Werdna Yug

After getting laid off, I entered my own personal “Unemploymentality”. And unfortunately, I didn’t immediately find the silver lining. Instead I retreated to the biggest pity party I had ever thrown myself. What finally woke me up from my coma?An impromptu phone interview that resulted in an in-person interview (remember I almost acted desperate on my first interview?). This ultimately transpired into...a JOB!I wish that I could give you some grand story about how I left my last job embracing the pink slip in hand, smiling and skipping into a fierce and determined frenzy that culminated into a newer, shinier, and prettier occupation.Instead, it was the hard work I did in the few weeks prior to the actual layoff. Once I entered the world of unemployment, I pretty much fit the stereotype down to the bath robed drone staring off into the television.So what beautiful words of wisdom do I have to leave my fellow pink-slippers? What magic key is there to unlock the door to … [Read more...] about How I Found My Job During the Recession

Those ever-so-popular executive compensation packages have been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to President Obama's decision to force companies to limit the amount of money they give to bank executives if that bank gets a bailout check. I think it's a bad idea for companies or the government to limit executive pay (although I may be the only one), and here's why.So Long, SuckersThink about this. Imagine that you are one of those highly-paid executives, and your company suddenly adopts a plan that will limit your pay. Now you have a choice. You can either stay at your current job and get less pay, or you can move to a company down the road that would love to get your skills working for them (and they will be paying a premium for your services). What are you going to do? We both know that you're going to move to the new company for more pay. Why would you expect an executive to do anything different?You Get What You Pay ForIf you want a good, top-shelf executive to run your … [Read more...] about Why the Obama Salary Cap Is Lame

It holds all the same signs. Sweaty palms, rambling stories, nervous laughter, and in some unfortunate situations, begging and pleading.Sounds like a desperate first date, right?Sadly, I found myself precariously on the brink of desperation during my first interview since joining the Pink Slip Brigade. With job security and stability suddenly at its highest premium to me, I was practically salivating at this managerial position working for a state-funded university.As I sat in the front office awaiting a turn to impress my future bosses, I realized that I quickly needed to calm myself down. Here is how I turned from desperate to playing hard to get.1. Interviews are about confidence and highlighting your attributes as they relate to the intended position. Trying to convince your boss that “you’ll do anything necessary to get the job done” sounds desperate and somewhat slutty in comparison to telling them exactly what you think needs to be changed to get the job done … [Read more...] about Just Like a First Date, Leave Desperation Out of a First Interview