Dauntlessness, Dash And Derring-DO; Whatever You Call It, You're Going to Need It in Today's Job Market
JOB-HUNTING SUCKS. It's a scientific fact (OK, maybe not, but it should be).

Ask anyone fresh on the scene and you'll hear the same thing every time - it's almost impossible to find a decent job in today's market.

Some folks blame economy-spurred workforce "reorganization" (i.e. layoffs). Others blame picky employers, fluctuation in industry growth, fate, even life in general.

Many blame themselves.

No matter who's to blame, the fact is the local job market just doesn't seem built for career-minded 18- to 35-year-olds. It seems like the jobs aren't there.

"I think the downsizing of a lot of corporations has a lot to do with it," said Andrew Pyrce, assistant director of Career Services at Whitworth College. "Students just coming out of school are having to compete with people with a large amount of experience."

Since the economy did a belly flop in early 2001, companies large and small have been laying off experienced employees en masse, leaving the highly hirable to scrap for the few available jobs in their fields. These people have families. They have mortgages. They'll take what they can get.

That's tough competition.

read entire article here
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Recommended Reading
Can You Start Monday?
A 9-Step Job Search Guide, from Resume to Interview

This book is an easy read with helpful advice on how to approach and succeed at your job search. Author covers the nine basic steps of getting a job, starting with implementing a specific job search plan (that's where Jobfiler comes in!), understanding the selection process, determining what life experiences (good and bad) best describe your individual personality and talents (and how to discuss these experiences in a clear and concise manner), preparing for the interview, and more.

[cross-posted to Get That Job]
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Top 10 reasons dogs can't use computers

10. They can't stick their heads out of Windows 98.
9. The FETCH command isn't available on all platforms.
8. It's too messy to "mark" every Web site they visits.
7. They can't help attacking the screen when they hear "You've Got Mail".
6. The fire hydrant icon is simply too frustrating.
5. Involuntary tail wagging is a dead give-away that they are browsing purina's website instead of working.
4. Three words: carpal paw syndrome.
3. Saliva-coated floppy disks refuse to work.
2. SIT and STAY were hard enough; CUT and PASTE are out of the question.

And the number one reason why dogs can’t use computers…

1. They are distracted by cats chasing the mouse.
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Teen Joblessness Hits an Historic High in June
Business Hired Far Fewer Workers Than Expected


Washington, D.C. - The jobless rate for American teens rose to an historic high in June, according to a Children's Defense Fund (CDF) analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — leaving three out of five teens without summer work. Only 112,000 jobs were created in June for the total population, less than half of what was widely expected. In the previous three months, the average had been 297,000.

"These job numbers are disappointing," said Deborah Cutler-Ortiz, CDF's Director of the Family Income Division. "The unemployment rate has remained unchanged at 5.6 percent since the recovery began. Over one million jobs have disappeared since March 2001, and the job picture for teens is particularly bleak."

Almost 60 percent of teens were jobless last month, the highest June jobless rate since the data were first collected in 1949 . Joblessness for minority teens continued to be much higher than for their White counterparts. More than 77 percent of Black teens were jobless in June, which represents three out of four Black teens. Latino youth joblessness, at over 68 percent, is at the highest level recorded since data on Latino teens began being co llected.

Children's Defense Fund
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How to Improve Your Resume and Cover Letter in One Afternoon
Getting ready to write a resume or cover letter? Here's a tip -- use English.
I say this because far too many job seekers succumb to the urge of filling their career documents with highfalutin gobbledygook instead of good old-fashioned English.

It's a career-wrecking mistake I refer to as a "superabundance of polysyllabic terminology," or too many big words.

Here are three examples of bafflingly bad language from actual resumes and cover letters, along with my suggestions to help you write right ... and get hired faster!


