With the unemployment rates growing, it’s more competitive than ever to land a job.
When you land an interview it’s more important than ever to do all you can to secure your future position in the company.
Here are some tips from Chatelaine.com
The seven second rule
That’s the amount of time it takes most people to make up their minds about you. First impressions count, so make sure you are ready to make your best possible entrance. Stand up straight, smile, make eye contact and give a firm handshake to the person interviewing you – your body language will tell them you’re eager, energetic and able to do the job.
Dress properly
First impressions are also about what you’re wearing – you might think those hot pink pants are great but I guarantee you, most employers will not. If you don’t know what the dress code is at a prospective employer than default to a suit, particularly if it’s in a corporate environment. If the workplace is more casual (a retail store, library, etc) then opt for a neat and simple pair of pants or a skirt and a nice blouse. Make sure you pay attention to details like your fingernails, hair, skin and makeup – keep it all neat and simple.
Listen up – and stick to the point
When you’re asked a question, keep your responses on message – that means answering the question as concisely as possible without a lot of superfluous detail like how your experiences in grade eight band shaped the person you’ve become today. And make sure you listen carefully – don’t interrupt and listen for cues and clues about the job and what they’re looking for.
Show you’re interested in the company
You’ve come prepared to answer questions – but you should also have some of your own to ask the interviewer. This will show you are interested in the organization and the job on offer. Questions can be more specific about the interviewer (i.e., how long have you been with the company?) or more general questions about the firm and what it’s like to work there (what is a typical day like at the company? What is the management style and what are the values that drive how it does business?).
Research
Go online and read any articles or recent material about the company – has it been in the headlines? Has it been rated by industry publications? This will help show you’re interested. And if you’re not afraid to do a little cyber-stalking, Google the person who’s interviewing you – doing this doesn’t mean asking them personal stuff from their Facebook page, though (that’s creepy). Check and see if they’ve been quoted in publications or have received any special awards.
Speak up
Yes, listening and not diving into your life story is important – but if your interviewer doesn’t ask you about a key skill or attribute you have that is crucial to getting the job done then make sure you pipe up. Don’t wait to be asked about the industry award you won or the degree you are working on to advance your skills in the field you’re applying to. Just work it into the conversation and let accomplishments shine.
1- The Pig Who Gave Us The Dark Knight
2- The Horse Who Cured Diphtheria and Reformed Medicine
3- The Greyhound that Created the Church of England
4- The Cat Who Single-Handedly Wiped Out a Species
5- The Two Monkeys That Caused 250,000 People to Die
6- The Pig that Created European Democracy
7- The Dog that Saved Napoleon
As the job market gets tougher and tougher due to the struggling economy people are taking drastic measures to find work.
Job seekers in China have decided to try out plastic surgery to look youthful and compete with the latest graduates.
According to the National Post:
“It sounds like a drastic solution, but in a country where 6.1 million new college, university and vocational school graduates are just coming onto an already depressed job market, these qualify as drastic times. Young job applicants and entry-level workers are looking for whatever kind of leg up they can get.”
Barack Obama: A time for global action
Monday, March 23, 2009
WASHINGTON: We are living through a time of global economic challenges that cannot be met by half measures or the isolated efforts of any nation. Now, the leaders of the Group of 20 have a responsibility to take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but also launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.
No one can deny the urgency of action. A crisis in credit and confidence has swept across borders, with consequences for every corner of the world. For the first time in a generation, the global economy is contracting and trade is shrinking.
Trillions of dollars have been lost, banks have stopped lending, and tens of millions will lose their jobs across the globe. The prosperity of every nation has been endangered, along with the stability of governments and the survival of people in the most vulnerable parts of the world.
Once and for all, we have learned that the success of the American economy is inextricably linked to the global economy. There is no line between action that restores growth within our borders and action that supports it beyond.
If people in other countries cannot spend, markets dry up already we’ve seen the biggest drop in American exports in nearly four decades, which has led directly to American job losses. And if we continue to let financial institutions around the world act recklessly and irresponsibly, we will remain trapped in a cycle of bubble and bust. That is why the upcoming London Summit is directly relevant to our recovery at home.
My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose. Much good work has been done, but much more remains.
Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad. Through our example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London Summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted.
Our efforts must begin with swift action to stimulate growth. Already, the United States has passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act the most dramatic effort to jump-start job creation and lay a foundation for growth in a generation.
Other members of the G-20 have pursued fiscal stimulus as well, and these efforts should be robust and sustained until demand is restored. As we go forward, we should embrace a collective commitment to encourage open trade and investment, while resisting the protectionism that would deepen this crisis.
Second, we must restore the credit that businesses and consumers depend upon. At home, we are working aggressively to stabilize our financial system. This includes an honest assessment of the balance sheets of our major banks, and will lead directly to lending that can help Americans purchase goods, stay in their homes and grow their businesses.
This must continue to be amplified by the actions of our G-20 partners. Together, we can embrace a common framework that insists upon transparency, accountability and a focus on restoring the flow of credit that is the lifeblood of a growing global economy. And the G-20, together with multilateral institutions, can provide trade finance to help lift up exports and create jobs.
