by John Zappe
Jun 24, 2009, 5:37 am ET
At a time when one of America’s largest newspapers is worth perhaps $1 — assuming it can be sold at all — is there any likelihood that the print industry’s single largest revenue category will ever even come close to approaching the $6, $7, and $8 billion glory days of a decade ago?
Not likely, say observers of the market (here’s just one) who have warned of the demise of the newspaper Help Wanted for years. The Conference Board, which once used the volume of employment ads in 51 of the nation’s newspapers as an index of labor health, discontinued its Help Wanted Advertising Index in July 2008. The Board explained the decision this way, “Because print advertising no longer comprehensively captures changes in labor-market demand, The Conference Board will focus its efforts on other indicators that better reflect today’s labor market …”
Earlier this month the Newspaper Association of America released the results of the first quarter newspaper revenues showing all categories down. But no classified category is down more than recruitment, off 67.4 percent from the first quarter of 2008. That’s a near disastrous showing, made worse because 2008’s first quarter was itself down by 35.4 percent from 2007.
In dollars, the drop means America’s daily newspapers took in $205.441 million in recruitment advertising from Jan 1 through March 31st. Compare that to the $119 million Monster took in from its North American job postings or compare it to CareerBuilder’s $141 million for the same period.
You don’t have to be a math wizard to see that just two online sites — the two biggest, to be sure — took in more job posting revenue than did all of the nation’s 1,400 or so daily newspapers. The newspapers also took in $3.1 billion in online revenue, with employment ads accounting for a piece of that total.
The accompanying chart shows the rise in employment advertising through 2000; its sudden drop with the tech crash of 2000 and then 9/11; it’s improvement into 2006; and, now, what is likely to be its final decline.
So definitive has been the crash of newspaper employment advertising that many newspapers are running help-wanted ads only on some days, rather than seven days a week. The Chicago Tribune, an owner of CareerBuilder, became the first major market daily to curtail recruitment advertising, when in early 2008 it decided to run ads only two days a week.
The rapid decline in newspaper employment advertising coincides with recruiter sentiment that newspapers don’t provide the same value as online job boards, employee referral programs and, increasingly, social networks.
In 2006, ERE in collaboration with Classified Intelligence surveyed several hundred recruiters visiting ERE and found they considered print advertising to be the least effective means of attracting candidates from among the five choices. Those choices were employee referral programs, job boards, career fairs, print, and social networks. We asked the decision-makers among the survey respondents about their spending on various media in 2006. Some 43 percent expected to spend less that year on print, while about that same percent expected to increase their spending on social networking sites, referral programs, and job boards. The numbers bear out those predictions.
That’s the glass-half-empty look at print recruitment advertising. If there is a half-full point of view, it’s not evident. We could point to ads in The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and a few others that list available openings and point to online sites for more information. The Chicago Tribune does something similar with ads it runs for CareerBuilder during the week.
Recruitment advertising agencies that used to earn 15 percent commissions on newspaper ads that cost upwards of $3,000 on a Sunday have embraced other media, generating fees from buying online advertising, designing online campaigns and building career sites, and managing search engine marketing campaigns.
Executives from these agencies no longer spend time placing what used to be called in-line display ads in the daily newspaper. Now, they advocate using newspapers for integrated campaigns and for special events like on-site open houses and career fairs, where a wide net is desired.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
How To Get A Job
Fortune Magazine on-line has an excellent presentation on their Website that provides detailed information about how to market yourself.
Please check it out here and follow their excellent advice to land that next opportunity:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/storysupplement/flyp/
It's all about targeted marketing of yourself!
Consultis of Orlando
Please check it out here and follow their excellent advice to land that next opportunity:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/storysupplement/flyp/
It's all about targeted marketing of yourself!
Consultis of Orlando
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Ten Dying IT Skills
Ten Dying IT Skills
By Linda Leung
There are some things in life, like good manners, which never go out of style, and there are other things, like clothing styles that fall in and out of fashion, but when an IT skill falls out of favor it rarely ever comes back. Here's our list of 10 dying IT skills. If any of these skills are your main expertise, perhaps it's time to retrain.
1. Asynchronous Transfer Mode: ATM was popular in the late-1990s, particularly among carriers, as the answer to overworked frame relay for wide-area networking. It was considered more scalable than frame relay and offered inherent QoS support. It was also marketed as a LAN platform but that was its weakness. According to Wikipedia, ATM failed to gain wide acceptance in the LAN where IP makes more sense for unifying voice and data on the network. Wikipedia notes that ATM will continue to be deployed by carriers that have committed to existing ATM deployments, but the technology is increasingly challenged by speed and traffic shaping requirements of converged voice and data networks. A growing number of carriers are now using Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), which integrates the label-switching capabilities of ATM with the packet orientation of IP. IT skills researcher Foote Partners listed ATM in its IT Skills and Certification Pay Index as a noncertified IT skill that has decreased in value in the last six month of 2008.
