Thursday, August 31, 2006

Happy Birthday

A couple of my friends are celebrating birthday's, so I thought I'd send them a birthday wish over the internet!

Happy Birthday:

Amber -8/24
Frank - 8/30
Maribel -8/31

My Space and Job Interviews

The career services office at work sent this to me. I thought I'd share it with people. Deals with Myspace and privacy.

Career Center Professional -

Earlier this week, CollegeGrad.com sent out a press release outlining the results of a recent survey we conducted regarding the content that job seekers place on their MySpace and Facebook profiles. This is currently a very hot topic among recruiters, job seekers and employers in general. The recent surge of media attention has only added to the buzz.

Below my signature, I've included a copy of the press release that outlines a couple of prominent stories about Internet use and misuse, as well as some practical advice for any current job seekers. The press release is also available at: http://www.collegegrad.com/press.

Please take a moment to read through the article and pass it along to the students at your school to increase awareness of this very important issue. You may also choose to publish it in your e-newsletter, print newsletter, or forward it to the school newspaper with your own career center quotable quotes for a local spin.

Regards,
Heidi

Heidi Hanisko
Director of University Relations
CollegeGrad.com, Inc.

MySpace Is Public Space When It Comes To Job Search

Entry Level Job Seekers - It's Time To Reconsider the Web

MILWAUKEE, WI--July 26, 2006--In a recent survey, CollegeGrad.com, the #1 Entry Level Job site, found that 47% of college grad job seekers who use social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have either already changed or plan to change the content of their pages as a result of their job search.

"There is a growing trend in the number of employers who are Googling candidates to research for additional information," said Brian Krueger, President of CollegeGrad.com. "This trend has now spilled over to the use of Internet social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, for screening potential candidates."

MySpace has become the most popular social networking site in the world, with more than 95 million members. It accounts for 80% of all visits to online social networking sites, according to Wikipedia. Facebook has the largest number of registered users among college-focused networking sites, also according to Wikipedia.

Are social networking sites private or public? It depends on who you ask.

"It violates the privacy of the applicants," said Shantice Bates, a Mass Communication Major from Virginia Commonwealth University. "A person's MySpace or Facebook pages really have nothing to do with their work personality."

Yet the information is still in the public domain. Is it truly private? "The thought of an employer reviewing your information can be a very scary thought to a candidate, especially in the case of a college student or recent grad," commented Krueger. "But as long as the information is posted publicly, it is available to others and could potentially be a liability to you in your job search. It could keep you from getting the job. Or, worse yet, from even getting the interview in the first place—and usually you wouldn’t even know why."

So what about the employee who was asked to change the content of her MySpace page as a condition of her continued employment? Sound a little invasive?

Steven Jungman, Division Director of ChaseSource, LP explained that a client of theirs conducted an Internet search for a current project, using the code name of the project as the keyword. Surprisingly, a project team member’s MySpace page was found in the search results. Not only had she listed her role in the project as her current work experience, but also included on the site were some very revealing photographs of her in addition to other very personal information. She was required to remove mention of the employer and the project as a condition of her continued employment.

"My professional recommendation is that individuals realize that the World Wide Web is exactly that, and personal information is a key click away," said Jungman. "Common sense should prevail when someone posts something on the web that they would not put on a resume."

Krueger recommends, "Entry level job seekers who use MySpace and Facebook should update their pages to reflect their job search image. If you don’t want information seen by employers, don’t publish it publicly."

Those who have followed the prevailing advice and cleaned up their personal Web pages have been rewarded, sometimes using the Internet to their networking advantage. Consider Catherine Germann, a 2005 Information Technology graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology. While she was in the midst of her job search, she was contacted out of the blue by a recruiter. He had seen Germann's resume on a job board and promptly Googled her name, finding her personal website, her live journal and noticed that they had a mutual friend. Germann had already cleaned up her personal pages and adjusted the privacy settings to project a more professional image. Her site helped her in a positive way to build a potential job connection.

"I always advise my friends to clean up their pages, even if they aren't using their name," said Germann. "There are plenty of ways to figure out who someone is even if they are hiding behind a nondescript screen name."

Krueger advises college grad job seekers to beware of the image they project. "College grad job seekers should avoid anything that might cause a recruiter to say ‘Yikes!’ when they found you on the Web," said Krueger. "Like it or not, MySpace and Facebook are public sites. Instead of posting information and photos from that all night party, job seekers can stand out from the crowd by using these sites as an opportunity to generate a positive first impression. If you wouldn’t put it in your resume, don’t put it on the Web."

Following are the overall survey results:

Have you changed your content at MySpace or Facebook because of your job search?
• No - 39.9%
• Yes - 25.9%
• No, but I plan to - 9.4%
• I don't use either MySpace or Facebook - 24.8%

The survey was conducted nationally using an online poll placed on the CollegeGrad.com home page during June 2006. The results are based on more than 1600 respondents.

