May 30, 2003

Some rays of sunshine locally?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:25 AM

According to this morning's Globe, growth at the national level is still somewhat sluggish:

The United States is still trying to snap out of its economic lethargy. The economy grew a bit faster in the first three months of 2003 than first thought, but the advance was still considered mediocre.

But in a related piece, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce reports that the local news is a little brighter:

The Boston metropolitan economy improved slightly in April as three key sectors posted job gains, while a fourth -- technology -- saw the pace of its job losses slow, according to an index released yesterday by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Read more. And put a little spring in your step as you mow that soggy lawn this weekend.

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Dumbing down resumes
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:14 AM

Economists aren't the only ones wringing their hands over deflation. As the downturn drags on, hiring managers are noticing a different type of deflation -- the kind that shows up on applicants' resumes. With job openings in short supply, and senior positions scarce, many unemployed workers have been trimming back their resumes so they don't appear overqualified for positions, a reversal of the resume-polishing that characterized the boom.

But is dumbing down a resume a smart move?

Read the piece from CareerJournal.
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Mass. Senate passes workplace smoking ban
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:39 AM

The Boston Globe: We may soon be able to breathe a little easier at work.

The state Senate approved a statewide ban last night on smoking in the workplace, a measure that proponents say would improve the health of thousands of employees of bars and restaurants in Massachusetts because they would no longer have to breathe second-hand smoke.

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May 29, 2003

The value of sheepskin
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:46 PM

Following up on Jason's blog from yesterday, this article from CNN/Money reports on what this year's college grads can look forward to in a down market. Comes complete with nifty chart on expected average starting salaries (sorry, psych majors - geeks still rule).

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Infusion, plunge, fitness, forecasts, contracts
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:10 PM

In this week's industry updates on BostonWorks:

BIOTECH - Worcester-based Vitex received a $14.44 million cash infusion to buy more time to market its process of blood purification. Also, is MIT sicentist Robert Langer the smartest man in Boston? More Biotech news.

EDUCATION - college student loan interest rates are set to plunge. More Education news.

HEALTHCARE - a new Mass. Department of Public Health study links health and economic fitness. More Healthcare news.

RETAIL - a positive report: Wal-Mart and Penney's met their sales forecasts for May, both up. More Retail news.

And the GOOD NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK: Raytheon and partner Washington Group land a $466m deal from the US Department of Energy. More Tech news.

Read all this week's industry updates.

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XML formatted resumes
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:25 AM

Here's one from O'Reilly for all you geeks out there: Using XML/XLST to craft different resumes for different positions.

At the time my résumé is generated, I can specify (depending on the position I'm seeking) to output information on the books covering XPath, or just the one which covers XSLT, or just the one which covers XPointer...all by telling the XRL transformation to attend just to the corresponding targets attribute values. If, on the other hand, I limited the output just to targets attributes with a value of XML , then neither of those two books' information would appear.

Yeah, what he said...

Jargon aside, it's a very good idea to craft specialized resumes for different positions. You might be able to get away with cutting and pasting, though, as opposed to writing your own resume-o-matic program.
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Ban the bcc:
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:22 AM

Excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about CC and BCC madness in emails.

As e-mail overload buries computer users world-wide, much of the blame is falling on the cc line, which allows e-mailers to share correspondence with countless colleagues, friends or strangers. For e-mail writers who play office politics, deciding which recipients belong on which lines -- "to," "cc," or "bcc" (blind carbon copy) -- has become a daily struggle. Many resort to unnecessary cc-ing and sneaky bcc-ing, inadvertently spilling proprietary information, or inappropriately copying an underling or boss.

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How to prompt employers to read your resume
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:21 AM

CareerJournal gives some hints on making your resume scan-friendly.

When your resume moves to the top, the scanner will give it a brief look -- perhaps for 10 to 15 seconds -- for anything that piques his or her interest. This is your one chance to make an impression. Does your resume include a statement about your background that's so powerful that it transforms your initial scan into a lengthy look?

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May 28, 2003

Gnawing at the quality of life in Massachusetts
Posted by at 10:37 AM

There's no doubt that New England is a great area to live, especially at this time of the year, but money -- or the lack there of -- followed by high living and housing costs, taxes and college tuition costs are among the top issues chewing away at Massachusetts' residents quality of life, according to a recent survey reported on Page 1 of today's Globe.

''People are telling us it's a good quality of life, but they see it slipping away from themselves and their children,'' said Larry Hugick, vice president and director of media and political surveys for New Jersey-based Princeton Survey Research, which conducted the poll for MassINC.

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In tough times, graduates slink back home
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:25 AM

The New York Times reports on the plight of new college graduates moving back in with their parents.

