Aug

13

Should You Omit Your Gay Related Work Experience From Your Resume?

Filed Under Business, Employment, Gays, LGBT, Twitter | 6 Comments

If you’re like millions of Americans, you’ve been job hunting for awhile. If you’re not job hunting yet, your chances of becoming unemployed in the future are pretty damn good. After reading a forum post on GayWallet.com where a member expressed her job hunting frustrations, it prompted the following question: If you have work experience related to a gay or lesbian business, are you adding that experience to your resume – or are you omitting it because you fear negative responses from hiring managers and human resource personnel?

Some of my Twitter followers replied:

clarekrmiller – Not sure if this is what you mean, but I have my leadership with my college’s GLBTQ club on my resume

Biodana – I don’t hide or lie but the resume/cv is not explicitly lavender either. I would be out during parts of the interview, tho’

RevJArthurRank – Personally, I would include any work on a resume.

not_tonight00 – my resume is all lgbtq-related stuff.. if i omitted the queer things, i wouldnt have much of a resume

AresandEros – I have lots of LGBT items on my resume, instead I say “Pride” or “diversity” and then i open up about the LGBT at the interview

SaRaDestruction – It would depend on what type of job it is wheather or not I hide it or tell

scoutout – I wouldn’t have a resume if I hid the LGBTQ stuff. It’d be my address, degrees, and then a blank page

lexoh – I’ve chosen to include past lgbtq leadership & activism experience. I figure I want to work for a progressive employer anyways

ChanelSaysSo – If i had any gay business related work to include, I would most definitely! I include my lgbt writing in my writing portfolio

jayd – I wouldn’t care if I had any, but I don’t

Matt Skallerud – founder of PinkBananaMedia.com, former owner of GayWired.com, LesbiaNation.com and GaySports.com – believes that in 2009 it’s still a personal choice for job seekers. While he feels it’s a lot safer than it used to be to add gay business related jobs and internships to your resume, he believes we have a long ways to go before it’s completely safe to associate yourself with gay businesses.

I have experience in employment recruiting/talent acquisition. In my experience, it’s safer to add gay business related work experience to your resume in areas like Atlanta, Chicago, New York and DC – but not so safe in other areas of the country. Of course, there are lots of Fortune 500 gay-friendly companies located in some not so favorable parts of the country that wouldn’t mind seeing gay related work experience on your resume. You can see a great list right here.

Feb

3

A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen, TShirt Hell’s At It Again

Filed Under Bitch Slap, Business, WTF? | 15 Comments

TShirt Hell recently announced they were going out of business, but today I saw a Twitter page that suggests otherwise.

It looks like TShirt Hell has simply dissolved one business and emerged as another. The first blog post on their new site claims the new company’s been operating since Feb. 2008. The first post is undated (big surprise) and the second post was made on January 20, 2009.

Isn’t this disappear and reappear as someone new scheme a trick that companies pull when they’re either (a) filing bankruptcy (b) running from lawsuits or (c) filing bankruptcy because they’re running from a lawsuit?

TShirt Hell is at it again, pushin’ tacky ass tshirts that exploit other companies’ trademarks:

Tshirt Hell

Umm, I think Coca Cola’s gonna whip out a can of whoop-ass on these clowns. I know I would. These guys are like teenagers: they never learn.

Jan

26

Is This a Sign That Advertisers Aren’t Happy With MySpace?

Filed Under Business, Marketing, Social Media | Leave a Comment

It appears MySpace’s advertisers are forcing MySpace to step up their game. While checking my email there, I noticed a survey ad in the left sidebar. I love marketing and I really, really enjoy watching MySpace’s new marketing challenges. Once the King of social networks, MySpace now has to prove to its advertisers that their web site is worth an inclusion in the company’s advertising budget. It’s not enough anymore to simply brag about their huge membership numbers.

I just love the wording on MySpace’s banner ad: Stop and be friendly. We want to get to know you. Pfft! Bullshit! Myspace needs quantifiable and verifiable information to pass on to their advertisers. Here’s MySpace’s latest attempt at marketing research:

myspace desperation In what year were you born?

Please indicate your gender

How often, on average, do you visit MySpace?

How often, on average, do you visit MySpace Music?

Have you heard MySpace launched a music service joint venture with the major record labels on September 25?

If you answer yes to that question, these are the questions you see:

From which of the following online sources have you heard about the MySpace Music joint venture?

From which of the following non-online sources have you heard about the MySpace Music joint venture?

Did you notice Toyota was a sponsor for the MySpace Music joint venture?

Which of the following Toyota models listed in alphabetical order do you recall are currently sponsoring the MySpace Music joint venture? If you can’t recall, please select “don’t know” at the bottom of the list.

Using a 5-point scale, where 5 means “very excited” and 1 means “not at all excited,” how excited are you about the new MySpace Music joint venture?

Have you used any of the features of the MySpace Music joint venture?

Have you heard about the “Toyota Tuesday” sponsorship, where every Tuesday there is free music download on MySpace?

What is the likelihood that you will buy a vehicle within the next 3 months?

What is the likelihood that you will buy a vehicle within the next 12 months?

Which of the following music digital services do you currently use?

Are you the parent of a child or children in your household under the age of 18?

Which category best represents your total annual household income (before taxes)?

Which of the following best describes your race/ethnicity?

