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Last week we talked about Investopedia as a great resource for getting definitions for financial terms. Well Investopedia runs Financial Edge which has some great advice that can be applied to HR

The first today talks about 5 jobs with mandatory overtime. If your employees don't want to have to work nights or weekends, they may want to stay away from becoming an EMT, construction worker, IT professional, warehouse employee or investment banker. If they didn't know that they would have to working outside of the 9-5 schedule for these jobs, they probably weren't paying attention when they signed up for the job.

When an employee comes to you asking for a promotion, you can spout off these 5 reasons why they don't want that promotion. As Spiderman says: "with great power comes great responsibility." Always remind your employees that.

Lastly, we have an article about 6 industries hurt by the NFL lockout. Steroids manufacturers did not make that list, but television, video games, and sporting goods are among the industries that may have to worry about their workforce if the NFL workforce is kept locked out.

Have a great Wednesday!

Yesterday Astronology had a fabulous rundown of financial terms you might want to learn before talking to a CFO. I have a Masters in International Economics and Finance but even I need some help sometimes with understanding what certain financial terms mean. My favorite site to use as a refresher for financial terms is Investopedia which is basically a dictionary of financial terms.

One term that has been thrown around the news the past few years is "unemployment". But what type of person actually qualifies as "unemployed"? Is it the guy who is not searching for a job? Is it the woman who has been out of work two years? Who qualifies? Well, according to Investopedia: "Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy. The most frequently cited measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate. This is the number of unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labor force." If you want to find out more about unemployment and how it is calculated in the United States, follow that link above.

What about jobless claims? This morning the financial world was abuzz with news that initial jobless claims fell 10,000 last week. Investopedia explains: "The number of people who are filing or have filed to receive unemployment insurance benefits, as reported weekly by the U.S. Department of Labor. There are two categories of jobless claims - initial, which comprises people filing for the first time, and continuing, which consists of unemployed people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for a while. Jobless claims are an important leading indicator on the state of the employment situation and the health of the economy. Average weekly initial jobless claims are one of the 10 components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index."

Again, taking these terms at their base level can be confusing or misleading but actually researching them can lead to a better understanding of the job market and about your current position. If you ever don't understand something, make sure to raise your hand and ask, because trust me, even people with Masters in the subject can sometimes use a refresher. 

The first link was sent to me by a co-worker who used to work for Bridgewater Associates from Dealbreaker. "Be the hyena. Attack the Wildebeast" would certainly be a different motto than most companies as will most of the things you'll read in that article.

Next is The Economist which has a very interesting article about "The Difference Engine" and the wisdom of crowds. How can you apply this to your workplace and the co-workers who make up the crowd?

Then to Monster and Yahoo! for 10 job sectors which are in decline...and what to do if your industry is on the way out.

Lastly we go to Investopedia and Yahoo! for 7 jobs companies are desperate to fill...and how you can qualify for those jobs.

We start out on this Monday morning with 18 common e-mail mistakes from US News and World Report via Yahoo! Finance (H/T Sarah). I can tell you from the experience of receiving e-mails (in both my professional and personal life) that people hit reply all way too often when they just mean to hit plain ole reply.

Next, from FINS we have Goldman Sachs updating their interview tips via a nifty little video (H/T Wendy). The most important advice, in my opinion, is the last point: "At the End. Ask two or three questions about the company or about the interviewer's view of broad industry trends. Don't ask about salary and benefits. You'll have plenty of time for that once you get an offer. And, of course, e-mail a thank you note. It's a classy touch."

ABC News is next with some things not to do during an interview such as, well, bringing mom. Some of these are priceless.

Next, from USA Photos Pictures Blog is a list of the top ten worst jobs in the United States...with pictures of each.

Lastly, from SIFMA, a list of what the positions really mean in simpledetails.

Back to our winter cleaning for our HR links here at Astron's World of HR:

From Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, a very interesting article about recruiters changing their online job hunt tactics now that they are beginning to hire again: "Many plan to scale back their use of online job boards, which they say generate mostly unqualified leads, and hunt for candidates with a particular expertise on places like LinkedIn Corp.'s professional networking site before they post an opening. As the market gets more competitive again, they are hiring recruiters with expertise in headhunting and networking, rather than those with experience processing paperwork." This is some good advice that I'll discuss in a future post.

One of the biggest hiring organizations during the past year has been our Federal Government and FINS explained back in July why the Financial Reform Bill would add thousands more jobs (H/T Wendy).

