Along with the fears of many current employees wondering whether or not they will be the next one ‘let go,’ into the sea of unemployment and economic hurt, there’s yet another group that seem to be facing these harsh times and may really feel the punch come May graduation. College graduates, specifically those graduating this coming May, 2009 have already dug deep in the search of scoring a job upon obtaining their degree.
Since human resource management has a great deal to do with hiring, firing and finding that perfect candidate, I found two articles that relate to this topic. An article I read in the Rochester, MN Post-Bulletin, explained that even students with the upmost, impressive resumes, are going to receive numerous rejection letters and may have to turn to alternative options. Even the number of employers who have attended career fairs this year is down.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers released the results of a survey that was conducted earlier this month showing that employers expect to hire 22% fewer graduates from the graduating class of 2009 that they hired in previous years. According to an article in the magazine, Building Design in the October 24, 2008 issue titled, Students Hit First by Recession, explains that students are set to be among the first victims of the recession. “Record numbers of graduates are chasing fast-disappearing jobs in recession-struck practices,” the article noted.
One particular student from Winona State University, Kyle Berg, had planned on participating in an internship with a small marketing firm in Winona, but the day he was to begin his internship the company went out of business. Students now must become even more desirable to company’s more than ever. With jobs decreasing and more and more students graduating the competition is fierce. Companies are beginning to weed out resumes based on years of experience, which may be a downfall to many college graduates who lack in the experience category.
According to the article found in the Rochester Post-Bulletin, the key to making way through this labor market is to be focused. “They are going to have to know what they want to do and then how to get there.” Despite the chaotic state of our economy, career councilors still emphasize that a college diploma is still one of the most effective means of enhancing one’s job prospects—finally some good news for May graduates!
Staying engaged in the labor market is key, Phillip Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University said. Some graduates have already begun seeking alternative routes. In the article from the Building Design Magazine, an architect and placement coordinator at Sheffield College of Architecture, Stephen Leighton said, "Everyone just walked into jobs 12 months ago. Now, students have to be more creative.” Getting out and volunteering is one way to stay engaged in the labor market. The people from the community are also the ones giving their time and are also employers, connected to jobs. Establishing a relationship with them can only help chances of employment and networking.
Another tip the article from the Post-Bulletin gives is not to run off to graduate school assuming the labor market is too harsh. Attending graduate school will only add to one’s financial debt. Although employers may send current employees to graduate school, choosing to enroll after obtaining a bachelor’s degree has no guarantee of job placement or higher earnings.
At the beginning of February, the United States unemployment rate was the highest it has been in 25 years, coming in at 8.1 percent. The unemployment rate for college graduates was only at 4.1 percent, 8.3 percent for high school graduates, and those lacking a high school diploma soared to 12.6 percent.
Sure, the economy isn’t great, but it is like that for everyone. As one who will be amongst many other May graduates, I found both articles to be encouraging, uplifting and helpful in continuing my search to obtain that dream job and also in making me more desirable and compatible to the human resource personnel searching for that perfect candidate.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A little humor...
As we begin our well-deserved week of spring break, my dad sent me a little humor to help kick it off! The following video, I found to be very humorous and rather intelligent at the same time. It gives a very good analogy comparing a party to a party in our stomach. I highly recommend watching it, I know it will give you a good laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4sfJr10wFs
Comedian Jim Breuer, discusses this concept as he preforms on stage to a large audience before him. I guess those of us that are 21, able to consume alcoholic beverages, can keep this video as a remembrance when placed at the Tiki bar on a scorching hot day. Remember who always shows up to the party last--perhaps you won't let them in!
Comedian Jim Breuer, discusses this concept as he preforms on stage to a large audience before him. I guess those of us that are 21, able to consume alcoholic beverages, can keep this video as a remembrance when placed at the Tiki bar on a scorching hot day. Remember who always shows up to the party last--perhaps you won't let them in!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Jimmy Who?!?!
During class, actually this particular blogging class in which this blog was created for, Dr. Hanson mentioned a name that is all too familiar to me. The second he began to say 'Jimmy' my eyebrows began to raise, after hearing 'Buffet' it was certain that he had my attention to the fullest!
