As Facebook continues its march towards social networking domination, they are regularly adding career-related applications. Here's a look at some recently-added employment tools that can help Facebook users land their dream job.INTERN NATION: College students looking for three credits and employers looking for cheap labor both find love with an internship. An updated list of opportunities can populate within your profile with this app. Remember, even if you are removed from college, internships can be a great way to make a successful career transition.JOBSTER: With over 250 partner employers targeting the 18 - 30 demographic, you can connect directly with hiring managers at companies you'd like to work at. Find openings, learn about recruiting events or convert your profile into an online Jobster resume.FIND A BETTER JOB: This Career Builder project is designed for job-seeking college students. Your profile info is scanned and you are matched with job … [Read more...] about Find a Job! 8 Career Facebook Apps
General
Should Employees Get Paid for Ideas?
I recently purchased a vintage employee handbook from the now defunct Trans World Airlines (TWA). Thumbing through it, secretly hoping to find some ridiculously outdated and outlandish personnel policy, I uncovered what I think is a pretty neat perk: The TWA Suggestion Plan. The benefit made employees eligible for cash rewards (over $5,000) if their suggestion was adopted and helped make the company money. Folks also won awards if their suggestion had an "intangible value" to the company. That's some serious money in 1965! Now I can only speak from my experience, which to this point has been: Share an idea // make the company money // get no reward // get no credit. Perhaps it's just the media industry where companies feel your mediocre salary also gives them ownership of your ideas. Check out the vintage handbook excerpt below. If your company has a "suggestion plan," we'd love to hear about it. What are your thoughts? Should companies reward employees for helping them make … [Read more...] about Should Employees Get Paid for Ideas?
Retailers Screw Over Employees on Black Friday
An open letter to stores that feel they have to push the envelope this shopping season, specifically on Black Friday:Dear Kohls/JC Penney,Congratulations! You're one-upped your retail counterparts by opening a whole 60 minutes earlier. As if your employees weren't thankful enough for the crappy pay, lousy uniforms and non-stop Christmas music - now they have the pleasure of reporting for duty at 3am. I'm sure they'll have plenty of nice things to say about you over Thanksgiving dinner.Retail giants won't be happy until the PR nightmare hits. The headline will read something like this:Family of 3 Killed When Soccer Mom Careens Off Road Rushing to Save 10% on an Irregular Pair of Levi JeansHave you guys ever even been out at 4am? It's dark and lonely. A time reserved exclusively for silence and 9-1-1 calls.I get it. We're a capitalist nation and our economy relies on hardcore holiday shopping. Or at least that's what the media tells us. It's up … [Read more...] about Retailers Screw Over Employees on Black Friday
Thankful for the Greatest Boss I Ever Had
I often think about Dino. Whenever I hear Springsteen, Miles Davis, or think about the New Orleans Jazzfest (an event that Dino never missed), I think about what a great boss, great friend and great man Dino was. So the holidays are upon us, and what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving then to take a moment to tell you about someone I am truly thankful to have had in my life.My career started in radio. It was a small local station, and while it wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing, I felt it put my foot in the door. I had dues to pay, so the sooner these positions got out of the way, the better.Rather than bore you with the details of the work I'll just let you know that it was the bottom rung. I worked overnights, weekends, and holidays. I learned little and moved on to the next rung. I'm not sure if it was a stepup or down.My second gig was also in radio. It was a children¹s station that wound up being sold to a Spanish broadcasting group - and I was included in the sale … [Read more...] about Thankful for the Greatest Boss I Ever Had
Losing a Finger on the Job…Kinda
Recently, Andrew G.R. took a walk down memory lane with his blog: Working at K-Mart Taught Me How to Work. I thought it was nice to read about what my friend had learned at his first part-time job - and it got me thinking about my first jobs. I had several as a teenager, and while I’m sure I took something away from all those positions, my fondest memory- or at least the one that is the most interesting to tell- was the one that took something away from me… a fraction of my left index finger to be exact.It was a Thursday in November of 1993. I was 16 years old and worked maintenance (for lack of a better description) at the local bowling alley. The job consisted of a few main tasks; Oiling the lanes; sweeping the gutters and approach before league bowling started at 4pm; wiping down the tables and keeping them free of beer bottles, overflowing ashtrays, and plates of cold French fries, etc. For a short time, before the mechanic showed up, I was also in charge … [Read more...] about Losing a Finger on the Job…Kinda
