Fun Friday: Halloween Edition

According to CareerBuilder’s Halloween survey conducted among more than 4,000 workers, nearly one-in-five (18%) workers describe their workplace as scary.

Some workers think their workplace is scary because their bosses bear a strong resemblance to famous Halloween characters. When asked which popular characters best reflect their boss’s behavior, workers said the following:

Glenda the Good Witch, liked and respected by all - 20%

The Wolf Man, fine one minute, howling the next - 11%

The Invisible Man, never around - 10%

Casper the Friendly Ghost, eager to help, but often misunderstood - 9%

Dracula, constantly sucking the life right out of you - 6%

Wicked Witch of the West, conniving and sending out minions to do his/her dirty work - 5%

The Mummy, slow-moving and has an ancient thought process - 4%

Grim Reaper, constantly delivers bad news and inspires fear among workers - 3%

Frankenstein, green with envy - 1%

In addition to spooky bosses, when asked what the scariest part of their job was, workers reported the following fear-inducing activities:

Workload - 18%

Performance reviews - 9%

Tight deadlines - 9%

Hours worked - 8%

Their boss or supervisor - 7%

Sitting through meetings - 6%

Hm. I wonder how the Technology Department staff would describe me as a boss. I have my suspicions....

In any case, how about your workplace? Let us know.

And have a Happy Halloween.

Useful Resource for Job Seekers

If you are currently in the process of job hunting, you may find this article from Lifehacker, Top 10 Tools For Landing a Better Job, valuable. It contains useful information to help you with your job search, such as tips for using Craigslist and RSS feeds to find jobs, and tells you which are the five best online job search sites. It also includes resume writing tips and information to help you prepare for your interview.

More Information on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Following the progress of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 – the stimulus bill? Check out these sites:

view a map with links to each state's recovery web page, that helps explain how they are spending funds allocated by the Act;

the Department of Education's economic stimulus webpage; and

the Department of Labor announced funding for employment and training
programs under ARRA.

Free Demographic Information Available from American Community Survey

Interested in a broad range of U.S. social, economic, and demographic information on-line? The American Community Survey might be of use to you.

Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Survey, asking three million of us about our income, occupation, place of work, health insurance, marital status, ancestry, citizenship, language spoken at home, disability, housing, etc. etc. etc. This information is compiled and presents a snapshot of life in the United States at any given time.

You can access the American Community Survey by going to http://factfinder.census.gov, then clicking on Data Sets (on the left side), and then American Community Survey. Or click here.

The Census Bureau publishes a series of online handbooks (.pdfs) on how to use the Survey. There are handbooks for general users, business users, teachers, media, state and local governments, and researchers.

Check Out MeL Jobs and Careers for Tips on Finding a Job

Unemployed? Take a look at Michigan eLibrary (MeL) Jobs and Careers site.

Created and funded by the Library of Michigan, MeL Jobs and Careers includes links to web sites on how to write cover letter and resumes, employee satisfaction rankings, internships, and job postings. MeL also includes information on starting a business, finding financial aid for school and job training, exploring career preferences, and learning about new occupations.

If you are unemployed, it is worth a look.