Why is this name so familiar to me you may be asking. Well let's just say that growing up I knew more of his songs, memorizing lyrics, and facts about him then perhaps most of his feeding frenzy of parrot-heads (Jimmy's fans).
You see, my father, known on the water as Captain Joee, is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, an all-around, full-out parrot-head to say the least. From as far back as I can remember, every song we listened to while boating, driving to get to our boating destination, or even just riding in dad's car was from this gifted artist. I went through my stages of hatred towards this music, but after I passed through that stage I began to find myself listening to it on my own, as a personal choice of music. Perhaps this is because his melodic tone and clever lyrics took me to my absolute favorite place, with some of my favorite people--boating on a hot summer day with close family and friends.
Today, I still find myself presetting Margaritaville to my Sirius satellite radio settings. After I turned 21, my parents were so excited to announce that I had now graduated from being a parakeet to a parrot-head. At first, years back, I despised when they would joke about this title they had given me, but now I can't really deny it. I've been to my fair share of Jimmy Buffet impersonators, cheeseburger and paradise and margaritaville restaurants, concerts and certainly know my fair share of songs and facts about this talented man. In fact a few summers ago I thought he should know just how idolized and loved his fans truly are that I wrote him a personal letter describing many of these instances and more particularly informing him about my father's enjoyment of his music and image.
So, now you know why hearing 'Jimmy Buffet' raised my head in class. Honestly, it seemed as if Dr. Hanson had mentioned a best friend or family member's name. It seems that's how familiar I am with this figure! Oh yah, and Boat Drinks, if you haven't heard it you should(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n54wvBOMeT8), it's a great song!
Why is this name so familiar to me you may be asking. Well let's just say that growing up I knew more of his songs, memorizing lyrics, and facts about him then perhaps most of his feeding frenzy of parrot-heads (Jimmy's fans).
You see, my father, known on the water as Captain Joee, is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, an all-around, full-out parrot-head to say the least. From as far back as I can remember, every song we listened to while boating, driving to get to our boating destination, or even just riding in dad's car was from this gifted artist. I went through my stages of hatred towards this music, but after I passed through that stage I began to find myself listening to it on my own, as a personal choice of music. Perhaps this is because his melodic tone and clever lyrics took me to my absolute favorite place, with some of my favorite people--boating on a hot summer day with close family and friends.
Today, I still find myself presetting Margaritaville to my Sirius satellite radio settings. After I turned 21, my parents were so excited to announce that I had now graduated from being a parakeet to a parrot-head. At first, years back, I despised when they would joke about this title they had given me, but now I can't really deny it. I've been to my fair share of Jimmy Buffet impersonators, cheeseburger and paradise and margaritaville restaurants, concerts and certainly know my fair share of songs and facts about this talented man. In fact a few summers ago I thought he should know just how idolized and loved his fans truly are that I wrote him a personal letter describing many of these instances and more particularly informing him about my father's enjoyment of his music and image.
So, now you know why hearing 'Jimmy Buffet' raised my head in class. Honestly, it seemed as if Dr. Hanson had mentioned a best friend or family member's name. It seems that's how familiar I am with this figure! Oh yah, and Boat Drinks, if you haven't heard it you should(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n54wvBOMeT8), it's a great song!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Conflict Journalist
Kevin Sites
I attended the World Affairs Conference both Monday and Tuesday this past week at UNK. Though I did not hear the message(s) every speaker delivered, I will say, I was most inspired and interested in what Conflict Journalist, Kevin Sites, discussed.
I attended the World Affairs Conference both Monday and Tuesday this past week at UNK. Though I did not hear the message(s) every speaker delivered, I will say, I was most inspired and interested in what Conflict Journalist, Kevin Sites, discussed.
Sites took part in a project, sponsored by Yahoo!, where he came in contact with the task of covering as many conflict war zones as he could in one year. Sites proceeded in this challenge alone. His equipment consisted of a hand-held video camera, a camera, pen and paper and other portable digital technology in which aided him in transmitting his multi-media reports back to his production crew at home, in the US.
