How Ecodev Persuades Companies To Bring Manufacturing Back To The U.S. (Hint: It's Cheaper)

All around the country, Americans are dreaming big. Their boldest ideas are changing their communities--and having a ripple effect throughout the world.

CLICK HERE to read about pockets of innovation in other U.S. cities.

In the last decade, Americans' perception of domestic manufacturing has done a 180. "10 years ago, customers were demanding that their companies operate overseas because they thought they'd get a cheaper rate," manufacturing consultant Dana Olson says. But a swell of national pride and increasing sensitivity to the health of the environment have conspired against foreign manufacturing. "Now companies would much rather manufacture in the U.S. for loyalty as well as cost savings."

A new factory opening in Devils Lake, North Dakota, will bring 500 jobs to the city over the next five years.

As president, CEO, and founder of Ecodev, Olson assists companies that want to expand, relocate, and consolidate their manufacturing within the United States. Lately, Ecodov has also helped American companies bring their manufacturing home. Last month, Olson's company announced that one of its clients, Minnesota-based Ultra Green, was moving production of its biodegradable paper products (including plates and serving utensils) from China to the United States. A new factory opening in Devils Lake, North Dakota, will bring 500 jobs to the city over the next five years.

The 10 Most Expensive U.S. Cities for Workers

Sometimes it’s necessary to move for that perfect job, but at what price?

There's nothing quite like finding that perfect job, especially after weeks (and sometimes months) of exhaustive searching and interviewing.

But sometimes, a golden work opportunity can move you from everything you know and love to a much pricier location. Aside from housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare, relocation expenses can cost you thousands, depending on where you move and how many people come with you.


Ask Miriam: Your 'Date of Birth' and 'Birth Order' Play Major Roles in Your Life.

Indian company bringing up to 750 Columbia jobs

WNS Global Services to locate its firstU.S. facility at State Media Co. building

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

An Indian company plans to invest $4.25 million in Columbia to open its first U.S. facility, initially bringing 300 jobs to the Midlands.

WNS Global Services today announced it will open the facility — which could be used as a call center, and for tasks such as insurance-claims processing and accounting services — at 1401 Shop Road, also home of The State Media Co., including The State newspaper.

WNS, with more than 23,000 employees at 25 centers worldwide, and more than 200 global clients, will open the new center in July, said Ron Strout, head of the Americas for the company.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

“The plan over time is to bring up to 750 people,” he said. “It could be doing health care, finance and accounting, call center for travel and leisure. We’ve had interest from all of those perspectives.”

Jon Hurley, a WNS senior vice president, estimated the center could be operating at full employment as soon as two years.

“I’m pitching it to one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S.,” Hurley said. “We’ve got a lot of clients that are interested.”

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

Google Makes Space for City Tech School

CornellNYC Tech to Occupy Portion of Firm's N.Y. Building

Google Inc. GOOG +2.23% will provide 22,000 square feet of its New York City headquarters—in the heart of Manhattan's high-tech zone—to a new applied-sciences school while the institution's new campus is built on Roosevelt Island in the East River.

Officials at Google estimated the market value of the space— which will be provided free to CornellNYC Tech, a joint venture between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology—at between $10 million and $12 million. That estimate includes the value of an option the school has to expand to 58,000 square feet during the next 5½ years while work on its permanent campus is completed.

"We need to create a new academic model for this time and this place and this industry—and that's exactly what we are going to do," Mr. Skorton said. "The key, we believe, is engagement between world-class academics and companies and early-stage investors. Co-location is critical, connecting academic research and industry in sort of a mixing bowl and seeing what happens."

U.S. Department of Labor: Summer Jobs 2012

A new call-to-action for businesses, non-profits, and government to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.

Happy Graduation! Now, About Those Loans …

Here’s what you need to know about the state of student debt.

Successful baby-boomer entreprenuers

See how 10 baby-boomer entrepreneurs reignited their careers by going into business for themselves.

Pool Your Resources of Family, Friends, Etc., and Franchise Yourselves!

Top 20 Franchises For The Buck

Intro

Don’t have the patience, capital or guts to generate sales from scratch? Try franchising. With the help of Robert Bond, chief executive of the World Franchising Network (a franchise database) and publisher of Bond’s Franchise Guide, we waded through data on 110 of the most established names to find 20 that deliver the biggest bang for a competent operator’s investment buck. The methodology is based on five variables: average initial investment (franchise fees plus equipment costs); total locations (the more the better); closure rate (the number of closings in the last three reported fiscal years divided by the total number of existing locations); growth in the number of U.S. outlets in the last three years; and the number of training hours as a percentage of startup cost (the more support from the home office, the better). Overall footprint and survival rates carried the most weight. We did not include royalties paid to franchisors because they ranged in a tight band and thus barely affected the overall rankings.

