and an ability to work in another country, you’ll find plenty of opportunities,” according to John Challenger. “If you’re first generation Chinese, with business skills and Chinese language skills, you’re in good shape.

* Environmental sector. There is a huge and growing industry geared to combat global warming. “Not only will professionals with skills in sustainability issues be in demand through the end of the decade, we are likely to shortages of professionals with ‘green’ skills,” said Rona Fried, president of sustainable business.com, a networking service for sustainable businesses.

* Security. “Crime doesn’t stop during a recession, and police officers, port security specialists and international security experts will continue to be in demand,” Challenger emphasized.

I think that is an accurate list.  The one thing for sure is that talented employees are always in demand no matter what the economy.

Comments(5)

Ok, the whole candidate attire topic seems to be floating around the areas of the web I patrol. CareerJournal.com offers a follow up article titled Tassels, Pantsuits and Other Interview Fashion Faux-Pas. Great title. Here is a quick description of the debate from the article:

Perhaps it’s lamentable that a person should be judged on how he maintains his car interior or what he wears. “I’ve encountered far too many empty suits who are perfectly groomed but have little relevant knowledge,” wrote Marty Robins, an attorney in Buffalo Grove, Ill. “Conversely, many people who emphasize keeping current their technical skills and industry knowledge do not have time to spend preening over their wardrobes.”

True. Yet employers are attempting to assess the character and abilities of people they often hardly know. You go with the information you have.

Those two paragraphs sum up the two sides of this discussion rather well.  However, that article takes a real turn later:

But tell that to the New York-area financial executive who wrote me, extensively, that he avoids hiring women who wear pants because, he argues, women who wear skirts and pantyhose tend to be better employees. He considers a woman in a pantsuit equivalent to a man in a suit with no necktie. “Certainly, no man is going to get offended if she shows up in a skirt and hose, but there are men who like me feel a pantsuit on a woman is a step down. Why take that chance?” he wrote. This 35-year-old man asked not to be quoted by name because he said his comments could be interpreted as sexist.

See, this is the point I was making in my previous post – the danger here is that hiring managers get sucked into strange biases when they focus on attire.   What a strange statement from the financial executive.  How can you counteract that thinking?  Imagine a strong skilled, perfect-for-the-role sales woman who is passed up because she wore dress pants.

As a recruiter, I cringe at the thought of working with someone who uses that type of thinking in his hiring process.

Comments(0)