4 Tips to get yourself employed

With the current recession happening in America right now, numerous people are losing their jobs as companies try to cut their costs. People are being laid off in the thousands and there are just more people looking for jobs than jobs available. So competition in labor market is cut-throat and you need all your guns to fight this battle. So how do you stand out among the rest? Here are some ideas to help you get that job….

1. Know yourself. You have to know what you can offer a company and the only way you can do that is by analyzing what your skills and specialties are. You have to keep in mind that other applicants most probably have the same skills and more or less the same experience. Therefore, you have to find that one key factor that you have that is solely yours and that the company can benefit from.

2. Know your worth. After analyzing yourself, ask yourself, what am I worth? This is important as you will be able to gauge a range in which you can play with when the company offers you compensation. Knowing what you can offer and comparing it with the needs of the company will give you an idea as to how much you are worth.

3. Present a fantastic resume. Remember your curriculum vitae will give the employer a first impression as to the kind of person you are. A properly organized resume will surely catch the attention of the employer as well as highlight your capabilities before actually seeing you. First impressions count.

4. Own the job. I am not saying for you to behave like an arrogant prick before actually being hired. What I mean is that you have to have that confidence that you are good for the job and that you will get it. Insecurity can be seen by employers during an interview. If you are unsure of yourself, then there is no reason whatsoever for them to be sure of you.

It’s really about selling yourself. The product: you. The client: the employer. Everything is dependent on how you know your product, how it will satisfy the need of the company and how you present yourself. Easier said than done? Own it, you can do it.

Hilary Grabbing straws?

I think it’s time that Hilary Clinton gave way to Barrack Obama. There is no doubt that she is a fine woman but her tactics are getting dirtier and her strategies are getting desperate. To differentiate the “hard working White American” with all other hard working American is just so bad and such a low blow. If she’s trying to appeal to the white vote, she will definitely get some but she will definitely lose a lot more. Whoever advised her to do that advised her poorly. If that is truly her own personal outlook, then she should not be president.

Don’t we need to breathe after a divorce?

My sister has finalized her divorce and because of it we had a family meeting. Now, I belong to a big family that has an equal amount of girls and boys. During this family gathering, the girls of the family start scheming and asking the boys for help to match my sister Nadia (the divorcee) with one of our friends or what have you. During this whole discussion, a movie was mentioned – Must Love Dogs. Out of curiosity I got a video of it and watched it. Definitely it’s not my kind of movie but it does somewhat reminded me of my family and my sisters situation. My family is a watered version of that family.

Now I am not complaining about our closeness but I am totally against the fact that she just got out of a relationship and now my sisters are trying to get her into another one. So I said, breathe and enjoy it…Wow, the violent reactions from the girls was shocking…

This is the thing; she’s single again – not alone. With the size of our family, I do not doubt the fact that we will be able to find means and ways to offset whatever loneliness she may feel. She has friends that she can hang out as well. She has a job that she can focus on. If someone comes along then that’s good but to actively look… I don’t know… My bros are with me with this philosophy… but then again….Nadia breathe, go to the park, and relax before you start hunting again….

Great Party

The party was great. WE reminisced and discussed, even argued about the list I made about the best and the worst movies based on comic books. Then we started on with the best fantasy/sci-fi movies of the 80s when CGI wasn’t the in thing yet.

The conversation was great and the party, as I said, was great. It was good to see everybody and catch up on whatever is happening in our lives.

Let’s Party!!!!

The reunion party is happening this weekend. I didn’t need to hire a party organizer as I just asked Fred’s wife to handle all the preparations. Sure enough it’s going to be held in their house as well. What a relief!!!

With no worries in my mind, I am now excitedly awaiting the party this weekend. It’s going to be a big barbecue thing and a whole lot of people from the past were invited. Some of them are even flying in as we speak. Cool… it’s a good way to catch up with everybody… renew contacts and develop new networks… Can you imagine I was the one who actually prepared this party? I bet it would be voted the lamest barbecue party in the world I’d win any online competition on it. But then again, I may become famous like William Hung… or rather infamous..

Anyway, I can’t wait until this weekend. Lots of reminiscing too… I bet…. And lots of beer… I hope….The only thing I’m afraid of is that it may be too wholesome as Annie’s the one preparing it. But I guess Fred will be putting his own input on things…

I’m not organizing anymore. I should stop fussing… let’s just party!