Age Discrimination at Its Best in the 21st Century

Exclusive: Over 55 and jobless, Americans face tough hunt

The number of long-term unemployed workers aged 55 and older has more than doubled since the recession began in late 2007, and getting back to work is increasingly difficult, according to a government report being released on Tuesday.

For unemployed seniors, the chances of reentering the workforce are grim.

Experts worry that unemployed seniors face a long-term threat as the impact of lost wages compounds.

New York Voters Support Minimum Wage Increase, Poll Says

More than three-quarters of New York State voters support a proposal by Democrats in the Legislature to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour from $7.25, according to a new poll released on Monday.

The poll (pdf), conducted by Siena College from May 6 to 10, found broad support for what has emerged as the highest-profile issue in the closing weeks of this year’s legislative session, which is scheduled to conclude in six weeks.

Democrats and independent voters were strongly supportive of raising the minimum wage, the poll found, with 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents in support. And while the Republican majority in the State Senate has derided the proposal as a job killer, a majority of Republican voters – 58 percent – said they supported it, as did 64 percent of voters who described themselves as politically conservative.

Americans optimistic things are looking up, poll says

Americans may be downbeat about today's economy, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, but they are increasingly optimistic that things are about to get better for the nation and themselves.

Though an overwhelming 71% rate economic conditions as poor, a 58% majority predict they will be good a year from now. Although those surveyed are inclined to say they are financially worse off than a year ago, nearly two-thirds say they think they'll be better off this time next year.

That assessment of personal finances already is on the upswing. More than one-third report they are better off than they were a year ago — the highest number since before the economic meltdown in 2008. (They're still outnumbered by the four in 10 who say they're worse off.)

Best Places for New College Grads, 2012

Though the economy is showing signs of life, the job market for new college graduates is still extremely tough. A daunting figure – three million new grads competing for one million jobs – has been widely reported, as has the fact that more than half of recent grads are unemployed or under-employed. It's also been widely and incorrectly reported that 85 percent of grads are moving back in with mom and dad. The correct figure is actually 40 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. That's nothing new, really. The period immediately after college has always been one of flux.

A good way to improve your economic prospects is to pick the right place to live. Choosing the right location is one of the most important, if not the single most important, decisions you will ever make. It will influence your job and career opportunities, not to mention your ability to make friends, develop personal and professional networks, and find a potential life partner.

The 10 Mistakes Everyone Makes When Working From Home

When your commute is as short as your bedroom to your living room, a lot of workplace anxieties go out the window: water-cooler conversations, intra-office workout competitions…whether you’ve worn the same pair of jeans for six days straight.

But whether you’re a full-time telecommuter or simply “working from home” for the day, it’s important to keep professionalism in check. Executive coach and author Debra Benton, whose book The Virtual Executive hit shelves in April, warns that as the American employees working from home full or part time increase (current data shows roughly 2.8 million people call their homes their primary workplace, with an additional 20 to 30 million working from home at least one day a week), bad work habits are becoming more and more apparent.

“People often think that they can get away with a lot of things when they’re behind closed doors and computer screens,” Benton says. “But the reality is that professional communication is professional communication, regardless of whether or not technology is there to facilitate it.”

Bye bye unemployment benefits

More than 200,000 long-term jobless Americans will lose their unemployment checks this week, when eight states roll off the federal extended benefits program.

Nearly half of them live in California, and the rest reside in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The federal extended benefits program has provided the jobless with up to 20 weeks of unemployment checks after they've run through their state and their federal emergency benefits, which together last up to 79 weeks.

But the extended benefits program is expiring throughout the country as the economy improves. To be eligible for these benefits, a state must show that its unemployment rate is at least 10% higher than it was in at least one of the past three years.

Starting later this year, the maximum number of weeks the jobless can collect unemployment benefits will be reduced to as little as 40 weeks in states with jobless rates below 6% and to as many as 73 weeks where unemployment tops 9%.

