The Annoyance of Modern Job Hunting and More....

 Job hunting is never easy....

The modern job hunter is believed to have many more options when it comes to looking up job postings now then job hunters 10-20 years in the past. The internet has given the average job hunter access to positions all across the globe if they really want to apply for them but there are problems with that.

In the past, when looking for work, you were usually put up against people from your own geographical locations, which would greatly increase your chances of landing a decent, well paying job. Employers used to be limited to the area in which they were open for business and therefore their options were limited by the people in the area. Now, with so many more options available to them and so many more applicants able to apply for the same positions, the job market has become that much more difficult to navigate despite all the additional tools.

One of those tools, the one most commonly used by job hunters, is the job search website. Sites such as Monster, Workopolis  and Linkedin have become very popular over the years as they claim to be the go to place for job seekers all over North America. The problem with some of these sites is that to find the "job of your dreams" you have to pay for it. Some would argue that it isn't much of a difference then having to pay for a news paper to search their "Want" ads but I would disagree.

The average unemployed or under-employed person (basically someone who is over-qualified for the job they currently have) should not be put into a position where they have to buy their way into a new and better job. The job market should not be limited by your financial ability to pay a website to "hook you up" as it were, with an employer that is looking for the specific skill set that you possess.

I only mention this because after I did set myself up on Linkedin, I was sent a quick message advising that I could get "pushed to the top of the line" in my advanced job search if I pad for their enhanced services. What if every single person was paying for the service, how could everyone get pushed to the front of the line? Sounds like a scam to me.

One last thing about some of the job openings that are posted online. I find it absolutely ridiculous that many of these independent companies expect people to set up profiles with their websites and take a good 10 minutes just to apply for the possibility of getting an interview with them for a position. It's insulting and a waste of time. Half of the job postings that I find interesting I refuse to apply for just because they expect this from applicants. Do these HR managers have a fucking clue how much time it takes to apply to different jobs? Why on earth they would think that the average applicant has the time to do this is beyond me but it's retarded.

On to a few other things.

This weekends Wibmeldon Champs, In case you missed it....

Roger Federer won his 17th and Serena Williams won her 14th Grand Slam Final as each won the singles title in London at the all England Club, Wimbledon over the weekend. You didn't hear about it? Don't worry, it's tennis. Not many people focus on that sport anymore anyway. Even though Serena and her sister Venus were supposed to be the breakthrough many people felt the sport of Tennis needed to get more diversity into the sport, the two of them, much like Tiger Woods, have not had nearly the impact that many foresaw happening. Neither the Williams' nor Tiger have had the same impact that Jackie Robinson had on Baseball back in the midway point of the 20th century. Instead, many young urban black kids are focuses on Football and Basketball and nothing seems to be able to break the grip those 2 sports have on the Black community in North America.

The MLB All-Star game will play out tomorrow night. Only 1 Blue Jay will be there (Jose Bautista, who is tied for the league lead, again, with 27 homers so far this year). Which is wrong. At least 1 other player should have been there with him and that player is Edwin Encarnacion. He is having a career year  (In a contract year no less) and with his 23 Home Runs, 58 RBI's and .295 batting average, he should have been included in the Mid-summer Classic.

Both Easy E and Joey Bats Should be at the All-Star Game this year....

The fact that he is not there and some others with lesser statistics are begs the question of why they haven't expanded the All-Star Rosters so that obvious omissions (like this) don't occur. It would help if the team were chosen more on merit then based on position but that's not practical in Baseball's All-Star game. The only positive of Easy E not being on the team is that its one less bullet in the gun his agent will try to put to the head of Blue Jays Management after this season is over.

American hockey players go home all the time, Canadian? Not so much

So Zack Parise and Ryan Suter choose to "go home" and sign identical 13 year - $98 million contracts with the Minnesota wild, yet Ric Nash refuses to waive his no trade clause in his contract to include Toronto as one of the teams that he would be willing to be traded to and Steve Nash uses the Raptors offer to get some leverage in order to facilitate a sign and trade from Phoenix to the LA Lakers. Is it just me or are Canadians becoming soft when it comes to the sporting world? They are purposefully choosing to ignore their hometowns and opting to play elsewhere for big bucks.

 Using the Raptors to create more offers for yourself is kind of low in my view....

