Hey Congress: We The People Want Jobs. Don’t Screw It Up

on December 11, 2012

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Over the Fiscal CliffLast Friday, the November jobs numbers came out and the jobless rate hit a 4-year low of 7.7%. Huzzah! While we should be slapping high fives all around, each and every one of us knows how fragile this recovery is and just how easily we can be dragged kicking and screaming back into a recession. Everyone, that is, except Congress; as we approach the fiscal cliff, their dallying and political gamesmanship threatens to stall economic growth and job creation for the first quarter of 2013, if not beyond.

That’s why I’m about to clue them in. Hope you don’t mind.    Read More →

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“Job Creation” in 2012: What You Can Do

on December 22, 2011

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Dearest Guns,

Here at The Hired Guns, I love ending the year with an offer letter going out to a deserving Gun — that just happened about five minutes ago.

This candidate did what seemed impossible: against all odds, she got hired in December. She did it by being extremely patient and a smart negotiator. She’s getting to go on her holiday break with a deal in hand and a great new job for January. And as her agents, we had her back.

I don’t know about you, but I find it deeply distressing that these days hardly anyone seems to have the back of the American worker. Congress was supposed to extend the payroll tax cut that would put a few extra greenbacks in our wallets and extend the number of weeks of benefits to our unemployed brethren. That didn’t happen.    Read More →

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In the News: Top Gun Allison Hemming Talks About YouTube’s “Joey Quits”

on October 25, 2011

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The Hired Guns in the NewsYesterday Top Gun Allison Hemming spoke to CNN.com about employees announcing that they are quitting in increasingly creative, if not downright showoffy, ways.

The splashiest recent example is Joey DeFrancesco. The 24-year-old’s video of himself quitting his hotel job with the noisy help of his bandmates in the What Cheer? Brigade, a hipster brass band, got nearly 2.5 million views after it was uploaded to YouTube on 12 October.

As Allison said to CNN, “Joey is the hero of all downtrodden workers because he is the embodiment of ‘take this job and shove it.’ He’s living out the fantasies of countless workers who also hate their bosses.”

But since the internet is forever, does this mean that Joey risks being a victim of unemployment for the rest of his life? Find out what Allison and other experts had to say about his chances:
‘Joey’ becomes recession hero after using marching band to quit job

And if you’re contemplating having What Cheer? brighten up your workplace, here’s a taste:

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U.S. Jobs Market on the Upswing?

on October 18, 2011

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Daniel Indiviglio of the Atlantic reports on some unexpectedly good job news: Gallup’s U.S. employment rate for October stands at 8.3% — lower than it’s been through all of 2010.

In addition, “underemployment,” which combines the unemployment numbers with the percentage of part-time workers who want full-time work but can’t get it, is also down. That rate, 17.5%, is the lowest it has been since last December, when it was 17.2%.

The Department of Labor’s stats for October, which are calculated differently and aren’t directly comparable, won’t be available for a few more weeks — let’s hope this upswing shows up there as well.

Have you noticed any other good signs in the job market?

[Photo: Mia/Flickr]

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Hired Guns Poll: Is Company Loyalty Really Dead?

on May 9, 2011

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According to a recent survey conducted by Forbes and the Deloitte consulting firm, 65% of employees at big companies intend to start looking for a new job in the near future. (No company tattoo for them!)

Factor in the improving job numbers, as well as the fact that it’s easier than ever to find out about openings (LinkedIn’s adding more than one new profile every second), and it sounds as if lots of employees are going to be abandoning ship as quickly as they can. That made us wonder. . . .

In the comments, let us know how you think companies can keep their employees from leaving at the first opportunity.

[Image: Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig/flickr]

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Bullet Points: Finally, Some Decent Jobs Numbers; Twitter vs. Facebook; The NYT’s Snoozy Headlines

on May 6, 2011

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• Today brought the release of the jobs report for April. It shows 244,000 net jobs added–cheers! But the unemployment rate also rose to 9% from 8.8%, the first increase since November. This may be due to more people starting to look for work again, but more likely it’s because of the way the two sets of figures are gathered. Either way, we agree with the Reuters reporter Jim Pethokoukis, who tweeted that the “jobs report just reaffirms the current economic trajectory: a slow, muddling-through recovery.”

• In the Twitter vs. Facebook marketing death match, we’re all losers. (Just kidding–Twitter’s better. We think.) [Business Insider]

• The Four Kinds of NYT Headlines [via Sean O'Neill]

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Bullet Points: Spring Brings Some Hopeful Job News (and Spring Cleaning)

on April 14, 2011

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  • Some good signs for those looking to make a move: there were more job postings in February than there were at any time in the past two years. And the unemployment rate, though still at an elevated 8.8%, is at a two-year low.
  • If you’re thinking that you might leave your job in the next few months, now (not later) is the perfect time to get your affairs in order. This includes building your list of contacts (for home use after you leave the job) and pulling together any portfolio samples you may need down the line. The accounting blog Going Concern has some tips on cleaning up your workplace computer, “just in case a team of nerds will be scoping out your computer and any embarrassing data contained therein” after you leave for greener pastures. “This includes your music collection, no reason to give them free MP3s.”
  • Whether or not you’re planning to leave your job, it’s always a good time to tidy up the cubicle or corner office. As this chipper article reminds us, cleanliness is next to godliness at work as well as at home. The Dumpster awaits.
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