Price-sensitive companies are sticking tight to budgets, but keeping their wish lists high. They want to hire the qualified candidate who can offer them the best return on their investment and are flexing their pocketbooks with less frequency than they did pre-recession. Anxious job seekers, particularly those who have been out of work for some time, can be hurt or insulted when an offer comes in low. As a job candidate, it is important to remember that you must think in terms of today’s marketplace, not the economy we were in before you became unemployed. Compare the salary offer with what you might get now elsewhere in the marketplace—there is a world of difference between a ridiculously low offer and one that is competitive but not generous.

Other factors also come into play when it comes to a job offer and compensation. How long have you been looking? Have other companies been interested in you? Have you done new research to learn if your industry’s pay rates have changed over the last year? Are you over-estimating your value in the current marketplace? Do your due diligence before you interview at sites such as:

• Salary.com
• SalaryScout.com
• Payscale.com
• GlassDoor.com
• Vault.com

The best way to handle a low salary offer without jeopardizing your prospective employment is to NOT take it personally. Your ultimate goal, presuming you want this job, is to secure the position while negotiating the best deal you can make for yourself. Most firms will expect some discussion about compensation. Once an offer has been extended, the time between the offer and your acceptance is when you’ve got your greatest leverage. The employer has narrowed the field of candidates and chosen you—they want you to accept and are most willing to listen to your needs providing they are not completely out of line with their own criteria. If you have decided you want to negotiate, say something like this: “I’m very pleased to be offered this opportunity, but I believe the salary doesn’t take into consideration the value I bring to this position,” and then be ready to offer a few key points. Name a salary that is higher than you expect to receive, but within reason. Leave room for the company to counter. Of course, if their offer has no wiggle room then it’s up to you to decide if you can live with this low(er) number.

When discussing salary always sound conversational, not demanding. You want to get off on a good foot with your new employer without creating a situation that will change the dynamics that allowed you to get the offer in the first place. Asking for too little will make you reluctant to begin and being too greedy can damage your image with the firm going forward. Be gracious and professional and have some alternative upgrades ready if the firm is unwilling to meet your desired salary—these might include professional training opportunities, paid vacation, sick days, insurance, savings, bonus plans and frequency of reviews. Once settled, ask for a formal offer in writing with all the components of your compensation plan in writing.

When it comes to salary it’s not “Deal or No Deal”—it’s about your willingness to compromise and believe the deal you’ve made, is the best one for you.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Just recently, I received a reference call about someone who worked with me more than three years ago. We hadn’t talked since the employee left and this call was about a completely different career path than the one the individual had been on when we were working together. It took me by surprise; I said good things because this person had earned them, but it would have been nice to have a “heads up—here’s what I’m hoping to do now” kind of call beforehand.

The current job market has put thorough reference checking in the news. False and inflated information supplied by job candidates has made employers wary of resumes taken at face value. Negligent hiring can hurt an organization’s reputation, performance and bottom line. According to a comprehensive survey conducted late last year by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 51 percent of companies conduct reference checks. More importantly, 64 percent of the HR participants indicated during a reference check “inaccurate dates of previous employment,” as provided by the job candidate, had the most impact on their decision to not extend a job offer.

I’m always asked, “Do references really matter?” My response is the right references can greatly improve your chances of getting the job. The right references are made up of a good set of people who can intelligently speak to your on-the-job performance. These should include: two former supervisors, a colleague and a subordinate (if you are interviewing for a management position). Better yet, if you have a reference who currently works at the company where you are interviewing, that can be gold, so make sure you are maximizing your professional network by reviewing your circle of contacts on sites like LinkedIn to see where former colleagues and supervisors have ended up. Actively work those relationships; don’t let them remain stale or forgotten. Other good references include someone you have worked with on a committee or volunteer activity, preferably a board member and for new graduates, a faculty advisor, professor or department chairperson.

If you have a good set of references, make sure you have current contact information as to their whereabouts. It looks terrible if you give someone’s name only to have the interviewer tell you that individual has since moved on and could not be reached for comments.

Be sure your reference has a copy of your current resume and knows the type of opportunity you plan to pursue. This will help them say things that can support the reasons to hire you. It also should go without saying, but do be sure you have permission to use someone as a reference. Never assume it will be OK to use a name. Some people are not comfortable speaking in this capacity.

Update a reference on any name changes, especially if you have a common first name or if the name on your resume is in any way different than what you went by during the time you worked together.

Putting “References on Request” on your resume is not necessary. Forward this information promptly by e-mail if the prospective employer requests it. You may also want to prepare a separate sheet of paper with these contacts just in case the employer requests it at the close of the interview.

Be aware beyond references, employers may do a background check that includes criminal history, driving record, credit check, academic verification, social security number, drug testing or more. They are also likely to pre- or post-screen top candidates on social networking sites.

Finally, no matter how desperate, don’t opt for creating fake references from an Internet source. HR professionals are wise to these sites and have developed ways to detect the phonies. Like my Grandma used to say, “A half truth is a whole lie.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Some titles emerge as a sign of the times; for example, Chief Blogger or Search Engine Optimization Specialist. Then, there are some titles that put a new spin on a known job, or have been changed to improve a job’s image or that of the worker doing the job. Yesterday’s Personnel Director became the Human Resources Administrator, which has now morphed into a Talent Strategist. Some companies call their Receptionist team Customer Care Associates to emphasize current trends toward customer loyalty and user-friendly service. It’s all part of new attention given to corporate and personal branding. For some, it helps to emphasize a particular focus or to realign new business goals.

If you check out social networking business sites like LinkedIn.com, you’ll see quite a few people who title themselves as a Ninja, Guru or Evangelist to describe their particular expertise. And, there’s a whole new world of workers who are full-time Consultants—and that can be in practically any field. The Internet created an entire industry of job titles that never existed just a few years ago—eCommerce Specialist, Social Media Director and Web Analyst, to name a few. Heck, I’ve even seen Chief Tweet Officer!

People who are looking for work should be careful not to be too clever with their titles, simply because search agents may not find them when they do keyword searches. You may have worked for an employer with a corporate culture that encouraged creativity, so that a Collections Manager is renamed a Revenue Recovery Specialist, but once in the job market, a recruiter is likely to have a harder time finding you under your new-age title.

