Forget economic forecasts. It’s the weather forecast you should really be watching! Well… sort of.
According to two smart dudes from the University of Toronto, medical school applicants who interview on a rainy day fare ever-so-slightly worse than their sunny day counterparts (their scores were one percent lower).
I don’t know if these findings are statistically significant or if causation can be established (hell, I can barely spell statistically), but I do know that crummy weather impacts mood. My mood. And whether the rain is making the interviewer cranky or the interviewee nervous, it makes sense that the whole meeting might go a little less than perfect.
One commenter has a solution: bring up the weather early on in the interview. She says that if an interviewer is made aware of the weather (and its possible impact on their frame of mind), they’re less likely to attribute negativity to you as a candidate. Of course, you’d have to weigh out the potential benefit of talking about the weather with the drawback of it being a universally understood awkwardness indicator.
Is she right? Who knows. Still, it’s an interesting phenomenon to think about.
For what it’s worth, San Francisco’s forecast is cloudy and/or wet through Sunday.
Twas weeks before Christmas and all across the state,
the unemployed waited by mailboxes, checks several weeks late.
Bills went unpaid and rents way past due,
And lil’ Johnny and Susie wanting new christmas shoes.
A fourteen week extension, meant all should be merry,
but ancient EDD computers argue quite the contrary.
A system upgrade in waiting since 2002
Now seven years too late and it’s all I-O-U.
Now Daddy ducks bill collectors while Mom fights depression.
Johnny can’t study, no lights for his lessons.
Susie needs doctors, she’s turned away at reception.
Oh, EDD, you’re the FEMA of our recession.
Twas weeks before christmas and for 111,000 Californians, it was far from alright.
This video was shared with us by ‘JohnB’ in the comments section of Tips and tricks: getting through to california edd. Thanks John!
The Nikon Festival will give away $125k in cash and prizes for a 240 second-long video about your life.
Alright, I’m sure a lot of you out there are beyond the point in your unemploymentality where you’re looking for that quick score. That quick ‘out’ of not only dependence on government checks and cheese, but out of the corporate rat race – them are pipe dreams for unemployment rookies. But in the next ten days there exists an opportunity to keep this pipe dream alive!
The Nikon Festival is looking for people to submit 240 second-long videos about their lives. Do it with a little style, and you could be winning a $100k prize! The kitty for second prize (audience award) isn’t so bad either, $25k. Either way, that adds up to a whole lot of unemployment checks, my friend. Consider unemployment extended again!
The theme of this festival is “A Day Through Your Lens” and prizes will be awarded by judges Dwight Schrute, err…, I mean Rainn Wilson, Chase Jarvis (the famous photographer) and iJustine (I don’t know who the hell this is, but i”m told she’s quite popular on “the internet”). Movies can be shot on any video-capturing device and must be less than 240-seconds long and submitted to nikonfestival.com by Dec 15.
So, what i’d like to see is one of our readers taking this on and creating a short film that represents “A day through the lens of the broke, the down trodden and the unemployed.” If you choose to accept this challenge, hollar back at the unemploymentality and we’ll be sure to support your submission by voting you up!
Now get out there and live the [pipe] dream!
Love,
the managment
I was contacted recently by one of the creators of the following documentary about unemployment. I really think it’s worth your time. An excellent little mediation on the ‘condition’ of being unemployed. The film is part of a 12 month project called Sparrow Songs, where the two filmmakers will create and release a new documentary on vimeo for twelve months. This is chapter two. Enjoy!
Sparrow Songs – Episode 2 from Sparrow Songs on Vimeo.
Click to see animated spread of unemployment across the country. Creepy.
For all my fallen comrades today or one year’s past. Chin up, shoulder’s back and don’t forget to fix yourself something nice for breakfast tomorrow. It is the first day of the rest of your life.
Thanks Roberto for bringing this clip to my attention, via the Facebook
The following post is contributed by Richard Hemby who frequently writes about online degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, a directory of accredited online degrees
Especially in today’s economic environment, many people have found themselves among the ranks of the unemployed through no fault of their own. Some people are fortunate enough to find other work immediately; others are not so lucky and seek work in vain for months or even years. Unemployment benefits bridge the gap for many out-of-work individuals but, over time, this can become a trap for some who become accustomed to drawing unemployment and lose touch with the working world.
Unemployment benefits are meant to be a temporary measure; workers who forget this can find themselves in serious difficulty when those benefits run out. Milking your unemployment benefits for all they are worth is not only bad for the economy; it’s harmful to your future employment prospects as well. Here are some hints on how to maximize your employment chances while minimizing your time on unemployment.
Learn new tricks
Instead of staying at home and becoming addicted to soap operas, many unemployed workers choose to brush up on basic skills or learn a new trade. Incentives and financial assistance can provide an entry point for furthering one’s education. Whether you opt for a degree program, advanced certification, or a few credit hours in a new field, these educational excursions can show prospective employers that you’re open to learning new things and willing to take risks; this can make the difference between a job offer and another polite rejection letter.
Stay in the game
Even when you feel discouraged by constant rejection, it’s essential that you continue sending out resumes and working toward the career you want. Perseverance and determination are the keys to finding the right job opportunity for you. If you want to work for a particular company, send them a resume even if they are not hiring; in most cases, your resume will be retained by the human resources staff and you’ll be the first name they see when an opportunity becomes available.
Shape up
Unemployment is not an excuse to let yourself go. Devote some time every day to fitness and health. This will improve your energy level, your self-esteem, and ensure that you stay healthy and in good shape for job interviews and other activities.
Be willing to compromise
Look into jobs that may be slightly outside your field of expertise; these can open up far more opportunities than a strict adherence to the type of work you’ve done before. If you’ve been employed in public relations, look into fundraising or human resources; the skills and experience necessary are largely the same. Don’t unnecessarily limit yourself to one specific job description. Similarly, be willing to accept a temporary or part-time job in order to get back into the marketplace. Employers tend to look with suspicion on large gaps in your job history; two part-time jobs may provide approximately the same level of income as one full-time job. By being flexible about your employment expectations, you can often find the right job far more quickly.
Most importantly, don’t give up. Don’t relax and collect your unemployment benefits, regarding this period as a vacation. It’s not. Instead, consider it as an opportunity to hone your job skills and enhance your employability. By maximizing your qualifications, persisting in your job search, and thinking outside the box, you can improve your chances of landing a job that’s precisely right for you.
For more advice from Richard Hemby check out his site.
From the Boston Globe, by Kevin Lewis:
Peer pressure can make people, especially young people, do stupid things. New research finds that this includes one’s choice of career. A team of economists tested the hypothesis that peer groups can push college students into the wrong major. The economists analyzed data from a university program that randomly assigned students to classes (and thus classmates) for the first few semesters, after which students chose one of two majors. The data showed that students tend to gravitate to a major chosen by more of their peers. And the students whose choice was driven by their peers were then more likely to end up in lower-paying jobs that they didn’t like. Continue Reading…
From the New Yorker, by James Surowiecki
For all the uncertainty about the current state of the economy, everyone is sure of one thing: this recession has permanently remade American consumers, turning them from spendthrifts into tightwads. From cover stories on “The New Frugality” to stories about cheapness as a new status symbol and pundits’ repeated analogies to the lessons inculcated by the Great Depression, the message is the same: there has been a fundamental change in American consumer behavior, one that will endure after the recession ends, returning us, as one economist put it, to “the days of ‘Leave It to Beaver.’ ” Continue reading…