2. Novell NetWare: Novell's network operating system was the defacto standard for LANs in the 1990s, running on more than 70% of enterprise networks. But Novell failed to compete with the marketing might of Microsoft. Novell tried to put up a good fight by acquiring WordPerfect to compete with Windows Office, but that move failed to ignite the market and Novell eventually sold WordPerfect to Corel in 1996. Novell certifications such as Certified Novell Engineer, Master Certified Novell Engineer, Certified Novell Certified Directory Engineer, and Novell Administrator were once hot certs in the industry but now they are featured in Foote Partners' list of skills that decreased in value in 2008. Hiring managers want Windows Server and Linux skills instead.
3. Visual J++: Skills pay for Microsoft's version of Java declined 37.5% last year, according to the Foote Partners' study. The life of J++, which is available with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, was not a smooth one. Although Sun Microsystems licensed Java to Microsoft to develop J++, Microsoft failed to implement some features of the official Java standard while implementing other extensions of its own. Sun sued Microsoft for licensing violations in a legal wrangle that lasted three years. Microsoft eventually replaced J++ with Microsoft .Net.
4. Wireless Application Protocol: Yes, people were able to browse the Internet in the late 1990s before Apple's iPhone. Web site operators would rewrite their content to the WAP's Wireless Markup Language, enabling users to access Web services such as email, stock results and news headlines using their cell phones and PDAs. WAP was not well received at the beginning because WAP sites were slow and lacked the richness of the Web. WAP has also seen different levels of uptake worldwide because of the different wireless regulations and standards around the world. WAP has since evolved and is a feature of Multimedia Messaging Service, but there are now a new generation of competing mobile Web browsers, including Opera Mobile and the iPhone's Safari browser.
5. ColdFusion: ColdFusion users rave that this Web programming language is easy to use and quick to jump into, but as many other independent software tools have experienced, it's hard to compete with products backed by expensive marketing campaigns from Microsoft and others. The language was originally released in 1995 by Allaire, which was acquired by Macromedia (which itself was purchased by Adobe). Today, it superseded by Microsoft .Net, Java, PHP and the language of the moment: open source Ruby on Rails. A quick search of the Indeed.com job aggregator site returned 11,045 jobs seeking PHP skills compared to 2,027 CF jobs. Even Ruby on Rails, which is a much newer technology receiving a major boost when Apple packaged it with OS X v10.5 in 2007, returned 1,550 jobs openings on Indeed.com.
6. RAD/Extreme Programming: Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s the rapid application development and extreme programming development philosophies resulted in quicker and more flexible programming that embraced the ever changing needs of customers during the development process. In XP, developers adapted to changing requirements at any point during the project life rather than attempting to define all requirements at the beginning. In RAD, developers embraced interactive use of structured techniques and prototyping to define users' requirements. The result was accelerated software development. Although the skills were consistently the highest paying in Foote Partners survey since 1999, they began to lose ground in 2003 due to the proliferation of offshore outsourcing of applications development.
7. Siebel: Siebel is one skill that makes a recurring appearance in the Foote Partners' list of skills that have lost their luster. Siebel was synonymous with customer relationship management in the late-90s and early 2000s, and the company dominated the market with a 45% share in 2002. Founded by Thomas Siebel, a former Oracle executive with no love lost for his past employer, Siebel competed aggressively with Oracle until 2006 when it was ultimately acquired by the database giant. Siebel's complex and expensive CRM software required experts to install and manage. That model lost out to the new breed of software-as-a-service (SaaS) packages from companies such as Salesforce.com that deliver comparable software over the Web. According to the U.K.'s ITJobsWatch.com site, Siebel experts command an average salary of GBP52,684 ($78,564), but that's a slide from GBP55,122 a year ago. Siebel is ranked 319 in the job research site's list of jobs in demand, compared to 310 in 2008.
8. SNA: The introduction of IP and other Internet networking technologies into enterprises in the 1990s signaled the demise of IBM's proprietary Systems Network Architecture. According to Wikipedia, the protocol is still used extensively in banks and other financial transaction networks and so SNA skills continue to appear in job ads. But permanent positions seeking SNA skills are few and far between. ITJobsWatch.com noted that there were three opening for permanent jobs between February and April, compared to 43 during the same period last year. Meanwhile, companies such as HP offer consultants with experience in SNA and other legacy skills such as OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix for short-term assignments.
9. HTML: We're not suggesting the Internet is dead but with the proliferation of easy to use WYSIWYG HTML editors enabling non-techies to set up blogs and Web pages, Web site development is no longer a black art. Sure, there's still a need for professional Web developers (see the ColdFusion entry above for a discussion about Java and PHP skills) but a good grasp of HTML isn't the only skill required of a Web developer. Professional developers often have expertise in Java, AJAX, C++ and .Net, among other programming languages. HTML as a skill lost more than 40% of its value between 2001 and 2003, according to Foote Partners.
