#jobsearchTweet and #EntrylevelTweet

Happy About Books has experimented with creating Twitter-style books of career advice. The books are limited to 140 statements and each statement is limited to 140 characters, similar to Twitter.

#jobsearchTweet is for any-flavor of job seeker from the entry-level to the laid off. The author, Barbara Safani, is the owner of Career Solvers, and the author of another Happy About book, Happy About My Resume. On the whole, I found most of the advice to be highly relevant and actionable, but one suggestion--add a chart to your resume--I think is an absolute no-no. Not only would an Applicant Tracking System not know what to do with your pretty chart, I can easily see an employer laughing about a well-meaning, My Awesomeness chart. Charts like these are better suited to a portfolio, revealed at the interview, and in relation to a specific question. If you use a chart, make sure it is relevant, objective-as in not about personal information, but about a project or sales data--and uses no confidential information from a previous employer.

#entrylevelTweet is for beginning job seekers and though I really liked the structure and progression of the resume advice, I thought the author, owner of Come Recommended, opened the book on a weak note by suggesting that the reader write a bunch of lists, seemingly for the purpose of listing-stuff. Yes, I know you could use them on a resume or to answer interview questions, but I don't think the new job seeker is going to get it. College students respond to suggests to write lists about themselves with put-upon eye rolling: they hate it, everyone tells them to do it, they never do, or get frustrated over what this magic list was supposed to do. Despite the weak start, the resume tweets were well done and I could see college-age students eagerly eating those up.

For both these books, I think they would have been better as ebooks only; personally I feel their layout is a waste of paper, and they also probably look better on a cell phone screen. I would recommend them for career counsellors that have thought about tweeting out advice and were not sure how to do it, succinctly and with relevance. I also think that frustrated job seekers, tired of too much advice, would find the format refreshing.

The Trouble with Best Places to Work Lists

Laura Vanderkam, appearing on BNET, writes about Best Places to Work Lists and why they aren't the best way to go about picking a place to work.

Now, though those points are true and that each of these lists vary by criteria, I would also argue that at least the HR people are making an effort to make their workplace known to candidates outside of their geographic region, which gives them a wider pool of applicants. Yes, it has the benefit of making the company look good and add a Best Places to Work logo to their job board, but these may also advertise companies in regions a job seeker may not have even considered as a possibility, and further research will broaden their horizons.

The OUTLOOK for hiring

According to a story on CNN Money, the outlook for hiring is on a 12 year high. Now, I don't want to be a grump, but "outlook" is like looking into a crystal ball--it's not actual hires.

NBC blamed layoffs on the winter weather and last week's Business Week suggested that private enterprise won't start to hire until they are sure the recovery is real.

Women less interested in competitive pay structures

According to a study from the University of Chicago, women are less likely to apply for positions where the pay structure involves a competition with other employees--unless local wages were less than what the position offered as a base rate.

Can you work in those shoes?

Another article devoted to women's attire in the workplace, complete with a cleavage appropriate measuring device and some requisite fat-ist, ageist hate from a Gen-Y mean girl:

"If I want to flaunt what I’ve got, I’ll do it, and I don’t care if some old-fashioned or overweight female employees can’t handle it."

Fashion advice for women in the workplace usually sounds like a soft audition for the Taliban: showing skin is not respectful so cover yourself from collar bones, writes and ankles--like Maggie on the Simpsons; the microwaves from your unbound mermaid hair will tempt men; and your boobs look like the slot from a credit card reader. Personally, I find this advice to be obnoxious and unrealistic:

• Have you seen what they sell in clothing stores? What are my choices? It's belly button or nipples, even in some business attire. I guess they think we all work in banks.
• Why don't men get this fashion and body control advice? How about: tuck in your pelvis when you're talking to clients, or I can see your nipple rings through that dress shirt, or quit touching yourself and buy some boxers that fit already?
• Get your [figurative] hands off of my shirt--if I can work in what I wear and it is clean, unwrinkled and no holes, does it really matter?