Job Seeker Login and Career Development Center
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Rebate or Rip-Off: The World of Rebates
Today, I was stonewalled by Saul Garcia, a call center manager for Continental Promotion Group, when I called to find out who at the company I can write to regarding my concerns about a $30 rebate submission for a BFG FX5500 video card I bought earlier this year. With their blatant lack of responsiveness and service to the customer, I cannot help but wonder why blue-chip companies are willing to pay this firm for the privelege of insulting their customers with banal rules and generic rejection postcards.

Now, fortunately due to the power of the world, wide web, I was able to find not only the contact people (who should be receiving my complaint letter shortly!), but a number of other interesting articles and posts regarding the issue of rebate redemption in general, along with the particulars of who is paying and who is not.

In honor of today's pet peeve, here's an article worth a look, all about trying to save money through rebates:

Software and hardware vendors lure customers with gaudy rebate offers. But will you ever see any cash back? Not necessarily

by Roberta Furger [PC World magazine, October 1998]

Air Force captain Johnny Reed thought he'd found a winner. Avatar Peripherals' Shark 250, a portable storage system for notebooks, was selling at Computer City for $199 with a $50 rebate. He mentally adjusted the price down to $150--a deal by anyone's standards--and headed for the cash register. Never mind that he was actually paying $200. He just had to fill out the paperwork and wait a few weeks for his check.

At least that's what Reed thought when he bought the Shark back in September 1997. But after eight months, his $50 rebate check still hadn't arrived, and Reed had a different impression of Avatar's seemingly great deal and of rebates in general. "I love the product," he says, "but the rebates are a bigger hassle than they're worth."

The Check's in the Mail--Or Is It?
Reed's experience isn't unique. In the past year, PC World has received many letters from irate consumers who filled out rebate forms, clipped UPC codes, and mailed off their proofs of purchase, but never received the promised check. Their purchases run the gamut: Zip drives from Iomega, modems from 3Com/U.S. Robotics, virus detection software from McAfee, and more.

Rebates are nothing new to the PC industry. Software companies in particular have been using them for years to boost sales and garner information about consumers. But as the marketplace has grown more competitive, the use of rebates--and the value of the offers--has skyrocketed. Big $40 and $50 rebates have become commonplace as peripherals companies fight for market share. Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and others offer rebates of $100 or more for items like PCs or printers.

Why the explosion of rebates? They give the perception of savings without requiring a company to actually drop prices. Retailers like CompUSA and Computer City advertise rebates aggressively to draw traffic into their stores. Their Sunday circulars typically feature the post-rebate price in big, bold type, with only a small notation that the highlighted price is "after rebate." Web retailers, too, use rebates to increase sales.

As hardware and software companies are quick to point out, when a promotion goes smoothly, everyone wins: Consumers save money, and retailers and vendors reap the added revenue. But fewer than half of all consumers who are eligible for rebates actually submit the necessary forms (estimates range widely, from 2 to 40 percent, depending on who is providing the statistics). In addition, poor planning, an ill-equipped fulfillment house, or a cash-strapped business can quickly destroy a rebate promotion--and with it customers' faith in a company.

Just ask Iomega, which became embroiled in a class-action lawsuit last year after thousands of customers complained about the firm's failure to process rebate checks for its Zip drive in a timely fashion. The company has finally caught up with the backlog and, as part of the settlement, has issued $3 coupons good toward the purchase of any Iomega product to consumers who participated in the original promotion.



- posted by bert @ 2:35:15 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
911 Job Forums
Interested in a career in law enforment or EMS/EMT/Firefighting? Here's a web site with leads and networking:

911 Job Forums
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What's a Webmaster Anyway?
In the Beginning ...
There was a website running on a web server and the Web Server Administrator looked upon it and it was good. Whereupon others looked upon it and agreed it was good and desired to add to the website their own Content. So approachest they the Web Server Administrator and beseeched him for access. And the Web Server Administrator would look upon this Content and, lo, some of it was good and he would grant access. But some was bad and the Web Server Administrator would smite these erstwhile authors down and send them crawling back to their cubicles. And so, he became the Webmaster and ruled supreme over the Web Site.

