April 11, 2003

Uncle Sam wants YOU - for a desk job
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 4:28 PM -

Federal recruiters are out in force these days, not just for the military, but for the desk jobs that make the government run. While the rest of the economy shrank last year, the feds added a whopping 160,000 people to the payroll:

Just one out of five young college graduates is interested in government work. And, in 5 years more than half of the civil service will be eligible to retire -- and that has left federal agencies scrambling to replace them. So, recruiters are working hard to raise the profile of government work. But sometimes, it can be a hard sell. And, even for those who do join up, 30 years of solid work before the pension kicks in seems like a very long time. Bush is looking to open up a third of civil service jobs to private competition in the future -- to make those jobs more attractive.

All this from PRI's Marketplace radio show. To hear the segment, go to the Marketplace archive page for April 4th, then scroll down to the piece entitled "Grads for Government" and click on the audio link. Happy listening, Future Bureaucrats of America (that's FBA to you).

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Shouldn't you be at work?
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 11:28 AM -

Today is the home opener for the local nine, and here in the heart of Red Sox nation, the home opener is a perfectly legitimate reason to leave work early.

So, this afternoon I will live the dream of every red-blooded Bostonian: I will leave work at noon, put on my Trot Nixon #7 jersey, walk to Fenway, find my seat in the bleachers, quaff a $7 Coors Light, and watch Pedro throw a no-hitter.

Our economy may be miserable and our country may be at war, but an afternoon at the baseball cathedral can still shine a little hope into our days...

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State Street cuts
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 11:20 AM -

Proof that this thing ain't over yet: one of the area's leading banks and largest employers, financial services firm State Street Corp., announced it will cut 1,800 more jobs, 9 percent of its workforce. The sizable cuts indicate the sustained impact of declining markets on the company's core business.

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Cells, stocks, doctors, and radar
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 9:56 AM -

Here's a mini-round-up of this week's industry news:

Worcester-based Advanced Cell Technology is in the news - twice. More Biotech stories

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Fidelity agrees to buy UBS stock-clearing unit. More Finance stories.

Doctors march for insurance rate relief and Tufts Health announces new hybrid health plan in January. More Healthcare stories.

And the Good News Story of the Week honors go to Raytheon. Perhaps no big surprise in these war-torn times, but the defense contractor picked up a new $350 million contract from the Pentagon for a mobile radar system, keeping more folks on the job in Lexington and elsewhere. More Technology stories.

Read all the industry updates.

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Word of the day: Incentivized
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:03 AM -

New York Times columnist Daniel Akst is not happy about the fact that, despite losses and bankruptcy, the chief executives of troubled airlines still end up with piles and piles of money.

The [airline] industry clings to the old-fashioned system, which means high pay and stock options. When times are good, airline chief executives, like their counterparts in other industries, are paid a fortune. When times are bad, they still become rich.

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Your solution may be "somewhat suboptimal"
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 6:47 AM -

If you want to meet success in the working world, it helps to be thick-skinned. Here are five tips from Entrepreneur.com on how to handle criticism elegantly.

No matter how successful you are, you'll eventually face criticism, whether from customers, other entrepreneurs, family and friends, or even employees. How do you effectively handle criticism and keep yourself and your company moving forward?

I found this link at the end of a very interesting weblog post by Robert Scoble, in which he talks about some very pointed criticism he recently received, and how he can best respond.

Here at BostonWorks World Headquarters, we have our product development meeting each Thursday morning, during which one of the highlights is reviewing all the feedback from the website (usually 20-40 pieces each week). Some of the comments are quite pointed, but they help us set direction for fixing and tweaking the site. So, if you have questions, comments, suggestions, or flames, please send 'em in.

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April 10, 2003

Should tech folks bother to get certified?
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:59 AM -

From Microsoft-ie Duncan Mackenzie's weblog: Certification doesn't prove you know everything, but it certainly helps....

Get certified.. it is cool to have the option to use the letters, but more importantly it can (1) give a little bit of reassurance to someone who is a 1st time client of yours... how could that be bad? and (2) it reassures you that "yep, I do know at least that much...". Sometimes I've thought... "Maybe my programming assignments have all been easy, and I'm not actually even in the league of person x" ... at least with an MCSD I felt that I must have some idea what I'm doing :)

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Reap the hidden harvest of specialized benefits
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:12 AM -

The Wall Street Journal reports on how to take advantage of the hidden benefits.

At a time when companies are increasingly embracing a wide array of expensive, specialized benefits, employees often don't even know about them, let alone use them. But with businesses tightening their belts by freezing or cutting salaries, workers can and should think of other ways a company can reward them.

The percentages of companies offering newer benefits such as flexible work schedules, elder care, adoption assistance and even pet insurance has continued to edge up during the past few years, according to the 2002 Benefits Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, Va. A few companies have trimmed them in the downturn, of course.

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Employers relaxing office rules during war
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:10 AM -

Smart employers are cutting slack for employees with loved ones in the conflict.

Sands is on the clock during her TV breaks, but her bosses don't mind. They are among employers across the nation who say they have relaxed their rules in an effort to help workers with loved ones in the military. Company-sanctioned breaks to check television, radio and Internet reports in some places have become part of the work day.

