No Job? Sue Your College or University?

A New York woman, Trina Thomson, 27, has filed a law suit against Monroe College were she completed an IT degree in April this year. She is seeking to recover $70,000 (approx £40,000) that she has spent on tuition the BBC reported. The woman claims the Office of Career Advancement at the college did not provide her with the leads and career advice it had promised.

"The college prides itself on the excellent career-development support that we provide to each of our students, and this case does not deserve further consideration," its spokesman said.

It sounds a little far fetched in my opinion and I would think that she will be unsuccessful but you never know – stranger things have happened. It is hard to prove because there are so many other contributory factors that the college could argue are the cause of her unfortunate jobless situation; her efforts and the current economic climate being the main ones.

It’s definitely not an isolated situation and one that a lot of students Stateside and over here in the UK will have found themselves in. After studying hard and gaining good qualifications they end up either jobless or taking on a job totally unrelated to their chosen field just so they can earn money.

I don’t think it is generally the college or universities responsibility in these situations but I do think that career advisors are pivotal and a major part of the organisation. I think if the “Office of Career Development” at the college in question has been less than helpful then they should be penalised and hopefully it will prevent other departments such as this in the future failing their students – if that is the case.

It’s a bit like many after sales departments, you find companies in all industries are friendly and helpful on initial contact but when you commit to buy, the after sales experience can be very lacking. It sounds like this is what Ms Thomson is trying to argue that she paid the tuition and studied hard but there was no help in the end after she spent all that time and money and promises have been broken by the college.

I remember a career advisor I seen at 5th year in school, he was very unhelpful and patronising when I told him what course I wanted to go on to do at university, he advised me to reconsider – he called it being realistic about my results, I called it giving up on my aspirations. In the end I never listened to him and completed the degree I had wanted to so it just shows how determination often wins over complaining or blaming other people.

The university I attended had a careers service too but I couldn’t fault any of the advice I have had from them – I was always helped, supported and advised and I know their job isn’t to get me a job but to help me find routes or ideas to go down. I think Ms. Thomson should maybe reconsider because I don’ know if she will be looked on favourably by prospective employers, whether rightly or wrongly – no one likes a trouble maker, least of all employers.

What do you think?

Do you hate Debbie or Steve in your workplace?

According to an article in the Daily Record last week, managers called Steve and Debbie have been named as Britain's bosses from hell. A poll of 4000 people put John and Catherine in second and Alan and Anne in third place. Staff said they were the most challenging people to work for.

In short, the worst male boss names were: 1.Steve 2.John 3.Alan 4.Paul 5.Chris 6.David 7.Mike 8.Simon 9.Barry 10.Andy.

And the worst women's names were: 1. Debbie 2. Catherine 3. Anne 4. Linda 5. Jane 6. Liz 7. Fiona 8. Andrea 9. Pam 10. Michelle.

Although it’s obviously not set in stone that people blessed with these names would be a nightmare to work with, it’s a bit of fun and provokes some interesting stories when discussed in a group. I personally don’t have any experience of bad boss’s with those names. We have a Jane in the office here and she’s great to work with – we love you Jane. If you have any stories feel free to share, although there would be little point trying to omit the name of your boss for anonymity – share anyway.

The article also told of researcher’s who exposed horror stories of employees being asked to carry out tasks that were definitely not noted in their job spec when they joined. Among them was a female boss who insisted her toenails were cut while she made an important conference call. Another spoke of their David Brent-like boss who threatened disciplinary action if staff didn't turn up to monthly karaoke nights.

I know that I wouldn’t complain about the latter if it was a paid outing but on a more serious note it’s worrying that there are many people suffering in their jobs and they don’t have an outlet for their woes except anonymous surveys. I’m sure there are many technically illegal tasks and treatment people endure in the workplace that goes unreported, especially with the economic downturn and people’s fears of redundancy and job loss.

No one wants to challenge or question unfair treatment generally as it can lead to bad feeling and in some cases a more serious personal vendetta from employers. I think it is an issue that needs to be given more time – it’s all well and good having legislation and laws surrounding health and safety and working time regulations, etc but are these truly implemented in all businesses today and are there ways that the unfairly treated can really change things without the risk of unemployment or being branded a ‘snitch’? I’m open to opinions…

"Facebook police raid family barbeque..."

Has anyone else seen the front page of the Metro today? At first I thought it was a joke but now I can't actually believe so many resources were wasted on an innocent party - a little bit embarrassing for all involved I would imagine

For those who haven't read the story, basically four police cars, a riot van and a helicopter raided a 30th birthday party with 15 attendees. As the barbeque was going to get lit, eight officers wearing camouflage and body armour jumped out demanding 'the rave' be shut down, whilst this was going on the small gazebo was flapping wildly due to the helicopter's blades above them. Supposedly the party invite created on Facebook under the 'create event' app had been intercepted by police who had thought it was an illegal rave as it was described as an "all night party" online.

Whilst reading it I thought the police must have had an embarrassing apology to make afterwards but was even more surprised to read that the police had insisted that they were right to end the party due to their concerns that stemmed from how it was advertised on facebook. The host of the party was obviously not best pleased as he’d spent £800 on food, drink and a generator for the evening and the party was rudely interrupted and closed down at four in the afternoon, even before the music had been put on.