In this economy, titles may get changed to boost morale or as a replacement for pay increases, but in general, a new title is not the retention tool companies like to think it is. Over-titling is also a cost savings move that comes with a hefty price tag when people who are under-qualified for their title gain credentials or a job perception that isn’t the reality. Some companies have even done away with titles all-together, or apply one universal title, like Associate, for everyone.

As titles have evolved, so too has the C-suite. What was once the domain of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Finance Officer (CFO) is now a world of Chief Learning Officers, Chief Technology Officers and Chief People Officers. It’s a whole tribe of new leadership.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for making sure people have titles that accurately describe what they do and also make them feel good about it, but I do think some of the hype to improve an occupation’s perception is a little over the top. The Brits did a survey of 4,000 workers and polled them on the website www.jobs2view.com to identify “the most daft” job titles. The winner, with 28 percent of the vote, was Vision Clearance Engineer—also known as a Window Washer. Others included Knowledge Navigator—Teacher—and Petroleum Transfer Agent—Gas Station Attendant.

I haven’t seen any similar formal surveys for unusual job titles here in the U.S., but I make it a point to collect ones that stand out, either in a good way or a bad way. If you have seen one, please e-mail me and I’ll share it with our readers. There was one that made me smile recently; it was held by a store owner. His business card identified him as the manager of a delicatessen. His title? The Deli Lama.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Today’s workforce is multi-generational. It is comprised of the Silent Generation (born 1925 to 1944), the Baby Boomers, (like me, born 1945 to 1964)—the second largest generation of approximately 78.2 million Americans, Gen X (born 1965 to 1984) and Gen Y (born 1985 to 2004)—also known as Millennials, who are the largest generation at 100 million. These days, it is not unlikely younger workers are supervising older workers and such dynamics can create cultural challenges when it comes to work ethic, task handling, technology and interpersonal relationships.

A 2010 CareerBuilder survey found 43 percent of workers ages 35 and older currently work for younger bosses, as do 53 percent of workers ages 45 and up, and 69 percent of workers who are 55 or older. That means not only are Baby Boomers being managed by Gen X or Gen Y, but sometimes the age gap can even be result in a Gen X-er reporting to a Millennial manager. Interestingly, the younger the worker, the more difficult it was for them to report to someone younger than themselves. Workers who were 25 to 34 said they found it difficult to take direction from a younger boss (16 percent), but only 5 percent of workers age 55 and up had problems with it.

So what’s the beef? The complaints lodged against younger bosses included:

• They act like they know more than me when they don’t

• They act like they’re entitled and didn’t earn their position

• They micromanage

• They play favorites with younger colleagues

• They don’t provide enough direction

Many of the younger new bosses have come out of new disciplines, learning new skills and new technologies beginning with their first job and not requiring them to abandon old processes or re-teach themselves new tricks like their more mature counterparts. Consequently, they have the knowledge, but have not put in the trench time when it comes to people skills, nor have they been given the training in areas like motivating or managing to be better at their jobs. Lisa Orrell, the Generations Relations Expert and author of Millennials into Leadership, offered up this tip for bridging the divide: “Millennials like to communicate, one-on-one, a lot. A survey revealed that over 60 percent of Millennials want to communicate with their managers at least once a day. So now that Millennials are becoming managers, they expect to communicate with their employees. This is certainly a management style that many older generations are not typically used to.”

Here are some other guidelines for narrowing the gap between you and your younger boss:

Treat each other like professionals – Don’t act like a parent or grandparent. Both sides should attempt to see the other’s point of view. Your boss is not your kid or your sibling.

Keep communicating – Younger bosses expect to do this via technology such as e-mail, texting or instant messaging. Learn these techniques and stay current with each other, whether it be digitally or face-to-face.

Be willing to learn new ways of doing things – And don’t negate fresh ideas. If you can foresee problems with a new process, inform, but don’t be a roadblock.

Update your skills – Get trained on new internal or external technology; become technically capable with computer applications, social networking platforms or other popular online tools as they grow in usage.

Support your manager publicly and privately – Don’t badmouth him/her at the water cooler. Let your boss know that you can be a soldier by both actions and words.

Sooner or later everyone is younger than we are in the workplace and the world. Billie Burke, the actress best known for her portrayal of Glenda the Good Witch in the film The Wizard of Oz wisely said: “Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

As economic conditions improve, companies often recall those workers who they were forced to lay off based on budget, not on performance. In fact, a survey conducted by Right Management showed nine out of 10 companies were open to rehiring laid off workers. It also showed 37 percent would rehire because an individual understood the job, while 33 percent looked at if the ex-employee understands the organization’s culture and 20 percent said it minimized the likelihood of a bad hire. Only 10 percent said it was not their policy to hire back former employees.

In a release issued in late 2009, Melvin Scales, senior vice president at Right Management, said, “Some employers are hiring back past employees because they realize they may have cut too deep with the last round of layoffs.” He noted some were being brought back on a contract or project basis. “Their ramp up time is minimal and they can start to make an impact almost immediately, given their prior experience with the organization.”

If it was a job you loved and got along with colleagues and management, then it might not be so bad to “boomerang back.” That’s why it’s especially important not to burn bridges or bad mouth an ex-employer. Still, it’s not always rosey for returning workers who sometimes feel resentment from the individuals who remained and have been doing double workloads. Companies should make universal decisions about benefits and seniority so that one returning worker does not have a different deal from another. And, the boomeranger should also make sure he or she isn’t harboring hurt feelings about being let go that ultimately are expressed through performance or attitude.

It’s tough to be in the difficult position of trying to decide whether to return to your old company or to test out a new opportunity. Do you look back at where you’ve been and what you know, or do you look ahead at what’s unknown and what could be? Both places have pros and cons.

Here are some guidelines for helping you to decide what works best for you:

• What is the current atmosphere at your old employer? Has morale sunk to a new low or has it remained optimistic or even improved?

• Are you coming back into the same role or is at a lower or higher level? How does this affect your pay, benefits and seniority levels?

• Have the circumstances that forced the original layoffs disappeared, or is there the likelihood of another layoff in your future? Be sure you aren’t being asked back because employees are fleeing and the business can’t plug their talent drain.