Working for NBC, Sites was faced with a difficult decision. He had captured some gruesome footage of a US soldier who shot, at point blank, a man from the opposing side. After pondering whether or not to use Sites’ video, NBC decided to use his footage and the video aired, however it had gone through many edits before his footage was actually released. The entire scene of the shooting was not captured in full, leaving audience members confused and wondering. Sites choose to leave this high-profile network and turned to his blog, where he posted the actual, non-edited footage. He decided that through his blog, he would fulfill his duties as a journalist—capturing information and giving his audience the truth.
It was being across the world, interviewing civilians and obtaining their stories in the forms of video, still photography and/or text that really changed Sites and opened his eyes to the many struggles and truths of our world. I was touched by the stories he told describing the lives of numerous rape victims, combatants, and other civilians living through these difficult times.
The manner in which Sites presented himself and the message he had to tell was very professional and he related well to the crowd before him. I was privileged enough to have him come to my Blogging class on Tuesday and hear a little more of his experiences. He told us that if we took one thing from him he wanted it to be, “Take a gap year, a year off after graduation, before we get tied down with a job, and get out and experience what is out there.” Along with the many other pieces of information I received from Sites, I will definitely keep that one at the top!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Editorial 3--Campus/Local Issue
NCAA Drug Testing: Pulling My Hair Out!
Short-haired, shaved, skin-headed athletes may soon be a common trend among student-athletes at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and other NCAA college campuses. Why this, one may ask? In response to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) switching to test athletes for drugs through the use of hair follicle testing instead of the current method, urine tests; student-athletes may react.
Though hair follicle drug tests may have the capability to track the drugs from a longer period of time, hair testing can only detect ‘street’ drugs, such as marijuana. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s chief executive officer and founder of The National Center for Drug Free Sport, Frank Urasz, there is no proven research that hair testing can identify performance-enhancing drugs.
Why would the NCAA, or any NCAA accredited university such as UNK, want to adapt hair testing for drugs when it doesn’t even detect performance-enhancement drugs, which are most commonly used by athletes?
Drug testing was developed to ensure fair play amongst athletes in competitive sporting events. Urasz notes, “urine, the body fluid the NCAA uses to test for performance-enhancing drugs, street drugs and masking agents -- remains the best test for a number of reasons.” Urine tests are far less expensive than hair tests and detect drug use primarily within the past week.
Hair testing remains far more expensive, often times cannot detect drug use within the past week, needs specific, certified personal to obtain a sample, and require approximately 50 to 70 strands of hair about 1.5 inches long to complete the test. Drugs can remain in the hair follicle up to 60 days for every one inch of hair exposed, much longer than in one’s urine. Suppose an athlete chose to use a performance enhancement drug, such as steroids, just once. Though they tried it and decided not to ever use it again, evidence of this drug could still be detected in a hair follicle drug test some two months after the athlete engaged in this activity.
Why should an athlete be punished or suspended for something they tried just once, or did, but discontinued using? A urinalysis, or urine test, is the best way to identify drug use in athletes. It detects the most recently used illegal substances and does not linger on the fact that use may have been many months ago. With the desire and determination an athlete has to be the top performer, chances are the illegal substances one will partake in are in fact, performance-enhancement drugs. Therefore, it would not be beneficial for the NCAA to switch to hair follicle drug tests because hair testing cannot detect these types of substances.
So, cancel your emergency hair appointment at your preferred salon and don’t dull those razor blades by shaving off every inch of hair on your body. If the NCAA wants to keep its athletes from using illegal, performance-enhancement substances, they will stick with their current method of drug testing.
I found a video discussing athletes and steroids and why athletes choose to partake in these performance-enhancement substances. The guy has some very interesting points and arguments! Check it out!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DukyZiY_K5w
Short-haired, shaved, skin-headed athletes may soon be a common trend among student-athletes at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and other NCAA college campuses. Why this, one may ask? In response to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) switching to test athletes for drugs through the use of hair follicle testing instead of the current method, urine tests; student-athletes may react.
Though hair follicle drug tests may have the capability to track the drugs from a longer period of time, hair testing can only detect ‘street’ drugs, such as marijuana. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s chief executive officer and founder of The National Center for Drug Free Sport, Frank Urasz, there is no proven research that hair testing can identify performance-enhancing drugs.
Why would the NCAA, or any NCAA accredited university such as UNK, want to adapt hair testing for drugs when it doesn’t even detect performance-enhancement drugs, which are most commonly used by athletes?
