How is the Economy and Recession Affecting *YOU*?

Utah’s economy continues to outpace the United States, though we’re losing ground on key economic indicators, we’re losing that ground more slowly than the nation as a whole and many states around the country.

September 2008 Unemployment Rate Utah VS. USA
Click for latest employment situation report

Utah: 3.5%
U.S.: 6.1%

Year-Over Nonfarm Growth

Utah: 0.1%
U.S.: -0.4%

With economists and pundits expecting [...]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Standing Out From the Crowd

If you’re vying for a position at a company, there is a fine line you must walk between looking like everyone else and being so different you don’t fit in at all.
Here’s a few simple ideas I can suggest for getting around the gatekeepers, receiving straight feedback, and (if you’re right for it) the job.

Research: [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Listen To Your Coach

A friend asked me last night for some advice in his job situation.  He’s been there only a short time, and interested in long-term salary increases and other promotions, etc. He was, in effect, asking me how and when to negotiate your next moves within a company.
How to do this?
LISTEN TO YOUR COACH
Your “coach” in [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

How (not) to Lose

Job Searching is emotional.

And, sometimes, things simply don’t turn out as you planned it. But, like most things in life, its not what happens to you, but how you react to what happens that matters. And, yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle job-search defeat.
… and there’s also [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

How to Handle a Pay-Cut

Hopefully, it won’t happen, but when times are tough, a company might come up with a need for executing a pay-cut. There are a few ways to look at this:

At least you’re not being fired.
Maybe this is negotiable.
What an opportunity to find something new!

Yahoo Hot Jobs posted a great set of questions you should investigate [...]

Popularity: 8% [?]

4 Telephone Interview Tips

A friend called on Saturday, frantic, because they have a telephone interview Monday morning. They had never had a telephone interview before, and her nerves were getting to her.
The key is to control what you can control, knowing that you are as ready as possible. Here are some other tips to help you out:

Attend [...]

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Utah Jobs Growing

Matthew Reinbold was kind enough to use a few of my comments in a recent piece on Utah Job Growth at UtahPulse.com.
Here’s some of the takeaways:
“Unemployment is still below the generally-accepted measure for ‘full-employment’ of 4-5%,” Robert Merrill, Technical Account Manager for SOS Engineering and Technology, said. “This means that people who would otherwise choose [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

4 Factors Creating Utah Workforce Funk

There’s no question something interesting is happening with Utah’s professional/technical workforce right now, and I think there are no less than four competing factors at play any business-owner should be paying very close attention to:

Real and Wage Inflation
Intense Competition for Talent
Corporate cost-cutting
High Energy/Commute Costs

The hardest part to pin-down is that the economic indicators show a [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Job Trends: Moonlight, Part-Time Desired by Candidates

It’s likely a result of the current economy, but we have noticed a very high percentage of people coming to us and looking for part-time or extra work on graveyards/evenings/weekends.
These are generally very talented individuals who like their current job/employer, but are looking for additional work to take on.
Likewise, these same people are usually willing [...]

Popularity: 8% [?]

Don’t Be A Know-It-All

A provocative post about Helicopter Parenting on Modite this morning reminded me of some advice I frequently give to job-seekers, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really mentioned it clearly here.
Don’t lie. Admit when you don’t know something… but immediately prove to me that you can assemble the resources to get it figured out.
This [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]