Pontiac Invites Football Fans To Be Part Of The Action

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For the second year, Pontiac and NCAA(R) Football challenge college football fans nationwide to be more than tailgaters this season. Spectators can 'get in the game' by participating in the "Pontiac Game Changing Performance," the first and only fan-voted scholarship program. Beginning September 1 and continuing throughout the 2005 NCAA(R) Football season, the weekly contest allows football fanatics to be a part of the action without ever having to strap on pads, throw a pass or tackle an opposing player.

"With the help of the NCAA(R) Football and our network partners, Pontiac once again gets fans closer to the game," says Dino Bernacchi, Pontiac Advertising Manager." Pontiac plans to match the $200,000 in scholarship contributions made to NCAA schools during last year's football program. The Pontiac Game Changing Performance web site last year was visited more than two million times, and more than 500,000 votes were cast. This program encourages teams, schools, and their supporters to align together to put their schools on top."

This year, Pontiac is giving fans a bigger voice and a bigger choice in determining not only which school wins the weekly $5000 scholarship, but also in selecting one play to be included in that week's selection of plays. Each week, spectators can nominate their favorite play. The play with the most support will be included in the general voting. Every Saturday, four video clips of the previous week's Game Changing performances will be posted on www.pontiac.com/NCAA, including the one clip that was selected by fans. The video clip with the most votes will be named Pontiac's Game Changing Performance of the week.

But fans do more than just cast a vote for their favorite play; each of their votes increases the chances that their school will be in the running for a weekly $5000 scholarship. The play with the most votes will be announced during the Pontiac Performance Halftime Report on ESPN Thursday night games and awarded the scholarship. At the end of the season, a panel of experts will narrow down the weekly winners. Voters will be given another opportunity to have their voice heard, as their voting will determine which school wins the $100,000 Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year award. Last year's $100,000 Game Changing Performance of the Year prize was awarded to the University of Wisconsin.

"The NCAA and NCAA Football are excited to partner with Pontiac for a second year for the Game Changing Performances Program," said Dennis Poppe, NCAA Managing Director for Baseball and Football. "This unique program provides teams with recognition for their outstanding athletic accomplishments each week, and provides our member colleges and universities with great national exposure. Additionally, Pontiac 's contribution to the winning school's general scholarship fund makes a positive impact on their academic and athletics programs."

The loudest and proudest fan of the 2005 NCAA(R) Football season can prove their passion by participating in "You Call the Action." After voting for their favorite Game Changing Performance, they also can provide a voice-over for that play. Whoever calls the best play-by-play will win a trip for two to The National Championship Game, where they will call the winning Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year at halftime.

Job Search: Time Management

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There is an old adage that "Looking for a job is harder than working." How true! The rigors of job search are magnified by the turmoil we experience: lack of self-confidence, humiliation, financial pressure, and the undercurrent of emotions that color all we do: fear, anger, depression, anxiety, loss.

One practical step we can take to lower the stress and conserve our energy for finding work, not feeding our bloated worries, is to manage our time effectively. Have you ever noticed that you get more chores done when you're busy? If time is limited, we squeeze in those extra demands because we know they have to get done by a deadline and we fear putting them off. When time is unlimited, such as when you take a few days off work, there is no pressure to rush-"I've got four days, I'll do it tomorrow." Suddenly, you are back at work and realize that you didn't accomplish half of what you had planned.

This lack of structure is magnified when you are unemployed. There is no pressure to get up, get dressed, get out of the house by a specific time. We know we have things to do. We need to update our resume, create some new cover letters, research some possible job openings. It is so hard to get started because we hate having to do it, we don't feel creative or excited about the whole prospect, and we dread having to go through the horrors of interviewing. We procrastinate, telling ourselves that when we are ready, it will just "flow." For a few hours, a few days, we'll just indulge ourselves and relax. When the end of the month arrives and we compare our diminishing bank balance to our multiplying bills, we mentally beat ourselves up for not having accomplished what we had so earnestly intended. Now we generate our own pressure, magnified by guilt and self-reproach. Stress levels and blood pressure rise. We feel resentful, angry, depressed. "I didn't ask to get into this situation. It's unfair. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it."

Adopting a reasonable schedule can avoid reaching this point. Try these ideas:

1. Take a day to do nothing but plan out what you are going to do, and when.

2. Concentrate on not over-committing yourself. You may be used to working 8 or more hours per day and think that is what you will now spend on job search. Remember that adage: your hunt for work is a lot more difficult than simply walking into a familiar employer and pursuing your daily routine. Recognize that and limit your job hunting to fewer hours per day.

3. If you rigorously limit your job hunt-related activities to 4 hours per day to start (you can always increase later), you may find yourself forced to stop before you are ready. This creates the impetus to get you going the following day -- you can hardly wait to get back to what you are working on.

4. When your "work time" is over, stop. Consciously focus your attention on relaxing: take a walk, read a book, throw a ball, watch television, whatever pleases you. You will be able to relax because you know you completed exactly what you planned. The guilt, and the sense of "I should have, I should be" no longer exist and you are free, for a short time anyway, to do anything you want.

5. Identify your priorities by looking at what day of the week is best for each kind of activity. If you are searching the classifieds, Sunday is the premium time to do it. If you are networking or cold calling, concentrate on the morning weekday hours. Agency visits, whether for temporary work or head hunting, can be relegated to the afternoons when employers are difficult to reach and already fatigued.

6. Analyze your own daily energy patterns and put them to woork for you. Make sure that during your high energy periods you are "out there," contacting people and presenting yourself. Use your low energy times for solitary, mundane tasks: researching companies and jobs, organizing your paperwork, planning your next day's activities.

The inevitable stress of unemployment and job search can never be totally eliminated, but managing your time and being gentle with yourself can turn a painful situation into simply an uncomfortable nuisance.

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Virginia Bola can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com