May 28, 2004

Help with Office Politics
Posted by Jason Butler at 12:47 PM

Fast Company points to OfficePolitics.com, a site which has experts answer your deepest, darkest questions about those Machiavellis at the office.

Hmmm.

Dear Office Politics -

I work for a large metropolitan newspaper, owned by another large metropolitan newspaper--I don't want to tell you who, so we'll just call them the Blue Spork Tines.

When I have to go down to visit, I'm forced to look at a giant poster of an evil baseball team celebrating another ill-bought World Series Championship. Is this harassment? Can I cover it with a giant picture of Nomar?

Thanks!

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Herman fought the law, and the law won
Posted by at 12:18 PM

The Globe's Steve Bailey writes an update to the Coleman Herman story and his crusade to force retailers like Home Depot and Walmart, to comply with a Massachusetts law requiring most items to have a price on them.

His efforts have had a perverse result. The law he sued to have enforced has been gutted because of his success. Money he helped win went to the attorney general's office, which had refused to enforce the item-pricing law. But if he lost the war, he is not defeated: He recently was back where he started, in small-claims session, bringing an item-pricing case on his own against OfficeMax.

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America – is it really the good life?
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:58 AM

O.K., so we lead the world in GDP (see World Bank site for complete rankings). But is it really cool to also lead the world in numbers of hours worked? One group of Americans doesn’t think so, and this led to the launch of an official holiday called “Take Back Your Time Day” (October 24, 2003). The first Take Back Your Time Day National Conference is being held next month on June 10-13th in Chicago. Check out their website for registration information and interesting tidbits like the following:

1. We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.


2. In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.


3. Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession.


4. On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.


5. Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six weeks.

Feeling the need to personally investigate these statistics, this blogger is over here in the sunny South of France, and yep, I seem to be the only one actually working. (I guess you can take the girl out of America, but you can’t take America out of the girl!) If you don’t hear from me for a while, it probably means that I’ve adopted the European definition of the “good life!” A bientot

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Economy grows 4.4% in first quarter; job gains posted
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:33 AM

More good news on the economic front as the Boston Globe reports this morning that the economy grew 4.4% in the first quarter of the year:

The economy grew slightly faster than previously thought in the first quarter of this year, fresh evidence of momentum heading into the summer.
- - - - -
The nation's payrolls, which had been posting lackluster gains, expanded by 288,000 in April on top of a hefty rise in March, leading economists to believe that the long-awaited recovery in the labor market was finally coming about.

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May 27, 2004

Opportunity for IT sector growth - in the form of computer forensics
Posted by at 3:29 PM

With the increasing occurence of new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, computer security is important not only for consumers or companies but also for the people who hunt the creators of these computer attacks. As these code attacks become more and more sophisticated, the demand to hire qualified "cybercops" is soaring.

While it focuses mainly on computer forensics in the UK, here's an interesting read from Reuters via CNet's News.com: "Back to school for cybercops."

Police are heading back to the classroom as a new breed of criminals turns to the Internet to prey on unsuspecting victims. Across Europe and beyond, cyberinvestigators are being trained in computer forensics--a crime-fighting technique that is part science, part sleuthing. ...

As criminals turn to high-tech gadgets and the Internet to commit crimes ranging from extortion to drug-dealing, computer forensics is rapidly becoming as crucial to an investigation as DNA evidence.

Interested in learning more about cyber and Enterprise security? Check out CNet's "Get up to Speed: Enterprise Security" section.

Ever wonder what makes a "hacker" a "cracker?" While "hacker" is often used for anyone that attempts or breaks into a computer (regardless of their intent), "hackers" are, in essence, usually benign while a "cracker" is a person who maliciously cracks code to do harm with their hacks/programming/code.
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Hey buddy, want my job?
Posted by Colin Moor at 9:48 AM

We have been living in an economy for the last few years that emphasized hanging on to your job for dear life - even if you were somewhat less than happy about the working conditions. Now as the employment picture begins to improve, those who have struggled to find employment may be getting a new ally - the burned out, bored or angry employee who
is looking to make a change.
In a recent Newsweek article, Daniel McGinn writes about the employed job hunters who are dusting off their resumes.