From Woman's Day via Yahoo!, it's 10 things that they don't think the HR department will tell you...so make sure that some of it is very clear and plain to your employees so they do know what they need to know.

Next we have Forbes with the most outlandish resume mistakes ever. Yes, I think listing "God" as a reference was probably a bad idea for that candidate...

Lastly, we have our own Managing Director, Jennifer Loftus, quoted in an article from You at Work saying that offering perks "is a good way to pique employee interest." Good advice from the boss ;)

With Warren Buffet coming out today (via Telegraph) and saying that next time the financial world goes bust, the chief executives of those banks and their wives should go broke too, I figured it was a good time to delve back into the job market in the financial world.

Within the same article came this ominous forecast: "Despite the difference in the fortunes of those on Wall Street and many Americans in other industries, analysts have said that banks may decide to cut jobs in coming months as trading revenues decline. Meredith Whitney, for example, has forecast that up to 80,000 finance jobs could go over the next 18 months." Eek

More specifically, Morgan Stanley came out last week and said they were going to freeze investment bank hiring in 2010 according to Bloomberg (H/T Wendy).

For those looking for a job in this market, FINS has some advice for college graduates about how to find a job in the financial world (one of the pieces of advice "Take on Internships" is a good one).

Also from FINS, a different type of sheriff is coming to town: the IRS is hiring special agents for their Criminal Investigation Division, one of its prime divisions.

Lastly, Corporate Compliance Insights has two Dilberts that hopefully don't hit too close to home for many compliance professionals.

Way back in November of 2007 I wrote a post on the Astron Solutions blog titled "You're Fired...Wait...You're Hired" after Circuit City decided to rehire some of the employees they had fired. It continues to be one of our most-visited posts and even though Circuit City is no longer around, the themes in that post (and Michael Scott's words) continue to resonate, especially with the recent "resignation" of Shirley Sherrod.

I posted a little while back from HR hero's The Oswald Letter about terminating in haste can lead to regret at leisure. Last Thursday, Fistful of Talent (H/T Jennifer) looked at the process of welcoming back rehires (AKA "The Sacred Boomerang Ceremony"). The author describes the ceremony:

At Kahler Slater, not only do they accept employees back (the good ones of course) but they believe that having a strong employee come back is reason to celebrate. John Horky, the HR Guy, creates for each one of these employees a boomerang and presents it to them during a staff meeting with their very own “Sacred Boomerang Ceremony”.

Imagine, a celebration where the entire company is gathered to welcome an employee back into the fold. They present the boomerang, tell everyone what the employee has been doing since he/she left, and celebrate them coming back to the company. 

This isn't a process without problems, however. In finance, where there have been recent signs of hiring according to the Wall Street Journal (H/T Wendy), many firms are taking a strict stance against rehiring former employees. While one (or multiple) co-workers may vouch for them, there may have been reasons that the employee was let go during the layoffs. There may still be some bad blood there and rehiring can have negative effects on moral. In some instances, lesser employees may be hired because of a feeling of familiarity with the company they were let go by.

The lesson here is that while done right, rehiring can be a great idea, many other factors need to be taken into account--and it should never be done in haste.

Sorry for the absence, but I have a bunch of New York Times articles for you on this Tuesday night:

-First, the Times talks about the bankers golden parachutes creating a windfall for bankers and resentment from the rest of America

-Next, the Times asks when the economy will turn around and hiring will begin again

-Lastly, the NYT on women breaking through the glass ceiling of the Supreme Court, moving from Anita Hill to Sonia Sotomayor

It'll be interesting to see the fallout in the job market from the current financial crisis, but some effects are already seen...

The first article is from the New Jersey Law Journal and probably won't work for most of you...but the important part is just to read the title and then find a way to get your hands on the article: Pru Appeals in Suit Charging it Paid Off Plaintiffs' Lawyers: click here

Next, an interesting lesson from Yahoo! News via the AP on what can happen with mergers/takeovers and job layoffs as HP surprises Wall Street in this article: click here

(H/T to Wendy for those)

The Wall Street Journal (with a nice, new look) continues with an article sure to cause a little head scratching to most of America...the Executive job market is still healthy: click here and a video here

Next from the Journal is a very interesting article about trying to get Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's employees to stay as the mortgage giants go through some difficult times: click here

Going quickly to the Boston Globe's, Boston.com Monster.com HiringHub HR Center HR Blog, word that this isn't your father's job fairs--something new is in the air: click here