Confessions of a Job Search Addict
My name is Eris S. and I was once a Job Search Addict. I would like to go on record right now and say that all things considered, I have a great job (knock on wood). My boss trusts me to do what he hired me to do, I have a great office/studio (one of the perks of being an audio engineer), and above all, I am doing what I set out to do. There was, however, a time when I was not so happy. Sure, I was still in the same industry, but I felt like I was working at a level that did not challenge me. I also had problems with the way my departments were run. Not to mention my bosses left little to be desired with regards to leadership. It was during these years - yes YEARS - that I found myself descending deeper and deeper into a world of serious addiction. I got hooked on job hunting. In the beginning, it seemed harmless. I was dabbling; just a couple times a week. But before I knew it, hunting began to take control of my life. First I was just seeing what else was out there. I … [Read more...] about Confessions of a Job Search Addict
Office Worker Gift Guide 2007
There's no escape: the holidays start NOW. The Jobacle gang has rounded up a list of gift ideas for your favorite office worker. Whether you pulled a co-workers' name out of a hat or just want to bring some holiday spirit to your cubicle, we've got you covered with the 2007 Office Worker Gift Guide. If you're looking for a motorized tie rack, move on!Smencils$1+Back in sixth grade we had a "invention contest." I vividly remember submitting a flavored pen. Basically, I popped open a 19-cent Bic, poured some fruit juice inside and thought I'd be sharing flavor across the world with my fellow pen cheers. I didn't win. But I sure likethese Smencils.Made out of paper that is soaked in "gourmet liquid scents," these pencils are packed with fun scents such as cherry, rootbeer, watermelon, chocolate, etc. - or buy a kit and make your own at home.You already know how important positive items are on your desk, at $1 a pop (minimum pack of … [Read more...] about Office Worker Gift Guide 2007
DayTipper Podcast Launches – Lifehack Central
I am pleased to announce that your Jobacle Cubemaster, Andrew G.R., is producing a spankin' new Internet radio show: The DayTipper Podcast.In a nutshell, the podcast is jammed with lifehacks; tips designed to make you more productive than ever before. On episode 1:- A new use for Silly Putty- How an orange can help keep you awake- Best/Worst tips of the week- Dryer Sheets enter the DayTipper LabsFrom employment to family - gardening to home improvement - DayTipper has tips for everything. Plus, they'll pay you $3 per published tip. As someone who used the service before I got to know the gang - it's the real deal. If you're a fan of the Working Podcast I think you'll like the DayTipper podcast. It's done in a similar style: quick moving, me running my mouth, etc. Check it out and let me know what you think!Stream DownloadSubscribe … [Read more...] about DayTipper Podcast Launches – Lifehack Central
5 Office Small Talk Sins: R U Guilty?
I’m not too big on compiling lists of things that will 'change lives.' However, today a conversation occurred in my office between two of my co-workers that made me (as it always does) start to grind my teeth. It was mindless, boring, cliché banter that was used as nothing more than a device to fill a void of silence between two people that really had nothing to say to one another. Silence is golden...especially at the office.We’ve all taken part in it at one time or another. Maybe we let ourselves get dragged in or maybe we sparked up the exchange ourselves. I’m not a sociologist so I have no idea why people in quiet moments with other people feel the need to always say something, no matter how trite. I think it may have something to do with the fact that we’ve become a society - that between cell phones and iPods - no longer feel comfortable with our own thoughts.Those moments seem so rare these days that when the opportunity of … [Read more...] about 5 Office Small Talk Sins: R U Guilty?
Work Meetings: All Talk, No Action?
I've got two questions. Is it just media or do all industries find more and more reasons to call longwinded meetings about any and every topic involving the company? Second, assuming the first answer is yes, do these meetings seem to require the presence of all or most employees? Let me say now that my current boss does not feel the need to involve me in all the day-to-day decisions no matter how big or small. He deals with his managerial responsibilities and brings me in when necessary. As a result I work with a level of autonomy that I haven't experienced in years. I have also grown more in my field and have become better at my trade because of it. He does exactly what he gets paid significantly more than me to do. For the company it means more efficiency. When endless meetings do not bog down full departments so much more gets accomplished in a more expedient manner. Maybe that's just my opinion but I'm sticking to it.Check out the PayScale Meeting Miser to see just how much money … [Read more...] about Work Meetings: All Talk, No Action?