Drug testing was developed to ensure fair play amongst athletes in competitive sporting events. Urasz notes, “urine, the body fluid the NCAA uses to test for performance-enhancing drugs, street drugs and masking agents -- remains the best test for a number of reasons.” Urine tests are far less expensive than hair tests and detect drug use primarily within the past week.
Hair testing remains far more expensive, often times cannot detect drug use within the past week, needs specific, certified personal to obtain a sample, and require approximately 50 to 70 strands of hair about 1.5 inches long to complete the test. Drugs can remain in the hair follicle up to 60 days for every one inch of hair exposed, much longer than in one’s urine. Suppose an athlete chose to use a performance enhancement drug, such as steroids, just once. Though they tried it and decided not to ever use it again, evidence of this drug could still be detected in a hair follicle drug test some two months after the athlete engaged in this activity.
Why should an athlete be punished or suspended for something they tried just once, or did, but discontinued using? A urinalysis, or urine test, is the best way to identify drug use in athletes. It detects the most recently used illegal substances and does not linger on the fact that use may have been many months ago. With the desire and determination an athlete has to be the top performer, chances are the illegal substances one will partake in are in fact, performance-enhancement drugs. Therefore, it would not be beneficial for the NCAA to switch to hair follicle drug tests because hair testing cannot detect these types of substances.
So, cancel your emergency hair appointment at your preferred salon and don’t dull those razor blades by shaving off every inch of hair on your body. If the NCAA wants to keep its athletes from using illegal, performance-enhancement substances, they will stick with their current method of drug testing.
I found a video discussing athletes and steroids and why athletes choose to partake in these performance-enhancement substances. The guy has some very interesting points and arguments! Check it out!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DukyZiY_K5w
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Marijuana:To legalize or not to legalize?
There has been much controversy concerning the topic of marijuana. Many myths have surfaced over the decades. However, these claims have no factual evidence to support the negative perceptions that individuals feel towards this substance. The drug policy website, www.drugpolicy.org, specifies and disembodies many myths associated with marijuana use. This article gave me more of an insight on whether marijuana, as a controlled substance, should be legalized.
For years marijuana has been thought to cause Amotivational syndrome (laziness). Twenty-five years of research has shown that among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users and college students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers.
Another common myth associated with marijuana use is that it is addictive and causes long-term dependency on the drug. The fact is that people who smoke marijuana only engage in smoking it on occasion. Less than one percent smoke marijuana on a daily basis.
Claims that marijuana has no medical value are yet another common myth heard today. In reality, marijuana has shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing interocular pressure in people with glaucoma, just to name a few. We may ask, is marijuana a harmful drug? Hundreds of studies have disproved many of the myths associated with marijuana use.
Other than being less harmful than previously thought, the legalization of marijuana could reduce crime, create tax dollar revenue and allow better government regulation. Governmental control of marijuana sales and trade would reduce the amount of marijuana in underground markets, also decreasing illegal trade and gang involvement, while creating dollars in tax revenue. Should marijuana be legalized? Are the negative attitudes towards this substance only a matter of the misinformed becoming informed and educated about marijuana use? Still, I do not know where I stand on this issue. Until reading the article on the drug policy website,clearing up some myths with respective research studies, my views have always been it’s a bad drug that people only use for the purpose of getting high. However, understanding the studies behind the facts I don’t feel that it is as bad as I once did, yet I can’t say I am for the legalization of marijuana either. What are your thought?!
For years marijuana has been thought to cause Amotivational syndrome (laziness). Twenty-five years of research has shown that among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users and college students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers.
Another common myth associated with marijuana use is that it is addictive and causes long-term dependency on the drug. The fact is that people who smoke marijuana only engage in smoking it on occasion. Less than one percent smoke marijuana on a daily basis.
Claims that marijuana has no medical value are yet another common myth heard today. In reality, marijuana has shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing interocular pressure in people with glaucoma, just to name a few. We may ask, is marijuana a harmful drug? Hundreds of studies have disproved many of the myths associated with marijuana use.