• Ask if you can actually re-interview with HR and whoever your new manager will be. Approach this like a first interview and not a re-hire. Ask the questions you want to have answered. Would you still want the job if everything that had happened in the last year had never occurred?

The people who seem to do best at boomeranging back are those that say “Yes” to a re-hire because they really want to be back in a job and company that they truly liked, not because they are desperate for work again.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

When it happens in the workplace, it creates a dysfunctional environment that can yield high staff turnover, lost productivity and increased litigation, and may jeopardize employee health and insurance costs. Bullies in the workplace are not uncommon. According to research by the Washington-based Workplace Bullying Institute, bullying is four times more prevalent than illegal discrimination and 37 percent of U.S. workers experience it. Think about where you work. Is there a bully among your colleagues? Characteristics of bullying behavior include constant fault finding and criticism of trivial things. A bully may refuse to acknowledge your value to the organization and consistently attempt to undermine your position, status and potential. Bullies may behave in a subtle, manipulative way or they may demean you outright and expose you to verbal abuse or belittle you in front of others.

A bully makes aggressive behavior the norm. At work, they typically try to advance or promote themselves at the expense of a vulnerable coworker who is generally much more capable, but passive and/or somewhat timid. A bully’s target is often reluctant to come forward for fear of retribution; and if the bully is the boss, there is the additional fear of job loss. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, most bullies (72 percent) do happen to be bosses, 40 percent of bullied individuals never tell their employers, 45 percent of targets suffer stress-related health problems and 24 percent are fired as a result of performance issues such as high sick day absences or on-the-job errors. Bullying is mostly same-gender harassment— 32 percent between men; 29 percent between women.

Shamefully, 62 percent of employers ignore the problem; however, since 2003, 17 states have introduced the Healthy Workplace Bill, including New York; the bill allows a target to sue the bully as an individual and also holds the employer accountable.

What can you do if you are a bully’s target on the job?

• Keep a detailed written record of each incident. Note date, time and place, who else was present and the type of behavior you experienced.

• While under attack from a bully, stay calm. Respond in a clear, coherent manner.

• Confront the bully and tell them to stop. Make the bully aware of his or her own behavior and state firmly you will no longer tolerate their attacks and if they continue, you will report them to management.

• If the bullying continues, break your silence by speaking to someone in a leadership role such as Human Resources or a senior supervisor.

• File a formal complaint or learn what the grievance procedure is at your organization.

• If your employer makes no attempt to correct the bully’s behavior, find a new job. Do not work in an environment that permits or supports such unacceptable behavior.

No position is worth the emotional and psychological angst that can slowly become a part of your daily routine. Don’t become a victim of your job. If you are tired of being bullied by a colleague or supervisor, you have three choices: Fight back, change your own reaction to the bully’s behavior, or change your job.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

A similar survey conducted by the outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed prospects for 2010 grads about the same as they were for the Class of 2009. CEO John A. Challenger noted, “Last year was an extremely tight job market for entry level candidates. [New grads] will also be competing with other young people, who received their diplomas within the last five years, had jobs, and found themselves back in the labor pool once the recession hit. These recent job seekers could prove to the toughest competition for this year’s graduates, as they are likely to accept entry-level wages, yet bring some on-the-job experience to the table.”

To find work, a new grad will need to rise to the challenge and think outside their degree. The focus should be on fields such as environment, energy, health care, roadways/bridge infrastructure and government. The Challenger survey showed that one in four respondents (26.3 percent) felt that grads in areas such as nursing, physical therapy, pharmacy sciences and medical technology would find the most success. Said Challenger, “Having too specialized a degree may not necessarily be a good asset in a recovering economy, unless you are specializing in health care fields where demand for new workers appears to be recession-proof. A general purpose degree gives graduates more flexibility and is likely to open a greater number of opportunities.”

The National Association of Colleges and Employers recently reported which majors will command the highest starting salaries. According to the NACE survey, engineering disciplines will account for eight of the 10 most highly paid degrees – $86,220 for a petroleum engineer, while the average starting salary for a plain vanilla bachelor’s degree candidate will be $47,673. The Careerbuilder.com survey showed first-year salaries breaking out as follows: under $30,000 – 33 percent; $30,000 to $40,000 – 30 percent; $40,000 to $50,000 – 19 percent and $50,000+ – 19 percent.

If you are a soon-to-be-grad or are perhaps the parent of one, here are some tips for staying motivated:

Create several resumes, not a one-size-fits-all. Change focus or emphasize content based on the potential opportunity.

Be flexible. For some grads that means agreeing to commute farther, considering different industries or accepting less money.

Leverage social media. Clean up your Facebook and Twitter pages, get on LinkedIn or BrightFuse and build a digital brand for yourself. Network with friends of friends of friends.

Volunteer!! Seriously, don’t graduate to couch-potatohood. Potential employers respect relevant experience and/or social responsibility efforts. Find something local that matches your interests and education on sites such as:
www.1-800-volunteer.org and www.americorps.gov

Try temporary work – According to the American Staffing Association and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the staffing industry created more new jobs in March than any other sector of the economy. Companies are tapping into temporary staffing services for short-term talent, but there may be some long-term benefit for the job seeker as some of these assignments convert to full time hires.

Make no mistake, it will be tough, and you might take two steps forward and three back, but hang in there. Milton Berle, a comedian better known to baby boomer-age parents and grandparents had some good words for any generation, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

For the New College Graduate: Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm & Savvy, Third Edition, by Ann Marie Sabath, 192 pages

Business world newbies can gain an edge on how to navigate the corporate jungle by devoting a few hours to this easy-reading book. It’s largely common sense, but as any manager knows, many new hires haven’t a clue as to how to interact with coworkers, or just how to conduct themselves in a business setting. The rules may seem obvious, but even seasoned professionals are not immune to gaffes and could benefit from a quick read. Here are some examples:

• Handling name lapses gracefully
• Understanding “business casual” attire
• BlackBerry, iPhone, telephone and speakerphone conduct
• Participating in business meetings and business luncheons
• International etiquette—avoiding common mistakes