Lastly, in an article form the Journal, we learn that GMAT scores are being canceled...a lesson to employers that sometimes test scores aren't really all that reliable: click here

We've also added a great new feed from the WSJ on our right: click here

Many lament that financial industry salaries continue to grow at abnormal rates through bad economic cycles, but loyal reader Wendy sends in this article from Institutional Investor Magazine which says that fixed-income buy-side analysts are beginning to see the effects of this downturn...at least a little bit: click here

Update 11:50 AM: Missed it, but thanks for pointing out...sell-side also has information: click here

So many times in this blog I've harped on the merits of subscribing to Astron's bi-weekly newsletter, Astronology. It's really, really simple to sign up (I'll even give you the link again here), it's a great resource, we won't spam you, and sometimes you get to read about really awesome stuff (plus I penned a few back in the day if you check out the archives here)...

And while the latest issue has some great stuff (click here)...nothing compares to this amazing interview with yours truly:


Mini-Interview
The next Astron Solutions team member to let it all hang loose is our Blogmaster, Andrew Katz. Also, this won’t be the last mini-interview of our series! Stay tuned to our website for big news! Now, without further adieu:

1) What is your position in Astron Solutions, and how long have you had this position?

I guess you could call me the official Blogmaster. I've done this since snagging an internship with Astron back in the Summer of 2006. I wanted to stay active with Astron once I went back to school and this gave me a great opportunity to do so.

2) What convinced you to do HR consulting?

The interview with Jennifer. HR consulting was FAR from anything I had ever thought of doing but one Human Resources lesson to learn is that while the candidate is trying to woo the interviewer, a company can attract good employees through a great interview. Hearing about what Astron did and stood for and seeing how happy the employees were really went a long way into convincing me to join the Astron family.

3) What do you do when you are not consulting?

I work double duties...I also work at Genworth Financial in Stamford, CT. But blogging has become a passion of mine and I love doing it. Having to keep my readers up-to-date on what's going on in the world of HR also keeps me up-to-date and I'm always plugged into the latest news. I'm also an avid sports fan so I'm always watching games and talking sports with my friends.

4) What is your favorite place to travel to and why?

I spent a semester studying abroad in Copenhagen. Although 90% of people I know can't pick it out on a map, it really is an amazing place. When most people think of visiting Europe they think of London and Paris and Italy...but Copenhagen is one of those treasures that I think has to be part of any European travel. The people are amazingly nice, the city is so much fun, and it has been named the "Happiest Place on Earth" the past two years. And bonus: everyone speaks English so you won't need to carry around a dictionary!

5) Where do you see Astron Solutions this day next year?

It's amazing to see Astron continuing to grow. I think that as Astron continues to attract new and diverse customers through word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers, you'll see Astron out there more and more with the big names in the market. Genworth is a "People Driven" company very involved in the local community and I see Astron continuing to follow those same ideals.

As we continue our trek through getting to know the Astron Solutions team better, we find ourselves with the iShuffle yet again. Again, Blogmaster Andrew Katz has helped us out with this! We thank Andrew for both his blogging skills, and his time for this. Enjoy the list, and the questions!

Kanye West - Through the Wire
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
Fallout Boy (feat. John Mayer) - Beat It
Madonna and Justin Timberlake (feat. Timbaland) - 4 Minutes
Rick Ross (feat. T-Pain) - The Boss
Lupe Fiasco - Hip-Hop Saved My Life
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Counting Crows - Rain King (Live from Soho)
N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing on the Line...)
Dave Matthews (feat. Tim Reynolds) - Lie In Our Graves (Live at Radio City)

Favorite - Everybody Nose. The song gets you pumped, smiling, and is just overall fun. You know a song is good when you get into it in the first 15 seconds you hear the song for the first time.

Least Favorite - 4 Minutes. There's nothing wrong with the song at all. Actually I like it. But it's repetitive and you get sick of it too quickly. When a song comes on and I start reaching for the ipod, it's a BAD sign.

Seen Live - Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Counting Crows, N.E.R.D., and Dave Matthews I have all seen live this summer (and I saw John Mayer in the past). Dave is my favorite live act. Some people have great songs. Some sing really well. But very few combine both these and put on a great, entertaining SHOW. Dave does this. I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert after my Junior year of high school and I really was not a big fan at the time. He put on such a great show that I'm not only a huge fan, I've been to his concert every summer since (at least once).