"Moving back home was the one thing I said I would never do," Meghan Butler, a December graduate of Southwest Texas State University, in San Marcos, told me in an e-mail conversation. "However, I graduated into one of the most undesirable job markets in recent history and found moving home to be the most cost-efficient option."

One new graduate is taking a novel approach:

"Here's how it works," he writes on his Web site, jobsforjohn.com. "You send me information on a job in upstate New York that isn't posted in a major job bank. If the job looks good, I'll apply. If I get a good offer and take the job — YOU WIN A FREE CRUISE, or $500 — as a thank you gift."

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Workers can sue states over leave
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:24 AM

Supreme Court: States must grant family leave.

The Supreme Court ruled today that states can be sued for violating their employees' federally guaranteed right to take time off for family emergencies.

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The rules on bosses' pay seem to be written with pencil
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:23 AM

Gretchen Morgenson in the New York Times discusses how, when senior executives don't reach their financial goals, the goals are adjusted downward.

"For top levels of senior management in companies such as this, at least 90 percent of any bonus should be based on hard financial targets," said Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at the Corporate Library, a research group. "And if they are set at the beginning of the year and those targets are not reached, there is absolutely no excuse for the company to adjust targets downward in order to ensure compensation for executives."

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May 27, 2003

Start me up, older job seekers, more
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:00 AM

From this week's BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe:

The lead feature profiles self-starters in a down economy, showing how several have made it when jobs are scarce by creating their own work.

From our weekly round-up of employment stats and trends, "Out in the Field," a new DBM survey finds a disparity in length of job search by age group.

On a related note, this week's Job Doc says that experience plus up-to-date skills can give older job seekers an edge.

Read all this week's BostonWorks stories from the Boston Sunday Globe.
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May 22, 2003

Resume spam saddles employers
Posted by Richard Cook at 3:17 PM

Hmm. I guess there is a cause and effect for everything. All those spammed resumes by people looking for work are causing headaches for some companies.

Legally required to save applications, many fight to handle a flood of e-mail
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Spending, teaching, souring, cutting, winning
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:28 PM

In this week's industry updates:

In the Biotech channel, the Globe reports that spending on biotech medicines skyrockets. More Biotech news.

What to do if you are a techie in this prolonged downturn? Many are now turning to teaching, and in the process helping to alleviate the state's shortage of math and science teachers. More Education news.

Robert Stansky, manager of Fidelity's flagship $50 billion Magellan mutual fund, sounds a sours note on the economic outlook. More Finance news.

Wenham-based consumer advertising agency Mullen announced it will cut 10% of its workforce after the loss of its Nextel contract. More Retail news.

And the Good News Story of the Week goes to Peabody-based Analogic Corp., named by the Globe 100 as the Company of the Year. More Tech news.

Read all this week's industry updates.

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May 21, 2003

Community colleges filling layoff gap
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:25 PM

For 23 years, Larry Plowman fixed electric arc furnaces, overhead cranes, and assembly lines. Now he is learning how to crack criminal cases using computers and the Internet.

Plowman is among a growing number of laid-off workers seeking a second career with the help of community colleges, schools that have evolved from their ''junior college'' beginnings into mainstays of America's work force.

Read the entire article.
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Those who can, teach
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:19 AM

Everyone knows the tech industry has been hit hard by this recession, especially around Boston, and especially at the higher, managerial levels. So where to go, what to do? One option many are now considering is to bundle up their skills and experience, take them into the classroom, and teach the up and coming generation:

. . .Now, with the state recession into its third year, a salary in the low- to mid-$30,000s with benefits -- including the chance to make a difference -- is proving enticement enough. The number of people taking certification exams to teach math and science is soaring, according to the state Department of Education, and even subject areas that have been particularly difficult to fill are attracting significantly more candidates.

Read the entire piece from yesterday's Boston Globe.
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The shrinking paycheck
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:23 AM

This week's TIME magazine cover story reports on the painful reality for many of those still gainfully employed in this tough economy - the phenomenon of the shrinking paycheck:

Everyone knows about unemployment. But millions of working Americans are now facing a less familiar and perhaps more troubling problem: shrinking wages. It's a phenomenon that takes many forms. Some workers. . .have had to swallow outright pay cuts. Others have lost their jobs and, in the tough labor market of today, have had to settle for new ones at less pay. Still others—including employees at such giants as AT&T, Boise Cascade and Starwood Hotels—have had to accept pay freezes that, when rising prices are factored in, amount to reduced compensation. To add insult to injury, companies everywhere are reducing bonuses and overtime and eroding health and pension benefits.

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Even worse than the unemployment
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:17 AM

Salon takes a slightly askew look at the joy of the job interview.