And Now ...
These days, websites can easily consist of thousands of pages, or more. For example, IBM's Intranet has in excess of 200,000 pages. To maintain a site of this size, the idea of even a single team is outlandish. Plus, the bar has been raised for website functionality and content freshness. Sites are evaluated on their interactivity levels as well as the how regularly content is updated or replaced. The expectation is that commercial sites get a major design overhaul at least annually. Kind of puts a lot of pressure on that one-person Webmaster department.
There are probably four roles or functional areas that can conceivably fall under the heading of Webmaster - Systems administration, content management, publishing and email response. Evolved companies are separating these responsibilities and coordinating output through a web team or eBusiness team. (This raises issues of governance, policy and procedure development - but that's another column.) Given the exponential growth of website complexity and pure information, the notion of the Webmaster as the single point of control will probably lead to a single point of failure.
Part of the problem is that the term "Webmaster" is still used to refer to any or all of these roles. And that's why I questioned the value of the CIW.

Webmastery: "classes in Web Technology, HTML, JavaScript and Perl and find the web "

- posted by bert @ 9:26:51 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Help Wanted: In quest for work, some jobseekers will go to where the openings are
On a recent afternoon, Chris Marquis finished work early to get home for his daughter's graduation party. So he checked out of the Cincinnati hotel he's lived in since January and set off on what has become a six-hour commute. The long drive through parts of three states is small tradeoff for a good paycheck, he says. When his last job was eliminated 14 months ago, Marquis calculated that finding a similar software position near home in Rockford, Ill., was unlikely. So he picked up, and family and furniture will soon follow, bound for where the jobs are.

The improvement in the labor market - a gain of 1.5 million positions since last August - is improving odds for jobseekers. But some are hitting the road to secure work.

Recruiters and job placement counselors say more jobseekers are relocating for work or showing a willingness to do so - particularly in regions and industries where hiring has lagged.

"They are looking elsewhere because it's been such a slow market here," said Laura Johannesmeyer, who coordinates a network of job clubs in the Kansas City area and runs the Career Investment Group, which meets weekly at a community college in Overland Park, Kansas.


Read entire article here

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What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Career Development Guide: Articles for Recent ollege Graduates and other Job Seekers

- posted by bert @ 10:28:46 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Office of Career Services - Job and Internship Resources
Office of Career Services - Job and Internship Resources

- posted by bert @ 11:03:59 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
More and more working 'graveyard shift'
One in five U.S. workers now works the late-late shift - going to work between midnight and 6:30 a.m. - according to newly released numbers from the 2000 census.

Once the haunt of nurses, police officers and factory workers, the so-called "graveyard shift" has grown to include computer support staffs, research scientists and brokers working the Tokyo trading desk from halfway around the world.

"White-collar jobs are growing just as fast or faster than blue-collar jobs," in nighttime employment, said Brian O'Neill, marketing coordinator for Circadian Technologies, an "extended-hours" consulting firm in Lexington, Mass.

Experts credit the worldwide marketplace and growing customer demand for 24-hour computer help, grocery shopping and catalog orders. Some in this migrating work force like their new schedules. To Sonnek, it means she can be at home with her family days and evenings. Others find it impossible.

read entire article here

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How To Grow Your Network
Everyone knows that networking is the most effective way to find a new job, and yet most people feel their network is far too small. I want to share with you the secret of how to grow your network painlessly. First of all, what is your network? It is simply the relationships you have with people, and when it comes to job hunting, people who are willing to help you. The more people you know who are willing to talk with you about your job search, the faster you'll find a new job.

