New Website for Job Seekers

Our church has created a new website with a variety of resources to help those looking for work. It is free and open to everyone. Visit www.ldsjobs.org.

Home Ownership Checklist

We had one of those great talks during Ward Conference that made us feel guilty - the speaker strongly recommended buying a home over renting an apartment. This surprised us, since pricing in our area means that renting usually makes more sense financially. There are certainly other benefits to owning a home though, and I think it's a good goal for any family. At the blog "The Simple Dollar", there's an article up talking about four things to DO while preparing to buy a home.

Four Atypical Things to do Before You Consider Buying a House

The suggestions are great - and ought to help anyone to make sure they are prepared to buy a house, and know that they can afford the house they will buy.

Great Source for Recipes

I told you I'd get back to you about Cheap, Healthy, Good. The verdict? Great recipes. Useful tips like the top ten cheap & healthy foods. Recipes are simple and straightforward. Leans towards vegetarian, but there are recipes with meat as well. Plenty of blog-style fluffy entertainment (usually I just skip to the recipes). Check it out. The above picture is of Broccoli with Roasted Red Peppers.

That Unpaid Internship May be Illegal

Because of the current job market, many employers are hiring more unpaid interns than usual. A lot of these arrangements are actual illegal, according to this article:

Looking for Experience, Providing Free Labor

There are very specific legal requirements from the federal government. The article describes some of those that are commonly violated:

Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.

If your unpaid internship involves making copies and addressing envelopes in exchange for nothing but course credit (and perhaps the dangling carrot of a possible future position), there's a good chance it's illegal.