Wharton professor Peter Cappelli, who's studied attitudes among New Economy workers, says people couldn't help but notice that "employers cut employees faster and harder [during the recession] than during any previous one." As conditions improve, why should employees feel loyal to bosses who ruthlessly swung the ax? Sure, the boss may give better raises or more "attaboys" to try to make up—but like a spurned lover, employees remember the mistreatment, and they're unlikely to forgive and forget. "It's like being in a bad relationship," says Manhattan recruiter Sunny Bates. "People are saying, 'I just want out. I want to start over'."

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May 26, 2004

Believe me you, I feel your pain
Posted by at 2:38 PM

Promote candid criticism of the boss? Tell your employees your biggest weaknesses? It's one way to do good business according to a Stanford University business school class titled Interpersonal Dynamics, and aptly nick-named "Touchy-Feely."

"It's about learning how to create productive professional relationships," says Carole Robin, a business consultant who has taught the course for the past two years. The key to the class is its free-form, three-hour-long "T-groups," in which students talk openly about their interactions. They get a better understanding of how to treat others and gain insight into their own behavior.

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May 25, 2004

Healthcare coverage for contract, temp workers in sight?
Posted by at 12:39 PM

Some area firms are looking into providing non-full-time employees with healthcare coverage.

Top US employers have joined forces to provide more affordable health insurance to an estimated 4 million contract, temporary, or part-time employees who, along with their families, lack coverage.

The Fortune 500 companies, which include EMC Corp. of Hopkinton and Textron Inc. of Providence, believe that by banding together they will be able to find an insurer that will offer lower rates to contingent workers and early retirees who are not old enough to qualify for Medicare.

The effort by the 51 companies comes as more and more employers have increased the number of temporary and contingent workers on their payrolls.

For more, read: "Major firms band together on affordable healthcare" from today's Boston Globe.
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Nordstrom is coming to town
Posted by at 11:55 AM

Seattle-based Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), is looking to open a full-line store in the greater Boston area in fall 2006 or spring 2007. Their target? Natick:
"Nordstrom plans to open 1st Mass. store in Natick"
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The other "O" word
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:44 AM

Today's Globe reports that the other nasty "O" word - outsourcing, as in moving jobs overseas - may have started right here with a husband-wife team, Indian-born MIT graduate Narendra K. Patni and his bride, Poonam, in Cambridge, Mass. in the early 70's. Now, with the practice having taken root over 30+ years and showing strong signs of being on the rise, Patni is no apologist for the trend:

While he recognizes that international outsourcing has rankled critics here, Patni, who attended Woodstock in 1969, raised his family in the Boston area, and became a US citizen in 1980, believes the trend will ultimately benefit both the US and Indian economies.
- - - - -
Outsourcing advocates, such as Patni, point out that the lost work represents a small fraction of US gross domestic product. And they contend the overseas flow of low-wage jobs, in fields such as customer call centers, brings savings to the US economy and enables it to invest in higher-value activities, such as biomedical research.

Convinced? Not convinced? Read on.
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Dress to...infect?
Posted by at 10:28 AM

With all the recent reports about dressing to impress at interviews and the end of casual Fridays, here's one with a new twist for corporate types: In some cases, neck ties may be hazardous to your health.
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May 24, 2004

The "O" -word
Posted by at 2:51 PM

Fortune Magazine's Anne Fisher with some strategies, should you encounter a hiring manager telling you that you're overqualified for the position you're trying for.
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May 21, 2004

Welcome to our nightmare
Posted by Jason Butler at 1:47 PM

All we wanted was to host a nice convention, maybe bring a coupla bucks into the city. Little did we know our entire region would be shut down.

