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12 things to consider for your first job

Finding your first job is easy.

You send in your rsum for a position to which no one else is applying.

You get a call back right away, have a successful interview (during which you are promptly offered the job) and of course you’re offered the salary to last a lifetime. Nothin’ to it.

Dream on.

A more likely scenario might look something like this: You send out multiple copies of your rsum to several different positions that have hundreds of other applicants.

Maybe (if you’re lucky) you’ll hear back from five employers. Of those five, you might get two or three interviews, none of which will go as seamlessly as you think.

After waiting several weeks in career purgatory, you may or may not get an offer for a job that is closer to a nightmare than a dream and that pays just enough to foot the bills.

Although the job market is a little shaky right now, recent grads don’t want to settle, either, says Kristen Fischer, author of Ramen Noodles, Rent and Rsums. Many recent graduates feel like taking a job is a life or death decision. While every job will impact their career, they have to remember that a first job is a stepping stone. Chances are that it won’t be an ideal situation or their dream job, but it can provide the foundation for a fulfilling career.

found here.

Despite opposition’s exit, Zimbabwe election still on

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission ruled Wednesday that Friday’s presidential runoff will proceed as planned despite opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai’s withdrawal, according to its chairman.

The commission met today to deliberate on the contents and letter [from] Tsvangirai, Election Commission Chairman George Chiweshe told reporters at a news conference in the capital, Harare.

It was unanimously agreed that withdrawal was well out of time and for that reason, the withdrawal was of no legal force.

A journalist reported Chiweshe’s comments to CNN. The journalist is not being identified because of concern for that person’s safety.

Tsvangirai on Wednesday briefly left the Dutch Embassy in Harare, holding a news conference at his home before returning to the diplomatic headquarters.

I am back at the embassy, Tsvangirai said. I will be here for as long as necessary.

The leader of Zimbabwe’s Movement For Democratic Change party fled to the embassy Sunday, citing fears for his security.

Earlier Wednesday, Tsvangirai told CNN that he is open to a range of political options — as long as they reduce violence and end his country’s political crisis.

Tsvangirai formally withdrew Tuesday from the runoff against President Robert Mugabe, who said the vote would take place as planned Friday. Watch Tsvangirai’s call for peacekeepers

Despite his withdrawal, Tsvangirai’s name will remain on the ballot papers because they are already printed, the election commission said.

Also Wednesday, international community resolve stiffened against the Mugabe government. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that Britain is ready to propose intensified financial and travel sanctions against named members of the Zimbabwean regime and also will cut some sporting ties.

Tsvangirai told CNN he welcomed diplomatic efforts by the African Union and the Southern African Development Community, a regional body of 14 southern African nations. The SADC’s security troika was holding an emergency meeting Wednesday in Swaziland to discuss Zimbabwe.

We are open to whatever SADC suggests — a runoff, a repeat of this under conditions acceptable to everyone, a postponement of this election or a negotiated transition, Tsvangirai told CNN. We are ready for any negotiation that is going to at least reduce the level of violence in the country, bring peace and focus on the desire of the people to recuperate their potential again.

Tsvangirai admitted he was the prime target of violence but added, There are so many thousands of our supporters who have been subjected to this violence — that’s why we decided to pull out.

I can tell you that a lot of Zimbabweans will be frog-marched to these elections. We now know that they are trying to threaten people, that anyone who is seen without the red ink on his fingers will be severely dealt with.

Earlier Wednesday, Tsvangirai called for armed international peacekeepers to secure a new presidential vote in the country — but he told CNN he had yet to receive a response.

We do not want armed conflict, but the people of Zimbabwe need the words of indignation from global leaders to be backed by the moral rectitude of military force, Tsvangirai wrote in Wednesday’s edition of the the British newspaper The Guardian.

Such a force would be in the role of peacekeepers, not troublemakers. They would separate the people from their oppressors and cast the protective shield around the democratic process for which Zimbabwe yearns.

His comments came as Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the MDC, was to appear in court to apply for bail while awaiting trial on treason charges, which can carry the death penalty, according to the party.

Other charges include causing dissatisfaction among the armed forces and bringing the presidential office into disrepute as well as communicating false information prejudicial to the state.

Biti denies all charges. African and international leaders have criticized Biti’s arrest, characterizing it as a ploy by Mugabe supporters to intimidate the opposition before the vote.

Meanwhile, Mugabe said Tuesday that this week’s runoff will happen as planned — despite Tsvangari’s withdrawal. We will proceed with our election; the verdict is our verdict, he said at a rally in Bankent. Other people can say what they want, but the elections are ours. We are a sovereign state, and that is it.

And he said of his opponent: He’s frightened, frightened of the people. … Seeking refuge? What for?

Mugabe and his government have denied Tsvangirai’s accusations, blaming the MDC for inciting violence in the weeks ahead of the runoff.

But Tsvangirai said in his letter of formal withdrawal to the electoral commission Tuesday: The violence, intimidation, death, destruction of property is just too much for anyone to dream of a free and fair election, let alone expect our people to be able to freely and independently express … themselves. Watch Tsvangirai talk about Zimbabwe’s desperate times

Tsvangirai’s decision gives an apparent victory to Mugabe, who has been Zimbabwe’s only leader since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980.

Even before Britain’s announcement of sanctions, the international community has been moving against the Mugabe government this week — especially African nations more accustomed to a conciliatory approach.

On Monday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned Zimbabwe’s government for its campaign of violence and intimidation but stopped short of calling for a postponement of the runoff or a new election. Nevertheless, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the South African Development Community have called for a postponement.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch called for the African Union to deploy human rights monitors to Zimbabwe and increase political pressure on the government to end the violence.

found here.

