Social networking – the new job search tool?

According to a recent article from msnbc, marketing company BFG Communications landed a new hire based on a single Twitter post. The post linked back to a blog and mock magazine cover designed by the applicant. Facebook, the popular social networking website, offers many applications to assist in a job search. These include a CareerBuilder application, another for creating online business cards, and one called “Testimonials,” which is used to compile personal, professional, and academic references. Payscale, the owner of the largest database of online employee salary data in the world, is also present on Facebook, providing an immediate and precise snapshot of the job market at any given time. CEC Associates, Inc., has joined in the movement by establishing our own Facebook page, which is geared toward career counseling services. As we have done for more than 25 years, we continue to offer career services, including vocational assessment, counseling, help with résumé preparation, and interview skill enhancement. For employees, the potential downside to social networking is that the line between one’s personal and professional lives is becoming blurred. There have been several reported instances of people being fired for posting negative comments about their jobs on Facebook or for posting improper photos and offensive remarks. The moral of the story: if using a social networking site as a job search tool, and particularly if “friending” one’s co-workers or boss, one must be careful about what personal information is posted online. We would like to hear what our readers think. Have you used a social networking website to assist in your job search? Are traditional paper résumés and cover letters becoming a “thing of the past?” And where does one draw the line between their personal and professional lives in the online world?

A Question for 51% of American Workers

A report on flu by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued in late October 2009 has some sobering facts on flu in America. Seasonal flu reportedly kills about 36,000 Americans, hospitalizes more than 200,000 individuals, and costs the U.S. economy more than $10 billion in lost productivity and direct medical expenses annually. A recent online survey focuses on the workplace. It found: - 69 percent of workers had not received workplace communications about flu policies through September 2009, - 84 percent of workers said the recession creates more pressure to show up for work even if ill, - 80 percent of workers reported they feel knowledgeable about precautions to take if flu were to hit their workplace, - 47 percent of workers said they would still engage in public activities (e.g., bus riding, shopping, etc.) if hit by the flu, and - 49 percent of workers plan to get vaccinated if a vaccine is available. What is so startling about these statistics is that ostensibly 51 percent of American workers do not plan to get vaccinated if a vaccine is available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in late October 2009 that the H1N1 flu has resulted in more than 4,000 deaths nationwide so far this year. (Information and analysis is available from www.factcheck.org.) So our question is, “What do 51 percent of the American workforce know about the vaccine that the rest of us don’t know?” Even though the availability of the vaccine will be greater for those of us who do want it, we are acutely interested in what those who will not take it if available know that we all should know. Please help us to understand this phenomenon. Have you taken the flu vaccine? Why or why not?

When the Workplace Is a Gridiron

The National Football League (NFL) has a dementia assistance program for retired players, and there is mounting evidence that it is sorely needed. The data show there is a link between football and later-in-life cognitive impairment. While there are some League officials who dispute the fact that playing in the NFL substantially increases the risk for dementia, the records indicate that pro football retirees are “experiencing moderate to advanced early-onset dementia at rates several times higher than the general population.” When a League-commissioned University of Michigan survey reported NFL retirees aged 50 and above showed diagnoses of cognitive disease at five times the rate of the national population, the League commented that such surveys were unreliable. To try to determine the reality of the contrasting claims, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the issue of brain injuries in football. Representatives heard stories of former football players who had struggled with homelessness, depression, and an inability to perform basic tasks after suffering hundreds of blows to the head during their careers. But some present emphasized that the NFL had made safety improvements in recent years. Several other factors related to this issue are: - the condition is not generally the result of single horrendous hit, which may be described as a concussion, but the accumulation of smaller hits over time. - there have been, of course, improvements to safety equipment, especially helmets, but those improvements have not been adequate and have not resolved the problem. - NFL players, in addition to their pro tenures, have played football in college, high school, and even before that, raising the further issue of the safety of football for children who will never play at the professional level. While Disability Management programs of more ordinary workplaces may not be adequate for NFL players without being significantly customized to the uniqueness of this workplace, there will certainly have to be acknowledgements of the problem. The League would be wise to consider the implementation of Disability Management procedures for every team. -Do you believe that NFL teams would be wise to consider the implementation of Disability Management programs? -If your child is involved in football, does this article cause concern?