(we’ll be on vacation until September 8 – please do what you can to manage your Bizpain without us until then.)

With so many people out of work and even more looking for work and those working stressed out about losing their jobs and not being able to “stick it to the man,” Labor Day 2010 will be quiet. Stores will offer sales and air-conditioning, there will be grills and parties, but in general, there will be little to celebrate in the United States.

Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

In recognition of workers everywhere, employers agree to a national holiday to keep us quiet. Labor Day to workers is what Mother’s Day is to Mothers. If we don’t celebrate it, workers will get mad and don’t get me started on what working mothers will do.

What is Labor Day?

The first one in the United States was in New York City on September 5, 1882 and it became law in 1894 on the heels of the deaths of scores of workers at the hands of US Military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike.

President Cleveland was worried that aligning the US Labor Day with existing May Day (aligned with the Haymarket Affair) would stir up emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair or riot that happened in 1886 in support of striking workers. Someone threw a bomb at police as they dispersed a public meeting, followed by gunfire and the death of at least eight police officers and an unknown (uncounted) number of civilians. An interesting eight anarchists were tried and put to death with one of them committing suicide in prison.

The Haymarket Affair is considered an influence on May Day observances for workers, May Day and Labor Day being held too close together spelled fear of uprising, hence Labor Day (has nothing to do with women giving birth, although many people are born on Labor Day each year).

We’re taking a holiday for several days.

Have the best holiday you can!

Peace!

Recognition is not bringing in donuts, its personal communication that is witnessed by others so everyone can enjoy the positive vibes.   But, my managers do very little in this regard, and the donuts he brings are pretty bad; they may even be day old.  How can we get the message to him to do better?

BIZPAIN donuts…..that sucks!  I agree with you 100% and question the type of management you have?  Seems as if they are not leaders & motivators?  Personal communication is not easy but a requirement for anyone in a leadership capacity.

Try this on for size…… send your management team an anonymous letter outline your concerns.  Be as specific as you can BUT don’t let them figure out that you wrote it or you’ll be sending me another question from the unemployment line! 

I’m very interested in hearing how it went.  Please write me back and let us all know if they got the message and made any changes.  If not, then you’ll need to find another job!

Pressley Carson

Some industries are experiencing worker shortages.

According to CareerBuilder, one-in-five employers (22 percent) reported they still have positions in this economy for which they can’t find qualified candidates.  This is certainly surprising given the huge employment numbers – the key is on candidates that are qualified.

Forty-eight percent of HR managers involved in the CareerBuilder 2010 Mid-Year Job Forecast reported that there was an area of their organization in which they lacked qualified workers. Now, at first glance, this could be just about any fully-staffed company, loaded with pretty low quality employees too – most likely in the key leadership spots.

Where are qualified workers needed – and not readily available?  (according to a 2010 job outlook study by Borrell Associates)

Health Care

Transportation

Warehousing

Utilities

Transportation Analysts

Transportation Managers

Transportation and Warehouse Coordinators

Presumably, if you can see well, drive a car or truck, have a clean driving record and your urine can test well, you might be qualified.

You’re either at work and want to get a better job (we know what you’re thinking, “in this economy?) or you’re just out of work and need to update the resume you have, or your resume is written on stone tablets and it could definitely use some sprucing up.

You go on line and search for resumes, sample resumes, resume services, resume coaches, resume recipes, etc., etc., etc.  And, you decide that instead of stressing through the writing part of your own, you’re going to hire someone to write for you.  It’s easy, right?  You just give them your stone tablets and some notes – and wham, you have a resume that will sell you to anyone looking.

Not so easy.

Once you gather your notes, last jobs and responsibilities, successes, numbers that illustrate your achievements, hobbies, the things you’re known for, how you’ve solved more problems than created, you sit in front of your computer (or chisel and hammer) and just sit there.  It’s hard to work up a good story about yourself, isn’t it?  It’s very hard.  It’s harder yet, to get a complete stranger to do it for you – about you.

