So, as a parting shot of this blog. It probably comes as no surprise that I am relatively concerned about the job market, and how I will find my place in it. After I returned to the US late last July, I have put out numerous applications. I am curious how my education and experience over the last year will enhance my competitiveness in the job market.
I am curious as to how I should go about "selling" myself on the job market without exaggerating. It seems that exaggerating would be more common these days, as the market is so crowded with applicants. At any rate, I figure I will stick to my guns and see where it gets me. What is the method for standing out while staying true to my strengths?
This is one of those next problems that I will be addressing. I am currently forming my next blog project:
Unemployment: The Blog
I am already drafting posts so check it out in the future!
Friday, July 3, 2009
A Difference of Expectations
I find the balance between work and life an interesting one. Many employers, or perhaps just the smart ones, clearly ask for more than they pay their employees to do. However, how does the mechanism work in the opposite direction? In the public as well as the private sectors, employees are asked to work extra hours (directly and indirectly) or they are asked to complete more projects and in many cases the compensation does not change. In past experiences, where I have been working on an hourly schedule, the idea of higher compensation for more work was fairly well communicated. That is to say, that working 41 hours in a week earned more compensation than working 40. Likewise in work experiences where my job has been linked to increasing revenue there is a stronger link between how the organization benefits and how the employee benefits.
I find it odd how arbitrary compensation scheme is working in the "public sphere". Although methods such as "pay for performance" are said to exist, the grounds for measuring performance are not ones that are based on monetary gain. If this were the case, teachers who brought more students into the district would get paid more. (That is in states where district/school funding is partly determined by the number of students). I also find the compensation scheme not nearly as direct in times where there isn't as much money being freely spent (times such as now).
The link between this subject an "internship" is an odd one as well. As many providers of these types of experiences search for a best (most qualified) candidate, however many aren't willing to pay more for more qualified personnel. In many cases, many aren't willing to pay at all. In these cases, what is the distinction between the work that is rendered and simply referring to it as "volunteer work". While I was working in Germany I worked with many of companies that took on interns. In truth, a lot of companies in Germany seemingly run, themselves, on interns because in the system it seems that they are a replacement for entry-level jobs. However, are both terms interchangeable?
These are just some ponderings as I move forward in my life, and I sincerely intended to write them in this train of thought style as crafting a more complete piece would be much to long (both to read and to write) in blog format.
I find it odd how arbitrary compensation scheme is working in the "public sphere". Although methods such as "pay for performance" are said to exist, the grounds for measuring performance are not ones that are based on monetary gain. If this were the case, teachers who brought more students into the district would get paid more. (That is in states where district/school funding is partly determined by the number of students). I also find the compensation scheme not nearly as direct in times where there isn't as much money being freely spent (times such as now).
The link between this subject an "internship" is an odd one as well. As many providers of these types of experiences search for a best (most qualified) candidate, however many aren't willing to pay more for more qualified personnel. In many cases, many aren't willing to pay at all. In these cases, what is the distinction between the work that is rendered and simply referring to it as "volunteer work". While I was working in Germany I worked with many of companies that took on interns. In truth, a lot of companies in Germany seemingly run, themselves, on interns because in the system it seems that they are a replacement for entry-level jobs. However, are both terms interchangeable?
These are just some ponderings as I move forward in my life, and I sincerely intended to write them in this train of thought style as crafting a more complete piece would be much to long (both to read and to write) in blog format.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Here We Go
So, as a part of an organization that receives a portion of its revenue through contracts with the state government, the state budget is a very important subject. It seemed all but clear that the Courts were going to be the battleground of this budget, however the budget was transmitted to the Governor's office yesterday (the end of the fiscal year). Today the news is as such: Be prepared for a longer battle.
Jan Brewer, Arizona governor, has evidently made several vetoes the the budget and this will send the legislature into a special session. This combined with the news coming out of the California budget battle, calls for the question:
How safe is it working with state and local government when economic times are so difficult?
I mean this in several senses. First, as people who work in the public sector, the chances are much greater that we would find ourselves working in or with a state or local government than with the federal government. Secondly, I mean this as people who invest in local government bonds (and this is not limited to US citizens). In both cases we have come to expect governments to be a stable facet of the US. We depend of governments to repay their debts and provide services without trouble. The hope is that this would be just as true in times in economic hardship. People around the world depend on the stability of American governments, for their security (I speak in an economic sense). Traditionally we have depended on governments as employers or objects of investment, because of stability. Has it turned out that this faith was as misplaced as our faith in General Motors? I sincerely mean this, as General Motors has been a very important part of mine and my families lives for generations. Likewise I feel government plays an equally important role in the lives of others.
Discuss if you'd like.
