Merry Christmas

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.  May your holiday be filled with goodness and your New Year prosperous with good health.  During this holiday season it is difficult for some to face the reality of our economic situation.  The Rock River Valley is seeing unemployment like it has never seen before.  For some, participating in a federally funded job training program is the best solution.  The Dislocated Worker Program has submitted statistics and we thought it might make for an interesting post.

Since 2008, 66% of enrollees in the program found jobs with the average salary earned at $12.70 per hour ($26,416 per year).  Rock Valley College has seen 68% of the enrollees become employed.  The college is the largest of the 29 training providers.  Another popular provider is Eagle Training Services, a truck driving school, which has had 80% of its 45 trainees find jobs.  Participants in this program are required to fill out applications in class, which are then faxed right to the companies.  This gets the process started, and the participant is responsible for following up.

There are people of all trades and professions.  They have seen pilots, factory workers, construction workers, and tradesman enrolled.  Some are on their second careers and trying something totally new.  If you have found yourself unemployed, training assistance might be a solution.

We can only hope 2011 brings employment opportunities, wage increases, tax decreases, and a solution to healthcare for all…. And to all a good night.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Tips for the Female Professional in a Male Dominated Career

There are increasing numbers of female professionals in male dominated careers nowadays more than ever.  With this occurring, we thought there might be a few tips helpful to women entering these careers, or maybe to help some who are having difficulties in this situation.

• Be Professional

This is especially to be noted if you are a new grad.  Leave your sorority days behind you and keep your college experiences to a minimum, specifically important if they do not involve your education or profession, if you get the drift.  As for the seasoned professionals, keep your weekend activities private and your work activities off your social networking sites.

Also included under this tip is your attire.  Dress the part.  This doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit and tie, or dress manly, but understand companies have dress codes for a reason.  Good “rule of thumb”:  just don’t show too much skin.  Dresses and skirts are fine, but you don’t want to stand out by dressing inappropriately; you already stand out being a woman.  Now, a subject many dare to mention but should be addressed…. the thongs you might wear?  Men CAN tell you have them on and they are best left for the weekends.  Pearls are considered a classy accessory you cannot go wrong with investing in a strand.

• Always Do Your Best

Typically, in male dominated careers, women have to work harder to prove themselves.  There are companies required to make their offices diverse, so women are hired.  This may negatively affect the male perception of a woman’s qualifications and performance.  Sexist… yes, but it is reality at times.

• Don’t Gossip

Steer clear of the office rumors and understand that when men do it they are just “B.S. ing” but when women repeat or start these rumors it is “gossip” and it’s not good.  Nobody has respect for an office blabbermouth.

• Hold Your Own

Gender discrimination does not occur everywhere and all the time, however, if it affects you, how you deal with it will determine your future success.  Be strong and confident.  Stick to your guns.  If it is not in your personality to boost your own ego, this is the time to at least pretend you have one.

• Watch The Attitude

Sometimes “overly aggressiveness” takes over as if to prove yourself.  You are just as worthy as a male (or any other) co-worker, but having a bad attitude can appear abrasive and fake.  If you are a smart and confident woman, your intelligence and work product should speak for themselves.

• Don’t Give Up

Do not doubt your ability, performance and potential because of harsh conversations or feeling like you are being discriminated against.  Keep things in perspective and remind yourself of the positive projects you have been involved in.

• Don’t Allow Yourself To Be The Secretary

If you are the one to always set up the meetings, take notes, or book the conferences, you will be stuck playing secretary for the rest of your career.  If you don’t mind this, ignore this tip.  If you do, just keep it in mind.

Let this make us all feel a little more human.

Yes, everyone makes mistakes.  Even The Oxford English Dictionary makes mistakes, and someone finally noticed…. 99 years later.  We should all be so lucky to have our mistakes go unnoticed for that long.

The mistake is in the definition of “siphon”.  Since 1911, OED has been defining a siphon as working because of atmospheric pressure.  Mr. Stephen Hughes, a physics lecturer at the University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, announced, “It is gravity that moves the fluid in a siphon.”  G-r-a-v-i-t-y…. the law that Isaac Newton discovered when an apple fell on his head.  As anyone would know who has tried to get gasoline from a car (ahem), siphons work by drawing fluids from a higher location to a lower one.  Not an easy task.

Mr. Hughes was stunned when he noticed the OED had made a mistake, telling The Daily Telegraph of London, “We would all have an issue if the dictionary defined a koala as a species of bear, or a rose as a tulip.”  Hughes said he discovered the error when he visited a huge siphon that transfers enormous amounts of water from a river system to a depleted lake in South Australia.  Hoping to use the project as part of an education paper, he researched the word and found the OED was not the only dictionary containing this misconception.  Not to worry, after writing to the OED their research team indicated they would correct the mistake in the next edition.

And when is a koala bear not a bear? When it’s a marsupial.