England cricket chiefs ostracize Zimbabwe

LONDON, England (AP) — The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended all bilateral ties with Zimbabwe’s cricket authorities.

Wednesday’s announcement came shortly after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the team to be banned from entering the country for next summer’s Twenty20 World Cup and tour matches against England.

The ECB said it shares the government’s concerns about the deteriorating situation and lack of human rights in Zimbabwe.

Cricket South Africa also severed bilateral ties with Zimbabwe on Monday.

The ECB said it is now identifying a country to take Zimbabwe’s place for two Tests and three one-day matches early next summer.

found here.

Typhoon heads to China after deadly strike in Philippines

(CNN) — Tropical storm Fengshen surged toward Taiwan and southeast China on Wednesday after leaving a path of destruction in the Philippines where the search for more survivors from a capsized ferry has proved fruitless.

Fengshen was downgraded to a tropical storm late Tuesday. But it still managed to shut down much of Hong Kong. Schools, courts and even the financial markets were closed for part of Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

In the Philippines, meanwhile, people struggled to recover from Fengshen’s deadly impact as a typhoon when it hit the country last weekend.

Divers found bodies but so far no survivors inside the hull of the ferry that capsized in the typhoon, a Philippine Coast Guard official said Tuesday.

A total of 864 people — 725 of them passengers — were aboard the Princess of the Stars when it overturned about a mile off Sibuyan Island early Saturday as Typhoon Fengshen pummeled the Philippines, according to the ship’s owner, Sulpicio Lines. Watch the storm hit Hong Kong

Rescuers earlier found at least 34 survivors and at least 11 dead from a ferry that capsized in a typhoon, the Philippine Information Agency said Monday.

Divers received no response on Monday when they hammered on the 23,824-ton Princess of Stars that was jutting from the water off Sibuyan island in the central Philippines.

We’re not ruling out that somebody there is still alive, coast guard chief Wilfredo Tamayo told The Associated Press. You can never tell.

But high seas that have prevented rescue ships from approaching the ferry showed no sign of abating Monday as officials planned how to enter the ship — either with divers or by drilling a hole in the hull, Tamayo said. Watch aerial pictures of the sunken ferry

Hope faded by the hour that large numbers of survivors will be found on land where communications were hit by the weekend storm that killed at least 163 people.

Officials added that they have also found victims and survivors from other fishing boats that capsized in the area.

A U.S. Navy ship equipped with helicopters will soon join the search and rescue effort, said Richard Gordon, the head of the Philippines Red Cross and a member of the country’s Senate.

Fishermen found 30 survivors from the ferry Princess of Stars, which rolled over early Saturday morning, Gordon said. One person died after being picked up, and another was lost during rescue efforts, he said, but the remaining 28 have been delivered to police.

There’s quite a few people out there that are still missing, he said. We are trying our best to find them, and I hope we could get some help. Watch images of the ferry sinking

The Princess of Stars had 864 people on board, according to the vessel’s owner, Sulipicio Lines. The manifest posted on the company’s Web site lists 725 passengers, 112 crew members and 27 others including security escorts, canteen personnel, and sea marshalls.

It overturned about a mile off the shore of Sibuyan Island early Saturday as Typhoon Fengshen pummeled the Philippines.

Sulipicio said the family of each person killed in the accident will receive 200,000 pesos (approximately $4,600), the Philippine Information Agency reported.

The crew of the vessel, which can hold up to 2,000 people, reported that its engines had failed during a regular run from Manila and Cebu City, according to Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, the head of the country’s coast guard.

Rescuers knocked on the ferry’s hull Sunday evening in hopes of hearing signs of survivors within the capsized ship, the captain of which had given orders to abandon it before contact was lost. Watch a report on the disaster

Many of them were wearing life jackets, Gordon said. Hopefully we can still find them alive.

The typhoon has killed at least 140 people on land, with at least 255 more reported missing, he said.

The storm had not been expected to hit the Philippines when it first formed last week. But the storm struck the islands Friday with winds of about 140 km/h (90 p.m.) before moving north toward China and Taiwan. A storm warning posted along the ferry’s course would not have required the vessel to cancel its trip, but relatives of the passengers have questioned why the ship was allowed to leave port.

They should not have let the ship sail because there was a typhoon coming, Isadora Salinas said. How can they do that? They won’t even give out information about what happened.

found here.

Protester’s death sparks violence in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — About 1,000 Indonesian protesters angered by a student demonstrator’s death after his arrest burned cars and hurled stones at police guarding the Parliament on Tuesday, witnesses said.

Participants in the demonstration in Jakarta also demanded that the government revoke a 30 percent fuel price increase imposed last month. The dead student had been protesting the price hike.

Tuesday’s protesters started at Parliament, then headed to other parts of the capital where they blocked traffic, vandalized property and set fire to government vehicles, said police spokesman Lt. Col. Untung Yoga Ana.

Police used a water cannon to douse the flames and disperse protesters trying to break into the grounds of Parliament. Later, a car was also set alight outside the Catholic Atmajaya University on one of the city’s busiest commuter routes, snarling traffic for miles. Watch the violent protest

The main group carried a fake coffin and pictures of Maftuh Fauzi, a 27-year-old student at the National University who had been among 100 fuel price protesters arrested on May 24. He died in hospital last Friday, but there were conflicting reports about the cause.

The Indonesian Doctors’ Association was seeking clarification from Pertamina Hospital, which said Fauzi died of HIV/AIDS. Students say he was beaten by police and died of his injuries.

found here.