Snow my Gawd, snow my Gawd!

Here we go, yo
Here we go, yo
So what’s the what’s the what’s the scenario?!

snOMG, people! Biggest blizzard since 1967!

Team coverage from your SouthtownStar, starting for me, tonight.

Good job, vets. If only you got jobs out of the story.

SO great to win this. I’m excited for these guys. But I also sigh at the little progress so far on their job front. Everybody’s still plugging away.

SouthtownStar wins 23 awards in statewide contests

May 1, 2010
BY THOMAS FINN

The SouthtownStar has won 23 awards, including four first-place awards, in statewide journalism contests sponsored by the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association and the Illinois Press Association.

In both contests, the newspaper competed against the largest newspapers in the state, and it captured a third place in the important category of general excellence in the IPA contest.

…And staff writer Lauren FitzPatrick won a first-place award for her story on the difficulty that returning veterans face in trying to get jobs.

…

In the Illinois Press Association competition, the SouthtownStar won five second-place awards, including one for news design. Also honored were FitzPatrick and Becky Schlikerman for their reporting on the grave-reselling scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip; staff writer Casey Toner and former staffer Duaa Eldeib for their school board coverage in Rich Township High School District 227; photographer Matthew Grotto in the category of personality portrait and designer Chad Merda for his illustration, “Building a Better Mousetrap.”

Read the whole story as published in the SouthtownStar, May 1, 2010.
SouthtownStar wins 23 awards in statewide contests || The SouthtownStar

All 33,443 of you

That’s how many of you I write for every weekday, according to the latest numbers.

There are more on Sundays. More like 46,000. Nearly 8,000 fewer than the year before.

I’ve talked to a number of you on the phone. Some of you email me. More of you read my stuff online and the Not-So-Mighty-Dollar blog I keep up.

I enjoy it. I love the phone calls and the conversations. It means a lot to me when someone calls us for help.

Like Franchon Johnson, who didn’t know how else to get a copycat Facebook account shut down.

Or Nicole Dankert, who was afraid her ex-husband might get more custody of their son he blamed in the death of his infant baby.

But the slide is depressing. I wish they counted our online readers, too.

The last of the IDES for me…for now

My final check came from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, along with a notice that future payments would arrive via direct deposit or on a plastic debit-sort of card.

Since I have a job now, I won’t get to brave that path. But I’d love to hear from anyone whose experience isn’t all rosy.

My time filing for unemployment went well. Even after I missed my call-in day, mixed up from starting work, I was able to file by phone and get paid. No long lines, no embarrassing questions, no accusations. It could have been so much worse. $369 a week wasn’t enough to live on for long, yet it also disqualified me for food stamps and other social programs, but I hardly starved and it was meager enough to make me really hustle this summer to get reemployed.

And I’ve been cashing checks like a sucker…

Debit cards for the unemployed

Lose your job in Illinois and you gain a debit card. Beginning Aug. 1, the state began issuing Visa debit cards to people who qualify for unemployment insurance payments.

The check is no longer in the mail, but electronically deposited directly into your debit card account.

Folks who don’t want the card can opt for direct deposit in their checking or savings accounts.

While the program is currently aimed at the newly unemployed, by Nov. 1 of this year Illinois plans to eliminate checks completely as it transitions to a paperless system.

I was tipped to this story by a former colleague who is now unemployed.

Once he wrote the news, now he’s a news source.

Odd how things work out.

But my source, we’ll call him George, still knows a good story when he sees one.

“You don’t have to go down to the unemployment office any more, either” he said.

“I found out you can file for unemployment on your computer.”

No more standing in line for hours only to be told by some sour-faced bureaucrat that you’ve been standing in the wrong line.

Read the rest of Phil Kadner’s column here. Please do – he’s my colleague now.

I’m reporting again for a paycheck — not the kind issued by IDES. Check out my stuff or set a Google Alert for “By Lauren FitzPatrick.” Please. More to come — I’m trying to wrap up day 1 before 9 p.m. That doesn’t mean the end of Termination Date, though. I know I’m one of the lucky ones, and who knows how long this streak will even last?

Job Board! Manager, Regulatory Affairs (Philadelphia, Penn.)

From an ad posted here on philly.com:

The Manager, Regulatory Affairs will report to the Executive Director, Regulatory Affairs and will be responsible for certain projects in development and play an integral role in the regulatory affairs activities for the company.