I know that it sounds harsh but I really do think that it has to be some kind of mentality thing with Canadian athletes who have grown up dealing with the relentless Toronto-based media. I would go so far as to say that Canadian athletes are soft because they are too chicken shit to deal with the pressures that come with playing for your home town team. Before Nash and Nash, there was Dany Heatley choosing to decline being traded to the Oilers. There was Jamaal Magloire chosing not to play for Canada in any off-season international basketball tournaments (when he was at his prime) Even Joey Votto and the fact he just signed a 12 year extension with the Reds when he was 1 year away from being a free agent that could have (and would have) commanded a boatload of money from Rogers to get him into a Blue Jays jersey seems to me to be a slap in the face to the Toronto sports scene and sports media in Canada in general.

Sorry bud but if you are too chicken to play in TO, then we don't want you here anyway

Canadian athletes seem to be willfully choosing to stay away from home opting instead to play away from the pressure of playing where they grew up. I really don't understand  this thought process. If you can use your home town to become a great athlete, why can't you find it in your "heart" to come home and try to make your home town team a winner? The Toronto media is partially to blame as they are turning into Piranha's when it comes to breaking news and (ultimately) being overly negative about just about everything but the athlete themselves are more to blame for fearing the media and using that as an excuse not to play in Toronto. You really are pathetic in my view.

 Am I crazy to be the only one who questions Phelps accomplishments?

Everyone is making a big deal about Micahel Phelps and his medals. While it's an impressive feat, no question, there is one thing that always makes me wonder. When the Cold War was ongoing, the Russians and Eastern Bloq countries were accused of using steroids and ultimately fessed up to it as the reason for much of their dominance in many Summer Sports. When Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis were battling in the late 1980, it was widely accepted that the majority of the field was running dirty (a fact that only the Americans and Carl Lewis deny to this day). We all know what happened to Ben Johnson in 1988 but nothing ever happened to ANY of the other "dirty" athletes, many of whom were American.

Now we have an Olympic swimmer who has 16 Olympic medals to his name, 14 of which are Gold, and no one has ever wondered aloud if he has used any kind of drug to help his performance other then the weed he was caught doing 3 years ago? Doesn't that make you wonder even a little? If he was from any other country in the world, the US media would be clamoring to discredit such an abnormality in the sporting world as being the result of pharmaceuticals. I'm not saying he IS dirty or cheating, I just wonder why it is that no one has ever even considered the possibility that he MAY have been using something from BALCO or HGH. I just find it odd.

John Travolta is trying to fend off the mounting evidence of his homosexuality (only a really gay man would not be able to stay straight for Kelly Preston) and another rumoured-to-be-gay member of Scientology, Tom Cruise, is in for the fight of his life as Katie Holmes has filed for Divorce in the State of New York and not California, intentionally simply because of the fact that she has a better chance to win sole custody of their daughter Suri in New York then in California. At the same time, Rupert Murdoch (owner of many media outlets and a weird person of his own doing) has been tweeting about how "strange and evil" the "Cult" of Scientology really seems to be. The house of cards that Scientology seems to have built on (the weird and wacky mind of creator and founder L.Ron Hubbard) seems to finally be imploding upon itself as two of its' most important and highest ranking members are having to deal with huge personal issues that may or may not bring their beliefs into question.

John, be a man and just come clean already....

Travolta has been having, according to the ever increasing reports, gay encounters for years and still more that he has attempted to have by offering money to men for sexual favours, that have been thwarted. I feel for the guy about what happened with his son Jet but enough is enough. Come clean already and admit it. You are just causing undue harm and stress to your wife over this issue. Just be honest about it already and get the media off your back.

 Katie probably figured after playing Jackie O in a movie, it would be best not to live her life as well...

In an interesting twist with regards to the Cruise-Holmes Divorce, because of the fact Katie has purposely chosen to use the New York State family court, Scientology will actually have to be defended legally. This is because in the state of New York, family court judges are much more inclined to grant full custody to one parent over the other if there is any question about the living conditions the child will be exposed to. This means that there is a possibility that Cruise will have to explain intimate details of Scientology in order for it not to be deemed a cult in the eyes of the court and therefore dangerous for Suri to be around as she grows up. It is very possible that Scientology as a whole could come crashing down if the New York State family court deems t a cult. Membership could fall sharply, their finances could crumble. Who knows but this divorce proceeding is going to be nasty and ugly and could change the very shape of Hollywood as we know it.

Maybe if it ends up that Scientology is deemed a cult, maybe then we will see a real shift away from the culture of greed that we see in most stars today. 

Let me know what you think of my latest blog. Feel free to post your thoughts.

Until next time....