Here's the secret to growing your network: Help other people. Make it your goal to help people you meet naturally during your day. Be intentional. Look for ways to help co-workers, neighbors, people in your professional organization, (What? You don't belong to a professional organization?), people at conferences and every new person you meet. The reason this works is the rule of reciprocity, which says that if you help people, they will be favorably inclined to return the favor in the future. By helping others you are making deposits in accounts that you can withdraw later. What can you offer? Whatever might be helpful, and it doesn't have to be a big deal. Perhaps you can send them a link to a website, or a copy of a relevant article. Introduce them to someone in your network. If they are in sales, ask them what a good prospect looks like. The important thing is to cultivate a habit of being interested in the needs of others. Once you discover their needs, you are well on the way to finding a way that you can help. "

Read entire article here

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techies.com -- your technology career control center
techies.com -- your technology career control center: "Jobs lost doesn't equal work lost
Willingness to contract and learn more transcendent skills will ease effects of job cuts.
Subscribe to the Notes From the Toolshed newsletter!
To sign up for the Toolkit newsletter, featuring Matthew Moran's personal commentary and techie tips, click here.

By Matthew Moran
The I.T. Career Builder's Toolkit
'Technology Sector Sheds 282,000 jobs in 2002'
You may have seen this article. When it appeared on MSNBC-TV and other sites I heard a collective shiver from the IT community. Those desiring to break into IT saw this as the kiss of death. Those already in it wondered if their job was next.
On discussion forums a myriad of panic-stricken folks bemoaned the end of the tech sector. They blamed Al Qaeda, Iraq, President Bush, India, newbies, and incompetent management. Many indicated that they were going back into accounting, retail, manufacturing, and even petty theft.
It's not that I don't sympathize. It isn't that I don't understand the struggle. However, let's make sure we keep some perspective. Just a bit; too much perspective is as crippling as too little.
282,000 does not equal net 282,000
I know, you think reverting back to that whole 'new math' debacle of the 80s. Au contraire. First, you have to understand that although 282,000 jobs were 'lost', the work required was not. Many companies drop head count and then outsource. It creates fluid cash flow and does an amazing thing to their books.
Full-time employees are a fixed cost, week after week. Contractors and outsourcing engagements are variable costs � here today, gone tomorrow. I know of four programmers who were let go this past year, they are part of that 282,000. However, unreported and more diffi"
- posted by bert @ 8:59:19 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
You're not the boss of me!
Be Your Own Boss

Even though the small-business failure rate is daunting, this is an opportune moment for <> budding entrepreneurs. Low interest rates and a still-soft job market have made capital and employees available at affordable rates. Credit is in ample supply, and banks are looking to lend. Factor in strong consumer and government spending and a pent-up demand for new wares by companies, and the picture becomes even more attractive. "I can't imagine a better time, from a broader economic perspective, to start a small business," says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com. He also points to strengthening sales figures across most industries as another reason to hang out a shingle now: Competition is less tight as many established firms have all the business they can handle.

Yahoo! News (reprinted from US News and World Report)
- posted by bert @ 9:08:25 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Article: Jobs lost doesn't equal work lost
Willingness to contract and learn more transcendent skills will ease effects of job cuts.
By Matthew MoranThe I.T. Career Builder's Toolkit

"Technology Sector Sheds 282,000 jobs in 2002"

You may have seen this article. When it appeared on MSNBC-TV and other sites I heard a collective shiver from the IT community. Those desiring to break into IT saw this as the kiss of death. Those already in it wondered if their job was next.
On discussion forums a myriad of panic-stricken folks bemoaned the end of the tech sector. They blamed Al Qaeda, Iraq, President Bush, India, newbies, and incompetent management. Many indicated that they were going back into accounting, retail, manufacturing, and even petty theft.

It's not that I don't sympathize. It isn't that I don't understand the struggle. However, let's make sure we keep some perspective. Just a bit; too much perspective is as crippling as too little.

282,000 does not equal net 282,000
I know, you think reverting back to that whole "new math" debacle of the 80s. Au contraire. First, you have to understand that although 282,000 jobs were "lost", the work required was not. Many companies drop head count and then outsource. It creates fluid cash flow and does an amazing thing to their books.

Full-time employees are a fixed cost, week after week. Contractors and outsourcing engagements are variable costs – here today, gone tomorrow. I know of four programmers who were let go this past year, they are part of that 282,000. However, unreported and more difficult to track is that each of them was offered a full- or part-time contract at a higher hourly rate.