Jan Brewer, Arizona governor, has evidently made several vetoes the the budget and this will send the legislature into a special session. This combined with the news coming out of the California budget battle, calls for the question:
How safe is it working with state and local government when economic times are so difficult?
I mean this in several senses. First, as people who work in the public sector, the chances are much greater that we would find ourselves working in or with a state or local government than with the federal government. Secondly, I mean this as people who invest in local government bonds (and this is not limited to US citizens). In both cases we have come to expect governments to be a stable facet of the US. We depend of governments to repay their debts and provide services without trouble. The hope is that this would be just as true in times in economic hardship. People around the world depend on the stability of American governments, for their security (I speak in an economic sense). Traditionally we have depended on governments as employers or objects of investment, because of stability. Has it turned out that this faith was as misplaced as our faith in General Motors? I sincerely mean this, as General Motors has been a very important part of mine and my families lives for generations. Likewise I feel government plays an equally important role in the lives of others.
Discuss if you'd like.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Shameless Promotion
As a part of my work-life balance, and more so to help me balance myself, I have started a new activity over the last three months. I have been training in Capoeira with Grupo Capoeira Brasil in Tempe. This has been a great use of my time and has helped me to feel like more of a "complete person". For most of my life I have needed to find a balance of sport and music to fit into my life. Also, I have been performing in some capacity since I was about eight years old.
Capoeira came about as an idea from a rugby teammate of mine from GVSU. I have decided to take myself out of the rugby game due to a couple of injuries and wanted to do something that required a fun balance of social life, tradition, and hard work. One of my buddies told me that I should give capoeira a go and see how I like it. He looked up the group and sent the website along to me. Since May, I have made all but one practice and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
If anyone is so interested, give it a whirl.
Capoeira came about as an idea from a rugby teammate of mine from GVSU. I have decided to take myself out of the rugby game due to a couple of injuries and wanted to do something that required a fun balance of social life, tradition, and hard work. One of my buddies told me that I should give capoeira a go and see how I like it. He looked up the group and sent the website along to me. Since May, I have made all but one practice and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
If anyone is so interested, give it a whirl.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Keeping Up
So an interesting part of working in the public sector is how much our work is affected by the political, economic, and social environment. These days, however, it doesn't seem to simply be a hallmark of solely the public sphere. At any rate, it is typically important to live in a high-information environment. This requires some art, but mostly it requires some reading. So comes the question:
How do you keep up with current events, especially those relevant to your field?
I am a self-admitted news-aholic. I need news from papers, magazines, blogs, wikis, and word of mouth. There can be a problem if one doesn't go about searching through their news systematically though. I must always resolve the questions of what I want to know, what the public wants to know, and how things operate. I will let you all in on some of the sites and functions that I frequent to make my web surfing more productive. For finding news and blogs relevant to my subjects of interest I make sure that I am sent related news and blogs through Google News and Google Blogs. This operates better than simply researching everyday it just gives me a constant line to related content for me. Also, federal legislative items are great through the Open Congress Project. (Although sometimes I find that not enough people are updating, this can be shored up by adding what I from the House calendar). I LOVE NEWSMAP, for more than three years it has been a source telling me what people are reading in internet news. Also it has gotten better this year and improved a lot of functions. Check the newsmap blog if you want to know what they offer. A lot of local legislative news I am able to get through the PLAN email, which is a function of a city deptartment. You have to be registered in order to get email updates but they are generally informative.
Lastly, for all of you out there who have been trying to avoid the truth, use Firefox. It is pretty much my favorite browser for functionality, speed, and customizing. I have tried Opera (don't like it), will try Android one day (maybe), IE is my enemy (forever), Safari is pretty decent (and improving), but I have stuck with Firefox since it was only 1.0.
How do you keep up with current events, especially those relevant to your field?
I am a self-admitted news-aholic. I need news from papers, magazines, blogs, wikis, and word of mouth. There can be a problem if one doesn't go about searching through their news systematically though. I must always resolve the questions of what I want to know, what the public wants to know, and how things operate. I will let you all in on some of the sites and functions that I frequent to make my web surfing more productive. For finding news and blogs relevant to my subjects of interest I make sure that I am sent related news and blogs through Google News and Google Blogs. This operates better than simply researching everyday it just gives me a constant line to related content for me. Also, federal legislative items are great through the Open Congress Project. (Although sometimes I find that not enough people are updating, this can be shored up by adding what I from the House calendar). I LOVE NEWSMAP, for more than three years it has been a source telling me what people are reading in internet news. Also it has gotten better this year and improved a lot of functions. Check the newsmap blog if you want to know what they offer. A lot of local legislative news I am able to get through the PLAN email, which is a function of a city deptartment. You have to be registered in order to get email updates but they are generally informative.
