Seth Walsh, California Teen Who Endured Gay Taunts, Commits Suicide

If you see yourself in this teenager's story, please seek help as soon as possible. Here's a good place to start: http://www.thetrevorproject.org.



I am grateful to have made it through my teen years with all of the taunting, having forgiven my taunters. These stories, though, still bring tears to my eyes.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

In the "if it walks, talks and quacks like a . ." department

Congratulations to all of those "employers" who showed all manner of restraint in not sending e-mail direct to me offering me a "too good to be true" type of job for the past eight days.

I'll reward you by posting the one I received today from Jennifer Simmons (it doesn't really matter what the name is, btw):

For an administrative job, which would pay between $10 and $18 an hour (depending on experience, type of industry, location, etc.), an offer for a job that starts at $40.00 sounds just so amazing.

So amazing, in fact, because it is most likely a scam. Yeah, these sorts of things can be reported to authorities, I suppose, but this post is really for those who are unsure about whether this sort of e-mail is legitimate or not.

If it walks, talks and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Quack!!

Continued advice to job opening companies

I did not 'screen capture' the e-mail below because the typeface and size of font were so small, even I had to squint with bright lights on to read it. Here is a little advice to start with when trying to communicate with potential job applicants: use a font size and style which is easy to read for the vast majority of applicants.

Here's the text of the e-mail (personal info about me and the name of the job posting site have been removed):

From the Desk of Raaa Baaaaa, President of Sales and Marketing, (name of company), Inc.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

metalhead39
123 Main St

Anywhere, California (they did not add a Zip Code. My first clue that the site was created by someone outside of the U.S or Canada)

Hello metalhead39,

I am sending you this letter because you are a highly qualified Customer Service professional with over 17 years experience who may be currently seeking a better job opportunity. I'd like to introduce you to (company name and link to their site). I'm sure you realize a resume that matches your skills to the requirements of a job is one of the main keys to getting hired. Writing a resume is very stressful and time consuming. Writing a resume that contains all the right elements for each job application can be virtually impossible for even the most qualified job candidate.

(uh, resume writing is not rocket science. Any job seeker in the last 10 years can write a resume with career/industry specific language)

I'm sure you already know that the first person to read your resume will not be a person.

I'm sure you know that the Recruiting Software logic of an Applicant Ranking and Tracking System (ATS) program must approve your resume before a real person will ever read your resume.

I'm sure you realize that if your resume is rejected by the ATS program, it will never be read by a hiring manager.

Yes! One word will make a difference.
You can be one word short of a better job.
You can be one word short of a better paying job.
You can be one word short of a more fulfilling job.

(so far, the awkward grammar and repetition of subject/predicate tells me I'm not talking to a person who is fluent in American English)

The days of the one-size-fits-all resume are gone. If you are seriously seeking employment, you must update your resume for each job you apply for. (grammar police alert!) You have undoubtedly noticed that the posted job requirements for your position have become much longer and much more detailed. (they have not) Human Resource Department personnel and Hiring Managers use ATS programs to eliminate applicants with resumes that are not an exact match to a job description.

Finding the correct combination keywords, action verbs, and objective phrases for the job you are seeking is too often like searching for a needle in a stack of needles. (nice attempt at tweaking a metaphor, but the metaphor does not need tweaking)

Obviously every word in a job description is not a keyword. Blindly injecting every industry term from a job description into your resume may get you past the ATS program. But it will not get past the first real person to read your resume. Overloading a resume with too many buzzwords and too much industry jargon is a sure way to land your resume in the wastebasket.

Recruiters, consultants and advisors tell you to search the web and employer job postings sites. Manually researching all the job posting sites for each job you apply for is very impractical. It is a total waste of time if the employer is no longer accepting applications by the time you complete your research. (in my experience, if the employer is not taking applications, the link to the job posting disappears and the job seeker is told as much) (Our company) has already done this for you.

It is clear that having a tool to assist you to get the right job is a major investment in your career. If you are currently seeking a new or better job (our company) is the tool you need. (yes, the comma between 'job' and the company's name was missing).

Metalhead39, I have read your resume. Your qualifications for a better position are very impressive. However, your skill set does not include professional resume writer. (aww. I'm hurt. 99.5% of job seekers don't write resumes for a living; however, when one's mortgage, food and sundries money is on the line, one becomes fairly prolific and prosaic pretty quickly). You can spend hours and even entire days writing and updating a resume for a job application. However, if your resume does not contain what the screening software logic wants, you will not be considered a candidate for the position.

