Featured Podcast : Half of US Jobs Now Held by Women (VOA News)

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. (19 Nov 2009) - http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-11-19-voa3.cfm

To download the MP3 audio file to the report, right click with your mouse HERE

 

Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of nonfarm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September. Not only have more and more women entered the labor market over the years, but the recession has been harder on men. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost eleven percent, compared to eight percent for women.

Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.

Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And women hold fifty-one percent of good-paying management and professional jobs.

Yet a study released Thursday said men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at the four hundred largest companies in California. The results have remained largely unchanged in five years of studies from the University of California, Davis.

Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their family. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found they all valued their independence and many enjoyed having the power of control, though not all wanted it.

But they also felt pressure, worry and guilt. Partly that was because of cultural expectations that working women will still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.

The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year's financial crash. Now, a judgment has been reached in the first case involving charges of criminal wrongdoing on Wall Street.

Last week, the government lost its case against two managers at Bear Stearns, the first investment bank to fail last year. A jury found Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of lying to investors.

The hedge funds they supervised lost their value in two thousand seven. But jurors said there was no clear evidence that they meant to mislead investors.

The Justice Department continues to investigate other companies.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Vocabulary In the News: Half of US employers scan candidates' online profiles, shows survey

http://www.france24.com/en/20090821-half-us-employers-scan-candidates-facebook-linkedin--myspace-profiles-internet

Friday 21 August 2009

Employees in the US should watch out for what pictures and information appear in their public Facebook, Linkedin and Myspace profiles after a survey revealed almost half of employers research social networking sites before taking on staff.

AFP - Nearly half of US employers research the online profiles of job candidates on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn, according to a new survey.

Forty-five percent of the employers surveyed for CareerBuilder.com, the largest US online job site, said they use social networking sites to check on job candidates, up from just 22 percent in a survey conducted last year.

Another 11 percent said they plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

"As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential employees," CareerBuilder said in a statement.

It said job seekers should "be mindful of the information they post online."

CareerBuilder said that of those who conduct online searches as background checks on job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace.

Eleven percent search blogs while seven percent follow candidates on micro-blogging service Twitter.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they have found content on a social network that caused them not to hire a candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Examples included "provocative or inappropriate photographs or information" or content about drinking or using drugs.

Other reasons cited were badmouthing a previous employer, co-workers or clients, poor communication skills, making discriminatory comments, lying about qualifications or sharing confidential information from a previous employer.

Information found on social networking profiles was not always a negative factor in finding a job.
Eighteen percent of employers said they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Some profiles "provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality" or supported their professional qualifications while others demonstrated creativity or solid communication skills.

Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, recommended that candidates "clean up digital dirt" before beginning a job search by removing photos, content and links which could hurt their chances.

The survey of 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals was conducted by Harris Interactive between May 22 and June 10. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

The Job Interview – 2 Podcasts from BusinessEnglishPod.com

This post is for the students in the Action Régionale in Haguenau. Here are the two podcast links I promised you.

BEP 40 ADV - Job Interviews: First Round Interview (Part 1)

Today’s Business English Podcast ESL lesson is the first in a two-part series that follows job applicant William Chow through his first interview at an international bank.

In this podcast you’ll learn how to deal with some typical first round job interview questions. Along the way you’ll also practice some great new vocabulary and useful phrases for job interviews.

In the dialogue we’ll listen as William gets interviewed for a position in the business development department of the main Hong Kong branch of Mercantile International. Mike Warner, a HR manager at Mercantile International Hong Kong, is conducting the interview.

BEP 40 ADV - Job Interviews: First Interview (Part 1) [20:40m]:  Download (to download, right click with your mouse)

BEP 41 ADV - Job Interviews: First Round (Part 2)

BEP 41 ADV - This is the second in a two-part Business English Pod lesson on first round job interviews. You’ll practice responding to common interview questions and learn some useful phrases and vocabulary.

As you’ll remember from the first episode, Mike Barnes is interviewing William Chow for a job at the Hong Kong head office of First Mercantile International, a global bank. William had just finished telling Mike about his work history, management style and personal characteristics. Our HR manager, Mike, continues the interview with another very common first round question. Lets see what it is and think about how you would answer the question?

You can download a PDF list of useful phrases to describe your personal characteristics by ‘right-clicking’ on this link and selecting the ‘save’ option.

BEP 41 ADV – Job Interviews – First Round (Part 2) [20:01m]: Download (to download, right click with your mouse)

BusinessEnglishPod.com is an excellent site for professional English. Downloading and listening to podcasts are free. However, if you want a study guide, you must subscribe to the service for which you’ll have to pay.

http://www.businessenglishpod.com/

Idioms & Slang 08: Finding a New Job

For years I'd been slaving away at a nickel and dime job. In order to keep my head above water, I worked overtime quite a lot. Normally I am a workaholic but I was working my fingers to the bone just to make ends meet. Unfortunately after working years for peanuts, I was given the ax because the company I worked for went belly up. Now, I'm out pounding the pavement looking for work hoping to land a job. I do have a few connections and I'm hoping that they can pull a few strings for me. So far, nothing has panned out, but hopefully soon I'll be able to get my foot in the door of a new company and show my stuff.

VOCABULARY

to slave away - to work very hard

nickel and dime - not worth very much

to keep one's head above water - just barely able to survive financially

to work overtime - to do extra hours at work for extra pay

a workaholic - someone who loves working

to work one's fingers to the bone - to work very, very hard

to make ends meet - to make just enough money to pay all the bills and expenses

for peanuts - very little money

to be given the ax - to be fired or layed off

to go belly up - to go out of business, to go bankrupt, to fail

to pound the pavement - to be looking for a job, to be job hunting

to land a job - to get hired, to find a job

to have connections - to know important people in a company or organization

to pull a few strings - to have influence or control over someone

to pan out - to succeed

to get one's foot in the door - to get the opportunity to start working in a company

to show one's stuff - to show what you are able to do