Bizpain.com regularly offers tips on resumes and what they should contain, interviewing techniques, getting in the front door, etc., and we’ve seen a lot of articles in the news and on the web about resume writing services, so it’s a good idea, if you’re thinking of paying someone to write yours, that you take a few key steps.

You don’t want to waste time and several hundred to a couple thousand dollars to get something back in a nice format but with typos and misspellings.

Like a lot of make-it-rich scams out there, resume writing services have grown like weeds as people looking for work have continued to add top soil.  According to a recent WSJ.com piece, out of more than 400 members of the National Resume Writers Association, or NRWA, (one of two main trade associations for resume writers), only 34 have attained the National Certified Résumé Writer Credential.

So, how can you tell if the service you may be hiring is worth your time and money?  Follow this simple checklist.

Does the service you’re considering really know your profession and industry?

You need to find someone who understands the language of your industry and needed talents.  This is clearly important if you’re staying in your space, even more if you’re switching to another space.  Anyone can plop words and numbers onto a page, but you need someone who can plop yours down so the hiring manager or recruiter can easily fit you into their profile.

See sample resumes that have landed clients jobs and that are not those posted on the website.

Take it a step further.  Try to actually speak with the service’s happy clients and get a feel for the kind of service you’re going to work with.  Passing stuff back and forth via email is the way we all do things today, but is that how you’re going to approach your most important sales tool about yourself?  Can you actually get what you need without actually talking to someone?

Does the service have successful experience with people at your level?

If you’re an entry level person, you need someone who has a great understanding of that level, don’t you?  Similarly, if you’re a mid-level manager, or director, or executive, you want someone who understands the language, the psychology, the right angles.  Remember the “plopping?”  It’s like getting fitted for a suit – you need a tailor who gets it right – the first time.

What’s their process and does it fit with your own process?

Since you will need to tailor your resume to different job opportunities, you need a boilerplate that you can work with.  If someone offers to get you same day completion by just reviewing your current resume, move on to another service.  You need someone who asks extensive questions, gets involved in dialog on the phone (or in person, which is mostly likely very rare).  Find out how many drafts are included and how many versions of the final document.  Just make sure that what you buy is something you can work with and a service that you can work with until you land a job, not just until you land a document.

Find out what the writer did before becoming a resume writer.

If they don’t have a background in recruiting, human resources, hiring, or anything beyond resume writing, find another service.  You need to work with someone with end-result experience to ensure that your best effort is on the result, not on just the document.  Someone recently out of work in the automotive industry may not make the best resume writer.  Also, search everything you can on line about the writer – all the usual suspects like FaceBook, LinkedIn, general searches, etc.

The jetBlue flight attendant has been given special star status by thousands of America’s lowest level employees and secretly applauded by others.  But, he really didn’t quit his job, he just lost it and turned against his customers and stole some beer.  What other knucklehead company would hire him and risk the same?

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything in life.  Quitting a job because your boss is a nut, or the job sucks, or pays too little or whatever, is not justification for being a baby.

The Huffington Post is offering visitors the opportunity to post their great ways to quit their jobs – but, we’re looking for your ideas on great ways to find a job and even more great ways to keep a job in this economy.  YouTube is fun, but will most likely not pay your rent.  So, watch the videos, but be careful of who is watching you. 

Jenny

She apparently got America’s attention by “quitting” her job via dry-erase board and filming it.  Not really original and unfortunately, most recruiters won’t be impressed.

An Unnamed IT guy

He quit his job by creating an error message.  With this kind of talent, it’s too bad he couldn’t make the job work, but hacking your own company doesn’t look good on your resume.

Doug

He’s “That Guy With The Glasses” who opened his shirt to a sign on his chest reading that he quit and danced his way through the business on film.  He should have considered face paint to make sure his next interviewer doesn’t recognize him.

