Is the work Christmas party really worth it?

Whether it is Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays, companies are getting festive this time of the year, but has the way we view the holiday season changed? 

The way companies view the festive season varies not only country to country, but business to business. Some companies gladly accept Christmas gifts from clients or suppliers as a thank you for the year, while others frown upon it. Some companies go all out for their Christmas party, whilst others keep it low key or don't do anything at all. The conversation that a lot of people will be having this time of year is "what's your company doing for Christmas?"

It seems that after cost cutting through the credit crunch some big companies are making their Christmas budget bigger than ever. Google employees were treated to a Ferris wheel, ice rink and a whole room dedicated to balloons! The theme was New York and they even had actors dressed as New York Cops riding round on police horses. The whole extravaganza was rumoured to cost €300,000!  While most of us would be happy with a hot meal and a glass of wine it seems some companies go all out this time of the year.

Is the Christmas party a good thing or a bad thing? I think the end of year Christmas party is a nice way of showing employees your appreciation for their hard work throughout the year, but should we need that? Should it be left to the office Christmas party to show your appreciation or is it all just about getting together as a company and letting your hair down and forgetting about stress for one evening a year?

Whatever you do this year whether it’s a buffet in the office or an all-out extravaganza enjoy it, but remember, if your outing is on a work night and the next morning you ring with "the flu" your employer might be a little suspicious!

Kubo would love to know what your doing this year! Leave your comments below!

The good, the bad and the ugly side of using social media for your job search. Part 2

Facebook

In the last blog, Kubo looked at LinkedIn and how it can help your job search, but what about when something you have said or done online comes back to bite you! This week Kubo are looking at Facebook, and like many people, you probably think that LinkedIn is for professional use and Facebook is for personal use, but unfortunately social media doesn’t work like that. What you say and do on your personal profile has a habit of catching up with you when you least expect it.

Most employers will Google their prospective employees before their interview, so your chosen profile picture and past pictures are the first thing an employer can see in search results. This is probably a good time to check your privacy settings and make sure your profile is set as private and be sure to select an appropriate profile picture, because these are viewable to everyone!

Whatever is viewable on your Facebook timeline tells an employer about you. If you don’t want future or current employers looking at your recent posts then lock it down via your privacy settings, because what you post may well hinder your chances of getting that job! Below are examples of how Facebook has cost a few people their job!

• In 2009 a female employee had a bit of a moan on Facebook about her new job “first day at work. omg So dull!! Unfortunately for her this post found its way to her manager and 3 weeks later she was fired! 

 

• In March 2009 a Swiss women was fired after phoning her boss and telling him she couldn’t come in because she had a migraine and the lights and glare from her computer would make it worse. She was later seen on Facebook and it was presumed if she was well enough to be on Facebook she was well enough to be in work! She was subsequently let go!
• It’s never advisable to criticise your boss on social media, especially when you have them as a friend on Facebook! Below is the actual response that this young lady got from her boss! 

 

• A male employee in the UK wrote this on his Facebook page, ‘I work at [insert company here] and can't wait to leave because it's s***"." He quickly got his wish and was sacked!!

 In many cases, potential employers can find their way onto your Facebook page even if you have enabled privacy settings by going through other employees or friends. So be careful what you post on Facebook and who can view your profile.! The first thing most potential employers do is Google or Facebook their candidates. Start by doing a Google search of yourself and see if you are happy with results. Don’t stop yourself getting that perfect job by having incriminating evidence on your Facebook. Once you do have that job think carefully what you write as you may well find yourself without one!

Let us know if you have ever got into trouble over a post you have wrote?