#life #purpose #MakeADifference
“The purpose of life is not to be happy – but to matter, to be productive, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”
That quote, from Polish-born writer Leo Rosten, is one of many inspirational quotes and words in the book, “The Power of One: How One Person Can Make a Difference,” by BJ Gallagher and Steve Ruttenberg.
Let’s dissect the quote for a minute. If you work for someone else, perhaps you only want to be productive enough that the boss will pay you, and keep you around awhile.
If you work in a place in which only the owner of your company, and a few key executives, are getting rich, and you are not, that feeling is understandable. Why, after all, would you want to give your all so that they can take all – or at least the lion’s share.
Then, think about how much you matter to them. They may like your work, and may even think pretty highly of you. But how much are they going to sacrifice to make sure you don’t leave? Chances are, they see you as nothing more than a tool, a human resource. If they determine that you are costing them too much, or they need to reorganize and get rid of a few people, do you think they are going to care about what happens to you?
They may say nice things, but they will tell you they had to make some “tough decisions.” Some employers, undoubtedly, honestly feel bad about letting people go. But most of them aren’t going to take money out of their pockets to make sure there is money in yours.
Rosten, undoubtedly, was not thinking about employer-employee relations when he spoke those words.
He was referring to what’s inside YOU. Are you doing things in your world, if not at work, outside of it, that matter to others? Are you helping others, to borrow from the late Zig Ziglar, get what they want, thereby getting what you want?
It can be tough to matter. It can be difficult to be productive, generous, humble, even honest.
It can be hard to like everyone.
But Rosten’s words say that we should strive to be and do all those things.
Personal happiness, perhaps, is selfish in his mind. But without personal happiness, it will be a struggle to be the person you want to be – someone others see as valuable.
One does not have to be financially rich to give happiness. But one must strive to give what he can so others can succeed.
Some bosses want you to give, so they can take. You’d much rather give so that others can get and, by extension, you can get as well.
If you see yourself as a giving person, or are striving to be, but are looking for the best way you can give, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll see stories of people who became successful by finding the best way to give to others.
You can stay on the treadmill of a job, with a boss who doesn’t care about you. Certainly, if it pays well enough, you can sock enough money away to leave that job sooner rather than later. If you are lucky, you’ll be able to hang in as long as you want to.
But that may not be the way YOU want to be productive, to matter or to make a difference. You may have to look for the best way for you to do that.
Peter
Author Archives: pbilodeau01
DON’T LET DREAMS STOP AT CHILDHOOD
#dreams #dreaming #jobs #prosperity
“Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.”
That lyric, from John Cougar Mellencamp’s little ditty, “Jack and Diane,” tells of two Midwestern teens who dream about breaking away from where they are, but come to grips with the fact that they might not.
“Hold on to 16 as long as you can,” the song urges.
If you are old enough to have lived in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, you’ve probably heard your parents discourage you from dreaming. If you are too young to remember those years, talk to your parents and grandparents about them.
Ask them how their lack of dreaming turned out for them.
Ask them what they would have done, had they been encouraged, even allowed, to dream.
Folks who lived through those years may be happy. They may even have everything they need to live out the rest of their lives in prosperity. For everyone in that situation, there is at least one, if not more, who is not.
For those who are not, the job they thought was going to be there for as long as they wanted it is probably gone. If they have found another job, it probably doesn’t pay close to what they earned in that lost job.
If you ask them what they have put away for retirement, it probably isn’t nearly enough. If you ask, they will probably tell you that they will have to work until they die.
If you ask them what they are passionate about, they may say “nothing.” Or, they may be passionate about something that isn’t necessarily going to improve their lives.
What are these folks to do,besides complain about their situation?
Are these people bitter about everything? Are they telling their children that the world is doomed? Are they so full of fear and doubt that it consumes them? Do they feel that there is absolutely nothing they can do about the way things are?
It’s certainly easy to feel that way, if you’ve been badly wronged through no fault of your own.
Though it’s easy to feel that way, it’s also easy to tell yourself that you don’t have to feel that way.
There are things in the world that one can do to get himself out of his funk, which may take him out of his comfort zone as well.
Complaining and blaming is easy. Finding solutions may be harder, but certainly not impossible.
There are many ways out there to ease your financial burden, and not have to worry about working a traditional, W-2 job, that you might hate, until you die.