Today's Boston Globe has extensive coverage of the security plans for the Democratic National Convention, including an overview of the massive road closings and thoughts on how local companies will handle traffic nightmares.

From the blog world as tracked by Adam over at Boston Common, Beth has the misfortune of moving to the North Shore just before the convention. Ardellis is negotiating with her boss over vacation time.

Employers are getting into the act. Mass General has a page with facts and suggestions for their employees.

Me? I live and work on the Red Line, so theoretically it shouldn't affect me. Ha!
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DNC spells vacation for some, work for others
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:18 AM

The big news that hit Bostonians yesterday was the impending gridlock and traffic shutdown when the Democratic National Convention rolls into town in late July. This has sent many businesses and employees scrambling for ways to either accommodate to conditions or flee. But for others, it will be a time to shine and a time to cash in:

Not all workers will be part of the exodus. . . Public safety, hospital, and hospitality workers are among those who can expect to be on the job that week, regardless of the traffic tie-ups and confusion.

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Lessons for pursuing your passion
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:54 AM

Curt Rosengren shares what he's learned in three years of catalyzing passion.

Keep your feet moving

My biggest lesson from my own experience is KEEP YOUR FEET MOVING!! There may be times when you feel like it's never going to happen. Like you're running up against a brick wall. Keep at it. Keep looking for new and different ways to approach things. It felt like an eternity before I finally got traction with my Passion Catalyst work. Throughout that time, I kept trying different things.

Go read the page, and go read the blog. All sorts of good stuff there.
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May 20, 2004

NE small businesses looking to grow
Posted by at 4:16 PM

Some encouraging news for New England: "Survey New England small businesses seeing a bright future."

Small businesses in New England have a brighter view of the future than their counterparts nationwide, but they're also finding it hard to locate qualified applicants to fill job openings, a new survey has found.

Over 39 percent of New England small businesses said they expect the next three months to be a good time to expand business, according to the University of Massachusetts survey released Thursday. That compared with a national average of 24 percent, as found in a National Federation of Independent Business survey.

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Gotta teenager at home who needs a summer job?
Posted by Colin Moor at 2:32 PM

There is no restless energy quite like that of an unencumbered teenager! For those with an inclination to work, and there are lots of them, competition for good summer jobs is intense. If your a teenager and taking on chores around the house at minimum wage is not your idea of a summer with intellectual stimulation, then check out TechBoston.
You might find a summer of more value then just some spending money.

Many of us remember what that’s like — finding ways to earn pocket money or save for college. Ideally, it also involves picking up some useful experience. That's what TechBoston has in mind as it tries to fill at least 4,000 tech-related summer internship positions for high school students.

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Money for nothing?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:14 PM

Maybe Dire Straits had it wrong. A recent study shows that humans are made to work - homo faber and all that. As reported in the Boston Globe, the human brain prefers working over getting money for nothing:

It's nicer when you actually earn it.

Lottery winners, trust-fund babies and others who get their money without working for it do not get as much satisfaction from their cash as those who earn it, a study of the pleasure center in people's brains suggests.

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I love any story with "job growth engine" in the title
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:13 AM

Today's Boston Globe talks about industries most likely to fuel Massachusetts job growth.

Healthcare, education, and business services will add the most jobs over the next two years as Massachusetts' battered labor market finally begins to recover, according to a new economic forecast.

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May 19, 2004

Tips for your online job hunt
Posted by at 1:28 PM

While many people think they are using the online resources in their job hunt to their best advantage, there are a number of resources and services that go unused. Business Week offers the following article: "Tips for Tracking Jobs on the Web" to help identify some of the little known intricacies of the online job search.

The Internet has long been a critical tool for job searchers. It allows them to tap into corporate databases, post their résumés on help-wanted boards..., and distribute résumés to anyone with an e-mail address. But the Web is also a favorite resource for companies looking to fill jobs, with more and more businesses moving their recruiting portals online.