10. COBOL: Is it dead or alive? This 40-year-old programming language often appears in lists of dying IT skills but it also appears in as many articles about organizations with legacy applications written in Cobol having a hard time seeking workers with Cobol skills. IBM cites statistics that 70% of the world's business data is still being processed by Cobol applications. But how many of these applications will remain in Cobol for the long term? Even IBM is pushing its customers to "build bridges" and use service-oriented architecture to "transform legacy applications and make them part of a fast and flexible IT architecture."
About the Author
Linda Leung is an independent writer/editor in California. Reach Linda at leungllh@gmail.com.
By Linda Leung
There are some things in life, like good manners, which never go out of style, and there are other things, like clothing styles that fall in and out of fashion, but when an IT skill falls out of favor it rarely ever comes back. Here's our list of 10 dying IT skills. If any of these skills are your main expertise, perhaps it's time to retrain.
1. Asynchronous Transfer Mode: ATM was popular in the late-1990s, particularly among carriers, as the answer to overworked frame relay for wide-area networking. It was considered more scalable than frame relay and offered inherent QoS support. It was also marketed as a LAN platform but that was its weakness. According to Wikipedia, ATM failed to gain wide acceptance in the LAN where IP makes more sense for unifying voice and data on the network. Wikipedia notes that ATM will continue to be deployed by carriers that have committed to existing ATM deployments, but the technology is increasingly challenged by speed and traffic shaping requirements of converged voice and data networks. A growing number of carriers are now using Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), which integrates the label-switching capabilities of ATM with the packet orientation of IP. IT skills researcher Foote Partners listed ATM in its IT Skills and Certification Pay Index as a noncertified IT skill that has decreased in value in the last six month of 2008.
2. Novell NetWare: Novell's network operating system was the defacto standard for LANs in the 1990s, running on more than 70% of enterprise networks. But Novell failed to compete with the marketing might of Microsoft. Novell tried to put up a good fight by acquiring WordPerfect to compete with Windows Office, but that move failed to ignite the market and Novell eventually sold WordPerfect to Corel in 1996. Novell certifications such as Certified Novell Engineer, Master Certified Novell Engineer, Certified Novell Certified Directory Engineer, and Novell Administrator were once hot certs in the industry but now they are featured in Foote Partners' list of skills that decreased in value in 2008. Hiring managers want Windows Server and Linux skills instead.
3. Visual J++: Skills pay for Microsoft's version of Java declined 37.5% last year, according to the Foote Partners' study. The life of J++, which is available with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, was not a smooth one. Although Sun Microsystems licensed Java to Microsoft to develop J++, Microsoft failed to implement some features of the official Java standard while implementing other extensions of its own. Sun sued Microsoft for licensing violations in a legal wrangle that lasted three years. Microsoft eventually replaced J++ with Microsoft .Net.
4. Wireless Application Protocol: Yes, people were able to browse the Internet in the late 1990s before Apple's iPhone. Web site operators would rewrite their content to the WAP's Wireless Markup Language, enabling users to access Web services such as email, stock results and news headlines using their cell phones and PDAs. WAP was not well received at the beginning because WAP sites were slow and lacked the richness of the Web. WAP has also seen different levels of uptake worldwide because of the different wireless regulations and standards around the world. WAP has since evolved and is a feature of Multimedia Messaging Service, but there are now a new generation of competing mobile Web browsers, including Opera Mobile and the iPhone's Safari browser.
5. ColdFusion: ColdFusion users rave that this Web programming language is easy to use and quick to jump into, but as many other independent software tools have experienced, it's hard to compete with products backed by expensive marketing campaigns from Microsoft and others. The language was originally released in 1995 by Allaire, which was acquired by Macromedia (which itself was purchased by Adobe). Today, it superseded by Microsoft .Net, Java, PHP and the language of the moment: open source Ruby on Rails. A quick search of the Indeed.com job aggregator site returned 11,045 jobs seeking PHP skills compared to 2,027 CF jobs. Even Ruby on Rails, which is a much newer technology receiving a major boost when Apple packaged it with OS X v10.5 in 2007, returned 1,550 jobs openings on Indeed.com.
6. RAD/Extreme Programming: Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s the rapid application development and extreme programming development philosophies resulted in quicker and more flexible programming that embraced the ever changing needs of customers during the development process. In XP, developers adapted to changing requirements at any point during the project life rather than attempting to define all requirements at the beginning. In RAD, developers embraced interactive use of structured techniques and prototyping to define users' requirements. The result was accelerated software development. Although the skills were consistently the highest paying in Foote Partners survey since 1999, they began to lose ground in 2003 due to the proliferation of offshore outsourcing of applications development.
