Where Tech Hiring Is Hottest

Where Tech Hiring Is Hottest

In last Friday's Wall St. Journal, Career Strategies column, journalist, Joe Light reports via an interview with a recruiter, David White, that tech hiring is up, albeit in several key niches:  social networking and gaming, not surprisingly, as well as clean technology and medical software companies are having spikes in technology hiring.  Mr. White goes on to illuminate the needed skills, saying that engineers who can hit the ground running with PHP, ActionScript 3, and J2EE are the most in demand.  Of course, having the latest version of these languages & tools is critical.

Furthermore if your resume lists many languages and has the most desired ones listed at the bottom, the company will think those are your weakest links. So be sure to put those on the top and omit out-of-date or unnecessary items. 

Mr. White reminds jobs seekers to research companies and be well versed in what they're business model and plans are.  " You need to show a real passion for whatever the company does," he says.

For recent grads Mr. White advises to include your GPA on your resume if it's a 3.0 or higher.

Also he wisely suggests that if you have a choice between an unpaid internship at a really innovative company vs. a paid internship at a so-so firm, take the unpaid one if you can afford it.  "Getting the real programming experience will set you apart from your peers, even if they have a higher GPA."

Also "top schools resonate well," he adds, but "if you're not in one of those schools, starting at a well-known company that trains programmers well, like Google, Facebook or Yahoo, will also give you credibility when it's time to take a larger role at a smaller company."

The entire article can be found online at: 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304510004575186401030589086.html?mod=WSJ_Careers_CareerJournal_4

Janice Litvin recruits in the social networking and online direct marketing space and can be reached at JLitvin@MicroSearchSF.com

Improv Comedy: Communication Tool or Just Plain Fun?

“Companies Tap Improv to Teach Workers New Skills”

According to the Wall Street Journal’s “Market Watch” column today, Fortune 500 companies are using Improv Comedy training to improve communications.

Chicago’s famous The Second City, made famous by the original Saturday Night Live cast, is being hired to help marketing & other professionals become better communicators.

Tom Yorton, CEO of The Second City Communications, claims that B-schools, while important for many types of skills and thinking are not including certain soft skills such as:

• How to listen
• How to read a room
• How to build trust within teams
• How to create & innovate
• How to resolve conflict

One such game involves improving listening skills. You repeat the last word your partner says and make a new sentence. Then your partner begins the next sentence with the last word you say and gives the next sentence.

Yorton says that listening is core to being a good improviser, and hence, a good communicator, so the classes usually start with this one. We all tend to be thinking about what we want to say next, rather than focusing on what the other person is saying.

As an executive search consultant in the online marketing niche, I took up improv comedy classes for fun and happily found the classes to improve my telephone communications.

Improv comedy classes can be found all around you in community centers, as well as meetup.com groups, all of whom have online catalogs and scheduling websites.
I highly recommend improv comedy not only to improve your communication skills, but also for an evening of pure fun and laughter.

Janice Litvin
JLitvin@MicroSearchSF.com
www.MicroSearchSF.com

Google-Facebook Social Rivalry Heats Up

Yesterday Gavin Dunaway reported on Adotas that Google & Facebook are facing off for the position of king of of social media.

ADOTAS - As they vie for position as the most important tool on the Internet, a social media rivalry may be flaring up between Google and Facebook.

Today Google announced that its Friend Connect service, which allows users to quickly register for sites and services that require logins, has integrated with Twitter. Tweeters will be able to use their Twitter logins to register on Friend Connect sites. Tweets can be released with a single click and comments left on a site can automatically be shot to Twitter.

Only a day before, Yahoo! announced that it is deeply integrating Facebook Connect, Friend Connect’s competition, into its whole network, building a bridge between the two communities. Users will be able to share content from Yahoo! including ratings, photos and article comments while seeing their Facebook friends’ activities via their Yahoo! home pages.

An interesting side note is that in 2008 Yahoo! announced it would offer similar social media networking internally. Now it appears outsourcing is its modus operandi — soon it won’t even run it’s own search engine.

A new Job is Just a Tweet Away

I knew it would not be long before Twitter joined the social job hunt revolution.

According to Twitter, "there are many new Twitter tools and applications to assist with a proactive job search." Some of these do look intriguing. You can check out the details at:
http://mashable.com/2009/03/13/twitter-jobs/

Here is a summary of the links I found useful:

@Microjobs
Recruiters begin their tweets with @Microjobs, and then submit. The @Microjobs account automatically tweets out requests to its growing network of job seekers.

