Comments for TheJobBored

Comment on Inflation or not? by Willy

Willy — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:19:43 +0000

Um, the government can’t just go ahead and raise wages. It doesn’t work like that. In fact, if they did that by pumping more money into the economy, that would just make inflation worse. The only way to increase wages is to increase productivity.

Comment on Inflation or not? by Mike

Mike — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:16:04 +0000

Don’t mistake the rise in the price of the commodity for the decrease in the value of the dollar. Rising prices means just that, rising prices. Inflation (as I understand it) is kind of a measure of the demand for the dollar. (Think of the dollar as a commodity). If the dollar’s in high demand, people want it more. Used to be the fed’s job was to control inflation (eg-keep demand for the dollar high). Imagine a situation where commodity prices are constant, the only way we’d pay more is if the dollar was worth less. That’s inflation.

However, honestly, When you blink and try to imagine how there could be “under control inflation” I’m right there with you. It is fiction. The dollar’s value is pretty bad these days. That’s part of what drives me nuts about politics these days. Used to be being republican meant being a fiscal conservative. Bush was in office over 6 years before he vetoed a single spending bill. (sigh)

Comment on Inflation or not? by Brian

Brian — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:40:48 +0000

If food and fuel mean nothing in inflation figures… then call me dense. I don’t care about inflation figures relating to steal or health care costs (though, those go up double figures every year, right? seems to never figure into the inflation calculations) or the cost of cheap plastic stuff bought from China.

Here’s a thought… if the govt. had to acknowledge that the REAL cost of living and working is higher than they’re letting us know… gee… it costs me 25% more this year just to commute to work… gee… a gallon of milk is 40% higher than 2 years ago… then they’d have to raise wages, right? More than a nominal 2-3%.

Hmmm… maybe you’ve hit on the key there. If inflation doesn’t include wages, then we can all pretend we’re not paying more for stuff.

Comment on Inflation or not? by Willy

Willy — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:24:24 +0000

From Wikipedia…

“Although ‘inflation’ is sometimes used to refer to a rise in the prices of a specific set of goods or services, a rise in prices of one set (such as food) without a rise in others (such as wages) is not included in the original meaning of the word.”

Comment on The True Office Power Brokers by Willy

Willy — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:24:11 +0000

Don’t forget the cook/chef/cafeteria lady or dude. There’s nothing better than hitting the wall at 2 PM and having her knock on the door asking you to try out her newest cookie recipe.

Comment on Curbing Your Email Obsession On The Weekend by Willy

Willy — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:13:18 +0000

Things are definitely getting confusing.

The Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 work schedule just doesn’t exist anymore. People work weekends, after hours, and in different time zones. I’m not sure setting a sacred time for no communications is a good idea, but something like an “Away Message” might be really helpful.

Setting your phone, e-mail, IM, whatever to say “I’m not here right now. I’ll get back to you when I am.” would probably do the trick.

Comment on The Quickest Job Search- Find Your Next Job When You’re Not Looking For One by Scott

Scott — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:25:16 +0000

The only thing I hear around me are lay-offs! Sure I have the word out and I have friends looking for me. And considering that according to the news the job inceases are coming from Government … funny, becuase I work for a local goverment agency and all the local government agencies are talking layoffs - some already have been laying off!

Maybe it’s because I hang out with the wrong crowd of MBA Gradutes … who all happen to be looking as well!

Comment on What A Resume Is For- If You Don’t Understand This, You Won’t Land A Job by Scott

Scott — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:19:40 +0000

That was my point Brian! What is the difference? We made 100 widgets an hour (when I stated), we now make 150 widgets an hour, we now make 50 more widgets an hour more and thus an increase of 50% production improvement …

(on resume) “50% improvement in widget production over a one year time span.”

Comment on Ask Brian - How Long Should I Wait To Hear Back? - Some Rules by Val

Val — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:13:41 +0000

It’s amazing how often this seems to occur. Currently, I’m playing the waiting game after being asked for references a 2nd time. My initial interview was offered less than a week after I applied, and my 2nd interview (which required a 4 hour car drive and overnight stay) was only 2 weeks after that. I waited 3 weeks to follow up, only to be told that a decision would be made the next week. A week later, they requested my references, which have not been contacted to my knowledge. Next week will be two weeks, and I plan to follow-up for what I hope will be a definitive answer either way.

Comment on What A Resume Is For- If You Don’t Understand This, You Won’t Land A Job by Al T.

Al T. — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:32:54 +0000

Nice post Brian.
As a hiring manager, I have reviewed thousands of resumes.
Most of the day-to-day stuff a candidate has done I can figure out from the job titles, companies and keywords such as Unix, C++,
Account Manager, etc.
I want to know the specifics (i.e. numbers if possible) of what things a person has done that makes them different.
but make it brief - challenge yourself to remove as many words as possible by continually rewriting your resume - you’ll be surprised at how much you can say with how few words.