In Virginia, state employees are allowed more liberal use of e-mail during work to keep in touch with relatives or friends in combat zones.

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Volunteering helps your job hunt
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:04 AM -

From the Kansas City Star: Volunteering in your community can help your job hunt.

Many unemployed workers have reduced their job-hunting time through contacts made while volunteering. In addition to focusing fragile emotions on something outside one's own jobless situation, volunteering exposes participants to other industries, professions and people. The best way to find a job is through networking; volunteering expands one's network.

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April 9, 2003

A different kind of cookbook
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 2:18 PM -

This story could come straight from the pages of BostonWorks' beloved Job Explainer. The subject is co-owner, with her husband-chef, of Metro Bis, a suburban Hartford restaurant, and she tells all about her working life (and more) in her book ''Wife of the Chef: The True Story of a Restaurant and a Romance'' (Clarkson Potter):

Courtney Febbroriello wants you to know she's not angry. She doesn't mind working 70 hours a week for practically no pay. She barely notices that her basement office has no windows. So what if she can't remember the last time she took a non-work-related vacation?

If you're harboring any romantic notions about owning and running your own restaurant, start by reading this story, then Febbroriello's book. Then make your decision.

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Yo, prospective employer, Leave a message
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:23 AM -

Indianapolis Star: If you are encouraging prospective employers to call your home number, it may be a good idea to have a professional-sounding outgoing message.

Haag reports that one of the most unprofessional messages he's ever heard is this one: "Yo, we're out. You know what to do. So do it."

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April 8, 2003

Hard times, new lows
Posted by dwong@bostonworks.com">Dean Wong at 1:44 PM -

Admittedly, it's a rough time for job seekers. But so-called "token sucking" is just unnecessarily stooping to a new low. (Thanks Jon in NYC).

One token sucker acknowledged the depths of his desperation. "Hard times makes you do it."

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Stock options no longer popular with stockholders
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 12:48 PM -

The San Jose Mercury News reports on stockholder backlash to stock option compensation plans.

Combining headline-grabbing votes at annual shareholder meetings with behind-the-scenes arm-twisting, shareholders have launched what some experts regard as an unprecedented campaign to rein in the use of stock options. Indeed, as corporate leaders retool stock plans, they're reacting much more to shareholder activism than to fears that accounting rule-makers could soon force them to subtract stock options from profits, many experts say.

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Blue moods in IT shops
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 12:46 PM -

News.com: Those information technology workers still holding down jobs are making more money this year, but their morale is suffering, according to a recent report from consulting firm Meta Group.

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Collegiate loyalty in the workplace
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:11 AM -

Is there anything more annoying than having a co-worker, ten years out of college, who still gets excited when his alma mater wins some sort of sporting contest, the kind of coworker who, despite being up past midnight watching the game, is still going to be relentlessly chipper for the rest of the day?

I mean really -- how pathetic...

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April 7, 2003

Advice for the overqualified, and more
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 11:09 AM -

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

The Job Doc offers some advice for the 'overqualified' job seeker and how that label can be turned into an advantage in today's market.

High-tech and biotech companies may be lacking in diversity, but some folks are stepping up to do something about it.

Executive jobs may be leaving the region as big firms relocate top jobs elsewhere, but this has also fueled an increase in area start-ups.

What's the most popular activity among co-workers when they are outside the office? Not surprisingly, the answer is. . .

Read all this week's stories.

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Working abroad
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 7:24 AM -

Struck with wanderlust? MSNBC and Arthur Frommer give tips on how anyone can work his or her way around the world.

Young or old, professional or freelance, brainy or brawny—no matter who you are, there’s a legal, rewarding job out there in the wide world for you

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Travel fears cause some to commute online
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 7:17 AM -

From today's New York Times: SARS fears lead to more virtual meetings

As fears of terrorism, the mysterious respiratory disease known as SARS and consequences of the Iraq war have mounted over the last several weeks, many businesses are reducing travel in favor of virtual meetings, and more employees are learning how to telecommute.

I have meetings at NYT (the mothership) today, so I'm just about to head out to Logan. I'm not thrilled about traveling this morning, but it's not terrorism or SARS I fear, it's snow.

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Voted off the cube farm
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 7:08 AM -

It appears that Mark Burnett (of Survivor fame) and Donald Trump are planning a new reality television series in which contestants vie for a six-figure job as Trump's aide.

NBC said on Tuesday that contestants will face a series of tough assignments, with those failing to make the grade subject to a grueling interview by Trump at the end of each round. Trump will personally fire one candidate from the contest each week.

No, that's not at all appalling.

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How to get the most out of conferences
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 6:05 AM -

I go to many conferences over the course of the year, some exciting, most not. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of conferences.

The surprising thing in my experience about most conferences is that the most interesting, informative and educational moments are not spent in the sessions themselves: it’s in all of the other interactions with peers from other companies and organizations.

If you are a web designer/developer type, you should check out the rest of UIWeb -- all sorts of good stuff there.

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