'Don't Go To Law School,' 'Move To Asia,' And 28 Other Pearls Of Wisdom For 2012 Grads

The Best Employers On The Fortune 500: Report

Does your employer serve free lunch and have bocce ball courts? Google does. Perhaps part-time workers at your company receive health insurance and stock awards. They do at Starbucks.

These are just a sprinkling of the "perks" offered by companies that scored high on Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, which was tabulated based on the results of a survey conducted in partnership with the Great Place to Work Institute.

Though the survey results were based on a variety of factors such as pay scale and hiring practices, Google's famous perks might have helped the company take the top spot on Fortune's list.

College Degrees Employers Want Most

According to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, these five degrees are in demand with employers.

100 Best Companies To For 2012- FORTUNE

They're hiring!

These 25 companies have at least 700 openings each, totaling more than 56,000 available jobs. What are they looking for? Here are excerpts from our conversations with their recruiters.

Businesses You Can Start at Home

When it comes to selling products and services, the best home business is one that fits your interests and abilities.

Home-based businesses are proving to be a great solution for many women today, either as a part-time supplement to their family's income or as a full-time alternative to the 9-5 lifestyle. Could you be the next successful business owner? Consider the following service-oriented and product-oriented businesses.

If you opt for a service business, you can perform the service at home (word processing, tutoring, bookkeeping or child care) or at another location (interior design, home organizing or consulting).

Economic Mobility Highest In Northeastern States, Study Finds

If you want a shot at joining the upper middle class, then you may want to move to the Northeast.

States in the mid-Atlantic region, like New York, New Jersey and Maryland, have the greatest economic mobility in the U.S., according to a study released Thursday by the Pew Charitable Trusts. In Southern and Midwestern states like Oklahoma and South Carolina, workers are more likely to move down the income ladder rather than up, according to the study. (Hat tip to USA Today.)

Drop in jobless claims eases labor market fears

The number of Americans submitting new applications for jobless benefits edged down last week, easing concerns the labor market was deteriorating after surprisingly weak employment growth in April.

Memo to Would-Be Members of the 1%: Move to the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic

Reaching for the American dream? Your best chances are probably in New York, New Jersey or Maryland.

Those states are best at helping Americans move up the income ladder, both in absolute terms and relative to their peers, according to a groundbreaking new study from the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Center on the States.

Generally speaking, states in New England and the mid-Atlantic had the most upwardly mobile residents, whereas states in the South had the least mobile populations.

USPS keeps rural post offices open, cuts hours

WASHINGTON -- The United States Postal Service stayed the sword hanging over thousands of rural post offices, opting instead to cut opening hours in a bid to stem devastating financial losses.

The USPS estimates that the plan will save $500 million a year once it is fully implemented in 2014. A previous proposal to close down more than 3,000 rural post offices completely would have saved $200 million a year.

Under the proposal outlined Wednesday, 13,167 post offices will open for between two and six hours a day. A spokeswoman for the USPS said no post offices will be forced to close, although communities could choose closure and switch to home delivery.

"We've listened to our customers in rural America and we’ve heard them loud and clear -- they want to keep their Post Office open," Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said in a statement. "We believe today's announcement will serve our customers' needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability."


Five Jobs Where Women and Men Have Equal Earning Power

Research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows that if the gender wage gap continues to close as slowly as it has over the last 50 years, it will take until 2056 for women’s earnings to equal men’s.     
 

"The labor market has changed dramatically during the last few decades"

“The labor market has changed dramatically during the last few decades,” says Heidi Hartmann, IWPR president. “Women’s labor force participation has shot up and women are receiving college degrees and graduate degrees at faster rates than men -- yet the gender wage gap is improving very slowly.”

Solar Installers Offer Deals, Gaining Converts

Jay Nuzzi, a New Jersey state trooper, had put off installing solar panels on his home here for years, deterred by the $70,000 it could cost. Then on a trip to Home Depot, he stumbled across a booth for Roof Diagnostics, which offered him a solar system at a price he couldn’t refuse: free.

McDonald's April Sales Trail Estimates as U.S. Gains Slow

McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant chain, said sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 3.3 percent worldwide last month, trailing analysts' estimates, as U.S. sales growth decelerated.

 

Analysts projected a gain of 4.3 percent, the average of 13 estimates compiled by Consensus Metrix. Sales in the U.S. advanced 3.3 percent, the slowest gain in 11 months, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. Analysts estimated an increase of 5.2 percent.

Spread the Word About "The Employment Blog Network!"

Employers save $422 billion if they dump health coverage. Will they?