So the real question is: can I work in what I wear? Honestly, if I need to climb under desks to fix the mouse, if I have to play Wii tennis with the seniors gaming group, or my car may break down in freezing winter weather while I visit all of the partner libraries in my district, why can't I wear jeans and a sweater? Why can't I wear flip flops if my feet are clean and well-groomed? When did wardrobe become short hand for how capable I am at my job, especially when I am dressing to deal with the job? Shouldn't I get points for pragmatism? Instead, the stereotype for my career is "dowdy" which according to this article is just as dangerous to a salary increase as "sexy".

And yes, whenever I read these articles I am extremely grateful to work in libraries where I have seen blue hair, pierced lips, permanent tattoos on necks, jeans and shirts that don't enclose collar bones--and they let us work with children! We haven't broken the flip flop barrier yet but I hold out hope.

I want to be an academic librarian

"To become an academic librarian you will have to wait for someone to die"
"I am very patient."

"Bad Career Advice" from BNET

Caution: Bad Career Advice Ahead from the Evil HR Lady on BNET is filled with great examples of when to ignore advice--especially when that advice flouts common sense or is unjust.

Academic Librarian at Algoma University

This job posting is from AcademicWork.ca, an initiative of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)

LIBRARY

Date Posted: December 06, 2010
Region: Ontario
Institution: Algoma University
Discipline: Librarian
Web Link: http://www.algomau.ca

Algoma University invites applications for 3-year, contractually limited appointment, at a junior level, beginning July 1, 2011. The successful candidate must have an MLIS (or recognized equivalent) from an ALA-accredited institution with training and/or course-work in collection development and planning. The position will coordinate and develop strategies for the effective and efficient management for print and electronic collections with emphasis on evaluation, selection and de-selection of information resources to meet the needs of the Algoma University academic community.

Candidates should submit electronically a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, sample publications or relevant, graduate course-work, a statement of their philosophy on the future of collections and collection development in universities, the names of three (3) academic or professional referees and letters of recommendation from said referees to: see job posting on AcademicWork.ca for email address. Application materials should be submitted as a single combined PDF file with the file name identifying the applicant. Applicants must also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent electronically. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The university web site (www.algomau.ca) offers a good introduction to Algoma University, situated in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, at the heart of the Great Lakes on the Canada-US border. The position is open to all qualified applicants, although preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada. The University is an inclusive and equitable campus encouraging applications from qualified women and men including persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and Aboriginal persons.

The position is subject to budgetary approval.

Events match students with real world projects

The ESADE business school in Spain matches students with real world projects in a speed dating style of match up. This type of idea could certainly work for other schools, to either get students to projects where they can hone their skills, or for non-profits to find students who have skills that they need to get projects done.

How about that collection development project that library students have to complete--I bet there are some non-profits in the area who could use that help--or marketing or knowledge management...the list goes on.

As as aside, if you're in the New York Area, Catchafire to matches professionals with non-profits that need skilled volunteers. 

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Shouldn't there be a digital expiry date?

The Canadian HR Reporter-Employment Law blog had an interesting post about a UFC fighter who would like to become a police officer. The Toronto Police Service had concerns about his schedule as a professional fighter, but it was a previous persona, as "Pimp Daddy", that led to the revoking of the offer of employment.

The fighter/wannabe police officer makes a good point: he used the alias at the suggestion of a promoter over a decade ago and is not currently using the alias. I think this was kind of a silly reason to retract the job officer--are you going to revoke job offers for every hooligan that used/still uses a stupid browser email address? What if a person's military call sign or other nickname--these digital nicknames can persist for a long time and be attached to their owners in a professional sense--makes them a "bad candidate"? The question, as the blog post asks, is this:

Should a name used early in his career still be held against him? Could the Toronto Police be losing out on someone who could turn out to be a good police officer because of it?

End of checking credit history

I've never understood the purpose of checking a potential employee's credit history--do you want to know if I wear boxers or briefs, too? But Inside Tech is reporting that the days for a credit history check may be numbered, which stems from a suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Kaplan.

And, yes, many people do have their credit checked before they receive a job offer, usually because they will be in charge of money--a budget, a corporate credit card, supposedly be tempted to steal, or dealing with sensitive documents (which you'll notice they did away with the credit check)--so it is possible that a librarian may also be subjected to a credit check.

For more on the subject, check out the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's Employment Background Checks: A Job Seekers Guide.

Ten Speed's Phil Wood Dies

Notice on PW site: Ten Speed's Phil Wood Dies