Now, that still doesn't renounce the fact we're in a negative economic cycle. I just want to point out why the "funny" math is important. Given the opportunity each of those four programmers mentioned above would rather have the "security" of their old position: We will overlook the interesting definition of "security" their situation creates.

Secondarily, the times, they are a changin'. This, by the way, is always the case. Yes, the times are changing. Companies are outsourcing – and not just to India – more than ever. We are entering a time of extreme fluidity in the IT sector. What does that mean?

Companies are interested in hiring talent, not people. Yes, I know the talent comes in the form of people, but hear me out. They will hire staff technologists for day to day maintenance and help desk but many new projects will go to project teams hired for the skill and then disbanded when not needed. Companies have figure out that paying for performance is better than paying for training and unproven commodities.
So what does that mean?

Simply this: If you wish to take part in what author Bruce Tulgan refers to as "The Talent Wars", you had better get some talent.

Read the rest of this article on Techies.com

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Online Classifieds in your home town
Craig's List is an amazing place to find all sorts of stuff from jobs to items for sale to new friends in your home town. If you're lucky enough to live in an area where Craig List covers, be sure to check out their jobs and contract sections for opportunities which generally aren't posted on the big boards.

When they launch to a new area, it generally takes a bit of time for the site to get going, but once it does it can be a valuable source of leads.

Here are just a few of the cities that Craig currently covers:
The original: san francisco bay area, dallas,
denver,
la, boston, ny, seattle, philadelphia, vancouver, montreal, toronto, and washington dc.
- posted by bert @ 8:43:45 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
How to earn a few extra Bucks by cleaning out your Basement
Okay, so it's the middle of summer and you're still unemployed. Why not earn a few extra bucks by cleaning out your basement or scouring the weekend yard sales in your neighborhood?

True story: Last weekend, I went to the Mountain Forums For Peace group yard sale at the Community Center. Traditionally, they have lots of good stuff, cheap. There, I found in a box of junk 3 old metal ice cube trays for 10 cents each. I placed them on eBay auctions with a starting bid of $7.99. They sold for $15.50 plus shipping.

Now, obviously everything you find at a yard sale won't have this great a result - the key is to know what to look for and what to pay. A good general rule is to try to buy things for less than a dollar that you think you can sell for more than 5 bucks. It will cost you about 60 cents to list the item for a week, plus you pay eBay a % fee based on the final selling price. In the example cited above, then, my total costs on this item were about $1.68, leaving me a profit of $13.82. Plus the buyer covers my shiping costs.

If anyone would like more information on how to sell on eBay, please contact me. You can visit my eBay Store here.
- posted by bert @ 10:28:50 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Become a Free Agent
If the search for a traditional full-time job is getting you down, why not try your hand at contracting? Contractors work on projects that are either short or long term and can do so either independently or working through another company.

There are a few websites that can help you to get started:
Rent A Coder - bid on specific projects, RAC handles the payment for you
Net-Temps - find contract and contract-to-hire opportunities through headhunters and temp agencies
DevBistro - short and long term opportunities, including telecommuting jobs
Free Agent.com

- posted by bert @ 10:18:32 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Keeping Trade Secrets Under Wraps
A woman in Georgia was about to move from her job at one travel agency to a competitor. While still at the first company, she e-mailed clients to tell them that if they would follow her to the new agency, she would get them better deals.

A man in the Miami office of a telecommunications company left for a competitor and took the client list from the first company with him. When he started at the new job, he told those clients he could help them get out of their old contract and could get them a better price.
These employees are accused of doing things on a much smaller scale than what a 24-year-old software engineer at America Online Inc. was charged with last week -- selling 92 million members' e-mail addresses from the AOL database. Nonetheless, they are now being sued by their former employers for stealing.

"Employees don't realize that taking intellectual property is like putting their hand in the cash drawer and taking money," said Mark R. Cheskin, head of the labor- and employment-law practice of Hogan & Hartson LLP's Miami office. "Employers have to educate employees that stealing is stealing."