Here are some tips to help boost your chances of standing out in cyberspace:

• Use keywords -- on your résumé.
• Take advantage of "job agents."
• Search daily.
• Use the Internet for research -- not just the job search.
• Adapt your résumé.
• Send your résumé via e-mail.
• Use multiple Web sites.
• Follow up with hard copy.

While many of these tips are common sense, some may be new to you. And, these tips are useful on BostonWorks.com as well as the "other" online job search sites.
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May 18, 2004

Do you have to go?
Posted by Jason Butler at 2:41 PM

In case you were wondering why I posted no articles last week, I was in Atlanta attending a conference at the behest of the Globe. Did I have to go? Probably. Not attending would have likely been a CLM (career-limiting move).

Today's New York Times explores the issue of traveling for work: when to go and when to stay home.

When she told her supervisor that she did not want to take the trip, Ms. Rice says, he was straightforward. "There's really nothing for you to do if you don't want to go on the road," she recalled him telling her. They agreed to part ways amicably, however, and he allowed her to continue coming to the office while looking for new job. Today, she is a project manager at the Hype Council, an online marketing company.

So, was she at fault? Well, yes. "This organization was probably not a good fit for Tricia Rice, but she could have known it sooner by asking more questions at her interviews about the seasonality of their work," said Barbara Reinhold, a psychologist, director of the Executive Education for Women program at Smith College and author of "Free to Succeed: Designing the Life You Want in the New Free Agent Economy" (Plume 2001).

Of course, Ms. Reinhold added, the boss was at fault, too. "He should have asked about her willingness to travel periodically," she said.

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When somebody tells you to stop and smell the roses ...
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:16 AM

Does your over-achieving mindset cause you to panic over the fact that you apparently forgot to plant an award-winning rose garden while you were in the midst of working full-time, earning your MBA, raising children and launching a business while writing a screenplay and coaching pre-K soccer on the side? Then you are not alone. Check out Anna Quindlen's fabulous column in Newsweek called "An Apology to The Graduates." (and then go smell somebody else's roses!)

May 17 issue - Members of the class of 2004:

I'm so sorry.

I look at all of you and realize that, for many, life has been a relentless treadmill since you entered preschool at the age of 2. Sometimes, as though I am narrating a fairy story, I tell my children of a time when the SAT was taken only once and a tutor was a character in an English novel, when I could manage to pay my own college tuition with summer wages and find both a good job and a decent apartment when I graduated.

Now cottage industries have grown up around the impossibility of any of that: specialized learning centers to supplement schools, special loan programs at usurious rates to supplement college grants, companies that will throw up instant walls to turn a one-bedroom apartment into a place where three people can coexist.

There's an honorable tradition of starving students; it's just that, between the outsourcing of jobs and a boom market in real estate, your generation envisions becoming starving adults. Caught in our peculiar modern nexus of prosperity and insolvency, easy credit and epidemic bankruptcy, you also get toxic messages from the culture about what achievement means. It is no longer enough to make it; you must make it BIG. Television has turned everything into a contest, from courtship to adoption. In a voyeuristic world, fame becomes a ubiquitous career goal.

You all will live longer than any generation in history, yet you were kicked into high gear earlier as well. How exhausted you must be...

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Suggestions for sidebar links
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:30 AM

Good morning everyone -

I really really really need to update the links on my sidebar. I have a stack of URLs I visit each day, but I need new suggestions.

If you have suggestions for job or career-related sites I should link, please leave a comment in our bran-spanking-new comments section (thanks, Blogger!).
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The Globe 100
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:11 AM

The Boston Globe released its annual Globe 100 section this morning, highlighting the best and brightest Massachusetts companies.

