This is going to be the final blog entry before the assignment is to be passed in.  I want to take this time to reiterate how far my job search and readiness for the “real world” has improved because of BN 301 and writing this blog.  The blog allowed for me to put my thoughts into words and sincerely take an action and think about my future.  I looked at jobs in the insurance field and through this I realized that there are many more jobs in this industry than just sales.  I also took a tax class at Jackson Hewitt.  It may have been the worst 4 weeks of my life and I nearly died of boredom, I learned a lot about a subject I will need to learn about later in life when I start to pay taxes, and I realized that I life in as an accountant will never be for me.  The most important thing that I got out of the blog was that I realized that I really do like the insurance and finance fields.  Crunching numbers is not the thing for me, but looking at them and analyzing is what I enjoy doing.   The blog also gave me a reason to look at businesses and take into consideration what is happening with them and how it may affect my job search in the future. I looked at General Motors and how their pension problems might affect how my retirement and pension plans will go and it is something that I must consider when I apply for the job and am discussing salary.  I have even been able to use what I have gained with BN 301 to help a family member who has not had college training and résumé experience to take the time to prepare a resume and quintcareers as a guide to taking the steps needed to get a better job.

The November statitstics are in and the growth in the service sector of the economy slowed for the month of November.  This can have a big impact on my future job search because I will most likely be looking for a job in the service industry.  The industry is still growing, but at slower rates than it has in the previous months.  The economy created about 215000 new jobs during the last month but many of these are jobs created from the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and  the steep decline in the price of oil.  The oil prices are on the rise again with the colder temperatures in the northeast and the lower than expected amount of surplus for the month.  If the economy can keep creating jobs, the market for jobs when I graduate next year may be better than it is now. But I must watch to see how the service sector of the economy is going.  Right now it is still growing because many companies are looking with optimism towards the future.  If for some reason the economy slumps, the increase in jobs may still be there, but not in the sector of the economy I will be looking at.  Also many companies that I may be interested in working for are in bankruptcy or on verge.  GM is having financial problems which can shake up the entire economy.  Delta and many of the other airlines are in bankruptcy and there future is yet to scene.  One industry I can look it is the insurance industry.  They have an abundance of claims from the hurricanes and they are looking for new employees to help handle these claims.  The corporate structure within the United States is changing and many companies cannot keep up with the times, but the insurance companies will continue to flourish and offer jobs even though the service sector of the economy may have reached their peak.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been attending tax school with Jackson Hewitt.  This course has been really beneficial for me in a couple of different ways.  I have learned more about the tax systems of the United States and will understand better when I need to pay taxes why and how much I am actually paying.  I realized that though that I will probably never work for Jackson Hewitt and prepare taxes for clients.  I don’t see myself sitting behind a desk all day and punching numbers into the computer.  I find the tax system tedious and boring and would not be happy doing it for any longer that the class takes. 

     In the business world General Motors has run into some financial difficulties.  This can be attributed to a couple things, but mostly because of the high costs of covering the pensions of former employees.  This is an important thing to watch and consider when I go and find a job.  The company can promise all of these benefits after I retire, but whether or not they come through and pay them can be a totally different thing.  It would be best for the company to simply match a percentage of my pay and put it into a 401(k) account rather than promise me money later for a company that may not be there.  The collapse of Enron also gives insight into things to look into when given benefits after finding a job.  The company may offer retirement and bonuses in the form of company stock.  If I do not diversify and add other aspects to my portfolio, I could lose everything like many did when Enron collapsed.  All of these things are important to consider and things to remember during the interview process so that when salary discussion comes up I will be ready.

All of my previous blog entries have been on outside about obtaining a job and becoming informed about business.  Today I want to discuss some advice that I read in an article on CNN-Money.  Management Consultant Jim Collins writes:

“If you want to have an interesting dinner conversation, be interested. If you want to have interesting things to write, be interested. If you want to meet interesting people, be interested in the people you meet -- their lives, their history, their story. Where are they from? How did they get here? What have they learned? By practicing the art of being interested, the majority of people can become fascinating teachers; nearly everyone has an interesting story to tell.”

I feel this advice is a great way to open up during networking opportunities.  To tell interesting stories and to get employers interested in you, you must show sincere attention and become truly excited about what they have to say. When pitching a story, it becomes a much more interesting story when you truly know about who you telling the story to.  Being interested spawns conversation and before you know it a dialogue has started and a relationship is formed.  By asking questions and showing that you are paying attention, you get information that the person may not have told without being asked and you may be taught something that no book could ever teach you.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to put my knowledge gained from BN301 to good use to help a member of my family. My cousin Andrew has not been as privileged as I have been.  He did not have the possibility to go to college and learn all the necessary skills needed to obtain a high paying job.  He currently works as a truck driver for a commercial laundry business.  He was complaining about how he has to find a better job and needs to find somewhere where he has more potential for advancement.  I brought up the topic of résumés and asked if he had a résumé he uses when he goes for job interviews.  He said no and said he never had a job that didn’t involve a preformed job application and required no real educational skills.  Andrew is not an unintelligent person and with the right tools he would be able to get a better job even though he does not have a college education.  To get him off on the right track I brought him to the quintessential careers website and showed him the résumé tutorial.  I discussed with him about how the resume is important to demonstrate transferable skills that can compensate for his lack of higher education.  Andrew seemed excited about the new little bit of knowledge about résumés and looked forward to learning about the new ways he can learn to help him get a better job and leave his dead-end job as a truck driver.  It made the materials I learned in BN301 feel most important when I was able to use them and help someone who has not had the same opportunities that I have had and hopefully allow them to improve the situation that they are in.