Dont Let the Holidays Derail Your Job Search

Dont Let the Holidays Derail Your Job SearchDont Let the Holidays Derail Your Job SearchStop us if you know this oneOh the weather outside is frightfulbut my job prospects are sofrightful also.Okay, so we may have butchered a holiday classic just a touch, but if youre one of the many of those looking for a job this holiday season, we feel your pain. The holidays fall during the typically busy end of year season. For most employers, this means their days are often filled with number crunching, mad dash order fulfillment, or painful customer service experiences, all of which means there is little time to focus on hiring activities.Even if you do manage to come across a long-term, career-making, employer hiring in December, their schedules are often filled with vacations, holiday geschftszimmer parties, and other end-of-year activities. And dont even get us started on those obligatory extended family visits listening to uncle Ralph regale you with stories of trudging 10 miles in the sno w each way to the liquor store last week. All of this making merry can make reviewing applications, much less replying to qualified candidates or scheduling interviews, a near impossible task for most hiring managers. This adds up to a potentially non-merrymaking holiday season for anyone looking to move forward in their job search. Just because things are slow during this magical time of the year, however, doesnt mean that those in the market to make a career switch should lose all hope. Dont let the holidays derail your job search but instead take some inspiration from our festive advice for keeping positive and productive as you wait it out until the New Years hiring spree.Maintain Your Holiday CheerNobody wants to hang with the party pooper at the annual white elephant Christmas party. This universal truth can also be applied to your holiday season job search. A poor attitude will notlage only leave you down in the dumps, but it will also show through any potential applications, interviews, or networking opportunities you may happen across.There are plenty of organic opportunities that may arise as a result of holiday shenanigans. Take the opportunity to reach out to friends, former colleagues, and others in your professional field. Instead of staying home watching Grinch on repeat, show up to social events and use the option to remind those in your circle that youre in the job market. While youre at it, enjoy a couple glass of that loaded eggnog for a winning time all round.Keep a Consistent ScheduleWhether its the holiday season or any other regular old time of the year, making and maintaining a schedule for job seeking is an integral part of any career switch. Since traditional business tends to slow between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it can be easy for us to sit back and hibernate by not continuing to actively search out opportunities.Instead of binging Hallmark holiday specials, be sure to set yourself weekly and monthly goals for furthering your car eer prospects. Carve out one to two hours a day for perusing the most recent job listings on Simply Hired. Schedule some time for updating certifications or obtaining new ones that may be useful once the job market picks back up in the new year. Falling off the horse when it comes to your daily routine during the holidays will make it that much harder to pick your good habits back up in January.Dont OverindulgeLets be realistic here for a moment. If someone asks you if youd like another piece of cousin Mables world famous peanut butter fudge, its going to be awfully hard to turn that bad boy down. And we wouldnt have it any other way. The holiday season is a time for celebrating, after all, and individual moments and experiences should be enjoyed with gusto.Much like overeating can cause us to gain a few (or more) inches on our waistline during November and December, too much partying, gifting and general merrymaking can lead to monetary strains on our budget. This type of overindul gence when youre in the job market often has negative effects on your credit and your willingness to take the first position that comes along after New Years. Instead of gorging yourself, make a plan and stick to it. Find the room for that one extra piece of fudge by exercising a few more minutes a day and allow yourself that fancy holiday outfit by cutting back on your take out orders for the month. This will keep you both physically and financially fit and better able to make clear and rational career choices once a great opportunity comes along.Take a Break (and Enjoy It)Last but not least on our tips for preventing the holidays from derailing your job search is a piece of advice that may seem counterintuitive. While you may be overly stressed from the pressure to find a job this time of year, dont forget to take time to breathe, relax and focus on your own and your familys mental and emotional health.There is plenty going on in our daily lives from mid-November through December. Instead of berating yourself over a lack of job movement, take a few moments to reflect on your many accomplishments over the past year. Spend some time relaxing with friends and family and recharge your emotional and mental state so that you approach the post-holiday hiring season with renewed energy. Just stay away from Aunt Ednas fruitcake. Were pretty sure its the same loaf that shes been bringing to the last five or so Christmas dinners.