For the Person Who Wants to Lose the Commute: Work at Home Now—The No-Nonsense Guide to Finding Your Perfect Home-Based Job, Avoiding Scams and Making a Great Living, by Christine Durst and Michael Haaren, 288 pages

This comprehensive book is written by two leaders in the work-at-home movement. Anyone who wants a home-based job should read this to avoid the 58-to-one scam ratio of work-at-home job offers. Not only does it offer you a step-by-step guide to finding legitimate work-at-home opportunities, but the authors also offer guidance on how to convince your current employer to let you work from home (writing the telework proposal). Additional highlights include:

• A listing of virtual- and telework-friendly companies
• Working from home as a freelancer and bidding for job assignments
• Part-time Internet-based employment to supplement your income
• Time management issues

For Bigwigs: Top Notch Executive Resumes—Creating Flawless Resumes, for Managers, Executives and CEOs, by Katharine Hansen, PhD, 255 pages

Let’s face it, one of the easiest ways to put together a terrific resume is to peruse samplings of other good resumes. Surprisingly, many senior-level professionals are at a loss when it comes to the resume writing task. Hansen not only provides a wide range of resume samples and job descriptions, but she is the brains behind “FABUKA”—Focus, Accomplishments, Branding, Uniqueness, Keywords, Appearance. These six components are essential to any resume.
Book highlights include:

• A strong FAQ section for popular concerns about things like political affiliations, resume length, and professional resume writers
• Writing a personal branding statement
• PowerPoint resumes
• Cover letters

For Those Who Want to Change Their Direction: The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention—Essential Survival Skills for any Economy, by Pamela Mitchell, 269 pages

I can see this book being read by many unemployed workers who are eager to make a career change. Mitchell knows her stuff. As founder of The Reinvention Institute, she offers her readers practical advice for reinventing themselves professionally. She helps find a vision, teaches how to get the people in your life circle on board and gives the skills and motivation to move forward. A nice bonus at the end of the book is a workbook so the reader can take the content and internalize it to his or her needs. She teaches survival skills for the workplace, regardless of economic conditions, so you are not left behind career-wise.

As we approach graduation, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, giving a good book as a present is a good idea. Comedian Groucho Marx once said, “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Back in January of this year, Newsweek reported that The Cheesecake Factory had settled a claim made by six male workers in the chain’s Chandler Mall location in Phoenix, Ariz. by paying $340,000 to the alleged victims. The Cheesecake Factory denied the charges of male-on-male harassment which workers claimed included fondling, simulated rape and being physically dragged into the restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator.

A March 2010 story in The Wall Street Journal reported that 2,094 claims were filed by men in 2009, which equals 16.5 percent of all sexual harassment claims—up from 15.4 percent in 2006 and 8 percent in 1990 according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Some of the claims were categorized as unwelcome romantic advances, others stemmed from the tormentor’s perception of the victim as not being masculine enough for a particular job. Traditionally, many men have maintained their silence because of the stigma associated with such claims. Some workforce experts argue the claims rose as the unemployment numbers increased because men who would have once left a “hostile” work environment and gone someplace else can no longer do so due to the lack of available job opportunities. The Wall Street Journal noted the share of claims filed by men rose more in some states with higher than average unemployment rates. The EEOC shows states with a large percentage of sexual harassment claims filed by men include: Utah 32.2 percent, West Virginia 27.3 percent and Michigan 26.6 percent.

All companies, large or small, must provide an environment free of sexual harassment. This legal obligation is also necessary for maintaining a workplace that is not prone to poor employee morale, low productivity or costly lawsuits. Even if an employer is unaware such behavior is taking place between staff members, liability remains with the employer as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1998.

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. There is a wide range of components that may include sexually explicit jokes, gestures, comments, various forms of body contact, sexist or belittling remarks, sexually explicit e-mails, public display of suggestive objects or websites, flirting and implied advancement, job retention or other work-related benefits resulting from sexual favors.

The EEOC says that the victim should inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop, then should communicate the grievance by using whatever company complaint system is in place. Regardless of business size or type, companies should have written policies against sexual harassment and employee training is generally the best prevention for improving bad workplace behavior.

Women still file the vast majority of sexual harassment claims, but as gender roles continue to evolve for both men and women, workplace offenses may also sway back and forth. Regardless of who the victim is—male or female—sexual harassment impacts morale, increases company costs and affects the self esteem of the victim, often by crippling an individual’s personal and professional growth. The bottom line—don’t do it…don’t tolerate it…don’t ignore it.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

It’s important to understand that eligibility for deductions is based on whether you have been looking for work in your existing field. The IRS qualifies this as a position in your current or most recent industry and at a similar level of responsibility. If you are attempting to switch careers or break into a new line of work, tax breaks are not applicable. They also do not hold for recent graduates (first job out of school) or those who’ve taken extended breaks in their employment for several years.

What can you deduct?

• Resume preparation services

• Printing or postage costs for cover letters and hard copy resumes

• Resume distribution services—companies that send out your resume on your behalf

• Travel expenses if you’ve been job hunting in other cities (mileage, transportation, lodging)

• Fees associated with placement firms

• Career counseling and outplacement costs

• Local and long-distance calls to prospective employers

• Membership fees for job search websites

Keep in mind that your job hunting expenses must be itemized and the total amount must exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can only deduct the amount over the 2 percent. So, if your 2009 adjusted gross income was $50,000, you can only deduct expenses exceeding $1,000 (2 percent of $50,000). A recent survey by The Tax Institute at H&R Block showed that 40 percent of taxpayers are confused about what they are able to deduct; in fact, 17 percent mistakenly believe that they are able to deduct wardrobe purchases for interviewing attire. (This “no” also holds true for haircuts, manicures or other personal maintenance costs.)

If you relocate because you’ve landed a new position, you can deduct your qualified moving expenses without itemizing. The new job must be at least 50 miles farther away than the previous residence was from the old job and taxpayers must remain at the new location at least 39 weeks.

The Tax Institute at H&R Block survey also reported that 73 percent of taxpayers didn’t know if or to what extent unemployment benefits are taxable. The 2009 Recovery Act exempts the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received from federal taxes; however, unemployment benefits over that amount are taxable. This means if you received $5,000 in unemployment, you will be taxed on $2,600 of this amount. Congress passed legislation that added an extra $25 to unemployment checks and also provided a 65 percent COBRA subsidy for those who qualify. This subsidy is tax-free for those with individual adjusted gross incomes of $125,000 or less ($250,000 for joint filers). As with any IRS tax deduction, make sure you have documented receipts to back up all of your paperwork.

