“Real creative urges, those we are meant to express, don’t go away. If ignored, they bother us, affect our health, fester and eventually turn us into the living dead.”
— from Pamela Slim’s piece in NYT
Zombie Jobs
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Tag Archives: jobs
Job interviews
Lots of folks looking for jobs and many more will be. I’ve been trying to remember the last time I interviewed for a job. I blush to recall that Clyde recruited me 25 years ago and “insisted” I accept his offer.
In 1972 I got a job at the radio station where my father worked so there was nothing that resembled an interview. If I was willing to work 10p-6a, the job was mine.
The short-lived gig as a postal inspector was more of a pass the test, fill out the form kind of thing. Another instance of me “falling into” the job.
I can only recall a couple of job interviews: one for the Memphis TN police department; another with a community theater in Kansas City. I wasn’t qualified for either and was damned lucky I didn’t get hired.
During my Management days, I interviewed lots of people for jobs but don’t think I ever got very good at it. And I wouldn’t be very good at applying for a job now.
I wish the very best to those now “on the bricks.”
Tribes by Seth Godin
I’ve read most of Seth Godin’s books and I’m a daily reader of his blog. But his latest book, Tribes, really spoke to me. When I read, I highlight or underline, make notes in the margins and, in recent years, post my favorite parts here.
I struggled to find one pull that captures the idea behind Tribes and decided on this one. Lots more after the jump. Continue reading
Job outlook for journalism grads
Mindy McAdams’ Teaching Online Journalism:
“New U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $30,000, according to a survey of spring 2006 graduates. New graduates with a master’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $38,000. Jobs held by all these graduates included those in public relations and advertising as well as online, print, TV and radio journalism.
Does this mean getting a master’s degree will increase your salary? Maybe in some fields, but not necessarily in journalism. I’d like to see this survey cut the grain a bit finer on the master’s degree data, because in my experience, a hiring editor at a news organization doesn’t give a hoot about your degree(s) or your GPA — a hiring editor cares only about your experience in the field.
This marks a distinct difference between journalism jobs and jobs in some other fields, where the extra one or two years in graduate school are assumed to make the candidate more fit to do the job. In our field, the only thing that makes you more fit is more work experience.”
I haven’t been involved in hiring for our newsrooms for long time, but I think experience would trump grad degree for us.
Worst jobs for 21st century
From a Forbes story on job prospects over the next few decades:
“Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn’t seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius–which now have plans to merge–have regularly operated in the red.”
The U. S. Department of Labor stats identified a few growth areas: Health care, education and financial services.
Scott Adams on Best and Worst Jobs
Scott Adams finds it interesting that the guy with the best job in the world gets to blow up the guy with the worst job in the world.
“I have to think that the guy who fired the rocket by remote control loves his job. I have an image of him sitting in an air conditioned headquarters someplace, feet up on the desk, a bag of Cheetohs on one side, a Budweiser on the other, staring at his computer screen. It’s about 1 am and everyone else is asleep. The order comes through on e-mail saying something like “Blow up mud hut #4,7855.” So he takes a break from playing Doom and plugs that number into the GPS system and soon his drone is hovering over said mud hut, missiles ready to go.”
Let’s add Scott Adams to the short list of people I’d like to drink beer with after work.
Men With Jobs
“They’re men with jobs, Jerry! They wear suits and ties… they’re married… they have secretaries!” — George to Jerry while waiting to pitch their sitcom idea to NBC TV executives. (The Pitch, 1992)