In the final analysis, what interviewers are really looking for is not competence or a proven history of success, but someone who can memorize vague yet analytical sounding responses to stupid questions. Think Ari Fleischer being interviewed by Kelly Ripa.,

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May 20, 2003

Does gaming reduce productivity?
Posted by Jason Butler at 12:38 PM

Here is an article about how playing games at work isn't always a waste of time.

It's important in this discussion to step back and evaluate the kind of person who enjoys computer entertainment. Rather than being a dullard who seeks to retreat from the burdens of life, I'd argue that the archetypal gamer is someone who constantly seeks additional challenges - both mental and physical - beyond those typically encountered at the workplace. The frequent quip, "genius at play," reinforces the notion that gamers aren't slackwits. In other words, they may be ideal employees, full of creative initiative and forced through virtual competition to develop fast and accurate reactions to constantly changing stimuli.

Some of most productive people I've worked with are gamers. While I don't personally get into it, I see that it helps them relax, and often think about problems in a new way.
(Thanks Jay!)
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Massachusetts' top companies: The Globe 100
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:52 AM

Today the Globe published its 15th Annual Globe 100 section listing the top companies in Massachusetts. This is a goldmine of information on local firms. All the information is available online as well as at your local newsstand. Check out the listings and articles and then check out who's hiring at BostonWorks.com.
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May 19, 2003

Of the people, by the people, for the people
Posted by Jason Butler at 12:49 PM

My friend Dan Dunn is a town meeting representative for Arlington. After each meeting, he updates his site with his notes, and more importantly, his commentary. The result is a great resource for his constituents, and is the best site published by a public official I have ever seen.

I hope that in a few years all our elected representatives will see this type of open, cluetrain-y communication as an integral part of the job.
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Whew! Just a pay cut
Posted by at 10:22 AM

Time Magazine has an interesting article on how global markets (outsourcing overseas) combined with a continued weak economy are resulting in pay cuts for those American workers fortunate enough to still have jobs. (via WebWord)

Everyone knows about unemployment. But millions of working Americans are now facing a less familiar and perhaps more troubling problem: shrinking wages. It's a phenomenon that takes many forms. Some workers, like Raphaely, have had to swallow outright pay cuts. Others have lost their jobs and, in the tough labor market of today, have had to settle for new ones at less pay. Still others—including employees at such giants as AT&T, Boise Cascade and Starwood Hotels—have had to accept pay freezes that, when rising prices are factored in, amount to reduced compensation. To add insult to injury, companies everywhere are reducing bonuses and overtime and eroding health and pension benefits.

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A simple lesson
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:52 AM

It would seem obvious that you shouldn't cheat in sales contests. The Seattle Times reports on eight Nordstrom salespeople who fudged their results and paid with their jobs.

Employees sold shoes to themselves and rang up sales for co-workers, family members, friends and customers knowing the shoes would be returned in a few days, Richardson said. Nordstrom is known for its generous return policy: It takes back most items unconditionally.

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To veer in mid-career, away from the money
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:51 AM

The New York Times reports on how more executives are shunning the corporate world for nonprofits.

Fifty-four percent of Fortune 1000 executives surveyed last summer by Burson-Marsteller, the public relations firm, said they did not aspire to become chief executive of their company, compared with 26 percent who expressed that sentiment a year earlier. And career workshops that train people to make the transition from the corporate world to the nonprofit world are filled to overflowing.

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May 16, 2003

Workplace boomeranging
Posted by Jason Butler at 11:01 AM

The Times reports on how more workers are returning to previous employers.

It is an increasingly common phenomenon, workplace experts say, as attitudes of both employers and employees have adapted to the ups and downs of the economy over the last decade. Companies, realizing that worker loyalty has all but vanished, are more willing to rehire people they know to be honest and competent, no longer considering them turncoats. Likewise, ambitious employees who once might have regarded a move back to their old place of employment as a step down in their careers are today more likely to take whatever they can get.

I'm a boomeranger myself -- I worked for New York Times Digital while I was at Abuzz, then, after a year away, I rejoined the New York Times Company here at BostonWorks. I found my previous experience at the company beneficial in minimizing ramp-up time; if you already have a reputation and you already know all the players, you can get right to work.
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Various species of bosses
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:59 AM

The Wall Street Journal gives us a field guide to the various species of bosses.
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Unplugging PowerPoint
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:58 AM

Business 2.0 on how PowerPoint frustrates, with special guest commentary from Edward Tufte.

The problem with PowerPoint is that instead of being a visual tool used to illustrate certain elements in a presentation, the slides have become the whole presentation. Sure, there are some outstanding public speakers who can use PowerPoint with wit and confidence, but those presentations account for a small fraction of those trillions of slides generated each year. Just as using a word processor doesn't make someone a better writer, structuring presentations with PowerPoint won't improve the quality of an individual's ideas.

