11.21.2004

Performance Review Terms

• AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: Not too bright.
• EXCEPTIONALLY WELL QUALIFIED: Made no major blunders - yet.
• ACTIVE SOCIALLY: Drinks a lot.
• FAMILY IS ACTIVE SOCIALLY: Spouse drinks, too.
• CHARACTER ABOVE REPROACH: Still one step ahead of the cops.
• ZEALOUS ATTITUDE: Opinionated.
• QUICK THINKING: Offers plausible excuses for mistakes.
• CAREFUL THINKER: Won't make a decision.
• TAKES PRIDE IN WORK: Conceited.
• PLANS FOR ADVANCEMENT: Buys drinks for all the boys in the office at happy hour.
• FORCEFUL: Argumentative.
• AGGRESSIVE: Obnoxious.
• USES LOGIC ON DIFFICULT JOBS: Gets someone else to do it.
• A KEEN ANALYST: Thoroughly confused.
• EXPRESSES THEMSELVES WELL: Speaks English.
• CONSCIENTIOUS: Scared.
• METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL: A nitpicker.
• HAS LEADERSHIP QUALITIES: Is tall or has a loud voice.
• EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD JUDGMENT: Lucky.
• KEEN SENSE OF HUMOR: Knows a lot of dirty jokes.
• STRONG PRINCIPLES: Stubborn.
• CAREER MINDED: Backstabber.
• COMING ALONG WELL: About to be let go.
• OF GREAT VALUE TO THE ORGANIZATION: Gets to work on time.
• RELAXED ATTITUDE: Sleeps at desk.
• EXPERIENCED PROBLEM SOLVER: Screws up often.
• WORK IS FIRST PRIORITY: Too ugly to get a date.
• INDEPENDENT WORKER: Nobody knows what he/she does all day.
• FORWARD THINKING: Procrastinator.
• GREAT PRESENTATION SKILLS: Able to BS well.
• GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Spends lots of time on phone.
• LOYAL: Can't get a job anywhere else.

WEDDLE's 2004 User's Choice Awards

Remember, these sites are the recruiters' favorites... so perhaps they should become yours as well.

Job Searching During The Holidays

If you're thinking about a new job, now's the time to aggressively pick up your search. Many people slow their job search down during the holiday months when in fact it's the best time to look! Here's why. Many companies implement a new direction or strategy at the first of the year, resulting in a first of the year hiring surge. With new-year business strategies mapped out, companies start aggressively looking for resumes and interviewing new job candidates in November and December. Oddly enough, while employers start hiring, job seekers often decide to wait to mount their search until after the holidays, feeling that no-one will be hiring until then. This creates an optimal job seeking environment of more jobs and less competition! From mid November to mid January, the holidays have a "slowing down" effect day to day business operations. Many companies take advantage of this time to do their interviewing for the coming year. If you wait until January to start your search -- you may be too late! Make sure to set up accounts on lots of career sites where you can search through all the current jobs and have them sent to you as well. And make sure to post your resume there so you'll be found by the employers who are currently searching.

"The US economy added 337,000 jobs in October - a seven-month high and far more than Wall Street expectations. Manufacturing was the only sector that did not add jobs in October. The Labor Department figures come after a slow summer of weak jobs gains. Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor, said many of the 71,000 new construction jobs added in October were involved in rebuilding and clean-up work in Florida, and neighboring Deep South states, following four hurricanes in August and September. The 337,000 new jobs added to US payrolls in October was twice the 169,000 figure that Wall Street economists had forecast. In addition, the Labor Department revised up the number of jobs created in the two previous months - to 139,000 in September instead of 96,000, and to 198,000 in August instead of 128,000. While the separate unemployment rate went up to 5.5% from 5.4% in September, this was because more people were now actively seeking work." - career news network

"Economists anticipate the business climate will be losing steam in the coming year: Oil prices are expected to take a larger bite out of corporate profits, and the Federal Reserve may still be raising interest rates, which may contribute to a slower pace for housing construction. At the moment economists don't expect the slowdown to degenerate into a recession. Instead of growing at 4 percent or more, the conventional wisdom is that the economy will see more modest growth of 3.5 percent. "The leading indicators have yellow signals, if not red, for next year," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. "The economy is going to be struggling in the first part of the new year." It's anticipated that the unemployment rate will start to rise modestly next year. Tuesday, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that companies had announced 101,840 layoffs in October - a slightly lower number than September. "I'm not hearing anyone with great hiring plans right now," says John Challenger of the Chicago-based outplacement firm. "A lot of companies are in the wait-and-see mode."" - career news network

 Fewer Women Joining the IT Ranks