Stephen Viscusi is interviewed by cohosts Carrie & Andy Robinson on the Career Success radio show.
Archive for the ‘media’ Category
What to Do When You Lose Your Job
In article, media, newspaper on March 6, 2009 at 3:26 pm
The economic news gets worse by the day. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent in February, its highest in 25 years, with 651,000 jobs lost last month.
Financial industry workers have been hit hardest by the recession. But in recent weeks, there have been waves of layoffs at companies like I.B.M., where workers once seemed safe from the economic storm.
In this sinking economy, what should you be prepared to do if you lose your job?
- Katherine S. Newman, professor of sociology
- Michael Melcher, executive coach
- Michael Gates Gill, author and Starbucks worker
- Stephen Viscusi, author and headhunter
- Harley Shaiken, labor expert
- Bob Adler, self-employed consultant
In the News: The New Yorker
In announcement, magazine, media on February 17, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I was recently mentioned in the New Yorker regarding my offering to recently laid off Harper Collins employees.
Bulletproof Job Man Reaches Out to Harper’s Fallen
In announcement, media, news on February 11, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Collins Business published Stephen Viscusi’s Bulletproof Your Job last fall, and he says he’s grateful to the imprint—everyone at the company, really—for making it a success. That’s why he’s offering any former HarperCollins employees who were caught up in yesterday’s layoffs a 50 percent discount for his resumé consulting services at BulletproofYourResume.com.
“I suspect some of the temporarily surviving HarperCollins executives still left may have taken pages right out of Bulletproof Your Job to keep their own jobs,” Viscusi emailed us last night, “because the HC scenario played out as I describe in my book. My strategy explains how more junior executives were kept—and moved up the ladder while the bosses get the ax… Some people at HC read the book, others may not have. Either way, they are a case study for their own product.”
The “unprecedented discount” for the former HarperCollins employees (who are “like family to me,” Viscusi observed) covers the creation of a new resumé as well as a personal consultation with Viscusi himself.
How to Bounce Back After Being Laid Off
In advice, article, media, tv on February 3, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Michael Raynor worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for 21 years. In late October, the 45-year-old father of two from Howell, N.J., was laid off.
Experts, and people who’ve been there, say you must confront one emotion: fear.
“When it first happens, you just freeze and it’s just so hard to think,” he said. “You’re pretty much just spinning in circles at the very beginning. You don’t know which way to turn.”
It took Raynor four days to tell his wife, Roseanne, then a stay at home mom, that his last paycheck was in the mail.
“When I came home and saw my kids and wife they were choked up that I lost my job and you just do whatever it takes,” Raynor said. “I don’t care where I work or what I’m doing — I have three people who count on me.”
ABC News followed the Raynors as Michael went to career counseling, got retrained and applied for 30 jobs. At first, he didn’t get a single call back.
7 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Career
In advice, article, interview, media, news on January 28, 2009 at 7:10 am
As the economy sinks further into a recession — one that the Federal Reserve has now indicated will be longer and deeper than previously thought — job security for most Americans has quickly evaporated.
According to minutes from the Fed’s December meeting released Tuesday, the unemployment rate is expected to rise significantly into 2010, to a level higher than the 6.5% to 7.3% range the agency projected at its October meeting.
The unemployment rate, which hit 6.7% in November, is already at its highest in 25 years. Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Economy.com, expects it to peak at more than 9% in the first half of 2010 — a jump that would be similar in severity to that during the double-dip recession in the early 1980s (see table). “Businesses are certainly going to be cutting back,” Faucher says.
Unemployment Rates Through the Years
At 6.7%, November’s unemployment rate is still nowhere near its peak of 10.8% in late 1982,
but economists predict it could get there by the first half of 2010.
WJR Interview with Paul W. Smith
In interview, media, radio on January 26, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Check out my recent radio interview on WJR. In it I talk with host Paul Smith about the major points within my book.
What’s Worrying You: CBS 2 Follows Up Stephen Viscusi
In advice, media, news, tv on January 14, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Cindy Hsu ReportingFinding a job is what’s worrying many of our viewers this new year, who have been responding to our calls to tell us what their concerns are with the economy in 2009.
On Tuesday, CBS 2 introduced Anderson to Stephen Viscusi, the author of “Bulletproof Your Job.”
“Just talking to Stephen, I realized, yes, I was really not sending the right message. I think I was not detailed enough,” she told CBS 2.