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May 15, 2003

Maybe "Daddy Day Care" isn't too far off
Posted by at 5:04 PM

While many articles tend to focus on women becoming increasing involved in occupations that have been traditionally male-dominated, the current employment struggle has men now looking at work in industries that have long been primarily associated with women, such as nursing, teaching, and child care. Case in point, the movie "Daddy Day Care," starring Eddie Murphy, which explores what happens when a father gets let go from his job, the mother goes back to work full-time, and they need to make ends meet. Eddie Murphy's character decides to start a day care center staffed by men.

TIME Magazine is featuring an article exploring the possibilities and potential that traditionally female-dominated industries offer men:

More and more men are heeding the call, taking up occupations traditionally dominated by females. Searching for more meaningful work or simply desperate for a paycheck in a sluggish economy, they are applying in increasing numbers for jobs or training in nursing, child care, housekeeping, teaching. The jobs are often crying out for more applicants, and offer solid, if unspectacular, pay.

Of course there was also "Mr. Mom" starring Michael Keaton back in 1983. But I think the mom went back to staying at home.
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Merger talk, closed doors, toys boss, new drug
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:36 PM

In this week's industry updates:

Two of the biggest financial players in town, Fleet and Hancock, flirted with a merger over the past few months. More Finance news.

Very sadly and after a long financial struggle, 117-year old Waltham hospital will close its doors. More Healthcare news.

Providence-based Hasbro tapped a new CEO. More Retail news.

And the Good News Story of the Week goes to Milliennium Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, whose cancer drug Velcade got FDA approval a year ahead of schedule. More Biotech news.

Read all this week's industry updates.

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Grads not glad
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:04 PM

Following up on mine of yesterday ("Road Trip") on new college grads, this piece from today's New York Times gives a little insight into the very tough job market facing the Class of 2003. One sign, among others:

. . .Applications to Teach for America, which recruits college graduates to teach for two years in public schools in poor neighborhoods, have more than tripled in the last two years; Wendy Kopp, the program's founder, said the economy appeared to be one reason. Americorps, the national service program that pays $9,300 a year, and the Peace Corps have also become more popular and more selective.

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We'll take what we can get
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:44 PM

Following Dean's blog from yesterday, today's Globe article on employment in the region also finds some good news in an otherwise bleak local picture:

. . . The education and consulting sector, driven by university enrollments that burgeon in economic hard times, posted meaningful growth, gaining 4,000 jobs, or 3.2 percent, in the quarter.

Even better:

John Bitner, chief economist at Eastern Bank, said the struggling state economy -- which has shed nearly 170,000 jobs since early 2001 -- could finally hit bottom and resume job growth by the end of the year.

So hang in there. What goes down must go up. And all signs suggest we are a lot closer to the end of this thing than the beginning.
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May 14, 2003

Signs of life
Posted by at 3:39 PM

From The Boston Business Journal, a recent Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce report shows a slight rise in job creation in Q1. Another BBJ story further indicates that while the state's economic decline continues, there is hope on the horizon.

According to Chamber data, the top five industries created 2,500 jobs during the first quarter of 2003...

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Road trip
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:13 AM

What do do when the end of college nears and the real world looms? These two seniors came up with a different approach:

Mike Marriner was a biology major, headed for med school. Nathan Gebhard was a business major, probably destined to be some kind of consultant. Both attended Pepperdine University in California, and both agreed they did not like the career paths they had chosen. But what to do?

Road trip, of course.

They wrote the story of what they discovered - and how - in a new book, Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life (Ballantine, $13.95). Read the article from the Honolulu Advertiser. Learn more at the Road Trip Nation web site.
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May 12, 2003

Dual-earner couples, facing a layoff, more
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:48 PM

From BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe this week:

At the work-family conference in Boston last weekend, cosponsored by the Brandeis University Community, Families & Work Program, and by Boston University's journalism school, Barry Bluestone, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, reported that the time squeeze falls hard on two-earner couples juggling work schedules, day-care pickups, and children's sick days.

"Living on the edge of a layoff" reports one couple's means of coping with an impending job loss.

Our regular column "Out in the Field" reports: women's workforce presence is stronger, but pay still lags; more employers base perks on performance; many execs expect the economy to improve in the 2d half of the year.

The Job Doc says an inventive search strategy can clinch an offer.

"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy", so take your toys to work with you, exhorts this week's View from the Cube contributor.

Read all this week's BostonWorks stories in the Globe.
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May 9, 2003

So you want to be a designer, eh?
Posted by at 4:05 PM

Scott Berkun, a Design & Usability Training Manager for Microsoft, has some good tips for the fresh-out-of-school looking for UI Design and Computer Science jobs in this sparse economy.

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