Category Archives: Holidays

Things You May Or Not Know About Labor Day

The kids are going back to school and the end of summer is quickly approaching. But, before we start packing lunches and closing the pool, we get one more holiday to enjoy the end of summer; Labor Day! Many people associate Labor Day with BBQ, picnics, and family/friend gatherings, but this hasn’t always been the case. I thought it would be fun to do a little research on the history of Labor Day. Here are some interesting facts that I didn’t know!

  1. Labor Day began in Toronto, Canada in 1872, but quickly made its way to the States.
  2. The first Labor Day occurred on September 5, 1882 in New York City.
  3. Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday in 1887.
  4. The holiday’s origins stems back to the 1880s when the average American worked 12 hour days 7 days a week. Children ages 5-6 worked in factories and mines.
  5. People avoided wearing white clothing after Labor Day as it officially marked the end of summer.
  6. Labor Day began as a demonstration for workers’ rights but is modernly seen as an opportunity to celebrate the end of summer.
  7. Labor Day is called the “unofficial end of summer” because it marks the end of the cultural summer season.
  8. In other countries, May 1st (May Day) is the day working people are honored. The majority of Europe celebrates May Day.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! Enjoy the “unofficial end of summer”!

Written by Lindsay Olewniczak

Visit our website here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/index.aspx

Visit our open jobs here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/jobs.aspx

What’s Your Favorite Christmas Movie?

I love this time of year! One thing that makes it particularly wonderful is a good Christmas movie! So it only makes sense to bring the joy of Christmas movies to the workplace and talk about all the favorites! I thought it would be fun to find out which Christmas movies my co-workers love.

And the winner is…………….. A Christmas Story AND Christmas Vacation!

Elf – Kara, Faith

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Kevin, Lindsay, Sam

A Christmas Story – Stephanie, Liz, Brooke

Home Alone – Marilyn, Beth

It’s a Wonderful Life – Cindy

A Charlie Brown Christmas – Joe

Jack Frost – Rebecca

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – Vicki

The Nightmare Before Christmas – Bill

So snuggle up with a cozy blanket and a cup of hot cocoa and watch Kevin McCallister defend his home; or grab your sunglasses as Clark Griswold lights up his house, to figure out what your favorite is!

Wonder what your co-workers’ favorite Christmas movies are? Ask! It’s fun to compare!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone at CPSS! We hope you enjoy the holidays with friends and family!

Written by Lindsay Olewniczak

Visit our website here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/index.aspx

Visit our open jobs here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/jobs.aspx

Why December Is The Best Month To Look For A New Job

December is a crazy month for most people. You have your normal day to day responsibilities but then add in the holidays and shopping and getting ready for hosting and attending parties, the list goes on and on and on… But what many people don’t realize is that December is the perfect time to look for a new job.

It’s no secret that the job market slows down during the holidays. People are planning family vacations and trips home and are just not looking to start a new job until after the New Year. This is the perfect opportunity to get a head of the competition. Here are some ways to stay active:

Holiday Parties

All of those parties (dreaded or not!) that you get invited to are a great way to network! Use them to connect with friends or family members who work at companies that you’re interested in.

Seasonal Work

Don’t let the words “temp” or “seasonal” scare you. There is the possibility for a temporary job to turn permanent. A manager might see your great work ethic and have a permanent job in mind for you once the holidays are over.

Be Persistent

If you do reach out and submit your resume and receive an “out of the office” reply, don’t assume that you did all you could. You need to follow up to make sure someone did receive your resume and that it was reviewed.

January is definitely the most popular month to look for a new job (you know the “new beginning” outlook everyone has once that ball drops!) but that doesn’t mean it’s the best month! So even if there is no room left on your plate to look for a new job in December, at least update your resume and Linkedin profile to give yourself a head start.

Happy holidays and happy job hunting!

Written by Lindsay Olewniczak

Visit our website here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/index.aspx

Visit our open jobs here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/jobs.aspx

“Would you rather…?” Thanksgiving Edition

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to play a little game with my co-workers. I asked them a couple “would you rather…?” questions and got some interesting answers. Read on to find out the results!

Would you rather cook Thanksgiving dinner or clean it up?

9 people said they would rather cook and only 1 would rather clean up.

“I’d rather cook Thanksgiving dinner (as I will be this year).  I like to cook, especially with food as yummy as those in a Thanksgiving feast—rich and wonderful.  There are always a lot of recipe ideas to inspire you, but also many can be made ahead to lessen the day-of stressors.  Unfortunately you still end up contributing to clean-up when you host because no one knows where anything goes, LOL.  And no one wants to function on a full belly, nonetheless for clean-up.  I’m considering paper and plastic this year to remedy part of that process!” -Liz

Would you rather eat only turkey or only mashed potatoes and gravy for an entire month?

This was a tie.

“I would choose mashed potatoes because there is way more you can do with them to switch them up so you don’t get bored. You can flatten them and sauté them on the stove to make potato pancakes, you can also deep fry little balls of them to make potato bites or just eat them as they are.” -Sam

Would you rather be someone who sings on a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade float or be someone who helps to hold onto one of the giant character balloons?

Only 4 people said they would rather sing, while 6 would rather hold a giant character balloon.