Other than being less harmful than previously thought, the legalization of marijuana could reduce crime, create tax dollar revenue and allow better government regulation. Governmental control of marijuana sales and trade would reduce the amount of marijuana in underground markets, also decreasing illegal trade and gang involvement, while creating dollars in tax revenue. Should marijuana be legalized? Are the negative attitudes towards this substance only a matter of the misinformed becoming informed and educated about marijuana use? Still, I do not know where I stand on this issue. Until reading the article on the drug policy website,clearing up some myths with respective research studies, my views have always been it’s a bad drug that people only use for the purpose of getting high. However, understanding the studies behind the facts I don’t feel that it is as bad as I once did, yet I can’t say I am for the legalization of marijuana either. What are your thought?!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Websites more adaptable for cell phone viewers
Overall there are still many small firms that have not adapted a web site for consumers to view via the web, let alone via a cell phone. As the increased demand continues to rise about websites on the internet more and more firms must choose to create a website to differentiate and compete with industry competitors.
As the article from the Wall Street Journal points out, there are ways to having one’s website be viewed via cell phones and the web but tradeoffs do exist. First, we know that graphics and other eye-catching accessories such as links, placed on a web-viewed site are great additions to having a web site. However, trying to view these web pages on a cell phone, make it quite difficult and s l o w due to the extra add-ons. So of course there is some inconsistency here—we want extravagant websites with lots of color, picture, video, links and whatever else we like to incorporate in them, but when we want to view these same sites on our cell phones, we seem to only want text, text, text!
In creating a single web site that can display on computers and mobile devices we run into the issue previously mentioned. If we only put important information onto a website with the cell-phone users in mind, we may be cutting out information/add-ons that the web-viewing consumers desire.
A feature that I would suggest a mobile site contain would definitely be a link to turn the site into a mobile compatible form for viewing on a cell phone. This site would consist on mainly text that was on the original web-viewed site.
However, I would also incorporate an alt text over images, marked with an {X} so viewers can choose to look at the images if they desire and want to wait a bit for them to upload. This way those who just need the information the site contains can get what they need fast, but if they want to see the images/graphics on the site they too can see this, only it will take some time to upload. There should also be a notify message that comes up saying by choosing to view these graphics, it may take a few minutes to upload. That way the consumers know that what they want to view is available but they may be waiting for it to show up.
Also, I would make sure that when companies do create their websites and add graphics to them they be sure to take any unnecessary color, footage, etc. out before producing it in their website design programs. This will also help websites to load much faster.
Even now, for people that have slower internet connections, they have to ability to view pages without loading graphics onto the pages. This enables a faster connection to that site, which I think would also help out in consumers who wish to view a company’s pages via their cell phones.
As the article from the Wall Street Journal points out, there are ways to having one’s website be viewed via cell phones and the web but tradeoffs do exist. First, we know that graphics and other eye-catching accessories such as links, placed on a web-viewed site are great additions to having a web site. However, trying to view these web pages on a cell phone, make it quite difficult and s l o w due to the extra add-ons. So of course there is some inconsistency here—we want extravagant websites with lots of color, picture, video, links and whatever else we like to incorporate in them, but when we want to view these same sites on our cell phones, we seem to only want text, text, text!
In creating a single web site that can display on computers and mobile devices we run into the issue previously mentioned. If we only put important information onto a website with the cell-phone users in mind, we may be cutting out information/add-ons that the web-viewing consumers desire.
A feature that I would suggest a mobile site contain would definitely be a link to turn the site into a mobile compatible form for viewing on a cell phone. This site would consist on mainly text that was on the original web-viewed site.
However, I would also incorporate an alt text over images, marked with an {X} so viewers can choose to look at the images if they desire and want to wait a bit for them to upload. This way those who just need the information the site contains can get what they need fast, but if they want to see the images/graphics on the site they too can see this, only it will take some time to upload. There should also be a notify message that comes up saying by choosing to view these graphics, it may take a few minutes to upload. That way the consumers know that what they want to view is available but they may be waiting for it to show up.
Also, I would make sure that when companies do create their websites and add graphics to them they be sure to take any unnecessary color, footage, etc. out before producing it in their website design programs. This will also help websites to load much faster.
Even now, for people that have slower internet connections, they have to ability to view pages without loading graphics onto the pages. This enables a faster connection to that site, which I think would also help out in consumers who wish to view a company’s pages via their cell phones.
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