If you ever wanted a hot list of employers to investigate, this is it.
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May 17, 2004

If you build it, she will come ...
Posted by Diane Danielson at 1:39 PM

And continue to build other things (as an engineer). At least that's what Smith College is hoping. Kudos to Smith College for starting their Picker Engineering Program program four years ago. Their first 20 graduates received degrees on May 16th. For more on female engineers (or the lack thereof) see an earlier Job Blog post, "Red Rover, Red Rover, will the girls please come over."
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A venture capitalist's calendar calisthenics
Posted by Jason Butler at 11:03 AM

David Hornik gives a tour of his calendar.

In any given week, the lion's share of my work is divided up between helping my portfolio companies in some predetermined way (board meetings, interviews, etc.) and meeting with new companies to hear their pitches. What I have found to be one of the challenges of the job is that because I have too much potentially interesting stuff to look at, my calendar tends to fill up weeks in advance. Yet, in any given week I may have unpredicted portfolio company issues to attend to or I may happen upon a potentially interesting company that requires a bunch of work to determine just how interesting it is. The challenge is that in all likelihood my next few weeks have been sufficiently scheduled that it will be tough to fit in time for the necessary diligence to learn meaningful things about a potential investment or to help manage some unpredicted company issue that may arise.

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Forehead slapping common sense
Posted by at 10:56 AM

Kim has some no-nonsense advice for those seeking a summer internship in corporate.

First, don't say you're looking forward to working at a leading pharmaceutical firm, when the company you're applying to is actually a small software startup.

Via Boston Common.
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Morning people vs. evening people
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:33 AM

CareerJournal has a fun article on troubles caused by workers' different sleep schedules.

Of all the gulfs in understanding at the office, among the most difficult to bridge is that between morning and night people. On the one hand, think bushy-tailed company lawyers who eat lunch at 11 a.m. On the other, consider the bleary-eyed techies for whom the only thing as bad as waking up early is the people who enjoy it so loudly.

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Entrepreneurs: a solid business plan is critical
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:27 AM

Startup Journal is running a series written by an entrepreneur who started his company last November. He's giving blow-by-blows about the challenges he faces.

Today's installment is on the importance of a fully-baked business plan in getting your business off the ground.

In recent years, I've written a half-dozen plans based on ideas I've had for various businesses. Most of these ideas were small, and often, just writing the plans -- not starting the actual businesses -- excited me. I didn't proceed with those ventures because either the market or cash flow wouldn't support them. However, the only way for me to know this was by writing the plans.

If you have an entrepreneurial bent, you should check out the whole series.
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May 14, 2004

A man's home may be his castle ...
Posted by Diane Danielson at 5:26 PM

... but a woman's home is more-than-likely her office these days. Check out Entrepreneur.com for an article focusing on the "mompreneur" trend.

Moms know everything. They know where their kids left their socks, they know what time the carpool leaves, they know how to get a cranky 4-year-old through a shopping mall. Given their mastery of multitasking, is it any wonder mothers make such good business owners?

Not if recent statistics are any clue. There are 10.1 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating $2.3 trillion in annual revenue, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. Women are starting businesses at nearly twice the rate of men. And women with children are jumping in--each with a different business goal, a different family situation and a different strategy to balance it all.

But what do they do on Take Your Daughters to Work Day?
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Women fighting to reenter workplace
Posted by at 2:05 PM

OnPoint Radio last night looked at the 1990s phenom of women in high-powered careers -- e.g. Brenda Barnes who left the top spot at Pepsi Co. in 1997 -- who left their jobs for lengthy periods in order to raise their children. Now, many women are trying to get their foot back in the office door. But gaps in their resumes, and a workplace that has changed dramatically, are presenting themselves as unique, and unusual obstacles.
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May 13, 2004

Red Rover, Red Rover, will the girls please come over
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:23 PM

BusinessWeek's special report "Technology's Too-Small Sisterhood," discusses some of the grim statistics about the male/female ratio of tech execs. Of grave concern is the rapidly declining number of women pursuing computer science and engineering degrees:

In 1985, women received 37% of all U.S. computer science undergraduate degrees. By 2000 that had fallen to 28%. At top-tier institutions of higher learning, [Telle Whitney, the president and CEO of the Institute for Women in Technology] says, the number is now below 20%.

