Labor Day Weekend, the “last hoorah” of summer, is here. Millions of Americans will hit the road this weekend to sneak in just a little more fun before school starts and all the pools close. (I’m on the way to OBX as I write this — that’s the advantage of having a small laptop and a tall teenager with a learner’s permit).
For many, this weekend gives us a chance to reflect on why we have a Labor Day — winning the fight for an 8-hour work day, better working conditions, and child labor laws, for example. Others, however, will be searching for a job. Currently 4 percent of Virginians are unemployed and estimates are that 12 percent of Virginians are “underemployed” — meaning they have a PT job or they had to take a lower wage job in another field.
On the plus side, the economy is apparently booming and the U.S. added 237,000 new jobs in August. There are currently 6.5 million jobs available in the U.S. right now, an all-time high. This is great news for job seekers, but bad news for companies that need labor.
We recently helped a non-profit client find a new CEO and small business client find a part-time accountant. In the last year, we’ve helped clients find all kinds of new talent. How? By being creative with employment ads and placing them in innovative ways. Maybe you know a good company that needs help finding good people. If so, give us a shout!
Monday, August 28: Better Safe Than Sorry
On Monday, we had a great meeting with Jason Perry, co-founder of Trident Shield, a Charlottesville training and consulting company that specializes in critical incident, workplace safety assessment/response, self defense, and home defense. These guys have come a long way in a very short period of time, and they’ve built a great company. Check them out.
Tuesday, August 29: Mmmmm…Ramen
After another stellar Midlothian Rotary Club meeting, I was able to break bread with fellow member Glen Groat, a former Martin Agency exec, who celebrates his first anniversary in the club. Glen now works for Maryland-based Alliance Technology Group.
Communications Manager Kent Brockwell traveled all the way down to VCU (three long blocks) to participate in the VCU Internship Recruiting Expo. He met a lot of great candidates, and, to prove that we really understand college kids, we handed out a lot of ramen.
Wednesday, August 30: Knowledge College
One of the big benefits of having our partner and VP of Operations Molly Whitfield in town was having her here for a Madison+Main-iac University presentation. Molly gave a great presentation and ever-so-gently reminded us that she coming up on her 10-year anniversary at M+M.
Thursday, August 31: Field Trippin’
On Thursday, we welcomed Atlas 42 to the M+M family. Atlas 42 is a one-of-a-kind event space in the center of Innsbrook, hosting private and corporate events and a really cool line-up of the best musical acts in RVA. More info to come, but in the meantime check ’em out online.
Thursday evening, we decided to blow off a little steam with a field trip to Greenleaf’s Pool Room in downtown RVA at 6th & Franklin. A good time was had by all, but we found out Jr. Graphic Designer Erin Rebmann is a pool shark. Guess the custom-made pool cue should’ve been our first clue.
Friday, September 1: Gone Fishin’
I’m headed south, but back at the office the Main-iacs are busy spreading the good word about our clients. Just check out this video we released today to promote the Sept. 7 grand opening of Pop’s Bar & Grill!
“I hire people brighter than me, and then get out of their way.”
— Lee Iacocca