A programmer

Another hacker quit his job by creating a Mario flash game for his employers to play. With each score, the words “I QUIT!” flash on the screen. Nothing else needs mention on this one.

Bookstore Guy

He wanted to quit his job at Borders and as the 7th Harry Potter book was nearing release, he filmed himself revealing the much-anticipated plot. What did Harry Potter have to do with him disliking his job?

Radio Rap

Others are offering radio channels their own forms of “I quit rants.”  Enough said about commercial radio, talk radio.

If you’re going to quit, please do.  We need the space to find jobs for countless others who have been looking for a long time, need to pay their bills, feed their families and save their homes from foreclosure.

Tomorrow:  what to look for in a resume writer.

THEY EARN, THEY PAY, THEY SPEND

To rank in the top 5% of earners in the USA, you required an adjusted gross income level of $160,000 or higher (data from 2007 tax returns). This group paid 61% of all federal income tax for the year and is estimated to account for 37% of all spending by consumers (source: IRS, Moody’s).

GLOBAL BUSINESS

47% of the sales of the S&P 500 companies in calendar year 2009 were made outside the United States. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market (source: S&P).

FEELING BETTER

Retail purchases by Americans in July 2010 totaled $363 billion, an increase of $19 billion from the $344 billion of retail purchases in July 2009 (source: Department of Commerce).

IN THE YEAR 2037

Social Security announced on 8/06/10 that the trust fund backing the payment of Social Security benefits would be zero in 2037 and that the payment of benefits would drop to 75% of their originally promised levels through the year 2084 (source: Social Security Administration).

ALMOST DOUBLE

With 2 months remaining in fiscal year 2010 (i.e., 10/01/09 to 9/30/10), the government is projecting spending of $3.6 trillion for the 12-month period. During fiscal year 2001 (i.e., the first fiscal year during the presidency of George Bush # 43), total government spending was $1.9 trillion (source: Treasury Department).

George Carlin on aging!

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you even think in fractions.

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key. 

You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling.  What’s wrong? What’s changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone…

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and then make it to 60.

You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s family name is Alzheimer’s.

Enjoy the simple things.

Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.

Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.  If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

We’re trying to report positive information, but most is pretty bad these days.  I noticed that the price of gas came down a couple pennies today.

Most vacations may be over, so you may not be driving more, but we should find a way to reduce our use of gas and save – a few pennies.

Use the right oil.

Check your owner’s manual, or the manufacturer, for the recommended grade of motor oil. The wrong oil can negatively affect your vehicle’s efficiency.

Lighten your load.

Remove unnecessary items from your trunk. The more weight you carry, the more fuel you’ll burn.

Get rid of your roof rack.

If your vehicle sports a roof rack that you’re not using, take it down. It increases wind resistance and cuts your efficiency.

Don’t “warm up” your engine.

Even at the coldest temperatures, you car doesn’t need a five-minute warm-up. Thirty to 45 seconds will do it.

Buy gas at the right time.

Evenings are better than hot afternoon for filling your tank. Gasoline is denser when temperatures are cool, so you’ll get more for the same price.

Use your A/C wisely. 

At highway speeds, you’re better off running your air conditioning than opening your windows and increasing drag. But when driving around town, keep your windows down and the air conditioner off to conserve fuel.

(click on the VENT button below right, or email your question, issue, etc., to vent@bizpain.com – we’ll do our best to get it out there every week)

Name:               Never Inhaled

Question:          We’re spending billions on Afghanistan, killing people, killing ourselves and the government guy there - Karzai - is trying to play hard ball with us - get us to leave.  I say, “Let’s go” make sure the Taliban moves in, tortures them all again, takes them back to the stone age, and then we nuke them.

We could then go back in and rake up the mess, bury and burn the dead, and set up a system with Afghanistan people in America, to go back and set up a good country.

Get rid of the Taliban, shut the sleaze government up, stop spending money on that rubble, bring our people back home and create new jobs once the Taliban is destroyed.