Archive for June, 2010

Tech firms more trusted than Facebook

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

NEW YORK, USA: Americans trust technology heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Microsoft more than social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, according to a new poll.

Nearly half of 2,100 adults questioned in a Zogby Interactive survey said they trusted the big three technology firms “completely” or “a lot,” compared to eight percent for Twitter and 13 percent for Facebook.

But all of the companies rated higher than traditional media.

John Zogby, the president and CEO of Zogby International, said big companies have had the time to build brand equity, while Facebook and Twitter do not have the corporate identity.

“They don’t have the brand equity,” he added in a telephone interview.

Young adults aged 18 to 29 had slightly higher trust levels in Facebook with 20 percent and Twitter with 15 percent compared to the levels of adults of all ages which were seven percent lower for both companies.

When asked how important online privacy was to consumers, Zogby said it was huge.

“I think to a great degree, it’s all about privacy,” he explained.

Google has been criticized by some privacy regulators for its Street View cars which collected some private information from unencrypted WiFi networks while roving the streets taking photographs for its online mapping software.

Facebook recently changed its privacy policies to give users more control over how much information from users profiles is public following protests from some users and privacy watchdogs.

The traditional media received little sympathy from the public with only eight percent of all adults and six percent of young adults saying they trusted the media.

Reuters

Posted in Blog, In the News | 2 Comments »

6 Mistakes New Grads Make in Their First Jobs

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

With a new class of college students about to graduate and join the workforce, here are six ways that new grads often harm themselves at work inadvertently. Don’t make these mistakes!

1. Thinking that because you have your degree, you shouldn’t have to do grunt work. Most recent grads start at the bottom because that’s how you learn how a business works, regardless of your particular degree. You must learn how to write the sort of memo your boss wants to read, how to navigate office personalities, how to simply get things done in an organization. Even if you’re not given the most glamorous work, you can pay attention to detail, follow instructions, and care about quality–eventually someone is going to let you do something more interesting.

2. Not being thorough. In college, you could (and were often expected to) argue one point of view. At work, you’re expected to consider all the options thoroughly and make a recommendation that includes pros and cons. I often see new grads simply not being thorough in their thinking. Poke holes in your recommendation before you take it to your boss. That way she doesn’t have to.

3. Thinking that what you post on social networking sites doesn’t matter. At best, being unprofessional on sites like Facebook or Twitter will limit your professional growth and change the way your boss sees you; at worst, it can get you fired.

4. Procrastinating. If you waited until the last minute to do a project in college, you were the only one who suffered. At work, if you put off a project until the last minute and then you’re sick or something else gets in the way, you risk your professional reputation.

5. Not putting effort into forming relationships with older colleagues. You might be more comfortable spending all your lunches with people in your peer group, but then you’ll miss out on the chance to form relationships that can help you progress faster in your career. Get to know your older colleagues.

6. Not saying “thank you.” When your boss or another coworker takes the time to help you with something, give them a sincere thank you. People who feel appreciated are more likely to go out of their way for you again. If you don’t seem to care, they probably won’t bother again.

Posted in Blog, Landing That Job | 1 Comment »

The Contract Adventure

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Here is a great post I found on Glassdoor.com. If you have been out of work for more than a few months, changing careers or just want to keep up your skills and meet new people, your should seriously consider contract work.

The prevailing thought they say, is that we will experience 10% unemployment for a long time. They also say that companies have generated higher profits as they have lowered their human capital costs. This all comes as a result of increased productivity which is explained by employees working more, for longer and for less. At the same time, there are signs that companies are beginning to have some difficulty hiring quality technical talent and we can assume companies will have to hire talent relief for those employees who have been working so hard as of late. The question is: Will companies return to hiring full-time employees? Good question.

Initially they won’t. Businesses live in an uncertain world including global economy questions, nationalized health care and a federal government that is not business friendly. As a result companies cannot and will not hire full-time employees but will increase hiring for contract labor at all levels. Is this bad for talent? Is a contract job a good opportunity career-wise? Good questions.

Working contract is not a bad thing. The problem frankly becomes finding your next gig and putting yourself ‘out there’ on the market. Contracting, successfully, requires the right approach. Having worked as a contractor for most of my work life I have a few ‘contract life’ approaches to keep in mind if the opportunity becomes available to you:

Working contract is an adventure because you get to meet new people, learn new models, experience different technologies and learn how to solve new problems, either on your own or by watching others. So think of everyday as a new day on a long and exciting adventure. Don’t worry about what you do or the level of your work…it’s an adventure.

You are a gunslinger. OK, I grew up watching westerns. The point is no matter what you do, treat yourself as a specialist. Take pride in your work and do your job well. Think of yourself as the one person who can answer those customer service calls correctly, the one who can generate leads faster and more effectively or the one who’s the best landscape ‘remover of all weeds’. Pride in your work will be seen and appreciated by others, maybe when you’re not looking, and it may lead to your next contract.

Increase the chance of finding the right career. Maybe that job pursuing your life career interest didn’t work out and maybe it wasn’t meant for you. By taking on contract work, working for a number of companies, doing a number of different functions, you may just find that over time you will slide into what is right whether it’s a new dream or the dream you had originally.

So contract work is here and may be the way a number of us work for the foreseeable future. If you think contract work is for you, embrace the adventure, become a specialist (in your own mind first) and find your career path.

Posted in Blog, Everything Else | No Comments »