Third, we have an economic, security and moral obligation to extend a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk. If we turn our backs on them, the suffering caused by this crisis will be enlarged, and our own recovery will be delayed because markets for our goods will shrink further and more American jobs will be lost.
The G-20 should quickly deploy resources to stabilize emerging markets, substantially boost the emergency capacity of the International Monetary Fund and help regional development banks accelerate lending. Meanwhile, America will support new and meaningful investments in food security that can help the poorest weather the difficult days that will come.
While these actions can help get us out of crisis, we cannot settle for a return to the status quo. We must put an end to the reckless speculation and spending beyond our means; to the bad credit, over-leveraged banks and absence of oversight that condemns us to bubbles that inevitably bust.
Only coordinated international action can prevent the irresponsible risk-taking that caused this crisis. That is why I am committed to seizing this opportunity to advance comprehensive reforms of our regulatory and supervisory framework.
All of our financial institutions on Wall Street and around the globe need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering.
Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.
I know that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face. But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.
This G-20 meeting provides a forum for a new kind of global economic cooperation. Now is the time to work together to restore the sustained growth that can only come from open and stable markets that harness innovation, support entrepreneurship and advance opportunity.
The nations of the world have a stake in one another. The United States is ready to join a global effort on behalf of new jobs and sustainable growth. Together, we can learn the lessons of this crisis, and forge a prosperity that is enduring and secure for the 21st century.
Barack Obama is president of the United States. A Global Viewpoint article distributed by Tribune Media Services.
The company set up to manage the money of former presidential candidate Ross Perot is liquidating a fixed-income hedge fund. Perot and his family are the biggest investors in the fund. The company, Parkcentral Global Hub Ltd., saw assets fall as much as 40 percent to $1.5 billion this year through October. Read more…
This is from Drudge Report and Matt Drudge is hosting it on his own site, so I am not sure about the accuracy, but regardless it’s an interesting read:
A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts.
Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily IZVESTIA published on Monday: “The dollar is not secured by anything. The country’s foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse.”
The paper said Panarin’s dire predictions for the U.S. economy, initially made at an international conference in Australia 10 years ago at a time when the economy appeared strong, have been given more credence by this year’s events.
When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: “It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world’s financial regulator.”
When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: “Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia.”
Asked why he expected the U.S. to break up into separate parts, he said: “A whole range of reasons. Firstly, the financial problems in the U.S. will get worse. Millions of citizens there have lost their savings. Prices and unemployment are on the rise. General Motors and Ford are on the verge of collapse, and this means that whole cities will be left without work. Governors are already insistently demanding money from the federal center. Dissatisfaction is growing, and at the moment it is only being held back by the elections and the hope that Obama can work miracles. But by spring, it will be clear that there are no miracles.”
He also cited the “vulnerable political setup”, “lack of unified national laws”, and “divisions among the elite, which have become clear in these crisis conditions.”
He predicted that the U.S. will break up into six parts - the Pacific coast, with its growing Chinese population; the South, with its Hispanics; Texas, where independence movements are on the rise; the Atlantic coast, with its distinct and separate mentality; five of the poorer central states with their large Native American populations; and the northern states, where the influence from Canada is strong.
He even suggested that “we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all.” Panarin, 60, is a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has authored several books on information warfare.
Read more.
President-elect Barack Obama appeared on 60 Minutes last week to weigh in on all the big issues, after taking an apparent media break since his election:
The majority of voters cited the economy as the key issue for them in this campaign, unsurprisingly. This information helps shed light on when, exactly, John McCain lost his chance at the White House. You’d think it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment (or moments, at least) when an election is lost for a candidate. Journalist and columnist Daniel Gross asks these questions about McCain and his campaign:
But when, precisely, did John McCain lose the narrative on the economy? Was it last July, when economic adviser Phil Gramm, discussing the “mental recession,” noted that “we’ve sort of become a nation of whiners”? Perhaps it was back in December 2007, when McCain said, “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” Or was McCain’s economic goose cooked long before the campaigns started? Ray Fair, the Yale professor who plugs macroeconomic data into an election-predicting model, said that “since November 2006, the model has consistently been predicting that the Democratic candidate would get about 52 percent of the two-party vote.” (Read more…)
In fact, the beginning of McCain’s loss can be traced back to mid-September of this year. On the brink of economic crisis, the man told a crowd in Jacksonville, Florida that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”
McCain’s misstatement about the economy’s strength was a symptom of a bigger problem for his campaign (that his team had no set narrative or strategy, while Obama stayed strong and true to his message throughout the campaign. Read more about that here.)
Once he admitted there was a problem with the economy, McCain suspended his campaign to fly to Washington and find a solution. He was unable to convince Obama he should do the same, and finally resumed his campaign without having solved anything.
Finally, the third debate. Joe the Plummer, while a wonderful “mascot,” could not stack up to the concrete former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and Warren Buffett presented by Obama.
The point is: Obama ran a flawless campaign that stuck to a clear message. He stayed away, for the most part, from issues of race - not using it as a crutch to win votes, but also overcoming it as an issue with some white voters. There were many obstacles to overcome, which Obama did. And now he can apply that know-how to running the United States. Read more for a run-down of Obama’s whole campaign…
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