TweetMyJobs
For job seekers and recruiters. Follow the hashtag #Tweetmyjobsand visit the website. This is a very simple (and free) tool for job seekers. You can subscribe to desired job channels. You can specify which cities you want notifications from.

Job search accounts
By field
@alldevjobs – Developer jobs
@ArtDirectorJobs – Art director jobs
@cwjobs – Copywriter jobs
@jobsinhiphop – Jobs in Hip-Hop
@journalism_jobs – Jobs in journalism
@juicyjobs – Green jobs
@libgig_jobs – Library Jobs

@mediabistrojobs – Media job listings from mediabistro.com
@medical_jobs – Medical jobs
@media_pros – Jobs for media professionals
@narmsjobs – Retail marketing jobs
@PRSAjobcenter – Jobs in public relations, communications and marketing
@reflectx – Physical Therapy jobs
@seojobs – SEO job listings
@socialmediajob – Jobs in social media

@travelmaxallied – Healthcare jobs
@travelnursejob – Jobs for traveling nurses

@usmusicjobs – US Music Jobs

@web_design_jobs – Web design and other graphics jobs


By job type
@findinternships – Internships and entry level jobs for college students
@freelance_jobs – Freelance jobs
@heatherhuhman – Entry level jobs and internships
@Project4Hire – Freelance and temporary jobs
@jewish_jobs – Jewish job listings

There are a few others that you can check out for yourself.

To find additional Twitter job resources, use the Twitter search function and type in keywords important in your job search. For example, “job openings,” “looking for a job,” or “healthcare career.” Additionally, you can search out others in your desired career field on sites like Twellow (Twellow), Just tweet it, and TwitterTroll.

Your next job could be just a tweet away.

Happy hunting, Everyone!
Janice Litvin
JLitvin@MicroSearchSF.com

Secrets of the Job Hunt Network Featuring Hiring Employer

Today via podcast, Secrets of the Job Hunt Network (http://www.secretsofthejobhunt.com/) is featuring ADP, who is hiring technical as well as other types of candidates.

To listen go to:
www.secretsofthejobhunt.com/video/adp-jobs-an-intro

Top Tips for Handling Telephone Interviews

Tips for Phone Interviewing (synopsized from Secrets of the Job Hunt Network)

Today I was listening to a podcast about phone interviewing on “Secrets of the Job Hunt”, which can be found at the aptly named, www.Secretsofthe JobHunt.com

Here are some of the top tips I found most helpful:

Vocal Energy Level –
Keep your vocal energy upbeat, by standing and smiling. These 2 physical acts show up in your voice.

Non-verbal Cueing –
is key, as are giving complete & concise answers.
Check to see if the interviewer is understanding what you are saying since you don’t have the face-to-face cues. Don’t overtalk, listen for the interviewer to ask follow-up Q’s to your answer

Surprise Call –
If the interviewer catches you at a bad time, you do not have to take the interview then. Be polite and explain that you have a visitor / appointment, whatever, and ask to set a convenient time to call back. Try to get them to set a specific appointment.

Be Prepared –
by having all your info in front of you, including your resume, a calculator, appointment / calendar book and any cue cards with notes for questions you are uncomfortable with or unsure of, especially that most annoying of questions, “what are your salary expectations”.

Salary Quesion –
My personal advice about this question has changed over the years. One of my favorite new answers is, “I’m interviewing for jobs in the 90’s”.

Another favorite of mine is, “My current [or most recent] salary is $xx,xxx and I’m due for a raise.”

For more help with your job search, log into Peter Rosenberg’s site, Secrets of the Job Hunt Network.

You can find out more about me at www.MicroSearchSF.com

6 Reasons They Didn't Call You Back ... Are They Just Not That Into You?

6 Reasons They Didn't Call You Back ... Are They Just Not That Into You?

Today Yahoo! HotJobs wrote an interesting article about some of the top reasons companies may not be responding to your online job submissions.

1. They're just not that into you.

2. They may be into you, as soon as they get to you.

3. They would have been into you if you had followed directions.

4. They might be into you if you apply for a more appropriate job.

5. Your presentation could use some work.

6. There isn't any job.

You can see the entire article at the following link:
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-6_reasons_they_didn_t_call_you_back-988