“Singing would stress me out and I have a terrible voice.  Holding the balloons, seems like it would bring nothing but joy.” -Kara

Would you rather not be allowed to talk during Thanksgiving dinner or not be allowed to have dessert on Thanksgiving?

This was another tie!

“I do like pie, but I love talking with my family more and I enjoy the actual Thanksgiving dinner way more than dessert anyway – and I am full by dessert time too!” -Faith

Would you rather take a bath in gravy or wash your hair with mashed potatoes?

4 people would rather take a bath in gravy while the rest would rather wash their hair with mashed potatoes.

“Gross, take a bath in gravy.  Maybe it would be a good moisturizer.” -Stephanie

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving with their families and friends! Thank you to my fun co-workers for playing along! I’m thankful that I don’t really have to take a bath in gravy! What are you thankful for?

Written by Lindsay Olewniczak

Visit our website here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/index.aspx

Visit our open jobs here: http://www.cpstaffing.com/jobs.aspx

 

Employee Spotlight: Marilyn Seitz

If you have been to our main ComputerPeople office, you probably know Marilyn.  She has been a part of our team for four years and she is always willing to help out wherever she is needed. Currently, Marilyn is our main receptionist, but she also serves as an accounting assistant, data entry extraordinaire, and provides assistance with HR filings and marketing/sales assistance. Marilyn is also a force to be reckoned with on the golf course – she plays multiple times every week! We sat down with Marilyn to find out a little bit more about her and her view of ComputerPeople, and here is what she had to say.

What sets ComputerPeople apart in the recruiting/business world?

What sets us apart is how important it is to us that we find the right candidate for a job. We spend a lot of time searching and following up with candidates to ensure a perfect fit. Also, everyone on our staff takes pride in their work and goes beyond the call of duty. The goal is always to do a great job instead of doing “a job” that is expected.

What is your favorite office tradition at ComputerPeople?

It would have to be Christmas and birthdays. Around Christmas time, we gather as an office for a meal, gift exchange, and to spend time together. It is always a lot of fun! For Birthdays, we celebrate by bringing in a cake/dessert and taking time out of our work day to spend time together.

What is something most people probably do not know about ComputerPeople?

I don’t think people realize how much time and effort is put into finding the correct candidate and following up to make sure everyone is on the same page.

What is something most people probably don’t know about you?

I volunteer at Millard Suburban Hospital in the Pre Administrative office and love it!!!

Thanks for all you do, Marilyn! You are an amazing addition to the ComputerPeople team!

Written by Kaitlyn Gahagen

Adding Holiday Fun to the Workplace

I have been working at CP Staffing Solutions a little over a year now, and I still feel that this is the best company I’ve ever worked for, with some of the best people I’ve ever worked with. Part of the reason for this, in my opinion, is because although we take our work very seriously, we also make room for fun and special moments. A good company knows when to take a breather, which in turn makes for happy employees – happy employees deliver good results! So why not add a little holiday fun to your workplace this week?

Holiday Luncheon.

A good way to spread some holiday cheer is to have everyone eat together. For our holiday luncheon we all went to a restaurant called Chef’s, and it was a lot of fun – not to mention delicious. Everyone laughed, shared stories, admired each other’s food, and took home some leftovers. “Breaking bread” together has a way of connecting people and strengthening relationships, so this might be a good fit for your company. If you have a break-room/lunch-room that’s big enough for everyone, you can have that right in your building, but it might be fun to go out somewhere, so keep that in mind. 😉

Secret Santa.

If a big luncheon is not feasible for your workplace, then you may want to try just having a fun Secret Santa party. Here at CP Staffing, we did a blind gift exchange while we were at Chef’s. There was limit on how much you could spend, and the gifts were to be Buffalo themed. Granted, I kept procrastinating on purchasing my gift, so the one I bought ended up not being Buffalo-themed per se, but it still worked 🙂 . If you want to make it interesting, turn it into White Elephant – have people steal other people’s gifts! We did the White Elephant method, and it actually turned out to be really fun. Although, if you decide to do this, make sure that everyone knows ahead of time. You don’t want to be a Michael Scott, changing the game at the last minute and having everyone steal gifts that were meant for specific people… Not cool.

Holiday Event.

If neither of those things suit your fancy, you can arrange an event – you could go ice skating, curling, sight-seeing, etc. We decided to go curling at Canalside, and it was… interesting. Well, I’m currently about six months pregnant, and so the ice was not exactly my best friend. However, I still gave it a shot (twice!) and I had a great time – even when I slid the 40-lb rock by just graciously sliding on my butt. If it’s not too late and it’s doable, try arranging some kind of fun event for everyone – it’s a great way to bring everyone together and have some laughs along the way.

Music!

Okay, so not everyone is crazy about Christmas music. I usually find that there is no in-between – you either hate it or you love it. Nevertheless, if you’re not able to do anything as a group for the holidays, you may want to just sprinkle some holiday cheer into the workplace by having some low Christmas music playing in the office. I’m on the “Love it” spectrum of Christmas music, so I get really excited about having jingle bells play all day long. But even if you’re not all jazzed up about it, I feel that as long as it’s not obnoxiously loud everyone is usually on board with it. So put some tunes on – music always serves to put a smile on our faces.

We hope that your holiday season is filled with much joy and many special moments. From all of us at CP Staffing – Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Twelve Ideasfor Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas

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Written by Nayadee Wilson