This is in contrast to the trend in other scientific disciplines. Women now earn more than 50% of all degrees in the biological sciences. And fields such as psychology and biology have experienced dramatic increases in female participation. "If women are earning 55% of bachelor's degrees but only 18% of engineering bachelor's degrees, that's a concern to us," says Elena Silva, research director at the educational foundation the American Association of University Women. "We still don't have a proportional number of women preparing for these positions."

So how do we get the girls' interested in computers? I'm not sure. But how about this: I'll encourage my son to step away from his computer and be an English major, if anyone out there with daughters disconnects their cellphones and attempts to get them hooked on computer science. How? Sorry, but I can't help you there. After all, I was an English major.
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Is M & A an acronym for job loss?
Posted by Colin Moor at 10:16 PM

Our economy is slowly getting some positive momentum. Profits are up, hiring is increasing and M & A season is upon us.

When news of a merger or acquisition breaks, anxieties escalate in the organization involved.

An article on CareerJournal.com examines the risks and rewards of getting merged or acquired.

"There are real reasons to be anxious in certain kinds of mergers,"says Susan Maloney Meyer, chief executive officer of Arc Leadership, an executive-coaching firm in Chicago. "the key is to turn that anxiety into something positive and really use it."

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May 11, 2004

Unemployment benefits extension vote comes up short
Posted by at 4:33 PM

The latest news on unemployment benefits may leave some in a lurch: "Senate rejects extended federal unemployment benefits"

The amendment would have offered emergency federal unemployment benefits for six months, temporarily giving 13 weeks of extra assistance to people who exhaust their state benefits typically 26 weeks.

The unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent last month as employers added nearly 300,000 new jobs. The Labor Department has reported that payrolls have risen for eight months in a row, with almost 900,000 new jobs created so far this year, most within the last two months.

Republicans seized on April's employment report as evidence that more federal unemployment benefits are not needed.

... [However,] Democrats said the extended benefits are needed because the economic recovery still hasn't replaced 1.5 million jobs lost since President Bush took office.

While new jobs may have been created recently, the question remains: what happens during the summer?
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Gender, ethnicity, religion, and age.
Posted by at 4:23 PM

As the workforce ages, many are coming up against a different type of "glass ceiling" - one that has your age written all over it:

Age discrimination in the workplace extends beyond layoffs, of course, but it's even harder to prove the existence of any age-related ''glass ceiling'' the invisible barrier that prevents employees from advancing any higher.

Workplace consultant Connie Wang suspects many older professionals feel they're the victims of age discrimination but wouldn't challenge their employers because of an underlying concern that ''Who's going to hire me at my age?''

However:

Despite the big demographic shift, there's been no explosion of age discrimination charges so far. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received an annual average of 19,500 age claims over the past two years, down slightly from 1992-93, and claims actually declined 4 percent in 2003 from a year earlier.

But some experts think it may be only a matter of time before discrimination claims go up now that workers 40 or older comprise about half the nation's work force particularly with the age group now dominated by a generation known for going, and getting, its own way.

Read more in: "Age discrimination a looming boomer issue; hard to prove"
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May 10, 2004

Lemonade stories
Posted by at 2:16 PM

As the saying goes, behind every great entrepreneur...is a mom. OnPoint Radio discusses Mary Mazzio's new documentary Lemonade Stories about how mothers have inspired some of the world's most influential entrepreneurs.
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It's a white, white, white world
Posted by Diane Danielson at 12:34 PM

Two articles today focus on the lack of diversity at the top. First the New York Times features an interview with Rakesh Khurana, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School and the author of "Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic C.E.O.'s," who argues that business schools, executive search firms and corporate boards all limit the diversity of candidates for chief executive. Khurana discusses not only the poor representation of women, but also African and Asian-Americans (male or female).

