Author: TechCommGeekMom

I’ll admit–this is something that I’ll need to work on! I have a personal Pinterest account, but I’ve not really used it much. I supposed I should get a better handle on it and flex its muscles a bit…

–techcommgeekmom

This is another good article, courtesy of LinkedIn, that easily follows up the article I posted about companies not looking at the resumes of the long-term employed. 

One of the things that I recommend, based on my own experiences, is that if you are unemployed, try to get at least a part-time job. It might not provide the benefits or pay that’s needed, but it makes you employable. It helps to keep your skills and mind sharp, and shows that you are at least trying to make things work. I know how it feels to have that feeling of being stuck in that part-time job. It used to be that if you were someplace long enough, the company would eventually bite the bullet and hire you. I’ve had several instances in my last two jobs where I was part-time or a consultant (otherwise known as a technical temp, in my eyes), was promised that I’d be made a full-time employee, and ended up on the unemployment line instead. I’ve learned not to trust such things–I’ll believe it when I see it. Even the position I have now could easily blossom into something else. I hope it does, but I’m not counting on it. You never know what’s going to happen at a company. The last time I almost became an employee, it was something where one week, I was just one signature away from having an approval for the full-time position, and then three weeks later, they told me that they were letting my contract run out in a few months, and other consultants were being let go sooner. So…yeah. Even so, it was part-time jobs that helped me gain some new skills and maintain some of my current skills. 

Part-time or consulting work, despite everything, can be a viable in-between solution, from my experience. It’s a "something is better than nothing" solution. 

–techcommgeekmom

Found this through LinkedIn. It’s interesting, because I’ve read something along these lines before, and it’s something that is just…disappointing. And, if you think about it, it’s discrimination. I had one friend who was unemployed for about two years! She had a highly reputable job until her company downsized, and she couldn’t find work due to the economy, meaning that despite how good she is at what she does and how experienced she is, because she commanded a higher salary from all that experience and know-how, they were afraid to pay her top dollar. She made ends meet another way instead–through consulting, which helped her resume in the long run, as at least it showed that she stayed viable during her full-time unemployment run, but it was TOUGH. I experienced the same thing last year. It was part-time jobs that got me through. This is a topic I touched upon in my STC-PMC presentation last month. Lots of talented people are not being given a chance because employers don’t want to be bothered to do a little bit of training to get someone who has the right foundation to get up to speed with "their" system.  It’s a real shame…and by being so discriminatory for something that’s not in a person’s control completely, that just damages the economy–and lives–even more. 

–techcommgeekmom

As a person who does curate content for her various websites, this seems like a handy guide. I personally use Scoop.It!, and I’m aware of a couple of others, but who knew there were so many? Thanks to Darin Hammond for this one.

–techcommgeekmom

This comes by way of @SNewco, who in turn had retweeted from @Punflaykids. This is one of the best app resources lists I’ve seen in a while. I have a few of these already, but I’ll be adding to my list! These all look like they’d be good for kids as well as adults. 

–techcommgeekmom