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Dear Corporate America I am not resting on my laurels Sincerely Jobseeker January 21, 2011

Posted by jvmullin in Job Searching, Job Searching.
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There has been much discussion these past year about how companies and others are looking at job seekers.

They call them lazy, unqualified, deadbeats, entitled and others.

I guess they easily forget tit was they who put a high number of highly qualified people on the streets in the name of profits ans shareholder equity. Now instead of being part of the solution to help the economy they have become a larger part of the problem.  They are also assisted by the recruiting industry.

Can you blame the qualified people who have been out of work for so long to give up hope on landing a position with the treatment they have received and unduly at that. Shame on you  people! Your attitude and actions should be considered unethical and immoral to say the least. But this seems to be the attitude that prevails in America today.

A vast number of qualified people to keep their skills up to date have taken on volunteer work, consulting, contract and short term employment. They do this to survive and even at that it is a struggle.

But now you are even using that as an excuse not to hire someone. The practice started at the end of 2010 that is you are not employed you need not apply was the most absurd shoot yourself in the foot move that I have ever seen. Then you have the audacity to state that you cannot find qualified candidates to fill your open positions while you treat your employees like slave labor.  You are your own worst enemy.

The economy is starting to turn and you will need to replace a number of positions that you vacated. It would serve you right to not be able to attract or retain top talent.  It would serve you right for the people working for you now to not increase their productivity one iota. This is what you are facing for your sins.

I know a number of highly qualified seekers who speak with me frequently on their frustrations and how they have been demoralized by you people. IS compassion dead in the business world? It sure appears that way.

I have to encourage these people to persevere and to stay focused in their endeavors. I have to try to make sense of what is going on in order to give them some gleam of hope. I myself am finding it harder to fathom these actions that I speak of and can only chalk it up to poor leadership, which also seem prevalent today. I understand in business when things start to turn down that is is a good time to get rid of deadwood in the first RIF. What I have a hard time fathoming is the actions being taken against people who are qualified that were parts of the preceding  RIF’s. I just can’t understand the reasoning behind this abomination.  Were you thinking that your company was the only one that suffered the recession in your industry? I wish someone would explain to me the valid reasoning behind these insane practices so that I might be better equipped to explain it to my clients.

SO what I would like Corporate America to understand that the qualified people are not sitting at home on their ass watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. They are out there volunteering, consulting, contracting and working temp in order to keep there skills fresh. They are patiently waiting for the opportunity to help your company recover and move forward.  You are over looking one of the hardest working forces waiting  for this energy to be unleashed by you.  And you have the audacity to look down on such a valuable asset. I question where you learned how to run a business and further questions your leadership skills.

This blog will invoke anger as it is intended to. But I wish you to carefully consider is that anger really at me as a scapegoat or yourself for the actions you have brought about on others. Do these unconscionable actions excuses to help you sleep better at night? To be able to get up in the morning and face yourself in the mirror knowing there are seekers and their families suffering, being torn to the brink of destruction, due your decisions and actions?

I am running out of excuses for your actions. I used up all the business reasons and they no longer fly. So what is your solution or are you going to continue being the problem?

 

Volunteer work while unemployed. What does it get me? March 14, 2010

Posted by jvmullin in 1.
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Volunteer work will provide you some benefits that may or may not advance your career.

One it provides a sense of worth that you lost when you lost your job.

It allows you to keep your communication and interaction skills honed for that interview.

Then there is the networking aspect of it as it broadens your network and allows you to meet interesting people.

Depending on the work it can maintain, enhance, or hone your skills. It may add new skills also.

Where do these volunteer opportunities come from?

You can search them out or they may present themselves in chance ways.

My latest work is based on a chance encounter at the local Post Office. It was based on my former volunteer work and the fact that I was wearing an old uniform jacket with  embroidery.

I ran into Al who is running the Ram Island Restoration Project off of Mattapoisett, MA.

The project is to fly dirt out to the island to fill in 2 erosion spots, add planting and make it ready for the nesting season of the Common tern and the Roesetta Tern (endangered). 1/4 of each population nest on this island to breed.

The project uses 3 helicopters to fly the dirt out using mud mats that carry 750lbs of dirt at a time. so it takes many flights. We have moved 650 yards to date.  We have another 3 -4 days hopefully to finish the dirt move.

The pilots requested a water safety aspect in case they go into the water. This is where I come in having performed underwater recovery for 20 years I have the experience to train, plan and execute such an operation.

So my leadership and operation skills are in use once again. The operation provides me a feeling of great worth and responsibility. It has put me back on my game. Something that I have been missing this last  year.

It has also provided me with a new skill — navigation. I navigate us out through a narrow and obstruction avoidance  from the marina to the island and back. I also have to select the anchorage point daily for optimum response.

I hopefully have 3-4 more days of doing this before my part is completed.

This has helped me exercise my leadership skills and get me back on game.

I hope that all those volunteering are finding it helpful. To those who are thinking about it I hope this gives you that push to go for it. It is rewarding and will help you in the short and long term.