For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You will find an alternative that, for those who really want to better their lives and are willing to make some sacrifices to do so, can potentially change one’s life for the better. And, one can help others do the same, should they choose action over contraction.
The future is bright for those who want to partake of the many blessings out there. If you are in a job you hate, or that isn’t paying you nearly enough for your efforts, look for a Plan B that can eventually get you out of it.
If you’ve lost your job, and don’t see any way of getting another one that will make you a decent living, explore other options. You’d be surprised at what’s out there, if you are willing to look for it.
In Mellencamp’s ditty, the teens seemed resigned to stay in their hometown and live a boring life. There is certainly nothing wrong with staying in your hometown if you like it there, but one does not have to live a boring life. “The thrill of living” comes from within. Build it. Nourish it. Keep it alive and thriving.
This also brings to mind the television ad about the “settlers,” who settle for cable TV instead of the alternative. Don’t settle for anything. There is too much out there to miss by settling.
Peter
STOP, BREATHE: PART 2
#stop #breathe #CalmDown #suicides
Suicide in the United States was up 63 percent among middle-aged women, and 43 percent among middle-aged men.
So says an article by Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times. It was published in the April 23, 2016, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Suicides are at their highest level in 30 years, Tavernise writes. It ‘s not just among middle-aged people. It’s up to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest rate since 1986, Tavernise writes.
“The findings in this report,” by the National Center for Health Statistics, are extremely concerning,” Tavernise quotes Nadine Kaslow, an Emory University researcher and past president of the American Psycological Association.
American Indians had the sharpest rise of all racial and ethnic groups, with rates rising 89 percent for women and 38 percent for men. White middle-aged women had an increase of 80 percent. The rate decline for black men, and declined in one age group: men and women older than 75, Tavernise quotes from the report.
Researchers who reviewed the analysis said the figures were consistent with recent research and painted a picture of desperation for many in American society.
Why do so many, who live in the greatest country in the world, want to kill themselves?
Certainly, the economy in recent years has not been kind to many, particularly those with less education. Jobs are going away, and not returning. Some who had decent-paying jobs have had to take lesser-paying jobs because they were downsized, reorganized etc.
One can lament the situation many face, but to resort to taking one’s own life is a drastic measure.
If you feel so much pressure that you just want it gone, take a breath.
Look around you to see what’s good in your life. Do you have a good family? Do you have lots of friends? Remember, the rising sun each morning is a blessing, and not just another day.
So, once you’ve recognized what’s good in your life, look for something that will help eliminate what’s not so good in your life.
If your job, or lack of job, is not giving you the financial security you want and need, there are many vehicles out there to combat that. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
Yes, you may have to step outside your comfort zone, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised the number of people out there – perhaps whom you don’t know yet – who are or would be willing to help you.
Stepping from one’s comfort zone is not always easy, but it has to be easier than premature death.
We can blame lots of things for the positions many people find themselves in. But casting blame requires energy needed to help one get his life back. If one expends his energy thinking good thoughts, realizing that there is much good around him and that he should be grateful for that, it would be a good start.
It’s difficult enough, when you have an illness or injury that is going to take your life, to deal with death. Perfectly healthy folks certainly don’t need to resort to death to relieve their problems or stress.
Take in all the good things out there and live.
Peter
STOP! BREATHE! : PART 1
stop #breathe #CalmDown #suicides
Waiting in line. Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. A driver cuts you off while texting.
Life has its annoyances.
How do YOU deal with what annoys you?
Many people show their anger in destructive ways.
Others don’t let annoyances provoke overreaction. They breathe, and deal with it.
Gracie Bonds Staples, columnist for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, discussed this in a recent column.
Staples writes that she has honked her horn at distracted drivers at traffic lights. She was simply trying to let the driver know the light was green and it was time to go. It never occurred to her that such a thing could provoke enough anger that the driver wanted to kill – perhaps not literally – her.
“Any perceived offense, not matter how small, can turn bad quickly,” Staples writes.
She pointed to a recent article about a driver honking at another car. The driver and passengers in the vehicle being honked at followed the other car home and fired a warning shot. Those drivers returned to the man’s home two days later and fired several rounds at the man’s home.
Fortunately, a neighbor saw and reported them, so they were arrested.
Staples also talked about a wife who was so angry that her husband didn’t buy her a Valentine’s Day gift, that she attacked him with a baseball bat.
It’s difficult to imagine that such incidents provoke such overreaction. But there could be an explanation.