Other tax-related considerations you should think about include:

• Early withdrawals from a 401K, pension plan or an IRA. You may face a penalty so check with an accountant regarding exceptions.

• Severance packages and voluntary buyout packages are treated as earned income. This may be taxable at a flat rate and/or may actually up your tax bracket.

• The Savers Credit is an overlooked and often under-utilized tax break which rewards low and moderate income taxpayers for contributing to an IRA, 401K or other qualified retirement plan.

The Tax Institute’s survey showed that a sure sign of the times is how taxpayers feel about losing their job. Fifty-six percent ranked it as having the most impact on taxes—even higher than having kids (22 percent), getting married (9 percent) or getting divorced (8 percent).

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Judging by my own e-mail, the frustration level is high among the 40-plus set. Employers typically praise the work ethic of this age group while simultaneously rejecting them due to perceptions about their reluctance to change or learn new technologies. It’s a unique conundrum, but there is some solid advice on the horizon. Best-selling author and career guru Robin Ryan has written a new book focused entirely on the 40-and-over job seeker. Titled Over 40 & You’re Hired! Secrets to Landing a Great Job, the book has just been published by Penguin. It’s an easy 234-page read chockfull of great tips and a bonus section referencing custom Web pages available only to book buyers. Readers can download exclusive tools, forms, templates, charts and more that will be useful in their quest for employment.

According to Ryan, “Hiring is different now—for everyone. Baby boomers can definitely land a great job, but they have to approach the entire job search process—resumes, cover letters, interviews, and how you look for openings—differently from how they have before.” Ryan goes on to name 12 possible hiring roadblocks that her research shows impacts the opportunity for a job offer for the mature worker, among them the possibility of a good culture fit, an old-fashioned management style and expectations for special considerations relating to compensation or time off. More importantly, the reader learns how to deal with these objections and how to ace the interview using what she terms as “the age advantage.”

I asked Ryan for her top three Do’s and Don’ts for the 40-plus job seeker and she responded with these tips:

Don’t…

• Look OLD! That means keep your resume focused on the last decade, update your skill set and know the challenges your industry faces, plus revamp your image to be contemporary, vivacious and energetic.

• Appear desperate, like any job will do. Prepare and be ready for tough interview questions, particularly if you might be overqualified for the job. Have a legitimate reason why you are a good fit and sell the skills you’d bring to the position, but don’t oversell yourself.

• Send a generic cover letter. Always take the time to write a customized cover letter, opening with a powerful first paragraph that sums up your experience, key strengths, and the accomplishments that you’d bring to performing the job.

Do…

• Sell your accomplishments and results. Resumes get glanced at and rejected in 15 seconds or less. Generic job descriptions, vague and unfocused resumes don’t work.

• Spend the majority of your time networking and working on the hidden job market. Around 80 percent of all jobs are unadvertised.

• Ask intelligent questions. Most employers listen intently to the questions you ask as a sign of how you’d think and act, on the job. Impress the employer with good probing questions about duties and management styles.

Use your life experiences to put you at the top of the resume pile. I remember reading something by “Dear Abby” columnist Abigail Van Buren before I was ever old enough and smart enough to appreciate it. She wrote this: “Maturity is the ability to stick with a job until it’s finished; the ability to do a job without being supervised; the ability to carry money without spending it; and the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

It noted that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the temporary help industry had added 284,000 jobs in the past five months. But I didn’t need a press release to know that local business activity had picked up. I could tell that just by the office buzz, the shuffling of resumes and the number of interviews taking place on a daily basis. It’s good to hear the rhythm of the workforce again.

Historically, the number of temporary workers typically peaks out at about 2 percent of the workforce, but this number is likely to grow as a number of factors come together to fuel the push. Temporary work has become increasingly attractive to both millennials and aging baby boomers. The flexibility and freedom of temping is part of a new mindset. And temping isn’t just the domain of office support workers anymore—almost any industry and job can be turned into an “on demand” role. Some people relish the chance to explore different company environments and to choose when and where they want to work. The biggest drawback of a “temporary” lifestyle is probably the lack of a benefits package with portability options—the chance to work for various staffing suppliers on different assignments without losing coverage between downtimes.

According to the American Staffing Association more than 2 million people are employed daily in a temporary capacity. Of those that choose it, 66 percent say that flexibility is key. Additional reasons include providing a bridge to permanent employment in a temp-to-hire position. Seventy-seven percent of temporary workers say it’s a good way to find a full time job. Others use temping to gain new skills or transition into an entirely new career. Eighty-eight percent say that temporary or contract work made them employable and 40 percent choose it for job training purposes (many staffing companies provide free training and/or tutorials to their workforce).

If you are ready to try temping, ask around to see if someone can recommend a staffing service. Next, get on the Internet and check out a firm’s Web page. Many will detail the benefits they make available. Where I work (at Lloyd), temporary associates can participate in health and dental plans, a 401K and paid time work. You can also save valuable time by completing online job applications or uploading your resume to a firm’s site for their review. Be ready for the pre-hiring assessment which includes documents (like I-9 compliance), skills testing for computer proficiencies and in some cases drug testing and background checks.

Those temporaries who show the greatest flexibility in scheduling and pay are the ones who usually maintain steady work. It’s also an industry that lives and breathes on last minute emergencies—For example, the recent snowstorm put a lot of temps into desk chairs. If you want to work, tell your staffing firm that you’ll take calls as late as 11 p.m. and as early as 6 a.m. and check your cell or e-mail for messages regularly. Work to develop a real relationship with two or three services that can keep you as busy as you want to be. Call and let them know of your availability without being a nuisance. Put in some face time at their office.

In some ways, this last recession has taught us that we’re all temps now—No job is permanent.