About CollegeGrad.com:
CollegeGrad.com is the #1 entry level job site on the Internet and is the leader in the field of entry level job search. Brian Krueger is President and Founder of CollegeGrad.com and author of the best-selling book for entry level job search, College Grad Job Hunter.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

No Drama!




There comes a time in our lives where we get tired of drama and childish games. I try to avoid drama in my life. Helps lower the stress and make life more fun. There is a point where you just get too old for drama.

I work with a lot of college students, so sometimes you can't avoid the drama. To have some fun with it, I had a friend design some signs for me. We're going to hang them around the office this semester. If anyone likes the pictures above, let me know and I can e-mail you a copy!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Frank World Tour

On Monday, I got to speak with the Willoughby Rotary Club about the trip and my experiences. There were about 60+ people. I was the guest speaker for the day, and it reminded me of the trip. Over the last 2 weeks, I've probably spoken to about 1000+ people/students. I've been in 4 different cities and I've probably traveled at least 2,000 miles. I guess I'm trying to relive that experience again!

I had a crazy schedule when I was in Australia. Every 3 to 4 days I went to a new city. Every 3 to 4 days our team would be the guest speakers for a new group of people, usually 100+. Over my 5 week trip I spent time in 11 different Australian cities and our team spoke to over 1300 people. Most of us traveled about 20,000+ miles.

I'll be all over the country over the next 2-3 months. I haven't calculated how many miles I'll travel yet. All I know is, I'll be living life and I'll be sure to post all of my adventures and pictures on the blog!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Another Wedding/Bachelor Party

I had another busy weekend. We're running new student orientations at work. 13 sessions over 5 weeks. Last Thursday, I was at work until 9:30 PM. I went home to get a little bit of sleep, before waking up at 4:30 AM Friday morning to head to Illinois for a speaking job. Spent most of the day in airports and rental cars. Worked at Quincy Univeristy until about 1:30 AM. Got up at 6:00 AM on Saturday to head back to Ohio. More time in a rental car and airports. I need to say Thank you to all of my good friends who called to check up on me and keep me awake. Got home around 6:00 PM. Then headed over to my friend's Bachelor Party/BBQ. Here's a picture from the party! Congratulations Jason and Rachel Dunn on your upcoming wedding on September 3rd!


"The Guys!" The Bachelor (Jason) is in the middle wearing the brown t-shirt!

Quincy University

I went to the Quincy Univeristy on Friday night to speak to the 150th (Class of 2010) Class of the school. Freshman Orientation Weekend! The city of Quincy is about 2 hours north of St. Louis on the Mississippi River. For more information on the school, please click on "Quincy University" above.

I had a lot of fun talking with the students. I talked to the students about relationships and dating; I also did to games and ice breakers. The students and staff treated me GREAT. For the students who stayed and talked to me until 1 AM (the nursing students and undecided gentleman)......Thank you! I enjoyed the convo! Please e-mail me the pictures you took!

Below are a few pictures from the trip.


Terminal at O'Hare airport in Chicago. Yes that's a dinosaur in the terminal!

Main building on campus

Quincy Univeristy

Great sign I drove by on the side of the highway!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The Bruise



You're probably looking at the picture above and asking, "What did you do to yourself Frank?"

Here is the story of "The Bruise." The picture is ugly, the story is funny. For anyone who's worried about me, the picture/bruise looks worse than it feels.

I was as a friends party/bbq this past weekend. They have a trampaline in their backyard for their grandaughter. Being the big kid I am, I had to go jump up and down with the kids. I used the excuse that I was helping "watch them!" " I'm making sure they don't get hurt or fall off!" =0 )

While I was watching the kids, someone came over and made the comment, "Frank are you going to do some flips like you used to do?" My flipping days were about 10 years ago. I said no, but my friend's daughter (3 years old) asked me to do a flip. She proceeded several times to show me how to do it, and told me it was easy. Ughhh peer presure from a 3 year old. Then came the sad face with the sad question of "Uncle Frank, can you please do a flip for me?"

I agreed, this is the point where your brain forgets how old the rest of the body is. So, the big kid in me started bouncing on the trampaline. I didn't want to flip off the trampaline, so I backed up. At this point I've got about 20 people watching me and cheering me on. More peer presure. I heard there were a lot of bets of me killing myself and comments about getting a video camera and putting the video on the internet. So, the moment of truth came, no turning back! I bounced I went into my flip, and I landed it! I didn't die! I didn't kill myself! Wow

Somehow though I kneed or kicked myself in the arm doing the flip. My are was sore the rest of the night. People were laughing at me. It was no big deal. Two days later I went to work out and look what I saw in the mirror!

I hope everyone had a good laugh at that story! Just remember, you may not be old, but we all get older and there are just some things we can't do like we used to! =0 )

I hope you liked the flip from your "Uncle Frank" Nkaya! =0 )

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Glory Road

Glory Road Website

I got some free time this weekend to watch a movie. I picked up "Glory Road" from the library. Good movie. If you like underdog stories, pick it up or rent. It's the story of the 1966 Texas Western Men's basketball team. They were the first division 1 college basketball team to start five black players.