7. Siebel: Siebel is one skill that makes a recurring appearance in the Foote Partners' list of skills that have lost their luster. Siebel was synonymous with customer relationship management in the late-90s and early 2000s, and the company dominated the market with a 45% share in 2002. Founded by Thomas Siebel, a former Oracle executive with no love lost for his past employer, Siebel competed aggressively with Oracle until 2006 when it was ultimately acquired by the database giant. Siebel's complex and expensive CRM software required experts to install and manage. That model lost out to the new breed of software-as-a-service (SaaS) packages from companies such as Salesforce.com that deliver comparable software over the Web. According to the U.K.'s ITJobsWatch.com site, Siebel experts command an average salary of GBP52,684 ($78,564), but that's a slide from GBP55,122 a year ago. Siebel is ranked 319 in the job research site's list of jobs in demand, compared to 310 in 2008.
8. SNA: The introduction of IP and other Internet networking technologies into enterprises in the 1990s signaled the demise of IBM's proprietary Systems Network Architecture. According to Wikipedia, the protocol is still used extensively in banks and other financial transaction networks and so SNA skills continue to appear in job ads. But permanent positions seeking SNA skills are few and far between. ITJobsWatch.com noted that there were three opening for permanent jobs between February and April, compared to 43 during the same period last year. Meanwhile, companies such as HP offer consultants with experience in SNA and other legacy skills such as OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix for short-term assignments.
9. HTML: We're not suggesting the Internet is dead but with the proliferation of easy to use WYSIWYG HTML editors enabling non-techies to set up blogs and Web pages, Web site development is no longer a black art. Sure, there's still a need for professional Web developers (see the ColdFusion entry above for a discussion about Java and PHP skills) but a good grasp of HTML isn't the only skill required of a Web developer. Professional developers often have expertise in Java, AJAX, C++ and .Net, among other programming languages. HTML as a skill lost more than 40% of its value between 2001 and 2003, according to Foote Partners.
10. COBOL: Is it dead or alive? This 40-year-old programming language often appears in lists of dying IT skills but it also appears in as many articles about organizations with legacy applications written in Cobol having a hard time seeking workers with Cobol skills. IBM cites statistics that 70% of the world's business data is still being processed by Cobol applications. But how many of these applications will remain in Cobol for the long term? Even IBM is pushing its customers to "build bridges" and use service-oriented architecture to "transform legacy applications and make them part of a fast and flexible IT architecture."
About the Author
Linda Leung is an independent writer/editor in California. Reach Linda at leungllh@gmail.com.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Boost Your Salary: The Six Hottest High-Tech Jobs
by Amelia Gray, FindtheRightSchool.com
If you're looking to bring your salary up to 21st century compliance, training in IT can take you there. It's a big, high-tech world out there, but with the right training, you can secure a challenging career in a growing field.
Top Career Training for Tech Jobs
Specialization is key in the high-tech world. Focus your interests on one element of the industry -- images, for example -- and you'll find yourself a range of opportunities for training and career advancement. Check out some of the hottest IT jobs around, and learn how you can use career training to prepare for them.
1. Systems Analyst
Stand at the front lines of a company's IT evolution as a systems analyst. This top IT career is expected to skyrocket through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with about 140,000 careers for network systems and data communications analysts expected to enter the field. Salary is another perk, with analysts earning mean annual wages of $70,760 in 2007.
Career Training: Consider a bachelor's degree in management information systems, computer science, or information science.
2. Support
You're the guru in this job, which has you solving computer crashes and installation issues for multiple computers. IT support careers are valuable simply for their range. You may find work at a corporation's internal support desk, or steer towards retail or phone support. Computer support specialists saw mean annual wages of $45,300 in 2007, the BLS reports.
Career Training: An associate's degree gives you the technical training you need to work in many entry-level support positions. If you have a degree or extensive support knowledge already, a certificate can keep your skills current.
3. Graphic Design
Express your artistic side with this high-tech career. Graphic designers can be found in mom-and-pop operations and Fortune 500 companies alike, creating logos, photo illustration, print layouts and more. Want to work for yourself? About 25 percent of graphic designers are self-employed, the BLS reports. Overall, graphic designers enjoyed mean annual salaries of $45,340 in 2007.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in graphic design is recommended for most careers in the field, though some technical careers may be possible with an associate's degree.
4. Programming
Work behind the scenes to create the programs and applications you use every day with a career in programming. In 2007, programmers used their advanced knowledge of code to earn mean annual wages of $72,010, the BLS reports. Keep your training current and you may be able to join them.
Career Training: About eight out of 10 programmers held an associate's degree or higher in 2006, the BLS reports; nearly half had a bachelor's degree. Degrees in computer science, information systems, and mathematics are popular.
5. Web Design
Specializing in Web design may seem like narrowing your graphic design focus, but a targeted level of training in Web design can be useful to get your foot in the door of an established business or design company. The BLS notes that graphic designers with Web site design currently have the best prospects for employment.
Career Training: An associate's degree or certificate program in Web design proves your specialty in the field. Some hiring managers may prefer a bachelor's degree.
6. Software Engineering
Like computer programmers in overdrive, software engineers control every aspect of a software's design, development, and testing. They're paid handsomely for their advanced knowledge, with applications software engineers earning $85,660 in 2007, according to the BLS. The career is expected to see a lot of growth in the coming years; 226,000 new jobs for applications software engineers are expected to enter the market before 2016.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in computer science or computer engineering is typically required for the job.
