October 2009
3 posts
3 tags
To Be or Not To Be. That Is the Question.
As human nature and the quest for power would have it, we are always at a disadvantage in the world when we ask a stranger for something. So it is with interviews from the minuscule amount of ads that actually answer you back. The interviewer’s defenses are up and it’s damn hard to always resonate with him or her beyond small talk because the interviewer usually directs the interview...
3 tags
My World of Cheapness.
Unemployment has finally allowed me to “come out” as a world class cheapskate, and the recession has made my long held predilection for thrift fashionable. I have lots of company now too, and not just from fellow layoff victims and those with normally low or fixed incomes. A recent “New York Times” story, for example, highlighted upper and upper middle class employed folks who finally feel...
3 tags
Janet is in the “In-Between.”
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Janet Raiffa’s Recessionals,” a column by a laid-off recruiting manager in New York. Prior columns are collected [here]. You can reach Janet Raiffa via LinkedIn, leaving a comment here, or emailing 405club@gmail.com.
After I was laid off in March I quickly realized that my job search would be different than the one I’d engaged in only the year...
May 2009
3 posts
2 tags
MAINTAIN YOUR WORK ETHIC BY VOLUNTEERING.
It’s getting to be summertime and hiring will slow down as managers go on vacation.
Here’s how you can maintain your work ethic:
Volunteer!
In the summer months, nonprofit groups often experience a mismatch of increased demand for help and decreased supply of folks to pitch in. Their staff and usual volunteers go on vacation, which makes the need for more hands especially acute.
Whether you...
2 tags
SAMPLE SALE OF THE UNEMPLOYED.
If I were a good unemployed girl I’d wake up early, get dressed in business or business casual attire and approach my job search as if it were my new job. Each new day would be an opportunity to network and spin my years of successful multitasking into model cover letters for the next exciting chapter in my career. Instead, I’ve developed a number of alarming habits that interrupt my focus when...
2 tags
I SOLD GOLD FOR CASH.
Park Slope is one of New York City’s better neighborhoods for the downsized. While the median one bedroom rent of $1800 it is still expensive for the average 405er, the multiplex on 15th Street features matinee prices before 4pm, there’s a well regarded food coop to reduce grocery costs, a wide variety of coffee houses to substitute for offices and many freelancers and stay-at-home moms to keep...