Posted on: Sunday, August 26, 2007
Most sales people open to getting a new job
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Percentage of sales workers who are either actively seeking or would be open to a new job if they came across one, according to a study conducted by www.CareerBuilder.com: 72
COLLEGE IS COSTLY
Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation's four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year (2005-2006), according to the Census Bureau: $13,425
Average tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2005-2006): $36,510
THE GREAT TIME-WASTER
Percentage of administrative professionals who believe that trivial e-mail messages (spam) waste their time, according to a survey by Quill Corp.: 56
Percentage who feel that e-mail adds pressure to the job since it creates expectations that an instant response is required: 35
Percentage of administrative professionals who indicated that their work is disrupted at least once a week when their company's computer equipment/IT experiences problems: 41
FASHIONABLE SCHOLARS
Estimated total value of all U.S. back-to-school spending for 2007, according to a study conducted by BIGresearch: $18.4 billion
Total value of back-to-school spending per U.S. family: $563.49
Rank of clothing and accessories among the largest spending categories: 1
DINING OUT A PRIORITY
Percentage of U.S. adults who say they would not give up dining out in order to save more money each month for retirement, according to a study conducted by ShareBuilder: 31
Percentage who say they would not give up travel: 18
Percentage who say they would not give up clothing purchases: 17
VACATIONS VALUED
Percentage of U.S. executives who say that vacations are critical for re-energizing their focus on work, according to a study conducted by www.TheLadders.com: 72
Percentage of U.S. executives who say that their work environments are supportive of taking time off: 58
Percentage of U.S. executives who said they checked in with work a few times while on vacation to make sure things were running smoothly: 51
TOP BRANDS OF '07
Ranks of Coca-Cola, Sony, Toyota, Dell and Ford among the "best brands" of 2007, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Rank of Coca-Cola in 2006: 3
Rank of Sony in 2006: 1
Number of brands appearing in the 2007 top 10 that also appeared in the top 10 in 1997: 4
Source: Harris Interactive
WISHFUL THINKING?
Percentage of consumers who hold out hope that someday they'll see a garbage can that cleans itself, according to the SC Johnson "Cleaning Innovations Survey": 60
Percentage who hope to see a stovetop that will rid itself of stains and food spills once a day: 59
Percentage who hope for a dryer that folds laundry: 47
Source: Edelman
THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
In workplaces without a consistent method of communicating news, percentage who say that an "off-the-record" conversation with a supervisor is their first source of news, according to the results of a "Workplace Index Survey" conducted by Opinion Research Corp.: 31
Percentage who say they get the news through office gossip: 28
Percentage of survey respondents who say that people in their company gossip about company news all, most or some of the time: 64
Percentage who report that office gossip is actually right always, usually or even some of the time: 76
Source: Opinion Research Corp.
GOOD MANNERS COUNT
Percentage of executives who said sending a thank-you note following an interview can boost a job seeker's chances, according to a poll conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Accountemps: 88
Estimated percentage of applicants who fail to do so: 49
Percentage of executives who prefer to receive a thank-you message in the form of a handwritten note: 52
Source: Accountemps
IDLE THOUGHT
"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done."
— Ralph Nader
John MacIntyre's column appears in The Advertiser's Business section each Sunday. Reach him at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
