May 9, 2003

So you want to be a designer, eh?
Posted by dwong@bostonworks.com">Dean Wong 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.

...

Software Architects and Designers
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 1:40 PM -

Johanna Rothman has some thoughts on what makes good software architects and designers.

How do you differentiate true designers and architects from other software developers? This may be the hardest question to answer, and the most necessary. A real designer or architect, someone who doesn't just hack a bunch of software together, is worth more to your company than you can pay him/her. A real designer or architect can translate the vision of what the product has to be into the here-and-now, no matter what development practices you use. [emphasis added]

I just need to get that quote into NYT or WSJ in time for my next performance review....

...

Fight for your right to blog
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:07 AM -

While following up on yesterday's post, I found the Online Journalism Review reporting that Hartford Courant editor Denis Horgan, whose blog was shut down by his employer, may take his case to court.

A Connecticut state law, *31-51q, prevents an employer from disciplining an employee for exercising First Amendment rights. In this case, Horgan was basically told to stop Weblog commentary or he would lose his job as travel editor.

...

Of painters and programmers
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:00 AM -

Paul Graham writes an incredibly interesting article comparing hackers and painters.

What hackers and painters have in common is that they're both makers. Along with composers, architects, and writers, what hackers and painters are trying to do is make good things. They're not doing research per se, though if in the course of trying to make good things they discover some new technique, so much the better.

...

Throwing cold water on summer jobs
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:58 AM -

This morning's Globe reports on tough times for Boston kids seeking summer jobs.

Thousands of Boston teenagers will not have jobs this summer because of deep cuts in the Massachusetts budget and an ongoing economic downturn that has caused many retailers and small and midsize firms to reduce costs, forcing local high school students to compete with jobless adults for entry-level work when school ends. The City of Boston will not receive a state appropriation for summer jobs this year. The decision to eliminate funding for such jobs is part of an about-face that began in 2000, when state support for summer work dropped to $420,220, from a high of $2.1 million in 1998.

...

 

May 8, 2003

Off the clock != Off the hook
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 10:32 AM -

What do you do when your employer disapproves of your extracurricular activities?

CNN anchor Aaron Brown backed out of a gig promoting pharmaceuticals in news-like programs.

Christa Robinson, a spokeswoman for CNN, said that the network initially agreed that Mr. Brown could serve as host of the videos after WJMK told him that the segments would be produced as independent news vignettes for public television and that he would have editorial oversight.

"Based on information we recently learned, WJMK is not sufficiently independent to satisfy the editorial standards of CNN or Aaron Brown," she said.

Globe columnist Bob Ryan was suspended for comments he made on a local television show.

Many bloggers have been disciplined, by termination or its threat (1, 2, 3, 4), because of what they've written on their sites.

Some of these people should have known better, but in this challenging job market, is there anywhere your employer cannot follow you?

...

 

May 7, 2003

Salute to Nurses
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 10:54 AM -

This morning, we hosted an event called Salute to Nurses, where we honored three exceptional Boston-area caregivers: Mimi Bartholomay, Martha Gauvin, and Ying Sun.

Go read their stories, they are amazing.

...

Getting around the gatekeeper
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:55 AM -

Builder.com gives techies some strategies for getting around the gatekeepers, strategies which include getting involved in user groups, reading the newspaper, and going to networking events.

...

Working with a temporary disability
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:55 AM -

A Business Week writer discusses the joy of working with a broken finger.

Suddenly, chores such as typing, opening mail, or carrying both a notepad and cup became even tougher than coaxing a media-shy CEO to say something revealing. Business lunches would begin with expressions of sympathy and debates on the best options for one-handed eating. Deborah Holmes, a hard-charging national director at Ernst & Young, kindly offered to cut my food as I struggled to spear a piece of fish. Pull-on pants and wide-sleeved shirts became my new "dress for success" wardrobe.

...

Overtime pay ruling
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:54 AM -

The Seattle Times reports on how Bank of America is paying millions to workers denied overtime pay.

"These practices are common across the financial-services industry and in almost every service industry," Nece said. "Many people think that if they are salaried or are highly compensated, or have 'manager' in their job title, they aren't entitled to overtime pay. That's just not true."

...

3Com moving headquarters to MA
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 9:41 AM -

Here's some good news: 3Com is moving their world headquarters from Silicon Valley to Marlborough. No word on how many new jobs, though...