It just shows I suppose how much of the interaction we have online is viewed and can be easily misinterpreted. I’ll definitely be more careful about the information I put online and how it is worded as the “Facebook police” certainly don’t seem very reasonable so I wouldn’t want them paying me a visit.

On a more serious note, there should be an investigation into who made the decision to go ahead with this ridiculous raid, not only is it a complete waste of time, money and resources but it’s an infringement of the guy’s rights surely. Is it now illegal to have a barbeque or party in your own garden? I didn’t think so…

I've got that Friday feeling...

Friday has come at last...it seems like this has been a long week and I'm glad it's Friday. Whilst looking through the news and articles to discuss in my blog today I just couldn't concentrate. America job losses are worse than predicted, Police quiz Tory peer over expenses, Darling issues warning to bankers, the list goes on.But there are some days when you just want to forget the doom and gloom in the news and look at the positives.

Firstly, good luck Andy Murray - I'm not a big tennis fan but what a great role model, fingers crossed for him. Tonight I'm also looking forward to seeing the back of Sree, I’m sure all other big brother fans will agree he is an attention-seeking sneaky wee man and I'll be glad when he's gone - although I do wish they would do a triple eviction and get rid of Chris and Dogface at the same time - boring and pointless springs to mind.

Anyway, I’ll keep it short, have a great weekend, hope the sunshine lasts x

WAG's are to blame for bankruptcies?

“A breakdown of official statistics from the Insolvency Service by an accountancy firm has found that the majority of bankrupts under 24 are now female, whereas only a year ago men still led the field. The reason, at least according to Anthony Cork of Wilkins Kennedy - is that ‘the pressure’ on young women to follow the lavish lifestyle of female celebrities has grown immensely.”

In reality we are told that the likes of Paris Hilton, Coleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham are role models to be followed and this coupled with the growing availability of credit has meant that for the status-conscious, who want to display the accessories of success - designer clothes and jewellery seem deceptively attainable.

It's an interesting topic as I myself have a little girl who I hope will learn the value of money as I did but with the pressures of society, magazines and the media in general, is it really feasible to think that one day she will be looking up to female celebrities for their brain, success and personality rather than their wardrobe?

Unfortunately, I would say it's completely unrealistic to think that not even a little part of her will aspire to be as glamorous and ‘perfect’ as the WAG’s as we now refer to them. If I had my way education and success as a result of hard work would be her main motivators and dreams when she grows up but for that to happen, society & the media also need to take some responsibility for the icon’s that are paraded in front of young girls today.

I, as a parent obviously know my duty to teach right from wrong and instill values in my daughter to counteract these pressures as much as possible but as any parent knows – kids notice hypocrisy early on. I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard from my younger cousins, “Why can’t I? **** at nursery can.” The typical answer of “you aren’t them” only works up to a certain age. This is one of the main reasons that I think there has been a growing number of bankruptcies in females under 24 because it’s hard to dictate to a 20 year old what they can and can’t buy on their credit card.

Personally I think this problem has to be tackled in school’s now and the Government has to concentrate on making kids aware of money matters and it’s value but only time will tell whether this issue is tackled or whether my daughter and her friends will see it acceptable to use credit as a means of ‘looking good’.

The Best Job in the World

I woke up to find I don't have the best job in the world and in fact it was a lucky 30 somenthing from Petersfield that was lucky enough to have that title. In the news today it was anoounced that this is the first day for the man who beat around 35,000 applicants to land his dream job. I remeber reading about it a few months back and thinking it was a joke but apparently not.

For the next six months Ben Southall will be "exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swimming, snorkeling, making friends with the locals and generally enjoying the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle" according to the job description - jealous, yes me too. It sounds like heaven but I suppose it wouldn't be everyones ideal job, actaully I'm not sure.

I wonder if he has KPI's about the number of people he has to befriend each day or if he has to go swimming and snorkelling at certain times of the day? Now that would be a bit of a pain, but I think the salary reported to be around £70,000 would soften the blow.

Ben isn't the only winner here, Tourism Queensland reportedly came up with this 'caretaker' job vacancy to promote the area worldwide and it's certainly worked, the publicity generated from their clever viral marketing campaign has spread and will continue to spread as the new 'caretaker' will be blogging and giving video updates reguarly. I may have a nosey.

Could this woman get a job in your office?

I was reading the BBC news online and came across an article that raises interesting questions about what's suitable 'work attire' and if people are pushing the boundaries these days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8116876.stm#hair

I no when I'm organising my clothes for work in the morning or buying new clothes I always try to find a balance between being comfortable and smart.I wonder what recruiters think when someone comes for an interview casual or informal - does it automatically make them negative about that person's ability and ultimately result in them hiring someone else.

Despite what people may say, I think people do get an impression of someone from what they are wearing and draw conclusions within the first few minutes of meeting them - whether it's right or wrong.It would be intersting to hear from everyone what they think is acceptable to wear to work and what is unacceptable and if you have ever hired someone despite their scruffy appearance?