Online IT Training Pays Off
While no educational program can guarantee a particular career or salary, hiring managers in the fields above often prefer or require formal education among applicants. Use an online degree in IT to train for a job or keep your skills current.
Amelia Gray is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.
If you're looking to bring your salary up to 21st century compliance, training in IT can take you there. It's a big, high-tech world out there, but with the right training, you can secure a challenging career in a growing field.
Top Career Training for Tech Jobs
Specialization is key in the high-tech world. Focus your interests on one element of the industry -- images, for example -- and you'll find yourself a range of opportunities for training and career advancement. Check out some of the hottest IT jobs around, and learn how you can use career training to prepare for them.
1. Systems Analyst
Stand at the front lines of a company's IT evolution as a systems analyst. This top IT career is expected to skyrocket through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with about 140,000 careers for network systems and data communications analysts expected to enter the field. Salary is another perk, with analysts earning mean annual wages of $70,760 in 2007.
Career Training: Consider a bachelor's degree in management information systems, computer science, or information science.
2. Support
You're the guru in this job, which has you solving computer crashes and installation issues for multiple computers. IT support careers are valuable simply for their range. You may find work at a corporation's internal support desk, or steer towards retail or phone support. Computer support specialists saw mean annual wages of $45,300 in 2007, the BLS reports.
Career Training: An associate's degree gives you the technical training you need to work in many entry-level support positions. If you have a degree or extensive support knowledge already, a certificate can keep your skills current.
3. Graphic Design
Express your artistic side with this high-tech career. Graphic designers can be found in mom-and-pop operations and Fortune 500 companies alike, creating logos, photo illustration, print layouts and more. Want to work for yourself? About 25 percent of graphic designers are self-employed, the BLS reports. Overall, graphic designers enjoyed mean annual salaries of $45,340 in 2007.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in graphic design is recommended for most careers in the field, though some technical careers may be possible with an associate's degree.
4. Programming
Work behind the scenes to create the programs and applications you use every day with a career in programming. In 2007, programmers used their advanced knowledge of code to earn mean annual wages of $72,010, the BLS reports. Keep your training current and you may be able to join them.
Career Training: About eight out of 10 programmers held an associate's degree or higher in 2006, the BLS reports; nearly half had a bachelor's degree. Degrees in computer science, information systems, and mathematics are popular.
5. Web Design
Specializing in Web design may seem like narrowing your graphic design focus, but a targeted level of training in Web design can be useful to get your foot in the door of an established business or design company. The BLS notes that graphic designers with Web site design currently have the best prospects for employment.
Career Training: An associate's degree or certificate program in Web design proves your specialty in the field. Some hiring managers may prefer a bachelor's degree.
6. Software Engineering
Like computer programmers in overdrive, software engineers control every aspect of a software's design, development, and testing. They're paid handsomely for their advanced knowledge, with applications software engineers earning $85,660 in 2007, according to the BLS. The career is expected to see a lot of growth in the coming years; 226,000 new jobs for applications software engineers are expected to enter the market before 2016.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in computer science or computer engineering is typically required for the job.
Online IT Training Pays Off
While no educational program can guarantee a particular career or salary, hiring managers in the fields above often prefer or require formal education among applicants. Use an online degree in IT to train for a job or keep your skills current.
Amelia Gray is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.
Friday, April 17, 2009
5 Threats to Your Job-Hunting Stamina
5 Threats to Your Job-Hunting Stamina
by Heather Boerner, for Yahoo! HotJobs
Marathon runners know that the key to crossing the finish line first isn't brute strength but stamina. The same goes for the job hunt.
"A job search is always a mind game," says independent career counselor Cathy Severson of Santa Barbara, California. "You don't know if this is going to be a sprint or a marathon. Assume it will be a marathon, and you'll be pleasantly surprised if it's a sprint."
But it's easy to lose stamina -- and motivation -- especially in this economy. Watch for these stamina killers and their solutions:
Stamina-Killer #1: Ignoring Feelings
Been laid off? "You may feel confused, ashamed, even depressed," says Anne Perschel, president of Germane Consulting and an organizational psychologist who coaches executives and helps employees change careers. It's natural. But letting it fester will destroy your momentum.
"Job loss is probably one of the top three stressors in life," she says. "It affects your identity and your sense of value. When you have days where you feel down, make small steps toward your goal."
Stamina-Killer #2: Job or Bust
If the goal is just to land the job, you're setting yourself up to fail every day you don't get a job offer, says Severson.
"You never know when an offer is going to appear," she says. "When the focus shifts to the actual tasks, the job searcher feels a greater sense of control and is better able to handle the long haul."
Try these switches:
· Instead of "I will get a job in X field this year," try "I will send out five resumes this week."
· Instead of "I will have three job interviews this month," try "I will call five people for informational interviews today."