Chernobyl 25 Years Later

Chernobyl 25 Years Later Chernobyl 25 Years Later Chernobyl 25 Years LaterIts an ironic coincidence that as events unfold at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, this month (April 2011) marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what welches then the Soviet Union.Unlike Fukushima Daiichi, whose problems were caused by a loss of all power resulting from a tsunami induced by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, Chernobyl welches a result of both konzeption deficiencies and human factors.The Chernobyl power-generating station is located in Pripyat, Ukraine, 110 km (68 miles) north of Kiev. There were four reactors at the plant, which began operation between 1978 and 1984. They were all RBMK-type reactors (in Russian, RBMK stands for heterogeneous water-graphic channel type reactor), a light, water-cooled, graphite-moderated design. Plants of this design are still in use today in Russia.On April 26, 1986, during a system test that wa s conducted outside of the parameters called for, Unit 4 suffered an explosion and fire. Large quantities of radioactive contamination were released into the atmosphere, which spread over much of western Russia and Europe. Some Chernobyl radiation was detectable thousands of miles away.Nearly all re-entry remains forbidden to the Chernobyl plant, though the Ukrainian government allows escorted tours of the area.A contaminated zone with a 30-kilometer (19-mile) radius around the Chernobyl plant was established. News reports at the time estimated some 350,000 people were evacuated. Nearly all re-entry remains forbidden to this day, though the Ukrainian government allows escorted tours of the area.Cleanup efforts will go on for several more years. The New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a steel-arch structure 92.5 m high and 150 m long and with an internal span of 245 m. It will be placed over the sarcophagus that covers Unit 4, built in the months after the explosion and fire (and which is now deteriorating). The NSC is designed to contain the radioactive remains of Chernobyl Unit 4 to prevent leakage of radioactive material into the environment. Work on the NSC has experienced several delays and it is expected to be completed in 2013.The statistics and information that follow are from the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in La Grange, Ill. and reports of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).The FactsThe accident began with a rupture in Unit 4s cooling-system pipes, according to ANS. The breaks let the reactor overheat and caused chemical reactions between steam and graphite. The reactor then ran out of control, triggering a hydrogen explosion and fire. The 1,660 square miles of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has now become one of Europes largest wildfleischlife preserves.The reactor vessel lid weighing about 1,000 metric tons was blown aside a hole was blown in the roof, and pieces of core and fuel material were blown on to the roof, ANS reported. With its core exposed to the atmosphere, the reactor was burning down and melting down at the same time, ANS added. Control and containment efforts killed more than 50 people from direct radiation exposure. The accident released a cloud of radioactive particles and gases, ANS bedrngnised. The lack of clear information and differing national standards on acceptable radiation exposure limits created panic in Europe.Nevertheless, even where radiation doses to the surrounding population were highest, in the nearby parts of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation, the doses were far below anything immediately harmful, ANS said.Chernobyl No. 4 had no steel-reinforced-concrete primary containment structure, which would have contained the explosion. The RBMK design was known to be inherently unstable at low power, ANS noted.ANS notes that RBMKs were moderated with flammable graphite, cooled with water, and produced weapons-grade plutonium along with electricity . Such a reactor would not be licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission nor by any of its western counterparts.By all accounts, Chernobyl is still radioactive and still very dangerous. The cement containment sarcophagus, built amid deadly radiation by squads of liquidators in 1986, is weakening, and a collapse could turn into a second catastrophe.Numerous reports note that cleanups are still under way on 25,000 spent-fuel assemblies, 35,000 cubic meters of low- and medium-level liquid wastes, and about 180 metric tons of now-solidified lava like fuel that was in Reactor No. 4 when it blew.Cleanup work will go on for many years, much of it funded internationally. Chernobyl still has several thousand employees. To minimize radiation exposure, they work two weeks on, two weeks off, and are paid triple the normal wage. Thousands more Ukrainians guard the exclusion zone. Chernobyl no longer generates electricity (or plutonium), and the last of its four reactors was shut down in 2000.Chernobyls Legacy A Final WordThe ANS observed that health effects and fallout distribution have been studied continuously since the accident, as they have been for atomic bomb survivors, and others who have received large radiation doses. The latest results show that the most important effect has been psychological, while physical effects are much less severe than originally estimated.ANS continued, This is to be expected, since calculations and judgments about radiation and nuclear matters always have large safety factors, to make sure any error is in the direction of safety. Ultra conservative studies project large numbers of early fatalities, but these are only after decades, if they occur at all.A landmark 2005 study by the Chernobyl forum, comprised of eight specialized UN agencies and the (post-Soviet) governments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine found that poverty, mental health problems, alcoholism, and tobacco pose far greater threats to human beings than radiation exp osure. Relocation proved deeply traumatic for many.In a poetic twist, the 1,660 square miles of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has become one of Europes largest wildlife preserves. Local residents report lynx, wild boar, wolves, elk, deer, brown bears, bison, badgers, foxes, eagle-owls, and even Przewalskis horse, a species supposedly extinct in the wild for some time. Given that the area is now heavily wooded and free of human predators, such a flourishing of wildlife should continue. Scientists, however, are studying the areas plants and animals for long-term effects of radiation.Jack Thornton is president of MINDFEED, Marcomm.In a poetic twist, the 1,660 square miles of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has now become one of Europes largest wildlife preserves.

