<p>I hope your son can keep looking for a decent job. My daughter had her 11th interview today after filling out 123 applications. But for every math teaching opening there has been over 200 applicants…</p>
<p>Aha! I just got an email with a form for authorizing a background check!</p>
<p>Is it strange to do that in the middle of the interview process? They told me before there was still one more to go, this form came without any explanation.</p>
<p>mom60-- I had a job like that once and it was endlessly frustrating, in the end it turned out the guy was cheating on his taxes and we had to get an attorney involved to get the money I was owed and to get him to issue my W2-- no court, thankfully. But in my admittedly limited experience, I have found that it always seems easier to get a job when you already have a job! So it may turn out to be useful after all even if it isn’t an experience he looks back on fondly.</p>
<p>I took a tour of the BMW plant recently in Greenville, SC. I couldn’t believe the roborts. I just read that Tennessee is getting a new Volkswagon manufacturing plant. It might be worthwhile to think about an engineering position at one of these. Imported auto plants are doing well in the south, (all except for NC because taxes are too high).</p>
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<p>No, they don’t want to do it at the front-end as it would be too many people. If you do it after you’ve whittled your numbers down too much, then you might have candidates that decline your offer and then you have to go back to try to get other candidates and then run background checks on them.</p>
<p>^^^Great tip, checkbook. There are lots of auto plants in the south now. We saw so many as we did our college tours of the Alabama colleges. The Mercedes plant outside of Tuscaloosa is amazing. There’s a Nissan plant outside of Jackson, Mississippi. I believe we saw another plant as we were heading to visit Auburn. These are all great places to live: friendly people, amazing food, and happily, out of hurricane range! Great engineering jobs!</p>
<p>mom60, I hope your S realizes he needs to save and pay the quarterly taxes his “employer” is not paying, including about 15% social security and medicare. Since he is submitting an invoice instead of getting a paycheck he is responsible for it all. He also needs to keep track of expenses so he can write them off. </p>
<p>However, he can also report this guy to the IRS since S does not really meet the test of an independent contractor.</p>
<p>Singersmom07- H gave S the news about the taxes. Due to some investments by grandparents S actually has an accountant. The accountant told him to put aside about 33% for everything. S is already paying estimated taxes. The accountant told him he could report the employer to the IRS. S will not do it. My S (who has a huge heart) actually feels bad for the guy (wife and two young children) and likes him. My S feels like the guy will pay him all that he is owed.</p>
<p>I try to always think the best of the people that I meet and do business with but I do know the realities of running a business. I hope everything works out for your son.</p>
<p>mom60, *My S (who has a huge heart) actually feels bad for the guy (wife and two young children) and likes him. * It’s one thing to feel emotionally okay about this arrangement, but I sure hope your son can also distinguish between an emotional tie and a business one. That said, I do think he’s better off temporarily accepting this issue as is, but that it can’t go on each paycheck.</p>
<p>My son, a rising junior, answered an ad that promised to pay $10 an hour. After several interviews and then after being offered the job, they switched it to $10 per new customer. He complained to the recruiter who then spoke to the employer and canceled the listing. It’s a tough market out there, but being dishonest with the people who work for you is just wrong.</p>
<p>One of the gross injustices of this economy is that it enables private employers to operate what amounts to slave shops. My daughter “interned” at an art gallery. This is a major art gallery owned by two multi-kagillionaires. She got the internship through the university, and it gave her college credit for the internship. Supposedly you get credit for taking internships, and in return the firm where you intern is supposed to teach you something, right?</p>
<p>One of the things the art gallary “taught” her was how to be a household servant. She was invited to attend the opening of an exhibition. When she showed up, it turns out she was supposed to circulate with trays of drinks and canapes. She said the good part was that it was attended by a bunch of famous Hollywood stars. That’s something, anyway.</p>
<p>I find it really disgusting that these firms (and this wasn’t her only experience) get slave labor, avoid hiring and paying a true employee, and the students keep quiet because they’re terrified that if they don’t have internships on their resumes, they won’t get a job when they graduate. These companies are acting illegally and immorally, and it really makes me mad. The exhibition was held at one of the owner’s homes. He had a huge mansion filled with millions of dollars of art and personal effects, and he couldn’t afford to pay her even minimum wage? What a crock.</p>
<p>^D1 had similar job last year. The worst part is to park someone’s expensive car. She was so afraid that she would ding it somehow.</p>
<p>Got the call for the “final” interview. It’s scheduled for next week, but I was warned this could be tentative because the man I’m interviewing with is scheduled to become a grandfather the day before-- which is my birthday.</p>
<p>That’s gotta be good luck. :P</p>
<p>The only job that i could get was through my college, now im a peer tutor. Other then that i cant even get a job anywhere. So tell him to call up kraft foods, or rubbermaid. They always hire temps he can work 3rd shift.</p>
<p>Son received an email from a recruiter for an IT job where they wanted CS/engineering graduates. I generally don’t understand why companies do this unless they think that CS/engineering degrees are tougher than CIS and IT degrees and that the CS/engineering students can just grow into the Business and IT side of things. Son doesn’t have most of the skills that they want (he’s more hardcore math, science, theory, algorithms, etc.) either. So I suggested that he reply with an email with his current status (working), and why he doesn’t line up well with the job posting and an offer to talk if they are still interested. He sent them a resume a few months ago for science/engineering job postings.</p>
<p>Recent political discussion could result in serious cutbacks to this company (and many other similar companies in our area) so it would be important to gauge project support before accepting a position. If I were cynical, I’d think that they’re looking for desperate grads looking for jobs. They could have a wonderful job working on a wonderful project but they’ll have to sell it instead of the other way around.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention: 10,000 jobs will be lost with the Borders bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs is chopping 1,000 jobs, I’d guess that some of the other banks are doing the same given the dismal results reported this week. On the other hand Google, IBM and some other companies are doing quite well. I expect excellent earnings at Apple this afternoon.</p>
<p>^^^
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but I read somewhere that CISCO will be cutting 16%. Maybe that work is just moving elsewhere (somewhere cheaper), I don’t know.</p>
<p>I read that they were cutting 10,000 a few weeks ago and another report that they were cutting 6,000 this week. I thought that maybe the 6,000 was in the US and the 10K was worldwide.</p>
<p>Cisco is facing a lot of competition for their products and has had difficulty in growing new businesses. Intel just announced today that they bought a company that will help them to compete in Cisco’s space. In tech, you innovate or die.</p>
<p>CISCO is cutting 15% of vice president level jobs.</p>
<p>Cisco’s also shutting down an entire business unit - their ill-starred and, at least in hindsight, pointless - purchase of Flip.</p>
<p>CISCO function as a cylindrical organisation instead of a pyramid. I think they can slim even further at the VP level.</p>
<p>So I had my final interview the other day, and I just missed a call while I was in the shower from some management person that is not an HR guy giving me his cell number to call him back this weekend, or an office number to call Monday. I’m confused that it isn’t HR calling me. My dad told me not to call right back and to wait until Monday. I don’t know what I should do-- my car is in the shop until Tuesday and I have to go shopping for clothes so I can’t really start on Monday if that’s what he wants, but I don’t want him to think I’m not enthusiastic either. And I was planning to ask the woman from HR that I’ve been corresponding with for more particulars about the dress code when she called… </p>
<p>This is all very intimidating! I wish my parents weren’t out of town until September. :(</p>