Summer Job Outlook

As many college students head home for the summer they will all be looking for one thing; a summer job. Unfortunately for those students, this summer teens and young adults are going to have a rough time landing a job. This summer, they are competing against people that are experienced and laid off professionals, who are all applying for the same jobs. Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob.com said it's not a summer to be picky about what type of work you do. If you find a job take it as soon as you can before someone else comes in and takes it away from you. The only advantage some teens may have over experienced professionals is that the experienced workers have too much experience, and the store that's thinking about hiring them might be scared to hire them for only a couple months until they find something better.

Last summer, 4.8 million young Americans worked in the leisure and hospitality industry. Some of these places include theme parks, hotels and restaurants. The other popular industries were in retail (3.9 million workers) and in education or health services (2.1 million workers). The number of workers came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The places that usually employ the teens and college students are also the places that are looking to cut back on spending because they have been hit so hard by the recession. The lack of cash coming in means they don't need quite so many workers because there won't be hundreds of people at Six Flags at a time. Only 29% of hiring managers intend to hire the same amount of workers as they did last year and 18% of hiring managers expect to hire fewer workers this summer. People are hopeful that this is as bad as everything will get, and that we are slowly recovering and next summer will be better as far as summer jobs goes. If you've been looking for a job, have you noticed how hard it is to find one?

In Response to Jason

The online world is now the norm for people to access anything and everything. You can order food from a restaurant and pay your bills online all within five minutes of each other. All you have to do is provide information about yourself and you are able to do anything. Is it becoming too much too fast? It is always good to look for the security lock at the top of the screen on the html bar, but does that mean no one is looking at your information? You are sometimes required to enter your social security number, phone number, e-mail address, home address, how much you make a month and the list goes on and on. When do you know you're safe?

The answer is you just don't. You have to trust that your information is being protected and no one is going to use it against you, but sometimes you just have to wonder. It's crazy that in order to apply for things people want you to type your personal information out for them, it would feel safer in a way to do it over the phone with that company, just in case your information was to land into the wrong hands and someone did something unethical with it. Do you think the online world has become too much too soon?

When to Hold off on the Debit

In our society today, there are so many ways to pay for your purchase. Do you reach for your check, your credit card, debit card, cash, or gift card? The most common way to pay for your purchases is by using a credit or debit card. It's important for consumers to remember that there are many differences between credit and debit cards when you use them to buy something. There's a difference in how the transactions are processed and the protections offered on the cards are different as well. It is important to know when you should and shouldn't use your debit card considering it is linked directly to your bank and as soon as that plastic is swiped, the money is deducted.

You should never use your debit card online. If your card number was to somehow get into the hands of someone with bad intentions, it will only end badly for you since the card is linked to your bank account. Yes, banks do have policies that will put the money back into your account if you notify them of the stolen card number, but it is such a hassle to call the bank and get them to put your money back into your account. It could take weeks to get your money back and maybe you will have to give up a form of entertainment since you don't have that money. Another instance when you wouldn't want to use your card would be when you are putting a sizable deposit down on equipment or another product. You wouldn't want to clean out your entire bank account by putting $3000 down, so instead it would make sense to use a credit card to hold the product you are interested in. It also isn't a good idea to use a debit card in a restaurant because of the amount of people around that could possibly get a hold of your card and have enough time to write down your card information. I never use a debit card at restaurants anymore because one time I was charged four times for my meal. The register kept freezing and the worker running the register assured me I wouldn't be charged more than once, and sure enough when I got home to check my account they had deducted it four times. I had to call the corporate office and it was such a hassle to deal with them, it took weeks to get my money back into my account.

It's also a bad idea to use your debit card for recurring payments. It would be awful if you forgot to put money into your checking account or forgot to subtract the bill payment from your account, then you would be left paying fees for overdrawing. It would be easier just to go to the website for where you are paying the bill every month and do it manually there for yourself, that way you will know you have enough money in your account and you will avoid the embarrassment or overdrawing fees. If you are planning to travel within the next year, but want to book early so you know you will have a place to stay, you should do it with a credit card. Hotels aren't immune to people hacking into their systems, so would you really want your information sitting there for months waiting for you to arrive. Do you agree with any of the reasons on why you shouldn't use your debit card?