Lastly, for all of you out there who have been trying to avoid the truth, use Firefox. It is pretty much my favorite browser for functionality, speed, and customizing. I have tried Opera (don't like it), will try Android one day (maybe), IE is my enemy (forever), Safari is pretty decent (and improving), but I have stuck with Firefox since it was only 1.0.
The Next Move
So, as time time winds down with this internship. I am left to contemplate how I will proceed from this point. This means that I must plot the famous "next move". I'm sure I'm not the only one in my position seriously thinking and very concerned about what to do next.
Someone told me that it would be best for me to make my next professional move in doing something I am deeply interested in doing. Something that would develop my academic knowledge in "my field". To this I must ask the question:
Is now truly the time to explore doing what it is that I am interested in, or is now the time to explore doing what is available?
That is not to say that this is truly a dichotomous choice, but to an extent we can't always do both in tight times. I believe that we should optimally do the jobs that we want to do, rather than those that we must do. This however ignores the extremely competitive job market that we are all faced with, and I think it ignores the local limitation that I face if I were to choose to finish my MPA at ASU (oh the acronyms). Going through the process of getting more experience (especially if it were to be without pay), chafes against my principles as well as my reality. In reality I am a person that needs to support himself financially and has extremely limited resources to do so.
My only solution for the recent months has been to put in application after application for professional work. If that proves unsuccessful, then that means that I must apply for other types of work. This is an interesting problem that is faced because the premise of being more education offers someone better professional opportunities is being challenged outright. I am at this point led to the conclusion:
If digging ditches offers opportunity to support myself now, where my academic and professional experience doesn't, then there is little excuse to NOT dig ditches.
This statement I mean in both a figurative and literal manner, but I welcome any discussion that this may spark
Someone told me that it would be best for me to make my next professional move in doing something I am deeply interested in doing. Something that would develop my academic knowledge in "my field". To this I must ask the question:
Is now truly the time to explore doing what it is that I am interested in, or is now the time to explore doing what is available?
That is not to say that this is truly a dichotomous choice, but to an extent we can't always do both in tight times. I believe that we should optimally do the jobs that we want to do, rather than those that we must do. This however ignores the extremely competitive job market that we are all faced with, and I think it ignores the local limitation that I face if I were to choose to finish my MPA at ASU (oh the acronyms). Going through the process of getting more experience (especially if it were to be without pay), chafes against my principles as well as my reality. In reality I am a person that needs to support himself financially and has extremely limited resources to do so.
My only solution for the recent months has been to put in application after application for professional work. If that proves unsuccessful, then that means that I must apply for other types of work. This is an interesting problem that is faced because the premise of being more education offers someone better professional opportunities is being challenged outright. I am at this point led to the conclusion:
If digging ditches offers opportunity to support myself now, where my academic and professional experience doesn't, then there is little excuse to NOT dig ditches.
This statement I mean in both a figurative and literal manner, but I welcome any discussion that this may spark
Friday, June 26, 2009
Human Resources
Following a recent post by Blake in Human Resources. I have to say that I have grown a quite cynical view of the role of Human Resources professionals.
Quite fortunately enough for me, The Onion has recently posted a great video on the topic.
In seriousness however, I do find the position a frustrating one. For me this has always been a person that I have primarily needed to contact in my earliest days of employment (or after a promotion). Other than that, I have had to track down and harass every HR manager I have ever had to talk about functional matters like why my pay increase hadn't taken effect. Vague statements about job performance and motivation seem to be married with talks with your HRM. What seems to be interesting is that several benefits these days can be personally managed online, are contracted out to other agencies, or do not include even seeing the HRM anymore. What usually amplifies my frustration is that in light of the fact that very few people ask very much from the department, is how long it takes to accomplish what is asked.
Ah well...I guess this breaks from my format, but none the less I do want to hear some point of view on the importance of human resources staff.
Quite fortunately enough for me, The Onion has recently posted a great video on the topic.
In seriousness however, I do find the position a frustrating one. For me this has always been a person that I have primarily needed to contact in my earliest days of employment (or after a promotion). Other than that, I have had to track down and harass every HR manager I have ever had to talk about functional matters like why my pay increase hadn't taken effect. Vague statements about job performance and motivation seem to be married with talks with your HRM. What seems to be interesting is that several benefits these days can be personally managed online, are contracted out to other agencies, or do not include even seeing the HRM anymore. What usually amplifies my frustration is that in light of the fact that very few people ask very much from the department, is how long it takes to accomplish what is asked.
Ah well...I guess this breaks from my format, but none the less I do want to hear some point of view on the importance of human resources staff.
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