Stamina-Killer #3: Applying for Every Job
It's tempting to up your odds of an interview by applying for any job for which you're remotely qualified. Avoid that trap, says Perschel.
"[Job interviewers] will know you're not a good fit for the job" if you apply for anything, she says. "You'll get more rejections, fewer responses, and more negative feedback." Your momentum will wane.
Stamina-Killer #4: Negative People and Information
"How do you feel after you talk to each person in your life -- drained or energized?" asks Severson.
Apply that question across the board and you'll know what -- and who -- is sapping your energy so you can avoid them. Talk about your job hunt with only the most energizing friends, family members and colleagues, and seek out positive acquaintances.
The same goes for news: If you're paralyzed after reading or watching the news, avoid it. You can always go back to it when you feel stronger.
Stamina-Killer #5: Pursuing Work You Don't Love
If you're going after the same old work, it'll be harder to keep trying every day. Banish mediocrity and seek out the work you're passionate about.
Not only will it keep you going, says Perschel, but also it has a surprise bonus: It increases your chance of landing that dream job.
"Assume there are other people out there who have the same skills," says Perschel. "But that energy, commitment, and passion? It can be your real differentiator."
by Heather Boerner, for Yahoo! HotJobs
Marathon runners know that the key to crossing the finish line first isn't brute strength but stamina. The same goes for the job hunt.
"A job search is always a mind game," says independent career counselor Cathy Severson of Santa Barbara, California. "You don't know if this is going to be a sprint or a marathon. Assume it will be a marathon, and you'll be pleasantly surprised if it's a sprint."
But it's easy to lose stamina -- and motivation -- especially in this economy. Watch for these stamina killers and their solutions:
Stamina-Killer #1: Ignoring Feelings
Been laid off? "You may feel confused, ashamed, even depressed," says Anne Perschel, president of Germane Consulting and an organizational psychologist who coaches executives and helps employees change careers. It's natural. But letting it fester will destroy your momentum.
"Job loss is probably one of the top three stressors in life," she says. "It affects your identity and your sense of value. When you have days where you feel down, make small steps toward your goal."
Stamina-Killer #2: Job or Bust
If the goal is just to land the job, you're setting yourself up to fail every day you don't get a job offer, says Severson.
"You never know when an offer is going to appear," she says. "When the focus shifts to the actual tasks, the job searcher feels a greater sense of control and is better able to handle the long haul."
Try these switches:
· Instead of "I will get a job in X field this year," try "I will send out five resumes this week."
· Instead of "I will have three job interviews this month," try "I will call five people for informational interviews today."
Stamina-Killer #3: Applying for Every Job
It's tempting to up your odds of an interview by applying for any job for which you're remotely qualified. Avoid that trap, says Perschel.
"[Job interviewers] will know you're not a good fit for the job" if you apply for anything, she says. "You'll get more rejections, fewer responses, and more negative feedback." Your momentum will wane.
Stamina-Killer #4: Negative People and Information
"How do you feel after you talk to each person in your life -- drained or energized?" asks Severson.
Apply that question across the board and you'll know what -- and who -- is sapping your energy so you can avoid them. Talk about your job hunt with only the most energizing friends, family members and colleagues, and seek out positive acquaintances.
The same goes for news: If you're paralyzed after reading or watching the news, avoid it. You can always go back to it when you feel stronger.
Stamina-Killer #5: Pursuing Work You Don't Love
If you're going after the same old work, it'll be harder to keep trying every day. Banish mediocrity and seek out the work you're passionate about.
Not only will it keep you going, says Perschel, but also it has a surprise bonus: It increases your chance of landing that dream job.
"Assume there are other people out there who have the same skills," says Perschel. "But that energy, commitment, and passion? It can be your real differentiator."
Monday, April 6, 2009
Your Options In Negotiating a Severance Package
Your Options In Negotiating a Severance Package
Despite the difficulty of getting a soon-to-be-former employer to part with additional cash, there are items that can, and should, be part of severance negotiations.
By Dona DeZube March 2009 www.dice.com
As the number of layoffs has risen, the willingness of companies to negotiate severance packages has fallen off due to fears of creating inequalities among employees and the need to hoard cash.
“Given the exigencies everyone faces, what companies feel they’re able to give and what employees are getting are different now that what one would have seen last year,” says an experienced employment attorney who represents large corporations. “It’s not that employers are less inclined to be kind, they’re just less able.”
Federal law governing severance also comes into play, says Jeffrey Liddle, managing partner of Liddle & Robinson in New York. “A lot of employers are fearful to negotiate with an individual because there is at least some arguable justification that under (federal laws) what is actually paid to one individual must be then paid to another similarly situated individual,” he observes.
If your company has an employee handbook that clearly lays out severance, you’re going to get what’s in the handbook, says Diane Pfadenhauer, an employment attorney and principal consultant at Employment Practice Advisors in Northport, N.Y. “The reality is that most organizations are going to do this in an objective manner, applying a formula to a group of employees selected for layoffs.”