In Response to Elizabeth Allaire

Elizabeth asked the following question: Do you think that the Ohio Department of Economic Development would be willing to work something out with John Smith or would they just take back their offer and go to another company who would just take the money and give them customer names?

I think the the Ohio Department of Economic Development would be willing to work with John Smith to a point and of course with a few conditions about customer privacy. I don't think they would be willing to work with him if he was fussy about giving over the whole customer list. You have to keep in mind that he either sells them his list or he lays people off. He also has to do what's morally correct, which would be to say no. He should say no because it violates so many laws by turning over the customer information just so a dealership can thrive on annoying potential buyers, who probably don't even want to go to THAT dealership. He could get in a lot of trouble with the authorities as well, especially if he didn't ask the people that he surveyed if he could give their information out to dealerships. When these people took the survey they probably thought they were only helping out a local firm and not thinking that a car dealership would want all their information so they could target them. All in all I have a feeling that John Smith will say no because it's the right thing to do and he will have to lay off people, but it will save him money. I say this because if the authorities found out about his deal with the dealership, which they would because they eventually find everything, then he would be facing legal fees, which could lead to even more layoffs. I think that the car dealership should just try to advertise to potential buyers in their own way rather than trying to buy a list from someone who took a survey on people that might buy cars. Yes, it is an easy way to target people that are looking, but it also causes a lot of problems because the firms taking the surveys probably didn't ask the customers permission to pass on their information. What do you think is the right thing to do in this situation?

John Smith's Firm

John Smith's firm is not doing well in the economy right now and he fears that he will have to start laying off a number of employees, like most companies at this point in time. John recently surveyed 2,000 citizens that live in Ohio to determine if they are going to buy a car in the near future. A car dealership heard about what John's firm was doing and has offered him $8,000 for the information on the people that said they were likely or very likely to buy a new car. John is facing a big layoff or he can hand over the information to the car dealership and breathe a sigh of relief because he just received $8,000. Should he do it?

I don't think he should do it. I know he's in need of money but that seems like a violation of privacy to the people he surveyed. Car dealers are known to be very pushy and try to talk you into buying a car, which is something most people don't want to deal with. The people that were surveyed might feel overwhelmed and slightly annoyed that they even participated in the survey because now they are being bombarded with a car dealership trying to persuade them to buy a car at their dealership. In the AMA Statement of Ethics one of the values is honesty. If John's firm was playing the honesty card they should have asked everyone that they interviewed if they wouldn't mind having their information released to a car dealership. That way the people that wanted to be bothered by the car dealership could be and the people that wanted to be left alone would not be bothered. It wouldn't be right for John to sell the information without anyone's approval first. I understand that he's in need of money, but it's not worth it to make the people mad that took the time out of their busy lives to complete his firm's survey.

I think the car dealership is also in need of money too, so they are getting desperate to have some cars sold. It seems that spending $8000 just to get a list of potential buyers is a waste of money. What if the people you are trying to persuade get so annoyed with your dealership that they just buy elsewhere? When people are shopping for cars they want to do it their own way and go to the dealership they want, whether it's Toyota, Honda, etc...they will go where they've probably always gone because it works for them and it's less hassle. Do you think it was wrong for the car dealership to offer John's firm $8,000 just for a list of people?