Facebook's Advertising Business Is A Mess

Why Hiding Money From Your Spouse Has Gotten a Lot Harder

Thanks to technology, hidden marital assets may be just a few clicks away

ADP estimates businesses added only 119,000 jobs in April

Seeking Employment: Online vs. Walk-In - You Decide What's Best For You!

by Miriam G. Aw

Seeking Employment Today is a Far Cry Away From Yesteryear!

There is no disputing that seeking employment in your specific choice of field can be a difficult chore.  After all, it is the 21st Century, and much of how things were done in the 20th Century looking for employment has become obsolete . . . to a certain degree.

It has always been the contention that "It's Who You Know" as opposed to "Not What You Know" that baffles the minds of many, who are seeking 'the' job. 

Why should anyone be penalized for not knowing anyone, or the right person, who is responsible for hiring individuals at a particular company?

Filling out an online application is a major part of the employment seeking process these days.  For the most part, it can be a blessing, and a curse, depending on your outlook.

However, it is the responsibility of the online applicant to follow-up on every submitted online application with due diligence by checking their email, and/or learning more about the person(s) who heads the department or division of the company.

I remember a time when I made a complete nuisance of myself when I was seeking employment at a particular company.  I made it my business to have my face and name noticed as often as I could without being labeled as a stalker.  It worked! 

However, it is seemingly apparent that such a method is no longer tolerated, or acceptable, if you believe what so-called experts have to say about this form of getting noticed and hired.  Such a practice was done in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Somehow after Year 2001 . . . you know, after the horrific attack on U.S. soil (9-11), the determinate nature of seeking employment were treated as acts of terrorism that has ultimately gave way for many employers to cease from interviewing prospective employees face-to-face, and instead, have folks fill out online applications.

Was this an alarmist outcry that helped to change the job seeking process throughout America in the 21st Century?  It has indeed made job searching more intricate and hopeless in the eyes of many Americans.

Unfortunately, there is a seeming problem with many applicants who believe that if you have a name that is not considered 'American,' their online applications are ignored, or simply do not transmit in some form, or fashion, thus kicking them out of the system.



Currently, I'm looking into this alleged act of bias.

The good news is that there are a host of companies today, who've gotten away from their fear for 'face-to-face' interviews, and are resuming 'face-to-face' interviews - choosing that right candidate for the job.  A bold move such as this will indeed bolster employment hires at a much larger rate giving hope to every individual seeking a job.

It is also time to eradicate the practice of many small businesses who hire only their frat brothers, or sorority sisters, lodge members, congregation members, neighbors, immediate relatives, and so forth, and start hiring people who CAN do the job well, and not for the aforementioned reasons.

This foul practice of "Who You Know" versus "What You Know" must come to a halt, if we are to build as a nation who really give a damn about the unemployment crises that face us today.

Now, does this sentiment apply to anyone who believes in sharing information to others whom they know about job hires at their place of employment?  Of course not.  There is a difference between hiring someone whom you're related to because of [blood] kinship, or because of a damn pledge you have taken while in college versus sharing information about job openings where you work, and leaving it up to that person to sell him, or her, self to the employer to get that job position!

A huge difference!

Granted, a lot of people who I know got burned by recommending someone else to work at the same workplace, and ultimately, such a recommendation turned soured.  Such a thing can leave a bad taste in the mouth of the person who do not mind telling others about job openings at their work place.

It is the sole responsibility of the individual who was told of a job opening to help make that person who referred you look good in the eyes of the employer.  He or she did not have to tell anyone about such openings.  The least that anyone can do is to do the best job possible, so that job permanency is inevitable.  And it's one of the best "Thank you" one can ever give to a person who'd pulled their coat-tail about the job.

Are there any statistics that I can present to you based on what I've just said here?  I'm sure that there are . . . somewhere in the cyber-sphere.  But I like to speak about what I know, and express the sentiments of the myriad of people whom I come across on a regular basis about seeking employment, whether it's online, or walk-in.

I hope that each and every one of you will take the time to seek employment with an open mind, heart, and in good spirit.  It is a journey worth taking, and keep in mind that it is your responsibility to make things happen 'your way' the best way possible in a positive way. 

Sometimes you have to do what your gut tells you to do, and not become robotic in your thinking.

Take chances.  Keep a positive outlook.  Stay diligent.  Be resourceful.  Keep the faith.  And give it all you got to get that spot!

M.

Copyright 2012.  All rights reserved.