...

 

May 6, 2003

Homes sweet homes
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 12:05 PM -

Recently I visited my brother in southern California. What's he doing there? Well, in addition to enoying the sun, the desert, and the relaxed California lifestyle with his wife, he's selling real estate - residential real estate - and loving it. Little did I realize, as this article from Career Journal attests, that, like other MBAs, he's onto something good in an otherwise down economy:

Amid one of the worst recruiting seasons for M.B.A.s in years, more are starting to consider careers in residential real estate, one of the few industries still healthy in the current economy. While the number entering the field is "too small to be statistically significant," according to a Graduate Management Admissions Council spokeswoman, even elite schools report that recent graduates have more interest in it.

Now my brother's a little older than the recent grads, but the underlying principles of marketing and sales still hold. And you have to pick your spots. But put demographics and geographics in your favor and it may just work. Something to consider - real-ly.

...

The other tech shoe continues to drop
Posted by dwong@bostonworks.com">Dean Wong at 11:34 AM -

In the tell-us-techies-something-we-don't-know category, The Washington Post reports that tech hiring is expected to remain stagnant throughout much of 2003. The story cites a continued lack of business confidence, better management of cash flow and resources by those companies that have survived, and as Jason points out outsourcing to Asia are leading factors extending the curmudgeonly soft tech job market.

...

Show me the money
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 11:16 AM -

Do you need an agent to manage your career?

Since the demise of the Hollywood studio system and the rise of free agency in professional sports, the use of agents in those areas has become ubiquitous. But until Hyman came along, the agent model had never translated to corporate talent. The longer job tenures of corporate execs would make for infrequent--and therefore unprofitable--agenting work, the thinking went. The subjectivity that comes with judging executives would make an agent's value questionable. And compared with the limited universe of which sports agents must keep abreast, the business world seemed infinite and unknowable.

[Agent Jeff] Hyman is convinced, however, that those realities have changed. The mass layoffs and shorter job tenures that followed the Internet bubble mean that executives now have to juggle two careers: their current position and the ongoing search for the next one.

...

It's not just technology jobs anymore
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 11:13 AM -

This morning's Globe reports that J.P. Morgan Chase, among other financial services firms, is beginning to outsource financial analysis and other research to Asia.

The cost savings appear too compelling to ignore:

The practice of outsourcing may be catching on among financial services and business consulting firms for the same reasons that computer software companies such as Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp. are increasing their use of overseas labor. Countries like India offer sharply lower labor costs, while supplying workers with excellent technical and financial know-how. For instance, in 2001, MBA graduates from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology could expect to earn just $12,000, compared to an average starting salary of $102,338 for graduates of Harvard Business School.

...

Give Your Daughter Your Work Day, more
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 10:09 AM -

From BostonWorks this week in the Boston Sunday Globe:

It used to be "Son, someday this will all be yours," but things are shifting toward the distaff side in the family business.

With a glut of candidates and a squeeze on expenses, firms are taking a harder look at their temporary and contract hires.

What to do when the going gets tough? The sports metaphor comes in handy in this view of how to play today's job market.

With so many senior, qualified execs out of work, it seems that the bias toward the jobless is beginning to fade.

Younger job seekers - high school and young adults - should know about the federally funded residential program Job Corps, which readies them for the realities of the working world.

Read all this week's stories.

...

 

May 5, 2003

"Strategy" vs. "Actually Doing Stuff"
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 12:29 PM -

Business 2.0 on changing focus from strategy to execution.

The product-development firm operates on the principle that enlightened trial and error outperforms the planning of flawless intellects. In other words, instead of sitting in meetings and producing fancy PowerPoint demonstrations, develop your strategy by using your company's best thinking at the time, learning, refining, and trying again.

...

Fight for your rights
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:39 AM -

This morning's New York Times is reporting on a federal lawsuit concerning an employee's ability to keep his right to sue.

Mr. Lagatree's case addresses one of the most pressing questions in employment law today: Can employers force workers to waive their right to bring employment-related civil rights suits and to accept arbitration instead?

About 8 percent of American workers are bound by arbitration agreements, and the number is climbing because employers view arbitration as less expensive and cumbersome than going to court. But lawyers who represent employees say many aspects of arbitration are not as fair as court trials. For instance, employees in arbitrations must sometimes pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs and often face far greater restrictions in obtaining evidence than they would in a court case.

...