Posted on: Sunday, May 6, 2007
Job-seekers have 10 minutes to impress
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Average number of minutes it takes for hiring managers to form a negative or positive opinion of a job applicant during an interview, according to a study conducted by Robert Half Finance and Accounting: 10
Average number of minutes hiring managers spend interviewing staff-level applicants: 55
Average number of minutes hiring managers spend interviewing manager-level applicants: 86
GENEROUS AMERICANS
Estimated number of adults who volunteered in the United States in 2006, according to a study by the Corporation for National and Community Service: 61.2 million
Estimated percentage of the population this represents: 26.7
Estimated dollar value of the 8.1 billion hours Americans volunteered last year: $152 billion
DOGGONE EXPENSIVE
Average price of a regular-size hot dog at a major league baseball stadium, according to a study conducted by Team Marketing Report: $3.38
Average price in Los Angeles, the most expensive major league baseball stadium at which to buy a regular-sized hot dog: $4.75
Average price in Pittsburgh (the least expensive): $2.50
MOVIN' ON UP
Percentage of HR professionals who ranked the transition from a seasoned professional to a supervisory/managerial position as the most difficult, according to a survey conducted by Novations Group: 65
Percentage who said the same about the transition between a supervisory/managerial position to a senior management/executive position: 18
Percentage who said the same about the transition between entry-level position to seasoned professional: 17
SPENDING ON MOM
Total projected value of Mother's Day spending in 2007, according to the National Retail Federation: $15.73 billion
Percentage of U.S. consumers who plan to celebrate Mother's Day: 84.5
Projected value of Mother's Day spending per consumer: $139.14
ALL WORK, NO PLAY ...
Percentage of employed adults in the United States who say that workers are more likely to behave ethically at work when they have a good work-life balance, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive and Deloitte and Touche USA: 91
Ranks of high levels of stress, long hours and inflexible schedules among the top-cited causes of conflict between work responsibilities and personal priorities: 1, 2, 3
UNUSED DAYS
Percentage of the workforce who do not take advantage of all their vacation days, according to the Hudson time off survey: 56
Percentage who say they use less than half of their allotted personal time: 30
MOMS WANT THEIR NAPS
Percentage of moms who said that if provided the luxury of an additional hour each day, they would prefer to spend that time sleeping, according to a survey conducted by www.ModernMom.com: 36
Percentage who said they would get a manicure or massage: 19
Percentage who said they would organize the house: 17
Percentage who would spend that hour with their spouse: 12
LONGER LIGHTING
Average lifespan of a 60-watt incandescent light bulb, according to data released by the Earth Day Network: 875 hours
Average lifespan of a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL): 8,000 hours
Average cost of the total energy a 60-watt incandescent light bulb will use in its lifetime: $48.38
Average cost of the total energy a CFL will use in its lifetime: $10.48
IT PAYS TO BE THE BOSS
Estimated increase from last year in total compensation that chief executive officers at U.S. venture-backed technology companies are receiving, according to the results of the semi-annual executive compensation survey from Dow Jones CompensationPro: $30,000
Median salary earned by technology CEOs: $289,000
Median bonus that technology CEOs received this year: $63,000
IDLE THOUGHT
"Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation."
— Oscar Wilde, writer
John MacIntyre's e-mail address is: johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