The economic recovery after the 2008 recession didn’t help everyone. Many people who lost jobs, homes and other financial assets in the downturn have never recovered. These people look at those who’ve benefitted from the recovery with disdain, and want revenge.
That vengeance is so bottled up that they take their anger out on other things and other people. Little annoyances become big offenses. Suddenly, they feel they have nothing else to lose.
The economic downturn has led to an increase in suicides, drug and alcohol abuse and other destructive behavior, according to recent reports.
If you are among those who are mad at the world because your life has changed for the worse, and you see no way it will get better, stop. Breathe. Calm down. Find a place at which you are at peace, sit and relax.
Whatever your instincts tell you, remember that your reaction could make your life worse than it already is – not to mention hurt others who mean you no harm.
There ARE solutions to economic losses, if you are willing to look for them. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll find people who’ve been broke, but found a solution, and are helping others do the same.
No matter your troubles, know that America is still a great place. The future is not dim, but bright. You can recover from your troubles without resorting to misplaced anger. Sure, little things can be annoying, but remember not to fret about things you can’t control, and work on the things you can control.
As sure as the sun rises every day, nothing is as bad as it seems. In fact, the future is something to very much look forward to.
Peter
ARE YOU 20-SOMETHING AND STILL LIVING WITH MOM AND DAD?
#millennials #StillLivingAtHome #adults
OK, you’re 20-something, with no job, perhaps a college degree.
Let’s presume you don’t want to be living at home, but you don’t believe you can afford not to.
If you PREFER to live with your parents, that may be a discussion for another time.
Peter Dunn, an author, speaker, radio host and personal finance expert, tells young people to “knock it off,” as the headline reads, and stop laying their financial problems on their parents. He discussed this in a March 29, 2016, column in USA Today.
Dunn says that every late-night pizza, every beer and every other good-time splurge in college contributed to the young person’s financial dilemma.
“Your parents (speaking directly to the young folks) want to cut you off, but are afraid to,” Dunn writes. “It’s not good enough to stop asking for money. You must tell them you don’t need their money anymore.”
Admittedly, the problem is not as simple as it appears. Kids go to college expecting to come out with some kind of job. But, as the last few years have taught us, not only is that not guaranteed, it’s becoming more unlikely in certain fields.
On top of not having a job, the kids may have mountains of college debt lurking in their lives.
Certainly, if you are in college now, you need to be aware that you might not have a job when you get out. The earlier you plan for it, by, say, watching your spending while in school or getting work experience in some area that might employ you when you get out, the better off you will be.
It’s great to love your parents. It’s great for your parents to love you. The greatest love you can show your parents, perhaps, is not to burden their lives. They are trying to save for retirement. Every dollar they give you is one they cannot put to that cause.
As a young person, you can lament that your parents probably had it better than you as far as the job market goes. Or, you can buck up and find ways to support yourself in the current climate.
Believe it or not, there are many ways out there to do that that don’t necessarily involve manual labor. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You may have to look outside your comfort zone for a solution, but the possibilities are out there.
Let’s look at this from a social perspective. Do you really want to bring a date back to your place with your mom and dad there? Do you really want to confine your personal space to one room? Do you really just want to hang out at home the rest of your life?
A life is certainly worth working for, even if that work may not be exactly what you want to do. You can also find a solution (job) that is temporary, while you think about how you are going to use all those skills and all that knowledge you paid so dearly for. Chances are, you WILL find a use for it, but it may or may not make you a living.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that asking 18-year-olds to commit to tens of thousands of dollars of debt, without a job, income or assets, is among the stupidest things modern society does,” Dunn writes.
We hear that you can only get a good job with a good education. But some of those “good” jobs don’t pay much. If you are going to commit to a college education, have a plan. Know what you are going to do with it as you proceed. Also, beforehand, do the math. Decide whether the education is worth the debt. There’ no shame in deciding that college is NOT for you, or just not worth the financial sacrifice.
Whatever you do, give mom and dad a break. Come home to visit, even frequently. But make your home somewhere out of theirs.
Peter
PENSIONS: WHAT YOU WERE PROMISED MAY NOT BE DELIVERED
#pensions #retirement #RetirementSavings
Retired Teamsters are sweating.
For those covered by the Central States Pension Fund, a multiemployer pension fund, the outlook is grim.