We might as well get used to it.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Columnist Joe Turner of MSN Careers, who writes the Internet’s Job Search Guy Blog, wrote about how important it is to differentiate yourself from the candidate pack in his own Idol analogy awhile back. Writes Joe, “As a job seeker, you must define your strengths and have a message (your unique selling proposition). This is called branding. Branding is a process that clearly defines who you are and what clear benefit you bring to an employer.”

This process starts the minute the contestant (candidate) walks into the room and meets the judges (the interviewers). Some hopefuls try extreme branding via outrageous clothing, a wacky persona or unique singing styles. True, they are memorable and they might make it on screen for a few minutes of glory, but they are not Idol material. As a viewing audience, we know what the judges are looking for and it’s really no different than what most employers want in their hiring process:

•  Skill Competency – The ability to do the job based on experience, qualifications, education and talent.

•  Personality – An understanding of who you are based on how you present your goals, values and personal behavior.

•  Communication – Verbal skills and body language that connect with others in a positive way.

•  Personal Appearance – A combination of wardrobe, hygiene and overall look that is attractively packaged so that the company feels comfortable having you represent their product or service.

If you want the “golden ticket to Hollywood” or to make the next move on the interview food chain, do your homework. Anticipate questions and be ready with great answers. Nervousness aside, how can a contestant or a candidate not have a response to questions such as:

•  Tell me about yourself.

•  Why are you here?

•  What makes you the right person for this opportunity?

Project likeability and make eye contact. The first impression an interviewer has of you is critical. It encompasses posture, handshake, grooming and voice quality, and I don’t mean singing—I refer to being monotone versus enthusiastic—and let’s not forget volume.

What’s your unique selling proposition? For example, there’s a difference between “I’m here to be your next Marketing Director” versus “I’m your next Marketing Director because my specialty is consumer products and I have the know-how to drive traffic to your website to increase online sales.” Get their attention upfront. Watch a few minutes of Idol and you’ll see who captures the judges’ eye.

Of course, don’t forget the bottom line is that even with great packaging you still need the talent and skills to back up your brand. For as Simon Cowell said to one hopeful, “If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning.”

This column originally ran in January 2008.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

In December 2009, “Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge” began by inviting entrepreneurs and business organizations to submit their tools so the DOL might identify the most compelling online tools for job seekers that also offered the shortest path to career success. Submissions came bounding in from technology vendors, platform providers, businesses, nonprofit groups, workforce agencies and others who wanted to showcase their offerings. In the next phase of the Challenge, workforce professionals and job seekers were asked to try out, explore, recommend and make comments about the sites. The result was that more than 16,000 job seekers did a kind of “test drive” of nearly 500 sites.

In a press release issued by the DOL, Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor said, “By leveraging the resources of hundreds of private and public sector career websites, we have created a major online asset for job seekers and an innovative way to gauge which tools appeal most to consumers.”

On Feb. 2, 2010, the DOL announced that the results had been tallied and the top-rated sites in each of six categories are now available. The categories are:

• General Job Boards
• Niche Tools
• Career Tools
• Career Exploration Tools
• Web 2.0
• “Other”

I checked out a few of the “winners” and found some hidden gems that you might not discover on your own without a visit to the list. These include:

www.Resify.com
This site offers excellent information on résumé writing. The brains behind the site call themselves “three nerds with a passion for résumés.” I don’t know if they’re nerds, but their advice is solid and up-to-date. Learn to build your personal brand by using smart buzz words and an attractive résumé layout that doesn’t look like you’re stuck in the 1980s. The best feature might be their free downloadable templates that will make résumé writing a breeze. Check them out!

www.experienceworks.org
Great resource for seniors facing barriers to employment. Their mission is to improve the lives of older people (age 55+) through training, community service, and employment. Lots of helpful information for those not sure how to navigate the current job market. Go to their site right now to nominate America’s Outstanding Older Worker—the deadline is March 15—but the catch is that the nominee must be at least 100 years old and work a minimum of 20 paid hours per week! Last year’s honoree was 101-year-old attorney Jack Borden from Weatherford, Texas. A former FBI agent, Borden is the oldest practicing member of the State Bar Association. He still works 40 hours per week, specializing in real estate and probate law.

www.tweetmyjobs.com
Here’s a way to easily incorporate Twitter into your job search plan. Register at this site and you will be instantly notified via a text message when a job is posted that meets your location, industry and/or other criteria. The company sends out more than 1 million tweets monthly. This is a good way to remove some of the Twitter burden from your shoulders by channeling the job tweets directly to you.

There’s lots more—the DOL website is definitely worth checking out if you are in the hunt.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

A recent story on NPR told of one company that requires all of its employees to telecommute. In fact, they don’t even have an office to go to if they wanted to—they are a virtual company. Telecommuting is no longer a novelty, it’s gone mainstream, but this difficult economy has made some people reluctant to work from home. They worry about visibility and maintaining a good rapport with their manager.

According to a 2009 survey by WorldatWork, a global human resources association that studies telework as a tool to attract, motivate and maintain employees, the number of employee telecommuters in the U.S. increased 39 percent between 2006 and 2008. While nearly 34 million workers engage in some telecommuting practices, the survey also showed that there is a shift away from full-time telework to occasional telework.

Still, for those of us who recently ended up working at home by accident rather than on purpose, workplace consultant Debra Dinnocenzo, president of VirtualWorks, offers these tips:

• Keep in frequent touch with team members, clients, partners and colleagues. This is especially true of work associates in areas not affected by current emergency situations such as weather conditions. For some people, where the roads are open or the sun is shining, it is just another normal work day. Being available and responsive is important to keep in mind.

• When working from home while family members are there, set ground rules about interruptions and distractions. This is a challenge with young children, but necessary when work must be done.

• Focus on the tasks that are most critical and can best be accomplished while telecommuting. Tackling writing projects, e-mail and phone calls are compatible with the circumstances most teleworkers face in working remotely.

Says Dinnocenzo, “During times of crisis, we realize that even though roads and offices are closed, work can still get done. Teleworking is a powerful tool for business continuity.” Dinnocenzo’s company VirtualWorks specializes in the virtual workplace, offering training and consulting on telecommuting, virtual teams and work-life balance for the digital age.