Viscusi re-did Anderson’s resume, expanding her objective to include her specialty for healthy cooking, and adding a lot more details about her former clients such as their ages and medical conditions. He asked her to change the long message on her phone, so it’s more professional.
“So when they call you they can feel like they’re getting you, and they’re going to feel comfortable with who you are and what you’re about, and that you’re easy to reach,” he said.
Anderson had primarily used Craig’s List to look for jobs, but Viscusi is putting her resume up on half a dozen career sites, and coached her on interviewing skills, such as always giving a firm handshake, asking for the job, and offering to try the job for a trial period.”If it’s between Sonia and
XYZ candidate, and Sonia says to me, ‘I’m more than willing to try this job for 90 days,’ and she can prove herself in that time, statistically most people who offer that, not only do they land the job they land a permanent job as well,” he said.
Anderson walked out feeling good about her meeting with Viscusi.
“I am very, very good, very optimistic, I just know that something good is going to happen,” she said.
And Viscusi said Anderson’s positive attitude is key.
The Brad Brooks Show
In announcement, interview, media, radio on January 11, 2009 at 7:03 am
Check out my interview with Brad Brooks. We answer the question of, “How do you succeed at work and ensure that your job is ’safe’?” We also discuss things like “developing a Viagra handshake” and how to find out if your company is for sale. Does your boss tell you that there are no office politics?
Bulletproof Your Job Now in Korea!
In article, interview, media, news, newspaper on January 6, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Check out a recently authored article in Korea’s 3rd largest newspaper, The Chosun Daily.
It’s Not Your Imagination—Your Boss Is Ignoring You
In article, media, news, newspaper on October 23, 2008 at 10:58 am
Many people are paying close attention to signs that they may be next up for a layoff. Job shedding has accelerated since the start of the year, and mass layoffs in September were the highest they’ve been since 9/11.
So here’s one sign to watch out for: the boss’s cold shoulder. The Wall Street Journal reports that managers who have become unhappy with an employee’s performance, or who fear having to break bad news, may begin pulling away—shunning meetings, conversation, invitations, and the like.
Apparently some bosses use cold-shoulder subtlety to give feedback. An example from the story:
Bob Miglani, senior director of external medical affairs for Pfizer Inc., says he has purposely made employees that reported to him feel left out of the loop, by not inviting them to meetings or waiting a long time to answer their emails. He has also declined their meeting requests even if he’s able to make the meeting so that the employee will see that he didn’t want to attend.
“The whole point is to spur them to ask you what’s wrong and take charge,” says Mr. Miglani, who says some employees he’s managed are too sensitive to handle frank feedback, so he resorted to the subtle cues.
How to Protect Your Job in a Stormy Industry
In interview, media, newspaper on September 22, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I was recently interviewed by New York Time’s Career Couch columnist Phillys Korkki.
Entry Level Careers Examiner
In interview, media on September 22, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I was recently interviewed by Heather Huhman; Examiner.com’s Entry Level Careers Examiner.
INSIDE edition Consumer Alert
In announcement, media, tv on September 17, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I was featured as an expert on INSIDE edition’s consumer alert segment yesterday.
To check it out and learn more click HERE.
Tyra Banks Show TODAY-Check your local listings!
In announcement, media, tv on September 15, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Job expert Stephen Viscusi gives advice on how Tyra’s guests could get jobs outside of the sex industry on today’s show. Check it out for some expert tips you don’t want to miss! Check your local listings for exact times.
Protecting Yourself in a Bleak Job Market
In article, media on September 13, 2008 at 5:38 pm
By Elizabeth Razzi
The message was hard to miss last week: No more wishful thinking — it’s time to prepare yourself for a grim job market. Unemployment has surged in the past four months, hitting 6.1 percent in August, the highest since September 2003. In April, the rate stood at 5 percent. Even a top-notch performance may not be enough to save your job. The layoff lists are full of people who turned in first-rate work yet didn’t survive the cut. Though job security may be unattainable, resiliency can be yours. Become the employee who’s kept on despite layoffs. Or at least make sure you have the skills and contacts necessary to make a pink slip your springboard to a better job.