In Response to Sam

Do you think organic foods are worth spending the extra money for? Will the industry remain sustainable? Those were the questions that Sam asked at the end of his post on organic foods and my answer is yes to both of those questions. Organic food is so much healthier for you than a bag of candy. Yes, the candy might taste better, but if you're worried about staying healthy then you should go for the healthier brand of food. Organic food has come a long way in the past five years, customers can buy everything they want and most stores have a whole organic section that's all in a row, so customers don't have to wander all over the store looking for the food that they want to buy. Some of the snacks foods they offer are chocolate covered raisins, chips or peanuts...they aren't your typical junk food snack but they're still tasty and put the nutrients that your body needs into it. People that have health problems such as celiac disease can only really shop in the organic food section because most of the food is gluten free, unlike the rest of the unhealthier food in the store. Organic food offers an option for these people that have to be very careful of what they eat, and they can have a variety of things just because of the advancements that organic food has made in the supermarket industry, and the customers don't have to just keep eating the same foods over and over because now they actually have a choice on what they want.

I definitely think the organic food industry will last because more people than you think shop in that section. Even if they aren't buying a while cart full of stuff, they are still picking up things from the section here and there. I used to work at Shaws and most people had stuff from the organic section, whether it was for them or for their kids that they're trying to have eat right. Protein bars that a lot of athletes eat are in the organic section and we sold a lot of those in one day to people who were looking for the nutrients that they needs. I don't see the organic food industry going away any time soon, I think they will shock us all and make advancements that we haven't even seen yet.

Where do you think the industry is going?

Cellular Phones to Let Shoppers Point, Click and Purchase

Shoppers will soon be able to stand outside the designer boutique called Norma Kamali's, which is located in Manhattan, and they will be able to point a phone at merchandise in the window and buy it. They can even do this late at night when the store is closed. Ms. Kamali, the owner, is one of the leaders in the industry with the technological transformations which will be coming to many of the nation's retailers in no time at all. The retailers want to strengthen the link between their physical stores and the Web. They want to take an advantage of how tech savvy this nation is and make shopping easier to consumers and more profitable for themselves.

They plan on turning people's mobile phones into information displays and ordering devices. Even grocery stores are considering this form of technology. They think that if you can use a GPS on your phone to find your destination, then you should be able to find the flour in the store if you are having a hard time locating it. Supermarkets are also going to offer real-time coupons while people shop. They may have a promotion on milk and the moment you're in the dairy aisle; a coupon could be sent to your phone. If the department store is out of your size jeans, then the retailers are trying to make it simple by having you press a couple buttons on your phone and the correct size jeans you wanted will be shipped to your house.

The question is how will consumers react to this? They will have to download applications onto their phones and consent to being tracked electronically while in a store. Many stores are hoping consumers will go along with it. They are backing it up by the fact that people wander city streets guided by maps on their mobile phones, so why shouldn't technology lead them to the flour or jeans they're looking for. Some chains are reluctant to discuss their plans because they want to use it as a competitive advantage. Some retailers that are in the process of testing out mobile technology are Wal-Mart and Disney. Technology companies behind the products are telling consumers to expect introductions to this new world this year and wider deployments in 2011 or even 2012.

Ms. Kamali is using technology called ScanLife and it was installed in her boutique a few weeks ago. It allows people to scan bar codes on merchandise and obtain details about the clothes through videos. The part about buying items day or night will come in another week or two when they get used to the new system. Other retailers have started testing a product called Presence. The shoppers that sign up for it can be detected as soon as they set foot in a store, which enables Presence to offer real-time mobile coupons. Presence can also track the shoppers spending habits and browsing time in various department, and it will help the system figure out what customer might be moved to suddenly buy a discounted item. Presence can also make product recommendations. If a shopper was buying cake mix, Presence might suggest frosting and sprinkles to go along with that.

The retailers have some privacy worries and other potential pitfalls. If the phone applications freeze or give bad information it will most likely frustrate the consumers, so reliability is a big priority among retailers, which is why retailers have already started testing the system. Another reason why the Presence won't be released in a lot of stores until 2011 or 2012 is the fact that most stores cannot afford that kind of technology right now. The daring retailers are viewing it by the potential benefits outweighing the risks. More aggressive profiling of shoppers could help increase sales in stores that are in drastic need of some help. The technology could also save stores money by cutting workers, by substituting electronic guidance for store clerks.

If you had the chance to download one of these applications would you and why?