Game Time! (Get Involved and Have Fun)

Firstly, I would like to post something I found on the facebook profile page of one of my favorite (former) radio dj's. It made me laugh, but it explains how so many of us who are unemployed (and have been for a while) feel!

Kris Stevens I've now become a burden to society. So unless you want to keep paying my unemployment benefits, I suggest you hire me. (ok, I'm done venting)

Ok, now it's Game Time!

Let's play a game. It's called the alphabet game. We are "going to the park" and each person brings the first person, place, or thing that comes to their mind. The first person starts with A, the next B, then C, etc. When playing in real life (a great way to pass time) each person is to repeat everything said before them beginning with "I'm ...going to the park and I'm going to bring..." A, B, and C. If they forget anything they lose the game and start a new game with the letter A. 

 

A fun variation on this game is what I like to call "The Game That Never Ends" This is because it has the potential to go on forever! The first person starts with A and whatever letter that word ends in the next person begins with. This time you don't repeat everything said before you because this variation can last very long and most of the time you will repeat letters quite a few times although you still are not to repeat words. 

 

For example, I'm first and I say "I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an apple." The next person says "I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an elephant." The third person then must come up with a word that begins with "T."  You are absolutely aloud to look around for things beginning with that letter. It is a great help when you get deep into the game and repeat letters multiple times.
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I'll start and well play the original game so the second person with start with "B."Don't forget repeat everything said before you!

I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an apple.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 4)

We'd like a thank-you note right away.

E-mail is fine for this and has the advantage of arriving faster, but handwritten notes are still appreciated (and are increasingly unusual so will stand out). And if there are multiple interviews, send a thank-you note each time.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 2)

We pay attention to the small stuff.

Frequently, I see candidates act as if only “official” contacts—like interviews and formal writing samples—count during the hiring process. They’ll send flawless cover letters and then check up on their applications with sloppily written E-mails with spelling errors. Or they’ll be charming and polite to me but rude to an assistant. I pay attention to how quickly a candidate responds to requests for writing samples and references, and even how fast he or she returns phone calls.

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

I'm currently unemployed. Have been since just before Christmas. As of today I will start posting a series of entries that are career/job related. Hopefully, if any of you my followers/ readers are unemployed these blog entries will help in some way with your search.

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

By Alison Green

Posted: May 24, 2010

No one likes the form letters that employers use to deliver the news that you didn't get the job: They're impersonal, they don't have any real information about why you lost out, they say you were impressive when obviously you weren't impressive enough, and so forth. How are job-seekers supposed to become better candidates when these canned letters don't give them any useful feedback?

[See 15 essentials for getting hired.]

Here are five common reasons companies use these maddeningly vague rejection letters:

1. They're afraid of being sued. Many companies are under orders from their lawyers not to get into the reasons for job rejections, in case a candidate doesn't like the explanation and decides the "real" reason must be discriminatory.

[See why job seekers should volunteer.]

2. They don't want to deal with candidates who get angry and try to debate the decision. Everyone who does hiring has stories about rejected candidates who wouldn't stop arguing the decision, and some who got so angry that they were scary.

3. The reason you were rejected is an awkward one. It's one thing to explain that you needed stronger writing skills or more bookkeeping experience. But most people don't want to have to explain that you seemed like a jerk, or crazy, or not very bright.

[See 5 lame but common interview answers.]

4. They don't have time. Offering up thoughtful feedback to every rejected candidate could be a job unto itself, and ultimately that's not what hiring staffers are there for.

5. They did tell you the reason and you don't believe them. A lot of times "you were really great, but someone else was a better fit," is just the truth.

All that said, you have nothing to lose by writing back and asking for feedback after you get that vague rejection E-mail. If you do it well (politely, non-defensively) and you have an interviewer who wants to help, you just may get some helpful advice.