Dirkmonster

The shutter closes on Kodak's "Kodachrome"

The news I read today that Kodak is retiring Kodachrome, its oldest color film, is not shocking.

The funny part is the quote from Mary Jane Hellyar, the "departing" president of Kodak's Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group.  She's quoted as saying Kodak plans to stay in the film business "as far into the future as possible".

I was not able to find IBM's outgoing president of Typewriters, Typewriter Ribbon and Correction Tape for comment regarding how far into the future they plan to ride that product.  Perhaps that's because in a brilliant evaluation of the marketplace, I'm imagining that position was eliminated somewhere around 1991.

Shares of Eastman Kodak will cost you about $2.60 apiece if you're also interested in staying in the film business as far into the future as possible.

Hungry children in Tennessee

Today I received an email from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.  It contained an appeal that should concern every one of us who are blessed to take our meals for granted:

Did you know that 1 in 5 children in Tennessee are at risk of hunger?  According to a new report on Child Food Insecurity released by Feeding America, 20 percent of Tennessee children under 18 have what experts call "food insecurity,” meaning they do not know when or where they will find their next meal.   Not only did Tennessee rank ninth in the country in the percentage of children under age 5 with food insecurity, our state jumped from seventh to fourth in the nation in the percentage of all children under the age of 18 with food insecurity.  You can eliminate childhood hunger in Tennessee by making a donation today!  Every dollar donated to Second Harvest provides 4 meals to hungry men, women and children.

As a parent of small children, it troubles me to think of how it's likely that some kids they may be playing with today might not be assured of a meal tonight.

Help wanted - Advice to Generation Y's job search

Despite the difficult economic circumstances, I've continued to recruit this year for positions on my team.  I'm not recruiting like I did in 2007 though - when there were quite a few more positions to fill.

The positions I hire for and manage appeal to Generation Y - often men and women who have recently graduated from college. It may be the first career oriented job search they've conducted.  Unfortunately, the economic downtown may leave most of the class of 2009 without the job they were looking for right away.  So how should they conduct an effective job search and what should they do if it takes longer than they wished?

A piece in Businessweek online offers some excellent advice:
Gen-Y: How to get a job now

I can always count on Seth Godin for some outside the box thinking.  Take a look at what he has to say on the topic:
Graduate school for unemployed college students

Finally, I found that networking is one of the most powerful tools in a job search.  Start by listing everyone you know who you respect for some reason whether it be professionall or even personally.  Add to that list people you identify at companies in your chosen field even if they may not be hiring.  Now, make as many appointments as you can to talk with these people - in person whenever possible.  When you get a chance to network with these people, ask good questions.  The last question should be a request for 3 people from their rolodex they think you should talk to.  If you then pursue those people with the strategy above, your network expands exponetially and eventually you will run into opportunities.