TIME Magazine reviews “Bulletproof Your Job”
In book review, media on September 11, 2008 at 5:33 pm
So you’re sitting at your desk, waves of anxiety running through you. Your industry is going through rocky times, or worse, there are rumors of a layoff at your company. Corporate loyalty is history. Outsourcing is moving up the food chain. Is there anything you can do to protect your job? Not always, but this book offers a good road map for surviving an economic downturn. Don’t sit there smugly and assume that your sterling credentials will save you, says the author bluntly: “Got a swanky Ivy League degree? How nice. Here’s the cold hard truth: if you don’t click with your boss, all that merit and pedigree won’t get you anywhere when your job is on the line.”
Money Matters: Job Saving Tips
In media, tv on September 8, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Watch me on ABC News Now: Money Matters with Jackie Hyland. I discuss some job saving tips.
Click here or the image to watch.
Surviving the Storm
In media, newspaper on September 7, 2008 at 7:54 pm
“…You might be excused for thinking up-to-date skills and good performance will keep you employed. But that’s just the beginning of your labors, said Stephen Viscusi, author of the new book, “Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work.” (Collins Business, $19.95). You need to make sure you are the employee the boss most wants to keep.
Viscusi said some high performers are also high-maintenance divas, tolerated despite the headaches they cause. The guy who grouses all the time or doesn’t get along with others? He’s first to go. “They’ve been wanting to get rid of him. They’ve been looking for an excuse,” said Viscusi, who runs a headhunting business for the interior-furnishings industry…”
Read the full Washington Post article by clicking HERE.
U.S. Jobless Rate Rises Past 6%, Highest Since ’03
In article, media, newspaper on September 5, 2008 at 3:25 pm
The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, pushing the troubles of American workers to the center of the political debate as the presidential campaign enters its final weeks.
Theodore Harmon, left, helped a fellow job applicant, Solomon Boyd, on Friday as the two and others looked for work at the New York State Department of Labor office in Harlem.
For the eighth consecutive month, the nation’s employers shed jobs, 84,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. In all, 605,000 jobs have been lost since January. The steady rise in unemployment, from 5.7 percent in July and 5 percent in April, is one that many economists associate with recession.
Both presidential candidates — Senators Barack Obama and John McCain — said through spokesmen that they would favor an economic stimulus package from Congress this fall.
Mr. Obama jumped on the latest report, declaring that Democrats would do more to help struggling Americans. “You would think that George Bush and his potential Republican successor, John McCain, would be spending a lot of time worrying about the economy and all these jobs that are being lost on their watch,” he said at a campaign stop in Duryea, Pa. But, “if you watched the Republican National Convention over the last three days, you wouldn’t know that we have the highest unemployment rate in five years.”
Mr. McCain issued a brief statement in which he said that “Americans are hurting and we must act to create jobs.” He added that “as president, I will enact a jobs for America economic plan that creates jobs, helps small businesses, expands opportunities and opens markets to American goods.”
Even though the economy continued to expand in the first half of the year, tell-tale signs of a recession — either in progress or soon to strike — are spreading. Consumers have curtailed their spending, the housing market continues to deteriorate, banks are reluctant to lend, consumer confidence is slipping and European and Asian economies are slowing, depriving the United States of a lift from abroad.
“The mood of the country as far as the economy is concerned is depressed,” said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist for Global Insight, “and that is what it should be.”
Why Saving Money Will Help Your Career
In article, media, newspaper on September 4, 2008 at 5:52 pm
More proof that we live lives that are too expensive: 21 percent of people with salaries of $100,000 or more report living paycheck to paycheck. The figure comes from a CareerBuilder survey published today. The survey shows 47 percent of all workers surveyed said they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck. One third of workers do not put any money into a 401(k), an IRA, or a retirement plan, and a quarter of workers don’t save anything.
This is a problem for several reasons, but since I cover careers, I’m going to focus on the job problem.
CBS Early Morning Show Tomorrow
In media, tv on September 3, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Watch for me on the CBS Early Show tomorrow, Thursday, September 4th, in the 8 AM to 9 AM hour on CBS!
New York Post Article: Making Yourself Bulletproof
In media, newspaper on August 25, 2008 at 4:36 pm
A new article I wrote in today’s New York Post newspaper, titled: “MAKING YOURSELF BULLETPROOF. HOW TO PROTECT YOUR JOB DURING TOUGH TIMES”.
Increase your value at work, and you’ll be ‘bulletproof’ when the going gets tough.
Read the full article by clicking here.
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