Central States is paying out $3.46 for every dollar it’s taking in, according to Mary Sanchez, columnist for The Kansas City Star. Her column appeared in a February 2016 edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
To avert a dissolution of the fund, Central States applied to the Treasury Department, the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which ensures pensions against bankruptcy, and the Department of Labor for permission to cut pension payments to beneficiaries, Sanchez writes.
If the plan goes through, many beneficiaries would face cuts of up to 60 percent in the payment they had spent their lives working for, believing it was guaranteed, Sanchez writes. Until 2014, it wasn’t legal to do that. But that year, the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act was attached at the last minute to a must-pass omnibus spending bill, according to Sanchez.
On its face, it’s not fair to those retirees. It is not their fault that their pension fund is losing its economic viability.
But it’s not as if this was a surprise. We’ve been warned for years that because there are more retirees than workers to support them, a pension crisis was looming.
The Great Recession exacerbated the problem because many of the workers have lost their jobs. In the case of the Teamsters, union membership has declined. There are fewer jobs, and more of the jobs that still exist are being done by non-union labor.
In fact, many employers are not including pension benefits as part of the employment package.
If you are still working, chances are very good that you are on your own to fund your retirement.
What to do?
First, especially if you are young, dedicate a portion of what you earn toward your retirement. Put that amount from each paycheck into a fund and, with the help of a trusted adviser, invest it properly. Don’t fret the gyrations of the stock market. Time usually heals such wounds, and the market, over time, has proved to increase a person’s wealth considerably.
Another solution is to find one of the many alternative ways to earn money outside of your job, and see whether it is right for you. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. If you like what you see, and do it properly over time, you may not have to worry about your retirement.
If you are currently retired, or near retirement, such Plan B options may help you live a secure retirement.
As Sanchez points out, the solution to the pension debacle will be costly. Even the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is in danger, she writes.
Though making the pensioners pay the price may be unfair, it may be unavoidable.
Even if you were promised a good, secure pension, be it from the public or private sector, don’t presume those promises will be kept forever. The option of working longer may not be available. It’s best to take such matters into your own hands. Only you can assure a comfortable, secure retirement.
Peter
WHOM DO YOU TRUST?
#trust #retirement #saving
America has an issue with trust, and it’s getting worse.
So said a headline in the Feb. 14, 2016, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The headline was over an article by Gail MarksJarvis, personal finance columnist with The Chicago Tribune, and author of “Saving for Retirement Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery.”
MarksJarvis wrote about Richard Edelman, president of the Edelmen public relations firm. He spoke to a group of CEOs about trust, and why fewer and fewer people are trusting big institutions, be they government, corporations or other large entities.
“Economists have been troubled throughout the recovery (from the 2008 economic collapse) that even though incomes were slowly rising and households should have more pocket money now that gas prices are low, spending hasn’t followed the expected trend. Consumers are increasing their saving and being careful about spending,” MarksJarvis writes.
Of course, the CEOS want to know about this because they want to sell more of their products and services. They want to know how to get people to part with more of their purses’ contents.
Remember, a few years before the collapse, we were told that people weren’t saving enough? After the collapse, for many, saving became even more difficult, so we still have a real problem with people not having nearly enough put away for retirement, or even enough for emergency expenses that are crucial to life.
Now that some of those folks are “recovering,” they are beginning to save more. This has to be good for most of us, albeit not so good for businesses.
Who would have thought that the big drop in gasoline prices would have Wall Street in a tailspin? Turns out that companies who went out looking for new sources of oil, natural gas etc., borrowed lots of money to do it. Now, as oil prices have sunk, these companies are having difficulty paying their debts back. That’s having an effect throughout the economy.
Through all this, it seems, Americans have become jaded and have no faith that the institutions of community are looking out for them. It’s certainly OK to be skeptical, but when skepticism turns to cynicism, everyone, eventually, gets hurt.
The lesson here is to look for people and institutions you feel you can trust, and work with them. Continue to spend carefully, and save aggressively. Also know that no matter how much money a corporation makes or saves, your job, if you have one, could still be in peril.
If you are scared, or angry, at what you see happening in the country or around the world, take a breath. Americans still have a great capacity for turning miserable circumstances into wonderful success. If you’d like to be part of that turnaround, and see yourself as success waiting to happen, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll find stories of people from all walks of life who have turned their difficult circumstances into powerful success.