Despite the difficulty of getting a soon-to-be-former employer to part with additional cash, there are items that can, and should, be part of severance negotiations, says Robert Benowitz, a partner at Rick, Steiner, Fell & Benowitz, LLP in New York.
Start by protecting your most important asset - client relationships. Regardless of what your severance agreement says, many states take a jaundiced view of non-competes, according to Pfadenhauer. "For example, California disallows them, so if you’re given a release that has a non-compete provision, take it to an attorney - not your friend the real estate lawyer, an employment attorney,” she says. “You don’t want to restrict your right to work, but if the non-compete portion is unenforceable, do you want to wage that battle with an employer with deep pockets?”
Benowitz says he’s been successful in negotiating certain types of carve-outs from IT non-competes that related to clients the former employee worked with extensively before the layoff.
Case law in technology tends to be in favor of the former employee, Benowitz adds. “The courts are not as prone to hold up non-competes on the theory that technology is a rapidly changing field and therefore what was information that you didn’t want to divulged has been surpassed already."
Some courts also consider what you did before you came to the company that laid you off. “If you brought to the table the customers or clients, the New York courts have held you can take those clients when you leave, even if you’ve signed a non-compete,” Benowitz says.Architects, designers and developers will also need to make sure confidentiality agreements won’t prevent them from sharing past work products with potential employees. For example, you’ll want to be able to show a screen shot of a utility you developed.
References are another area that’s important to talk about. “You need to know what the company will say in a reference, or get someone from outside Human Resources to provide a reference,” Pfadenhauer suggests. If your company has a no-references policy, she adds, it likely only covers current employees, so once your boss moves on, he can provide references again.
If your employer is downsizing greatly, it can’t hurt to ask for any left-over equipment. “If you have a company laptop, ask for it,” Pfadenhauer says. “If you have a cell phone, ask for that. Just make sure that you do give things back if the employer says no, because you can’t hold things hostage to get your last paycheck.”
Next, make sure to cover your personal assets by asking for reciprocal indemnification from any claims that could arise from your actions during your employment. “You could be getting millions in severance but in one lawsuit it could go down the drain if you’re not indemnified,” Benowitz says. “You also want them to agree to advance legal fees if any claims arise.”
Finally, in making any decision about severance options, consider the viability of your former employer. “I’ve seen situations where people go out on severance and the company filed for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court orders the company not to pay pre-existing debt - and that includes severance,” Pfadenhauer says.
And, while taking a lump sum severance payment may ensure that you actually get the money, it can also create tax liabilities by pushing you into a higher tax bracket.In the final analysis, all three attorneys suggest seeking professional help when you face a layoff. Retaining an employment lawyer will cost around $2,500, Benowitz says. But, he adds, “It’s a small investment to see if you can get a lot more."
Despite the difficulty of getting a soon-to-be-former employer to part with additional cash, there are items that can, and should, be part of severance negotiations.
By Dona DeZube March 2009 www.dice.com
As the number of layoffs has risen, the willingness of companies to negotiate severance packages has fallen off due to fears of creating inequalities among employees and the need to hoard cash.
“Given the exigencies everyone faces, what companies feel they’re able to give and what employees are getting are different now that what one would have seen last year,” says an experienced employment attorney who represents large corporations. “It’s not that employers are less inclined to be kind, they’re just less able.”
Federal law governing severance also comes into play, says Jeffrey Liddle, managing partner of Liddle & Robinson in New York. “A lot of employers are fearful to negotiate with an individual because there is at least some arguable justification that under (federal laws) what is actually paid to one individual must be then paid to another similarly situated individual,” he observes.
If your company has an employee handbook that clearly lays out severance, you’re going to get what’s in the handbook, says Diane Pfadenhauer, an employment attorney and principal consultant at Employment Practice Advisors in Northport, N.Y. “The reality is that most organizations are going to do this in an objective manner, applying a formula to a group of employees selected for layoffs.”
Despite the difficulty of getting a soon-to-be-former employer to part with additional cash, there are items that can, and should, be part of severance negotiations, says Robert Benowitz, a partner at Rick, Steiner, Fell & Benowitz, LLP in New York.
Start by protecting your most important asset - client relationships. Regardless of what your severance agreement says, many states take a jaundiced view of non-competes, according to Pfadenhauer. "For example, California disallows them, so if you’re given a release that has a non-compete provision, take it to an attorney - not your friend the real estate lawyer, an employment attorney,” she says. “You don’t want to restrict your right to work, but if the non-compete portion is unenforceable, do you want to wage that battle with an employer with deep pockets?”
Benowitz says he’s been successful in negotiating certain types of carve-outs from IT non-competes that related to clients the former employee worked with extensively before the layoff.
Case law in technology tends to be in favor of the former employee, Benowitz adds. “The courts are not as prone to hold up non-competes on the theory that technology is a rapidly changing field and therefore what was information that you didn’t want to divulged has been surpassed already."