Monday, August 07, 2006

9/11

This week the new Oliver Stone movie "World Trade Center" comes out. I was reading a newspaper article and it listed some interesting "conspiracy" websites. Definately some good/interesting reading. If you're into all of the conspiracy type stuff, click on the links below. When you go to the 911 courage site, be sure to look at all the links to other websites listed on the left side about halfway down.

http://911courage.org
http://911lies.org/

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Dave and Sue's Wedding

One of my good friends (Dave) got married this weekend. Here are a few pictures from the wedding and the reception! Congratulations Dave and Sue!

Robert and Deb
Scott, Teresa, the happy couple, me, Brain, Chad and Tracy
Dave and Sue Whittaker

Friday, August 04, 2006

My Mission Statement

A lot of people know that I do leadership development with college students. I get asked to speak at conferences and workshops. I'm always giving groups and businesses advice on how to improve themselves. I talk to groups about setting goals and figuring out what their purpose is. The people I work with told me the input I gave them is great.

Their comments got me thinking. I like analogies. Setting goals is like running a race. You have to train yourself to complete the race. I'm always telling people you can't prepare for a race if you don't know what type or race you'll be running in.

I'm always setting goals for myself, but I was never really setting those goals with a main purpose in mind. Life is a marathon, but I've been training for short races. So, recently I decided to make a personal mission statement for myself. A mission statement for my life. I figure I can't reach my goals if I don't share them, so I'm posting my "mission statement" on the internet for all to see. Talk about pressure! It's a good pressure though! =0 )

Here's what I came up with. it's my mission statement and objectives. When I make goals, I'll make sure my goals are ways for me to complete one of my objectives.

The Mission Statement of Frank Cornelius Kitchen

The mission for Frank Kitchen is to live a life full of positive experiences.
This mission will be achieved by constantly pursuing the following goals:

#1. Sharing my dreams, goals, feelings, and thoughts with people close to me.

#2. Dealing with others with honesty, integrity, tolerance, compassion and respect

#3. Sharing, teaching and coaching what I’ve learned with people

#4. Having a positive influence on the people I meet and know

#5. Making things fun and enjoying life

#6. Practicing what I preach

#7. Being financially responsible

#8. Finding opportunities to constantly learn, improve and educate myself.

#9. Taking care of myself physically

#10. Putting myself in positive situations and environments

#11. Traveling as much as possible

#12. Being open, respectful to new ideas To try new things

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Dave’s Bachelor Party

Congratulations David Whittaker! A good friend David (Dave) will be getting married this Saturday, to help him celebrate, six of us joined him in upstate New York to celebrate. We went to the Turning Stone Casino/Resort outside of Syracuse. It was a good time for most. My wallet didn’t enjoy the trip too much, especially my adventures in the casino. I didn’t loose a ton of money, but I definitely didn’t win any. I’m definitely the reason why casinos stay in business. Fear the blackjack table! I think everyone else in the group came up winners! When money wasn’t involved, poker in the hotel room, I was a BIG winner. The funniest part of the trip was the fact that the casino was on a Indian Reservation that bans the sale of alcohol. That’s right the casino was completely alcohol free! That disappointed a few people, but they made due with their cokes and cranberry juice.

Three of us (Scott, Chad and I) stayed 2 extra days to hang out in the area and take a mini vacation. We went into to Syracuse to tour around and went to visit the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown. While in Syracuse, we had to visit Syracuse University. Took a tour of the Carrier Dome. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Dave, have a GREAT wedding day. You and Sue have a great time in Alaska for your Honeymoon!

The crew...Lou, Todd, Brian, Dave, Me, Chad, and Scott
The Turning Stone Casino
Me on the driving range
Me inside the Carrier Dome
Syracuse University..buidling on campus

Comedy Club

Went to a local comedy club last night. I scored some free tickets to Pickwick and Frolic/Hilarities. The comedians were great. A couple of my friends had never been before and they loved it. Here's a group shot!

Becca, Ally, Me and Rachel

Baseball Week

Week of baseball!

July 24th to July 31st will go down as Baseball Week 2006! Tuesday, I went with my best friend Scott to watch the Cleveland Indians play the Detroit Tigers. The tickets were free and the Indians won! On Friday, Scott got some more free tickets, so we went and watched the Indians play the Seattle Mariners. We sat about 5 rows behind homeplate. Great seats! The Indians won again! To keep the baseball theme going, we went up to New York for our friend Dave’s Bachelor Party. We went up to Syracuse and saw the Syracuse Skycheifs play. A fan came up and gave us free tickets. We watched the game and again the home team won! The next day, we got in the car and drove a hour to Cooperstown to visit the baseball hall of fame. Talk about a week of baseball! Enjoy the pictures from the games and the hall of fame!



Me and Scott behind home plate at Jacobs Field
Baseball Hall of Fame - Coopertown, NY

Flood Pictures

Here are some pictures I took of the flood and the after effects. President Bush came into town yesterday to view the damage. I drove through some areas and you can't believe what you see and smell.

Picture of the clean up after the flood
Flooded Park
Flooded Building