Visit our website (link to the website) to see how (the company's name) will help you get the job you deserve and why (the company's name) is the Must Have Tool for Job Seekers in the Digital Age. (where do I start with grammar and punctuation rules on this one?)

You Have the Skills to Do the Job!
You Need a Tool to Get the Job!

Sincerely,

Raaa Baaaaa
President of Sales and Marketing
(the company name)

(the company) has a strict NO SPAM policy. (perhaps they mean the spiced, canned ham popular in Hawaii?) You have received this e-mail because you signed up at our website or posted your resume with an affiliated job seeker assistance service. If you no longer wish to receive future newsletters or emails from (the company), click on the Unsubscribe link below. Unsubscribe

This e-mail may be considered an advertising or promotional message. © 2009 (company name). All rights reserved.

(the company name).
PO Box 213333, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421

So, they can't abbreviate California, but the Postal Abbreviation for Florida is readily available along with a PO Box? If you want to view this company's website, the address starts with 'www.', then starts with 'resume' and ends with a word rhyming with 'rapper' which could be synonymous with a cartographer. Ooh, and don't forget the ".com" at the end. If there was any doubt of the legitimacy of this site, a visit to it without me typing in any of my info ground the doubt into the dust. I could not find any individual person's name or photo anywhere in the site. The photos used are photos that are 'stock photos' one can purchase on-line and use in one's website. Though the service costs $49.00 (not bad for this type of service), my bet is that no one ever just gets $49 taken from them.

hallelujah

From last night by my iPhone. A different side of me.

Pointers to employers, part 2

Two "phishy" e-mails in two days. I feel so . . lucky? The e-mail below was sent after I received three other e-mails almost like it. See if you can spot what makes this one a scam:

1) Be sure the city in which the job is located is spelled correctly throughout your e-mail (it's Glendale, not Glandale as stated in the first paragraph.

2) Grammatical errors make these sorts of e-mails smell "phishy". In the first paragraph, find ". . "

3) "Will an interview be required? No". Really? Is this the sort of job where a human resources staffer with mind reading capabilities just stare at me for 60 seconds to determine if I would make a good match? Seriously, perhaps the statement just means that the employer uses some other means of determining who to hire. If this is the case, it is always best to sell as an employer what you feel is a more positive screening process instead of saying what you will not do.

4). The section below speaks for itself:

NO EMPLOYER EVER needs one's Social Security number in full unless they are doing a background check (which is rare - other info should suffice) or verifying one's citizenship status. If that is what the employer wants to do, that is what they should say they are doing and it only should be given in person once you are sure the employer is making a legitimate job offer to you (for the background check).

Have a laugh when you check out the site from which the e-mail was sent (it is in the signature section of the e-mail). No head shots can be found, no names of owners, founders, CEOs, etc., could be found either. Perhaps you'll have better luck -- just don't give any of your own info.

I'll keep my eye out for any more of these types of e-mails. Please let me know if you spot one yourself.

The 10 Highest-Paid CEOs Who Laid Off The Most Workers: Institute For Policy Studies (PHOTOS)

Fun With Math: I took $598 million and divided this number by $40,000 (a ballpark guess at an average annual salary -- $30,000 in gross paychecks plus $10,000 in benefits). I come up with 14,950. This is how many employees that $598 million could compensated. I'll let you spread the 14,950 amongst the corporations. Sounds more like the layoffs were an excuse to lay off employees whom the corps thought were earning too much or who were destined to become pension qualified and/or 401(k) fully vested. How many gallons of milk, loaves of bread and other necessities does one CEO need? Couldn't any of these CEOs made the symbolic gesture of lowering their total compensation.



What happens when these 14,950 laid off employees figure out just what's going on?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Job search: a few pointers to potential employers

I received this e-mail earlier today:

It seems that ZEOXMark LLC has a website. These folks also have the unfortunate distinction of being sniffed out as a scam. Click here for the report of this scam and user comments on the scam.

As a service to job seekers and legitimate employers, here are some things to review before e-mailing potential new hires:

1) Send the e-mail from your company's website, not a third-party server:

2) If the e-mail's composer does not speak English as a first language and speaks with a heavy accent, review that composer's e-mail for grammar, syntax, etc. The e-mail is an extension of your company's image. The more egregious the errors, the more the e-mail reeks of "scam".

From the main page, there is no request for a Social Security Number and/or bank account number. Good for you for having a little restraint.

As unemployment continues to be high, these sorts of train wrecks will continue. While finding, arresting and prosecuting scam artists of this sort is pretty unlikely, if we assume e-mails like this are scams before we provide private information, we can cut down the number of hits and dry up the supply of suckers.