Want to keep your job & help save your state government money?
Well a program with these benefits is the Employee Sharing Program in New York.
Currently saving 11,000 jobs in 2,300 businesses – The Employee Sharing Program is a major accomplishment from the recovery act. It’s a method which allows businesses to cut working hours but providing employees with full wages.
Instead of someone collecting full unemployment; a company retains employees, cuts shifts & allows the government to pay the difference in the regular salary.
Instead of simply laying off workers, now the businesses work hand-in-hand with the government to provide an opportunity to save jobs & avoid more individual financial issues. The collaboration between businesses & government is great to see.
The only unfortunate piece of the equation is that the program isn’t nation wide as of now. In many states workers have been laid off for years and the rate of bankruptcy still remains high.
At iLostMyJob.com we’ve established relationships on behalf of involuntarily unemployed individuals. Instead of leaving workers out to dry, we’ve created a way for job seekers to find help if their worried about a bankrucy.
But first we have to help people understand what it means, so…
What is Bankruptcy?
There are two types of consumer bankruptcy. Each is intended to help consumers in financial crisis, but the solutions offered are very different.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or liquidation, is more common. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate a lot of unsecured debt (credit cards, medical bills, old utility bills, unsecured personal loans, etc.), and can generally be completed within just a few months. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the trustee can liquidate (sell) non-exempt assets to pay creditors, but most people who file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy don’t have any non-exempt assets, and so are able to keep their property while eliminating unsecured debts.
Interested in reading more & being connected with help resources for this tough time? CLICK TO READ BELOW:
Interviews are never easy. The uncomfortable feeling, the nerves & feeling like it’s all about “not” selecting you is all part of the game. The interview process is leaving a trail of very unhappy job seekers unfortunately for companies.
I’ve actually heard about job seekers forming blogs, groups & linkedin discussions around companies and their negative qualities and why no one should apply or work there. It’s not amazing when you think about it, these companies need potential employees to still like them enough to not work for a competitor and not bad mouth their brand.
This makes it even more uncomfortable for someone when they’re interested in talking about salary or benefits in the interview. We have some responses from people who want what they want and refuse to take less…
…Also as far as the compensation question goes I usually try to say that I am quite flexible and that I’m sure if the fit is right between my skills and the needs of the employer then we should be able to agree on a suitable number.
I mention that the whole package, health care benefits, 401K, etc is a part of the discussion, not just a single salary number. If none of that works, then I push back and give a wide range (the lowest I would consider) to a fairly high number and say that their location may also affect the range (if you’re willing to move to a higher cost of living area, etc). Hope that helps! – Marcia J.
This is an example of a job applicant taking the power into their own hands and refusing to be pushed around by a company that believes they can get cheap workers because of the recession. Another strategy is to back load your contract…Read to learn how to bring it up….
A group that I attend had this discussion the other day and someone came up with one suggestion that was pretty good. “Over the last “X” years my salary has consisted of a base and incentive that allowed me to make “$XK”. I want to find a position that will enable me to make that same amount in some sort of mix of those components.
In that way you allow them to back load with a bonus that is set up to let you earn more money. You do have to make sure that you have the bonus clearly spelled out and that it is not capped etc. Just one suggestion. - Pam N.
These are both good options for talking salary. Many people know how to talk salary but don’t know what they should be paid for their service. If you want to check out what you should be paid, read our article:
Wells Fargo is anticipating $3 Billion profit for the most recent quarter. Not only is this a huge profit (Wells Fargo credits their traditional banking sector), but it beat the forecast for the quarter. Hm. I wonder if Wells Fargo is one of those companies that put a freeze on pay raises. Either way, it’s probably not a bad time to work at Wells Fargo.
In other news, jobless claims have dipped ever so slightly. Which is good news. There are a lot of people hoping that maybe we’re finally starting to see the turn around. Fingers crossed.
According to an article posted on Fox News, about a quarter of all companies in the world are planning a pay freeze for the next year, in order to cope with the financial crisis. So, roughly a quarter of workers globally will see no raises this year. However, on the plus side, that means 75% of companies WILL be giving out raises (trying to find the silver lining here). Granted, those raises will average out to roughly 4.7%, which is down from 6.2% in 2008.
Hopefully what the pay freezes will do, however, is keep more people overall employed. And the more people that are employed, the shorter the recession will be (hopefully?).
CNN/Time reports that 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008. When the unemployment rate also goes up (it’s over 7% now), that means jobs are totally eliminated and not replaced by new ones.
Does more people competing for fewer jobs really drive down salaries (like it’s a “buyers market”)?
Do employers often use this argument to pressure people who are interviewing into accepting lower paying positions?
It would seem like a vicious cycle and a recipe for disaster if employers eliminate jobs and then drive down the salaries (and quality? morale?) of employees by saying that it’s a “buyers market”, knowing that people could probably be easily replaced due to the tough job market.
Employers must be mindful of the benefit of keeping good employees and the costs of training and bringing new hires up to speed after letting people go. But are they?
We are interested in hearing from our visitors about how their severance pay, if any, has helped during their transition period between jobs.
We don’t need to know exactly how much severance pay people are getting. Instead, we would like to know how the severance pay has helped people to plan for a period of unemployment while they look for new jobs.
Has the pay generally been enough?
Have you found the need to take temporary work?
Have you taken advantage of unemployment insurance benefits?
We would be grateful for insights and experiences that can benefit people who have lost their jobs, are involuntarily unemployed, and/or are taking steps toward getting back into productive employment.
Posted by ilostmyjob 