As the economy picks up and employees prepare to move to new jobs, there's the potential for competitive information worth millions of dollars to walk out the door, straight to a competitor. Today's work world is much more of a knowledge economy, in which technology and information are the main products. In a knowledge economy, location is not a necessity. Technology allows us to be in many places to do the same work. Therefore, the knowledge, ideas and information on which a company is based can be shared easily.

read entire article


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Posting Multiple Resumes On Job Boards
This article states what I thought was obvious. Here's the gist of it:

When confronted with the challenge of posting a resume online, many job seekers opt to present a general overview of their skills and accomplishments. Unfortunately, for individuals with experience in different industries, it can be difficult to build a universal resume that adequately communicates your diverse background.

Fortunately, many job boards now allow job seekers to post multiple resumes on their sites, so don’t be afraid to create different versions of your resume tailored to your skill sets. List your most marketable skills when uploading a resume to a job board and be sure to highlight them clearly. For instance, if you are a Design Engineer, but have experience doing technical sales and support, you should have one resume that is geared more towards your design background and another that highlights your sales and support achievements.

However, do keep in mind that these major job boards have literally millions and millions of resumes in their databanks, so be realistic. Don’t just assume that because you are uploading your resume to a major job board that the phone will start ringing off the hook… not in today’s job market. Because of this sheer volume of resumes available to recruiters, you also cannot guarantee that a recruiter will look at YOUR resume even when they perform a keyword search. For instance, a recruiter’s keyword search result might yield 600 matches and your profile could have popped up as # 599 in the results. The chances of that recruiter looking at all 600 are slim to none.

So instead of just sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring, you will have much better success by finding a specific posting that you are QUALIFIED for and then applying to it directly.

Read the rest of the article here.

- posted by bert @ 12:47:32 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
Telephone Interviews
CrossRoads Newsletter and Career Development Center: "Telephone Interviews
Many employers conduct telephone interviews to screen candidates for basic qualifications. It is also an alternative when it is not practical to invite an out-of-area candidate to the office.
Telephone interviews can be challenging because it is more difficult to gain rapport with the interviewer because you cannot see the interviewer's non-verbal reactions and cues. Conversely, the interviewer cannot see your enthusiastic expressions or professional appearance. This places all the weight on your phone manners, clarity of speech, voice tone and the content of your answers. "
- posted by bert @ 11:32:01 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
What Can I Do With This Major/Degree?
This is kind of an interesting site that I came across as I was checking out what some college career centers have to offer.

What Can I Do With This Major/Degree?

- posted by bert @ 4:10:54 PM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
CareerJournal | How Older Candidates Can Increase Their Employability
CareerJournal How Older Candidates Can Increase Their Employability

The work world is tough, even brutal, and many laid off older employees feel betrayed and mistreated by organizations they once trusted. These companies often replace them with younger people under the guise of "the need to appeal to young consumers" or the particularly stupid-sounding "ability to think out of the box."
One executive recruiter says that if hiring managers were honest, they'd tell you, "I can get two managers for the price of one. Plus, younger employees don't have any baggage, they're more easily influenced, and they're technically more current."
Ironically, discriminatory hiring and firing continues even as organizations lament the looming talent shortage. Age discrimination contributes to talent deficits, even though few employers seem to grasp the connection or care about it.

- posted by bert @ 10:58:14 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here

 
10 Things Your Headhunter Won't Tell You
Remember all those headhunters you blew off a year ago? Bet you'd take their calls these days, right? In this job market, a good headhunter can be a godsend. After all, with salaries lower and more people fighting for fewer positions, you need all the help you can get — especially if that dot-com you work for is hanging by a thread.

But that doesn't mean you should send your resume off blindly. Some headhunters are obviously going to be better than others. And at a time like this, it is more important than ever to be informed and work with only the best people. So we've provided a list of 10 things to watch out for. They'll help you watch your back at a vulnerable time.



Smartmoney.com: Print: 10 Things Your Headhunter Won't Tell You

- posted by bert @ 9:20:20 AM :: View Comments :: Add your comment here