As the title of MarksJarvis’ book suggests, you CAN save for retirement without impoverishing yourself or winning the lottery. It takes discipline and careful spending – things Americans seem to be doing.
Sometimes one has to look hard to find someone, or some institution, he or she can trust to look out for him or her. They are out there, but one has to keep looking and not get discouraged.
Peter
HOW MUCH HOUSE SHOULD YOU BUY?
#housing #RealEstate #OverHoused
Buying a house is never easy, unless you are, say, an investor paying cash.
Most homebuyers need a mortgage, and getting qualified for one is a process.
Peter Dunn, a financial planner, says many people are “over-housed.” It’s a concept of paying too much money for housing, in relation to one’s income. In some areas, housing prices are over the top, and one cannot help paying too much for a house.
But some over-housing is self-inflicted, Dunn says. He wrote about over-housing in a column in the Jan. 18, 2016, edition of USA Today.
He cites the example of Mark and Jennifer, a Midwestern couple in their mid-40s, who decided 11 years ago to build their “family home.”
Mark and Jennifer knew they were pushing the limit of what they could afford, but the bank approved them for a loan. That gave them reassurance, Dunn writes.
“Things spiraled out of control from there,” Dunn quotes Jennifer.
When housing bubbles burst, it’s the over-housed folks who get slammed first. Are you over-housed? Here are Dunn’s pitfalls: if you’ve dumped everything into a house, and have no emergency fund, you could be in trouble. There are also the realities of increased utility costs, home maintenance, homeowners insurance, property taxes etc. If you didn’t budget for those increases, you could be in trouble.
Mark and Jennifer’s home was 2,000 square feet bigger than their previous home. Their utility costs were much higher and, after two homeowners insurance claims, their premiums went through the roof, Dunn writes. Their tax assessment was based on the value of the land alone. When the structure was added, their tax bill tripled, Dunn writes.
Worse yet, the couple hasn’t saved a dime for the future, Dunn writes. If you’ve given up vacations, new clothes and dining out to live in your new home, you are probably OK, Dunn writes. If you’ve given up your current and future stability, you’re in trouble, he says.
Dunn’s rule of thumb: don’t let the bank tell you how much house you can afford. Being house-rich and cash-poor is not a good situation, especially if housing values plummet, as they did in 2008. Your house is a significant investment, but don’t rely on the equity in it to secure your future. You need to be saving and investing regularly.
The folks who have a comfortable retirement are those who lived BELOW their means, and socked money away. If you buy or build a house, make sure your mortgage payment and other expenses leave a portion of your paycheck left over to save and invest.
Taking vacations and dining out occasionally are nice, too, but saving and investing for retirement are a priority.
Of course, there are ways to earn extra money so you can live in that dream house. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll see stories of people who bought their dream home, but not until they had the money – often the cash – to do it.
Remember, too, that homeownership is not for everyone. Though the American Dream may dictate that one owns his own home, give some thought to the life you want to lead before deciding to buy or build. That house could own you, in more ways than one.
In short, do the math before buying or building a home. Make sure the house doesn’t eat too much of your net worth. If you tap out your emergency fund for that down payment, it could come back to bite you.
Just because you think you CAN swing it, doesn’t mean that you SHOULD.
Peter
MILLENNIALS ARE QUITTING THEIR JOBS OFTEN
“God, today we pray for all those who are looking for a job. Guide them to the company you have for them. Grant them favor with employers and fill them with patience and wisdom as they search. Provide every need as they wait on you! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Prayer for Employment www.facebook.com/circleofprayer
#millennials #jobs #QuittingYourJob
A few years ago, if you were fortunate enough to have a job, you did what you could to hold on to it.
If you were out of a job, you pounded the pavement. Perhaps you prayed.
Today, according to a Bloomberg News article by Natalie Kitroeff, quitting is in.
More than 3 million Americans quit their job in December 2015, Kitroeff writes. That’s the highest number since 2006, Kitroeff quotes the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The quits rate, which measures how many people ended their employment out of everyone who worked in a given month, reached its highest level in seven years, Kitroeff writes.
Millennials, those between 18 and 34 years old, became the largest segment of the U.S. labor market, and that work force is expected to increase even more. They seem to be averse to spending their work lives at one desk, Kitroeff writes.
This shows that the economy is definitely improving. Workers, particularly young workers, don’t generally quit their jobs unless they have another one, or are confident they will get one fairly quickly.
