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Horticultural Jobs Board
Horticulture and agriculture have often been the poor relations as far as progress is concerned. Take for instance recruitment; it's not so long ago that farmers, nurserymen and garden centres would simply go to the job centre or put a small ad in...
Optimizing your Resume Presentation
One of the unfortunate realities of the job search process is often, people who are a good fit for a job get passed over because of an inadequate resume. In this age of online recruitment, hiring managers and recruiters may review a hundred or more...
Power Networking: Getting Your Name Out There!
Today's economy presents some very special challenges to people
who are unemployed, underemployed, or who are simply trying to
give their own business venture a shot in the arm. At times, the
job search can seem daunting, if not impossible, as it...
Resume Tips For Technical Grads
The hurdles facing today's new technology graduates are the same
as with other industries. One of the largest hurdles for new
grads in preparing a first IT resume is the "no-experience"
fence. A hi-tech grad may not have any formal experience...
Your Salary: What Are You Worth?
Why is it a good idea to determine your worth? Whether you plan to stay at your current job or seek employment elsewhere, your assessment of your worth can become a bargaining chip should you choose to negotiate for higher compensation. It’s a...
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Working Harder and Longer
Keeping up with inflation was the challenge of the 1970s. As prices rose, wages increased and the middle class trod water to keep their heads dry.
When we entered our recent recession, inflation was the least of our worries - we needed jobs, increased demand for goods to spur manufacturing, a sense of security, and faith that our hard work would be eventually rewarded. As corporate downsizing and the offshore job exodus continued, we learned to work harder and longer to keep our hard won status.
The economists and political pundits trumpeted the end of the tight economy and the expansion of manufacturing, housing, tourism. Sure, the jobs never came back on the scale predicted, but there was a degree of comfort in the slowdown of layoffs and restructuring. Beneath the rhetoric of tax cuts to jump start consumer spending and a housing market running amok on historically low interest rates, the quiet increase in personal bankruptcy filings and the working class slide into poverty was dismissed as a political "sour grapes" issue that had little bearing in a country intent on reorganizing the entire world as a mirror of itself.
But if we look into our own
mirror, what do we see? The income of the middle class is declining in proportion to the rise of prices. The working poor fall below the poverty line even when working two minimum wage jobs. Large corporations like Walmart hire illegal immigrants so they can work without benefits nor regulatory protections. Franchise owners of fast food chains hire non-English speaking staff because paying a living wage would cut into their quarter of a million annual profits. Unscrupulous executives manipulate the supply and price of basic power and laugh at the little guy: "Burn, baby, burn."
And yet we are amazed that the rest of the world doesn't want to be totally like us. What's wrong with these people? (Might they have a better idea?)
About the Author
Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.unemploymentblues.com
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