Jan

25

Marketing Idiots Have Taken Over MySpace

Filed Under Business, Marketing, Ranting, Social Media, Women's Issues | Leave a Comment

I’m one of the few Twitter and Facebook lovers who still use MySpace – although I don’t do much more than post bulletins and flirt with my baby girl.

Critics are predicting that Facebook and Twitter will be the death of MySpace. That may be true, but I’m guessing one of MySpace’s problems is the ridiculous amount of stupid advertisements all over the place. Poorly written copy. Spelling mistakes. Washed out backgrounds and images. Blatantly offensive ads about weight loss, dating and bad teeth – to name a few – all targeting women over the age of 30 (that would be me!)

35 years old and overweight?
Obviously, the person who placed this ad decided to target women over the age of 35. Taking jabs at a woman’s age and her weight all in one swoop is not cool – and it won’t sell the product. It’ll just piss us off and create an opening for companies like Weight Watchers who take a much more sensitive approach to advertising to the female market.

single over 30?

Why yes! Yes I am over 30 years old and single. Am I bothered by that fact? Absolutely not.

gold diggers are us

This advertiser didn’t do a good job at targeting the right audience. I’m a lesbian. I’m not looking for a sugardaddie. The single straight girls ought to be bothered by the fact that this advertiser thinks you’re a gold digger (and stupid enough to believe that wealthy men are actually using the internet to find women who just want them for their money).

Obama

This ad is very misleading because once you click on it, it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with Obama! This ad links to a web site that claims it will show you how to receive thousands of dollars in grants from the government – all for a small fee, of course. This ad is right up there with all the multi-level marketing/pyramid scheme scam artists that are hoping there’s enough stupid and desperate people in the world who will fall for this kinda crap.

Facebook allows advertising and it’s rumored that Twitter will soon start selling ad space. I’ve seen some ridiculous ads on Facebook too, but they’re not so big and annoying. They seem a lot less intrusive than the ads I see on MySpace. No one knows if Twitter will implement text-based ads, banner ads, or ads in their members’ update streams. I certainly hope they use MySpace as an example of what they shouldn’t do.

Jan

25

Ty Creates Obama Daughter Dolls – First Lady Says ‘Oh Hell No!’

Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Politics | Leave a Comment

Ty Inc., the maker of the infamous collectible Beanie Babies has created two dolls that look very similar to Sasha and Malia Obama. What are the dolls’ names? Why Sasha and Malia, of course! First Lady Michelle Obama is not happy about that. Mrs. Obama’s press secretary has stated that Mrs. Obama believes it’s “inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes.” Well, I think it’s inappropriate if you don’t have the parents’ permission.

The company has not denied that the dolls are modeled after the Obama daughters, but instead, Ty’s representative stated “there’s nothing on the girls that refers to the Obama girls.”

That’s PR talk for “we won’t confirm nor deny that we are trying to capitalize on this historic moment by creating dolls that look just like the Obama daughters.” Ty knows those dolls will make a shitload of money before they’ll be forced to pull them from the shelves. Once the dolls are no longer available to the public, anyone who owns one will have a doll worth a fortune in a few years. That means Ty can charge whatever the hell they want for those dolls – for now – because collectors will buy them as an investment.

The only good thing about all this is that the dolls don’t have exaggerated African features.

source

Jan

23

GayFranchise.com Offers LGBT Community Unique Opportunity

Filed Under Business, Employment, LGBT | Leave a Comment

In the SistersTalk mailbox this afternoon:

In January of 2008, Echelon Business Media Inc., owner of Echelonmagazine.com created GayFranchise.com to bridge the gap between mainstream franchisors and the LGBT community. This site offers a directory of over 60 franchise opportunities in various categories, from coffee shops to financial planning franchises.

Despite some in our community who profess a policy of privacy when it comes to their sexual orientation at work, who we are in all aspects of our lives, comes out at the office. Whether it be the office Christmas party, or telling people what you did over the weekend, or even requesting domestic partner benefits, our sexual orientation eventually comes out at work. If this has become a problem for you in the past, it is all the more reason to own your own business.

GayFranchise gets your sexual orientation out of the way from the get-go. Our franchises are looking for a diverse array of franchisees. Your fear of being outed is completely alleviated from the moment you request more information. Gay neighborhoods are sprouting up all of the U.S., and having a gay-owned franchise in these areas are an added plus to the franchise owner as well as the master franchise.

The clients within the GayFranchise directory are targeting their opportunity towards the Gay community for a variety of reasons. Most members of our community are more available as the majority of us don’t have children. The amount of people with a college education skews very high in most polls. We also have an understanding of “risk” as it is risky enough as it is to come out of the closet.

Choosing to own a franchise rather than starting a business from scratch poses many advantages. Franchises already possess brand exposure in the market. This is one of the toughest jobs of any new entrepreneur. It presents an immediate credibility and reliability with your future customers. There is also no need to create a business plan from scratch. You are buying a “business in a box” as each opportunity has a proven and consistent system for you to follow. Lastly, there is always someone in your corner. Training is provided and it’s always nice to be able to call someone for the answers.

GayFranchise also lists several vendors who can assist you in making your purchase. Whether it’s one of our Capital Partners, Consultants or Attorneys, these companies stand by to aid you making your franchise ownership a reality.

So let this year be about broadening your horizons by researching other opportunities to your current state of employment and being prepared for whatever may come your way.

Once you own a franchise, feel free to post an announcement at GayWallet.com – a community of LGBTQ people and straight people who support gay and gay-friendly companies and organizations.



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