Kitroeff quotes a survey by accounting giant Deloitte of 7,500 working, college-educated professionals born after 1982 in 29 countries. Sixty-six percent hoped to have a different job in five years from now, or sooner. Forty-four percent said they would quit within two years and 25 percent said they would quit this year, to either start a new job or “do something different.”
The millennials’ parents and grandparents, for the most part, craved the security of a job. They craved the benefits – health insurance, pension, vacation time etc. – as well as the steady paycheck.
Millennials seem to have a different outlook on work, the future etc. Much of the benefits their forebears craved have been significantly reduced, or have gone away entirely.
For previous generations, the benefits a job provided were both a blessing and a curse. They blessed those employees with something extra that was worth real money. They cursed them, because they kept them tied to a job, when they might have wanted to go to work elsewhere. Some have even used the term, “golden handcuffs,” to describe a benefit-laden job that a person just can’t afford to give up.
One of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act is that it allows workers to have health insurance that is not tied to a job. This could embolden them to want to leave one employment situation for another.
Are you now in a job that you hate, that doesn’t use the many skills and talents you have, or doesn’t provide you with the future you believe you deserve? If you need the steady paycheck, one solution might be to work on a Plan B outside of work. A Plan B might provide you with an income cushion so you can look for a position more to your liking. For one of the best Plan Bs, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
Traditional employment is changing. Perhaps you seek the independence that a traditional job does not provide. Perhaps you want to be an entrepreneur and work for yourself. Perhaps your boss doesn’t see how valuable you really are.
Allow yourself to dream. Get a Plan B. Independence awaits those who want it, and are willing to look for it.
Peter
DIGITAL EVIDENCE AND HIRING PRACTICES
#PredictiveAnalytics #SocialMedia #jobs
We all know the job-search routine: find a job you might want, send a resume, fill out an application, sit for an interview and, assuming you decide the job is for you, get hired.
But with the advent of social media, employers not only have ways to find out things about you, they can do social media profiles, so-called predictive analytics, on you to determine whether you have the characteristics they want.
Rodd Wagner, best-selling author and confidential adviser to senior business and government leaders, discussed this in a Jan. 21, 2016, column in USA Today. Wagner’s most recent book is titled, “Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If They’re Real People.”
Wagner’s book title is ominous, though most of us have probably had jobs in which the boss may not have looked at us as “people.” We were more like “assets,” or “human resources.”
Few people realize how much digital evidence they leave in their wake, Wagner writes. A person’s profile of the “Big Five” personality traits – openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism – can be discovered through a person’s Facebook posts and likes, and machine coding of what the person has written online, Wagner writes.
We’ve all heard creepy stories of prospective employers demanding to know one’s Facebook password, so he can delve more deeply into one’s personality. We’ve also heard stories of schoolteachers and other public figures being fired for posting a picture of himself or herself enjoying a harmless glass of wine.
Many of us don’t think that what we do online is in the public domain. We may think that only our “friends” see it. Now, Wagner asserts, an online profile of you can be created through patterns of activities on social media and elsewhere in the digital world.
Is this fair? Fairness doesn’t matter. Employers will do whatever is legal and possible to find out everything they can about you, especially if they are hiring you for a big-time or sensitive job.
Wagner writes that this process is messy. Poor decisions will be made because of that evidence. There will be abuses. There will be lawsuits, either because the computer picked someone else for a promotion, or, if predictive analysis proves far superior than human judgment, because a company relied solely on people rather than machines to make its decision.
Messiness also produces backlash, Wagner writes. There will be legislation and court rulings to redefine worker privacy and managerial discretion in the predictive analytics world. The goal is to ensure that science serves employees with a better job fit and opportunities, as much as it serves the business, Wagner writes.
The moral here is to be careful on social media. Watch out for political discussions, controversial posts etc. Read them if you must, but react to them publicly at your peril, if you ever intend to look for a job. “Like” a cute picture, but be wary of “liking” a controversial drawing or cartoon.
Most of all, take care in what you write. You can be yourself, and still be somewhat unassuming. Be careful in complaining about someone, or something. Make sure your posts are as positive as they can be.
Of course, if you’d like not to have to worry about predictive analytics, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll find a way to save money, make money and avoid confrontation with a prospective employer.
Your online activity can say lots about you, whether it’s correct or not. You may have a hard time correcting incorrect perceptions should you have to confront predictive analytics.
Peter