Some courts also consider what you did before you came to the company that laid you off. “If you brought to the table the customers or clients, the New York courts have held you can take those clients when you leave, even if you’ve signed a non-compete,” Benowitz says.Architects, designers and developers will also need to make sure confidentiality agreements won’t prevent them from sharing past work products with potential employees. For example, you’ll want to be able to show a screen shot of a utility you developed.
References are another area that’s important to talk about. “You need to know what the company will say in a reference, or get someone from outside Human Resources to provide a reference,” Pfadenhauer suggests. If your company has a no-references policy, she adds, it likely only covers current employees, so once your boss moves on, he can provide references again.
If your employer is downsizing greatly, it can’t hurt to ask for any left-over equipment. “If you have a company laptop, ask for it,” Pfadenhauer says. “If you have a cell phone, ask for that. Just make sure that you do give things back if the employer says no, because you can’t hold things hostage to get your last paycheck.”
Next, make sure to cover your personal assets by asking for reciprocal indemnification from any claims that could arise from your actions during your employment. “You could be getting millions in severance but in one lawsuit it could go down the drain if you’re not indemnified,” Benowitz says. “You also want them to agree to advance legal fees if any claims arise.”
Finally, in making any decision about severance options, consider the viability of your former employer. “I’ve seen situations where people go out on severance and the company filed for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court orders the company not to pay pre-existing debt - and that includes severance,” Pfadenhauer says.
And, while taking a lump sum severance payment may ensure that you actually get the money, it can also create tax liabilities by pushing you into a higher tax bracket.In the final analysis, all three attorneys suggest seeking professional help when you face a layoff. Retaining an employment lawyer will cost around $2,500, Benowitz says. But, he adds, “It’s a small investment to see if you can get a lot more."
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Job Seekers Targeted By Identity Thieves
Job Seekers Targeted By Identity Thieves
Fake job ads are up 345% over the past three years, according to one U.K. financial security association.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
March 5, 2009 10:00 AM
Job seekers beware. Identity thieves are looking to steal personal information from those searching for employment.
Fake job ads are up 345% over the past three years, according to the U.K. Association for Payment Clearing Services, and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) warns that would-be workers should be careful about providing personal information to purported employers.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on when to go OneCare versus Forefront The ITRC offers seven tips to help job seekers avoid being scammed:
1. Protect your Social Security number. Don't put it on your resumé and only provide it to a company when you're convinced you're a serious prospect for a legitimate job.
2. Consider creating an e-mail account specifically for your job search. This can help limit possible damage from spam, phishing, and other e-mail scams.
3. Look into companies that place job ads by researching them with the Better Business Bureau or through a state database. Anyone can create a Web site.
4. Avoid any Web site that asks you to preregister using your Social Security number, home address, or driver's license number. You should also be suspicious of sites that ask for payment to view job listings.
5. Make sure your computer security software and settings are up to date before sending out resumés and job-related e-mail. Phishers and scammers look for job seekers to bait with fake job offers because they're receptive opening messages and clicking on links.
6. Make sure your contact at a company actually works there and watch for signs that something isn't right, like an e-mail address that's inconsistent with the company's Web site address.
7. Be wary of common job scams. Jobs that require you to cash checks for a company or open a bank account, known as "money mule scams," could leave you open to charges of money laundering.
The ITRC offers additional tips for avoiding identity theft while searching for a job at its Web site.
Fake job ads are up 345% over the past three years, according to one U.K. financial security association.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
March 5, 2009 10:00 AM
Job seekers beware. Identity thieves are looking to steal personal information from those searching for employment.
Fake job ads are up 345% over the past three years, according to the U.K. Association for Payment Clearing Services, and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) warns that would-be workers should be careful about providing personal information to purported employers.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on when to go OneCare versus Forefront The ITRC offers seven tips to help job seekers avoid being scammed:
1. Protect your Social Security number. Don't put it on your resumé and only provide it to a company when you're convinced you're a serious prospect for a legitimate job.
2. Consider creating an e-mail account specifically for your job search. This can help limit possible damage from spam, phishing, and other e-mail scams.
3. Look into companies that place job ads by researching them with the Better Business Bureau or through a state database. Anyone can create a Web site.
4. Avoid any Web site that asks you to preregister using your Social Security number, home address, or driver's license number. You should also be suspicious of sites that ask for payment to view job listings.
5. Make sure your computer security software and settings are up to date before sending out resumés and job-related e-mail. Phishers and scammers look for job seekers to bait with fake job offers because they're receptive opening messages and clicking on links.
6. Make sure your contact at a company actually works there and watch for signs that something isn't right, like an e-mail address that's inconsistent with the company's Web site address.
7. Be wary of common job scams. Jobs that require you to cash checks for a company or open a bank account, known as "money mule scams," could leave you open to charges of money laundering.
The ITRC offers additional tips for avoiding identity theft while searching for a job at its Web site.
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