Alison Doyle

Snow Days

Snow is a good four letter word in my house.  When you're married to a ski writer, and you spend most of ski season following along as he chases mountains, winter storm warnings become good things because they mean powder. Other than when you are juggling airport delays, of course.

For a lot of people though, snow isn't such a good four letter word and not only is travel treacherous, but work can be an issue.

When schools close child care can be problematic, when you can't get to work because of a storm, or when your company closes because of weather, you may - or may not - get paid for the day.

There are no hard and fast rules about getting paid for snow days, it depends on contracts, on federal and state law, the type of employee you are, and on company policy.  Here's more about getting paid for snow days and what you can expect if you can't make it to work because of the the weather.

Related: Pay for Snow Days

Want a Snow Bum Job?

If you'd love to spend the winter being a snow bum on someone else's dime, here's your chance.   Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia, Canada, is giving one person (skier or boarder) the chance to be the Sun Peaks Snow Bum for the winter 2009–2010 season.

Spend three months on the slopes with a free place to sleep, food to keep you energized, flights to get you here, plus outerwear, gear and a season’s pass for carving up the powder.

Social media skills are a must and the winner will have a chance to bolster their resume and their online presences by communicating on social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Facebook™, Twitter™, YouTube™ and the official Snow Bum blog, and participate in media stories about the contest or other Sun Peaks content.

Here's how to apply:
http://www.snowbumcanada.com/

Job Searching On the Road

You never know when (or where) you'll meet someone who can help with your job search or who can boost your career.  If you're job searching and traveling for Thanksgiving, keep that in mind. 

On one occasion, my dad met a fellow engineer on a airline flight and ended up helping him getting a new job.  A fellow skier my husband met in an airport while we were waiting for a flight to Aspen ended up being a great connection for some freelance work.

I met someone at a party not long ago who happened to be looking for a part-time office job and I happened to know someone who was looking for a new employee with just those skills.

I'm not great at talking to people, but sometimes it's easier to talk to people you don't know, and you never know what good connections you might make. So, when you're traveling and job searching, it's important to be able to keep track of the new connections you meet, and to stay in touch with those you already know.   Here's how to job search on the road.

For those of you, like me, who are a bit shy, The Successful Introvert: How to Enhance Your Job Search and Advance Your Career, by Wendy Gelberg, has plenty of specific strategies to use in your personal and professional activities so that you can achieve greater success in their lives.

By the way, Wendy's book is published by Happy About where you'll find lots of helpful books to help with your career and your life.