Myanmar: 22,000 dead and counting

Just an aside from the normal comic, I just have to make a comment on what has happened in Myanmar…

There is a death toll of 22,000 people and a current statistic of 1 million people homeless. These numbers are still climbing as the Burmese government is finding out more about the casualities of Cyclone Nargis.

It doesn’t really matter how advanced the world is today. If and when Nature decides to take away it shall take away….

Iron Man the movie

I watched Iron Man. I have seen almost all the comic book adapted movies since Christopher Reeves’ Superman and I have to say Iron Man has potential. Do you remember the time when there was a series of Batman movies that came out? It sucked and it was a flop. Maybe, give me time to gather my thoughts and I will post an article regarding the different comic book adapted movies I’ve seen since Superman and I will tell you which ones are good and bad and the reasons why I rate them that way.

Stressing over a Party

I’m a bit stressed today. I’m trying to organize a party for my friend so that he can see all his friends and acquaintances in one go. But men are not made to make parties I think. I was thinking that since most of his friends are men we’ll just stay at home open a bunch of beers and just hang out. No, some of these men are married and they just want to bring the whole town with them. I’m not cut out for this. I might as well hire a party organizer….

Ferris Bueller can’t go on a day off anymore

A friend of mine flew in from New York. We were classmates in college and like others we started reminiscing about our college days.

After doing all that, he goes, “So How’s Ferris Bueller?” Then I got reminded that I used to be called Ferris Bueller, like the character in the movie Ferris Bueller’s day off, because of all the shenanigans I used to do as a young man. I think at that time each one of my friends had a nickname similar to the movies famous during the 80’s. There was even a friend we called Lane Meyer, after the character of John Cusack in Better Off Dead.

This question definitely brought back a lot of memories and revivified some adventurous persona within me. But then… after awhile it settled down and I answered “He got old.” All the adventures of youth are great to remember. There will always be a part of me that will be Ferris Bueller but there comes a time we all have to grow up.

Why Continental Airlines did the right thing

After months of speculations, Continental Airline representatives have officially stated that they will not be merging with United Airlines. Everybody knows that fuel prices are going up while the economy is going down. Airline carriers in the US are feeling the pinch of hard times. Delta Airlines has agreed to unite with Northwest Airlines making them the largest international carrier in the world (which doesn’t necessarily equate to being the best –some say the best is Qantas, I go for Emirates).

Given the dire situation of fuel, the best move for any airline is to merge to offset costs. So did Continental make a mistake by not merging? Hell no. Despite the fact that they may encounter financial problems due to the economy, not merging with United is one of the best decisions Continental has made.
Let’s face it – United Airlines has been going to the dumps even before 911. Why else was there terrorist pilots flying their planes? Because of 911, customers are afraid to fly their planes. I mean granted that they may have tightened up their security, but hey, after witnessing 911, watching the movies about it, who wouldn’t be scared of United. Plus, their service is not all that great.

Moreover, United Airlines has been re-trenching and closing their offices left right and center. Most of the jobs are going out of the country and into Asian countries like the Philippines and India. I have nothing against that. That is after all globalization, but there is something lost in translation.
Unites Airlines’ situation is so bad that they continue to lose money. For the first quarter of this year, they have lost $537 million and have also announced cutting another 1,100 jobs.

Now, is it really wise to merge with a company that is having a hard time keeping itself up? Like the Continental spokesman said, “Do you really want to swim out to a drowning man and just get pulled down with them?”

Now it is significant to know that if Continental and United actually merged they would have beaten the Delta-Northwest union in size. It is also a known fact that Northwest has golden shares in Continental giving them the right to veto any merger that occurs with Continental. Delta buying Northwest is a very significant move in the industry as it changes the dynamics in the industry as well as make competition far steeper. This is so because, Delta, which will own the shares of Northwest in Continental will have a say on Continental activities.

So did Delta and Northwest have a hand in stopping Continental from merging with United? Surely. But whether or not they did have hand still makes the non-merger a good move. Now speculations are going on with an alliance, not a merger, between Continental and American Airlines….will it happen? How would that change the landscape of the carrier industry? How will United survive with no one wanting to merge?

United Airlines will eventually find someone else… good luck to that airline….