Job Hunting is Expensive

August 12, 2011 under Articles
SAN MATEO, CA - JUNE 07: A representative wit...

Remember the days when people would get a job right out of high school or college, stay with the same company for 30 or 40 years, then retire with a pension and a gold watch? No? That’s because those days are long gone. Even families that saw generation after generation work at the same auto manufacturing plant have had to change their way of thinking, and possibly even their locations because of our changing economy, and the ensuing upheaval in the auto industry. People are much more mobile now than ever, and for many, picking up and moving to a new city for a job is a viable option.

But even if you’re lucky enough to find a job just a few miles down the road from where you live, you’ll still incur expenses during your job search. From the 50 cents you spend on a newspaper to peruse the classifieds, to the four bucks per gallon you’ll use up in gas driving from job interview to job interview, a job search comes with real costs.

If you’ve ever been on the other side of a job interview, you probably have some stories about people showing up for their interviews in some questionable attire. You would think job interview attire would come down to common sense, but for some reason, not everyone seems to understand that there are just certain things that shouldn’t be worn to a job interview. A good rule of thumb is, if you’d wear it to a club, you shouldn’t wear it to a job interview. But if it’s been a while since you’ve been to a job interview, or you worked in a casual environment at your previous job, your wardrobe could be lacking in good interview options.

Anyone can perform their own job search these days. Between newspapers and the Internet, there are more resources than ever before to help people find jobs. But if you really want to cover all your bases, a job placement agency can be a big help. Some companies work exclusively with placement agencies, not advertising open positions anywhere else. Recruiters also have extensive networks and connections they can use to help their clients find the best jobs. The best thing is, placement services are usually paid by the companies that contract them to find candidates, so you’ll get a great service without having to pay out of pocket.

A serious job search may take you all over town, or even into neighboring cities, and that can add up in gas costs. Try to schedule interviews at companies that are near each other to take place on the same days. This will mean less driving for you, and that you can also schedule more interviews in one day because you’re spending less time getting from one to another.

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High Gas Prices Lead to Alternative Transportation

June 9, 2011 under Articles
Cyclist and the price of gas

Image by richardmasoner via Flickr

If you commute to and from work, chances are you are probably hurting financially right now. With gas prices hovering right around $4 a gallon, many workers and their employers have taken steps to lessen the blow of expensive fuel.

According to a recent survey by the Best Workplaces for Commuters, almost 40% of commuters have turned to mass transit, car pooling or biking to work as alternatives to paying sky-high prices for gasoline. Most cities offer some sort of public transportation system. Some are better than others, but the bus is not a bad way to go.

It may take a little longer, and you might have to wait for your ride, but employees can save hundreds of dollars every month by taking the bus to work. No more paying for gas or parking, and many businesses even offer discounts and compensation for using mass transit systems.

Results of a survey by the Management Association of Illinois showed that 14% of businesses in the Chicago area have allowed employees to telecommute, 20% have offered compressed work weeks, and 27% have offered accommodations for workers who bike to work in response to the high gas prices. Many companies also offer commuter tax benefit programs, employee discounts on local mass transit and even transportation subsidies.

The Starbucks Coffee Corp has offered many incentives to its employees to take advantage of alternative transportation choices. They provide subsidies to non-retail employees for the purchase of mass transit passes, and they also offer cash incentives for workers who drive hybrid cars, walk or bike to work.

Riding a bicycle has benefits as an alternative to driving a car to work. First of all, it’s great exercise. Instead of sitting in your car or on the bus, you are pedaling and getting in a little cardio on your way to work.

Second of all, you don’t have to pay for gas or parking. As long as you already have a bike, you don’t have to pay for anything. And if you don’t already have one, check out the local classifieds or Craigslist. There are millions of bikes for sale out there for $50 to $100, the amount that one can easily pay on gas for a week.

Third of all, you are bettering the environment and reducing your carbon footprint. If you don’t have a car and are forced to ride a bike to work, this is also a great pick-up line. Instead of saying that you don’t have a car, just say that you really care about the environment and want to do your part to make the world a better place.

Some jobs might be a little difficult to ride a bike to. If you live more than five miles from your place of employment, it might not be a good idea. You will end up at work a sweaty, out-of-breath mess. If you have to wear a suit and tie, the bike might not be the best option either. You might look a little goofy riding a Huffy in a three-piece. And you don’t want to risk getting oil from your bike chain on your nice slacks. There is always the bus…

No matter what the right alternative might be for getting to work, now is the time to act on it. Saving money and the environment at the same time, alternative transportation choices are almost necessary in our current economy. There is always a better way.

 

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Obama, High Gas Prices and the JobMarket

May 16, 2011 under Articles
united states currency seal - IMG_7366_web

Image by kevindean via Flickr

If you drive a car, you probably cringe every time you pass a gas station. The current national average is at $4.00 per gallon right now. Granted this is down about $0.10 from a couple weeks ago, but it is a hefty price to pay just to get from point A to point B.

Not only do high gas prices affect our personal financial situations, they also discourage the job market. Since we are stuck paying so much at the pump, we have a lot less to spend on extras. These extras usually include things like eating out and entertainment expenses. This means a big decrease in the amount of service jobs out there.

If the people aren’t out there spending money, then there’s no reason for stores to employ workers to stock shelves, sell movie tickets and wait tables. The customer service industry is a huge part of our economy, and they are definitely feeling the effects of high gas prices. With the price of oil deterring our job market, what are we doing to help solve this problem as a nation?

Well there is some good news on that subject. This past week, President Obama announced his plans to speed up domestic oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters. This would include plans for expanded drilling in Alaska and a review of the potential environmental impact of offshore drilling on the Atlantic coast.

Obama’s decision to move ahead with these plans came as a reaction to negative feedback from Republicans and business leaders concerning the current state of our domestic oil production. They complained that Obama’s anti-drilling policies were only helping to raise the gas prices and prevent new job creation.

As of right now, the policy for drilling off the Atlantic coast has it kept off limits until at least 2018. But can we really wait that long? If there are indeed massive reserves of oil below the Atlantic seabed, can we afford to preserve them and pay continually higher gas prices? Because that looks to be our future if we keep counting on other countries to provide the US with oil.

Exploring new options for domestic oil production has two huge benefits when it comes to the job market. The first and probably most obvious advantage is that the new drilling operations will instantly create jobs. If we are to set up offshore oil rigs and operations in Alaska, we will surely need thousands of workers to operate them.

The second positive effect that future domestic oil production will have on the US job market is that it will help drive down gas prices and keep them that way. This will help keep all those customer service workers employed, because Americans will in turn have more money to spend on the extras. If we don’t have to pay $5.00 per gallon, then maybe we will be able to afford dinner and a movie.

This all sounds fine and dandy, but even as I am writing I can only think of the BP disaster and see the future reincarnation of that catastrophe on the Atlantic coast. We still have a whole lot of work in cleaning up BP’s mess in the Gulf, and we should do all we can to prevent that from happening again.

So it’s a good thing that Obama is taking steps to review what kind of environmental impacts the Atlantic offshore drilling operations might have before going ahead with it. My only request to the Commander in Chief is that we maybe, just possibly might want to not let BP anywhere near our new domestic drilling operations.

 

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