I think the best commentary I saw about snow days and telecommuting came from one of my favorite writers, Joan Indiana Rigdon, whose ForbesWoman column remains a regular read of mine. These following words of wisdom to employers come from her Feb. 11 column—writes Rigdon:

“Take inspiration from this blizzard. Let the moms, dads and child-free on your staff work from home when they can, even when driving to work won’t kill them. Pay them for actual projects, finished and delivered, no matter where they do the work. Let them figure how often they need to show their faces to get their jobs done and still be remembered at bonus time. Fire the ones who fail and hire more self-motivated ones to replace them. Eventually you’ll end up with a staff of grown-ups who don’t need your hovering, and who can keep your business running through any blizzard. As long as the electricity doesn’t go out.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to alter this unconscious prejudice. Dr. Gordon L. Patzer is a renowned researcher on the topic, director and founder of the Appearance Research Institute at Roosevelt University in Chicago and author of the best-seller Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined. In his 2008 book Dr. Patzer outlines how people blessed with good looks earn almost 10 percent more than their average looking colleagues and are more likely to get hired and promoted. He calls this the “Physical Attractiveness Phenomenon” in which appearance infers info that triggers assumptions, expectations, attitudes and behaviors—ultimately benefiting those who appearance is judged higher in physical attractiveness.

A 2007 survey conducted by Elle magazine and MSNBC.com polled more than 60,000 online respondents. It revealed that better looking bosses were rated more competent, collaborative and better at delegating. Interestingly, while the premium placed on good looks on the workplace appeared significant to men and women, one area where the respondents differed was on how individuals saw themselves judged on the job. Women (61 percent) said they thought men judged them on their looks, followed by work ethic (54 percent) and accomplishments (49 percent). Men believe female colleagues judge them on work ethic first (43 percent), accomplishments (40 percent) and looks (32 percent). So, are men delusional when it comes to the role looks play in the world of work? Do women have an advantage because they are more aware of the dynamics of personal impressions?

Beyond looks, it seems we also have to worry about the fat factor. According to the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, studies have shown that job applicants and workers who are larger than average face discrimination and prejudice in every aspect of employment. This discrimination is worse for women, who experience discrimination even if they are just slightly larger than average. For example, workers who are heavier than average are paid $1.25 less an hour. Over a 40-year career, they will earn up to $100,000 less before taxes than their thinner counterparts. Slightly heavy women make about 6 percent less in wages than standard weight women. Very heavy women make 24 percent less. Men experience significant wage penalties only at the highest weight levels.

What about height? Yup, that plays a role, too. A 2003 study by the University of Florida revealed that short people may be short-changed when it comes to their careers and just a few inches can cost thousands of dollars. The study showed that each inch in height amounted to about $789 more per year in pay. This means that someone who is 6 feet tall can expect to earn $5,525 more per year than a 5-foot-5-inch associate!

The truth is we live in a culture that sometimes—maybe more often than we like—rewards beauty and other attributes unfairly, especially when not accompanied by on-the-job competence. There’s little we can do (not counting cosmetic surgery) to change our looks, but we can pay attention to grooming, wardrobe, body language, speech and the confidence we exude as we interact with others at work. Employers who participated in a 2006 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) ranked certain attributes in conjunction with job candidate consideration. Here are some results showing “strong influence”:

• Grooming: 73 percent
• Non-traditional Interview Attire: 49 percent
• Handshake: 33 percent
• Body piercing: 31 percent

All of this reminds me of the 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, who writes of a society that prizes beauty above all else. Writes Wilde more than 100 years ago, “To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

Some of the common turn-offs cited by job candidates include:

• The interviewer didn’t read the resume prior to the meeting.

• Distractions by phone calls, staff interruptions or BlackBerry messaging.

• Inappropriate comments or inappropriate questions.

Simply because someone is in the role of interviewer doesn’t mean they are capable of doing it well. Even worse, if the interview is for a job or company you really want, it is up to you to salvage the interview and make it work in your favor. Bad interviewers are typically unfocused and unprepared. Sometimes they talk too much, other times the air hangs heavy with awkward pauses. If you are still determined to get the offer despite the interviewer’s obvious dysfunctions, here are some suggestions for damage control.

1. Have additional copies of your resume for the interviewer who has misplaced this important document.

2. Make eye contact and smile in a friendly way. Keep a poker face during awkward moments—no eyebrow raising, frowns or chilling stares.

3. Don’t let uncomfortable silences go on too long. Have some questions ready and ask them in a relaxed manner. For example: “What is a typical day like?” Try to ask questions that are not yes or no oriented.

4. If you think the interviewer hasn’t uncovered your strengths or why you are a good candidate, steer him or her in the right direction: “Well, it certainly sounds like my background is a good fit, I wanted to mention that I…” and then go into further detail.

5. Coax the interviewer to open up. Ask about his or her tenure at the company. If the response is boring, you should still appear interested; nod at appropriate intervals.

6. Ask if there are other people who are involved in the hiring decision. By meeting others you may be able to gauge if the interviewer is an oddball and everyone else seems great, or you might learn that their overall company culture isn’t for you.

7. Don’t let “wild card” questions rattle you. These are questions like, “What flavor ice cream cone are you?” Questions like this are asked to see if you can think on your feet, or just because the interviewer is quirky. There is no right or wrong answer, so just gather your thoughts and do the best you can.

8. Inquire about the next step. The bad interviewer may not tell you what will happen next. If you want the job, show interest and enthusiasm and say you are available for further interviews.

9. Flattery helps. Bad interviewers don’t usually know they are bad interviewers. As you depart, tell him or her, “It was a pleasure meeting you. I really enjoyed hearing about this opportunity, it seems ideal. You offered some good insight about this organization.” People like hearing nice things about themselves and your goal is to get beyond this horrible interview.

10. Finally, think long and hard about working at this company. Smart organizations usually have qualified people in hiring roles. If you interviewed with an HR manager with poor people skills, that’s not a good sign. If the interview was a line manager or someone directly involved in the position, be sure you think you will be able to get along with this individual on a daily basis. Don’t talk yourself into a bad opportunity. Remember, you still have to go to work there everyday and, in any economy, people are an employer’s most valuable asset.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

That’s not to say that I hang out with a bunch of alpha-earner females. In fact, I don’t really know salary specifics within my circle of friends—most are just happy to be employed, especially in these challenging times. The point is, as women, we were glad to see that our portion of the pie had grown considerably, even though we still only earn about 78 cents on the dollar compared to our male counterparts, according to the National Organization for Women.