Among the “Required Skills, Experience and Keys to Success”:

An understanding of the current Regulatory environment and demonstrated ability to perform in it

Positive attitude, assertive, ability to work with minimal supervision

Ability to adapt to changing priorities in an intense area of drug development

Microsoft Office

Time management

Comfortable working and communicating independently

Excellent partnering, strong interpersonal skills and leadership abilities

Also, a willingness to capitalize the word, “Regulatory.”

Wait, are you supposed to have Microsoft Office, or just know how to use their copy?

 

Doesn’t say which company is hiring; The Merwin Group is doing the recruiting. The Merwin Group claims to be “a force in targeting attracting and placing select Impact Players, Building the heart of your business.[...]We know where to Strike, reaching every Impact zone. Utilizing innovative, comprehensive solutions we attract and place the exceptional talented Impact Players.”

 

But how can a fancy employment agency expect to make an Impact when its employees can’t write?

Job Board! Senior Database Engineer with a minimum Active Secret Clearance (Arlington, Va.)

From an ad here on Monster.com:

What a tease, Indus Corp! You allude to said Active Secret Clearance, but say no more in the job description!

Also, performs database administration and configuration management functions to include the following duties:

• Allocating system storage and planning future storage requirements for the database system.
• Creating primary database storage structures (tablespaces).
• Creating primary objects (tables, views, indexes) once application developers have designed an application.
• Modifying the database structure, as necessary, to support new system requirements and enhancements.
• Developing, implementing and maintaining database security.
• Proposing and implementing database performance and optimizing techniques and standards.
• Performing set up, troubleshooting and maintenance of Oracle replication techniques (Snapshots, Streams, RAC, etc.).
• Conducting tuning of database for optimal performance.
• Liaising with customer support to deal with database issues.

For more on how to “liaise,” and the $2,500 signup bonus, see the full job posting. 

Job Board! Organizational Alignment & Assessment Specialist (New Orleans, LA)

From an ad seen here on Monster.com:

“Manages the implementation and maintains, develops policies, procedures and performance measures, and reports on the Quality Management System, Organizational and Management Assessment Program and alignment of DM¿s value creation processes through  process management to include performance measures, analysis and process improvement.

“Prefer personnel nationally certified in quality or training disciplines such as the American Society for Quality (ASQ) or RABQSA.”

Ah, RABQSA!

Tuesday’s my day

“Your bi-weekly call day is Tuesday,” the Illinois Department of Employment Security wrote me in this letter that arrived today. I ripped the thing open so fast it, well, ripped, hence the tape on the envelope.

Ripped envelope in haste to get at News

Called today to get certified for the IDES benefits better known as “unemployment,” or better still, as “the dole”.

I don’t understand why it has taken about a month to get certified. Benefits to start as of July 20, when my termination date, as you all know and as IDES all knows, was June 23.

Letter carefully redacted by me. Last thing I need now is to get my identity stolen.

I now have a biweekly date with the TeleServe certification system for up to the next 26 weeks.

Now on to see how long it takes to set up direct deposit.

Can’t trust that Chicago mail.

Job Board! Client Associate or Registered Client Associate – New York, NY

From an ad seen here on Monster.
Job Description Requisition Number: 93534
Position Title: Client Associate or Registered Client Associate – New York, NY
The financial industry is changing …
One Client Associate at a time.

Are you ready to begin your career in the financial services industry? Consider becoming a Client Associate at RBC Wealth Management – the nation’s eighth largest full-service investment firm.

Requirements:
The ideal candidate will have strong organizational, math and communication skills, be proficient with Microsoft Office and be able to work independently. Associate’s degree in finance or business, investment knowledge and 1-2 years general office experience preferred. Ability to build professional relationships with both employees and clients, take initiative and accept personal responsibility for performance required. Series 7 and 63/66 licenses (or ability to obtain all licenses within first year on job).

Must be eligible to work in the US without sponsorship and reside within 50 miles of office.

Key Accountabilities:
As a Client Associate, you’ll be responsible for providing administrative support to Financial Consultants and Branch Office Managers. You’ll enjoy a daily routine featuring a variety of exciting challenges such as: servicing clients on behalf of Financial Consultants, ensuring account documentation is accurate, coordinating client mailings/ presentations, and have knowledge of product offerings. Plus, you’ll be gaining valuable experience in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of investing.

RBC Wealth Management is a great place to begin your career, because we have the resources of a global financial leader. Yet we also maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative culture of a “small firm.- So you’ll not only be developing skills with a broad range of products, you’ll also be learning client service from some of the best in the business.

We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits and advancement opportunities for motivated employees. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Experience: Minimum 1 year
Education: High School Diploma / GED
Skills: Adaptability, Business Acumen, Listening, Understanding and Responding, Relationship Building,