Keeping Your Network Active After Landing a Job

Keeping Your Network Active After Landing a JobKeeping Your Network Active After Landing a JobThis post originally appeared onFEI Daily.Many people think of networking largely as a job search tool. They fail to recognize its role in enhancing their long-term job security, professional stature and companys growth.Individuals with strong networks are often seen as more valuable by their organizations because theyre professionally active and well connected, and networking can be a valuable business development tool. In aRobert Half Management Resources survey, 60 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said business growth was the primary purpose of their professional networking activities (compared to 10 percent whose top goal was looking for a job).Still, the reality is after landing a coveted position and putting in long hours trying to make a mark in a new workdistributionspolitik, networking can suddenly seem like a low priority. Before you relegate it to the bottom of your to-do list, consider these suggestions for easy ways to keep your networking efforts active, even as you work on establishing yourself in your new position.Maximize online networking.The Robert Half Management Resources survey also found CFOs prefer to network online. Because virtual networking can be done at any time, theres no good reason not to maintain an active presence, with active being the key word.Go beyond simply having a LinkedIn profile. Stay engaged with your network by posting an occasional book review, contributing to a conversation on a hot topic and commenting on others updates. In the process of staying in contact with your connections, youll build your professional visibility and show yourself as an expert in finance and your industry.When you see that someone in your network has gotten a promotion or changed jobs, take a minute to send a congratulatory note. Taking the time to acknowledge someone elses achievement will be remembered.Stay active in profess ional organizations.Although you may have been a regular at your local chapter meetings when you were job hunting, you may think thats one activity you could now safely drop from your busy schedule. Unfortunately, that would mean breaking one of the cardinal rules of networking Dont just do it when you need to. Its essential to maintain your network by staying involved with professional groups, such asFinancial Executives International. Doing so also helps you keep abreast of whats happening in your field, enhancing your professional value.If you cant be as active as you were in the past perhaps you need to give up chairing a committee, for example continue to make an effort to attend meetings and networking events. Also look for other ways to contribute, such as delivering a presentation or writing an article for the chapter website or newsletter.Start your own networking group.Another way to keep in touch with influential contacts is to plan your own recurring networking activit y maybe a once-a-month meeting for coffee, lunch or happy hour. Consider making these meetings a same time, same place arrangement by meeting at a mutually convenient place on the first Friday of each month, for instance. Even if all members of your group cant attend every time, having a standing engagement will help ensure you dont let valued relationships go dormant.Pass it on.Now that youve landed a sought-after position, dont forget to try to help those whove helped you. Use your new post to become an even more valuable contact to those in your network. You can be their eyes and ears in your industry or company and pass on job leads, referrals or meaningful business developments, as long as youre not violating any confidentiality expectations, of course.Also, if you continue to receive job leads or queries from recruiters after settling in your new role, you may want to pass that information on as well. Recruiters, in particular, are almost always interested in receiving referr als to other talented professionals. In addition, your acquaintances will likely be flattered you thought to recommend them.Its difficult to predict what twists and turns your career might take, and you never know when youll need the help of a strong network. So think twice before easing off your networking efforts. Its much easier to nurture a thriving network than to have to cobble one together when you suddenly find yourself in a situation where you have to seek others assistance.