I remember hearing the old, “Oh, she’s just here to get her MRS degree” about some of the women I knew back in school, implying that the goal of their education was to snag a husband who could be relied on to provide for them financially. After all, the role models we had as girls (especially on TV) were typically happy homemakers more likely to be cooking the bacon, rather than bringing it home. But, the Pew Report revealed a reversal in patterns of education—a majority of the wives today are as well, or better educated than their husbands. My mother’s generation worked largely inside the home and relied on their spouses to enhance their income status. Today, most of the people I know are two-income couples whose paychecks benefit each other.

The Pew Report made a point to note that men now get an economic boost by tying the knot. A co-author of the study, Richard Fry, said, “Marriage is a different deal than it was 40 years ago.” The out-learning and out-earning factor has led to gender role reversals in both the home and workplace. For many households, the wife’s earning capacity has pulled them through our current “mancession”—more men than women are unemployed in this marketplace. The study targeted spouses 30 to 44 years of age over four decades. Today’s Americans in this age group are the first in U.S. history to include more women than men holding college degrees.

Still, I wonder how far we’ve come, especially with dialogue like the line uttered in the movie, Up In The Air, now playing in theaters. When describing the attributes of the ideal mate, one female character tells another that she wants one that “earns more money than I do.” That concept just seems so 1970s to me, because equal pay and equal education between men and women were always the goals for my generation and I hate to think that we’ve already begun to take them for granted, or—go backwards.

But back to my gal pals. As we sat around discussing the wife as the breadwinner, one friend confessed, “My husband and I have equal paychecks. I just want a spouse that can outpace me in doing loads of laundry.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

A friend tweeted me the recent story of an unidentified teacher’s aide in the Slate Belt area of Pennsylvania who left her personal cell phone unattended at a social event which was not held on school property. Leaving her phone out-of-sight and unguarded was her second mistake. The first was saving a nude self-portrait in the photo album housed in memory on the phone. You can guess what happened, right? Someone scrolled through her photographs, found the compromising image and forwarded it to everyone on the aide’s contact list, including a school board member. Eventually, the photo made its way onto the phones of members of the student body (grades 7 and up).

In a statement to the Express Times, School District Superintendent John Reinhart said the aide had been a district employee for six years. Said Reinhart, “Her work here with our students has been satisfactory. She’s shown dedication to her job and the students she works with. But this lapse in judgment requires her to resign.”

But does it? The big question is whether bad judgment (or naiveté) takes precedence over the violation of her privacy. I spoke with the newsroom at LehighValleyLive.com, who say there is a meeting of the school board scheduled for Jan. 18, at which they hope to resolve the situation. The aide has not been reachable by the Bangor Area school administration. They last spoke with her on Jan. 5, when she was asked to stay home until an investigation had been completed. According to the folks at LehighValleyLive.com, we’ll know the outcome after the meeting, but in an informal poll conducted on the site, visitors had the opportunity to weigh in on the local controversy. According to the site, 83 percent believe it to be unfair that she be asked to resign.

The lesson here is pretty clear: Don’t put yourself in this kind of workplace conundrum by having private photographs or other communication on your cell phone, or at least make sure your phone is password protected. Our lives are digital open books and the line between personal and private gets blurred by everyday technology.

Even the Supreme Court is about to weigh in on the issue of electronic devices and workplace privacy. There is a case under consideration in which a California Police officer was found to have “sexted” more than 400 personal text messages (an average of 28 per shift) over his department-issued cell phone. Apparently, he exceeded the limit on messaging so his employer checked them out. The officer then sued the Department and the wireless company for invasion of privacy, and won. There were many appeals, and now the highest court in the land will have to decide on whether or not there is an expectation of privacy in a workplace environment. It’s another one of those wait-and-see situations.

But, as we let all forms of technology come into our private and professional lives, it might be best to remember what American biologist and educator Paul Ehrlich said, “To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.”

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.

In the last quarter of 2009, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) reported that four employees of Fidelity Investments had been fired for their involvement in a fantasy football league. The company said that they had intercepted workplace instant messaging involving football conversations. Fidelity’s position was that they had made their policy about “no gambling on the job” clear to their workforce, and that fantasy sports activities were not permitted on company time.

The league members defended their participation by responding that Fidelity employees did not take this policy seriously and that their $20 personal investments in their indulgence hardly constituted hardcore betting. In fact, Fidelity’s reference to fantasy sports as “gambling” caught the attention of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which issued its own press release as a result of the firing, noting that it was disappointed by Fidelity’s actions and their promotion of the perception that fantasy sports are linked to gambling. The Association also said in their release that Congress recognizes the distinction between fantasy sports and criminal sports gambling, and has written exclusionary language around fantasy sports play.

Still, for the four terminated Fidelity players, their employer’s playbook held firm. A spokesperson for Fidelity, Vin Loporchio, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients.”

In a 2008 report, the global outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. estimated that employers typically lose $615 million per week in lost productivity (more than $10 billion total by season end) due to fantasy football, despite excellent gains made in workplace morale and camaraderie. Challenger’s estimate was based on the average annual earnings of fantasy football participants and the amount of time they spent online, managing their teams during the workday.

In a release accompanying the 2008 study, CEO John Challenger said, “Obviously, there are daily distractions in the workplace that are universal, whether it’s a trip to the washroom or sharing celebrity gossip around the water cooler. Fantasy football is just one more of these distractions. Most employers understand that not every minute of the day is dedicated to work.” He added, “Managers should only crack down on those whose work is clearly suffering from the added distraction. An across-the-board ban on all fantasy football or sports websites could backfire in the form of reduced morale and loyalty. The result could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 to 20 minutes of team management each day.”

I’m no football fanatic, but I have to agree with Mr. Challenger. According to news reports, the fired Fidelity employees had good work records prior to their firing. It seems to me that real life football players commit much greater transgressions both on and off the field with far less penalty. In an economy where workplace morale is eroding daily, employers might do better to call a time-out, rather than throw the yellow flag.

Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to nschuman@longislandpress.com.