But pity the poor woman who is not only female (obviously) but also an ethnic minority in a white man's world. The Boston Globe's Diane E. Lewis reported on a conference last week which explored "Inequality among women."

Research shows that African-American, Asian, and Latina women professionals and managers continue to trail white men and women in compensation and promotions, said Carol J. Evans, chief executive and president of New York-based Working Mother Media, which convened the meeting.

One measure of the difference between white and minority women is pay. White females earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by a white male, according to a study released last month by the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, D.C. By contrast, Asian women earn 68 cents, African-American women, 64 cents, Native American women, 58 cents, and Latina women earn 51 cents per dollar. The study included executives and frontline workers.

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May 6, 2004

You can say no to a job, especially if you have a dream
Posted by Colin Moor at 6:21 PM

Unemployed? Sometimes the most logical and inspirational thing to do is, "Just say no." Nate Nickerson wrote a very personal article for this month's Fast Company about the value of risk and the power of "No".
Amongst others, he asks a very important question, " When you go to work, whose dream are you making a reality?".

I didn't know what to do. The consultancy was filled with smart, accomplished people who treated me warmly and made me laugh. The startup looked like it might go places, and I thought its founder was inspired. So why did I turn down both? At the time, I only knew that I was facing a dramatic turning point, and that it was time to stop following a passive, if lucky, career path.

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4 hour commute, 4 hours of work, $28
Posted by at 3:36 PM

Sure commuting stinks especially here in the Boston area, otherwise and sometimes known as the land of the single-finger salute, where half a car length between cars on the Southeast Expressway is an undeniable right-of-way, and letting someone into or out of traffic is like having a "I Love the Yankees" bumper sticker blazoned across your forehead -- donteventhinkaboutit.

But next time you bemoan your daily ride, keep Intesar Museitef in the back of your head as she trucks four hours a day, for four hours of work, for $7 an hour.
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Mercenary interrogator wanted -- "minimal supervision"
Posted by at 2:51 PM

We try here at The Job Blog to be apolitical and stay focused on pointing to job-hunt-only related information, but this job posting for a Homeland Security and Defense mercenary outfit "Interrogator/Intel Analyst Team Lead" to work in in Baghdad was too interesting to pass up. The job description is priceless:

Assists the interrogation support program team lead to increase the effectiveness of dealing with Detainees, Persons of Interest, and Prisoners of War (POWs) that are in the custody of US/Coalition Forces in the CJTF 7 AOR, in terms of screening, interrogation, and debriefing of persons of intelligence value. Under minimal supervision, will assist the team lead in managing a multifaceted interrogation support cell...

Via Boing Boing.
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May 5, 2004

Offshoring: What to do?
Posted by at 3:09 PM

CNet's News.com is featuring "Offshoring: The reality behind the politics." The 4-part series takes an in-depth look at the impact of offshoring and what can be done to try and keep the U.S. as the leader in the high-tech industry.

...[T]his CNET News.com special series examines the social, economic and political dimensions of offshoring and offers tangible steps that can be taken for the U.S. industry to maintain its historical lead in high technology. The report includes a poll of nearly 500 key industry decision makers, conducted jointly with Harris Interactive, the research firm that created The Harris Poll.

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Out-sold, out-positioned, and out of touch
Posted by Jason Butler at 12:09 PM

My family always taught me never to do anything you wouldn't want detailed on the front page of the New York Times; I guess internalmemos.com is the corporate version of that warning.

Here's a leaked internal memo from a new Cognizant sales director to his staff, a memo intended to motivate them, I imagine. Here's my favorite quote, about their main line of business:

We do NOT sell Offshoring...We sell Business Solutions that leverage an optimized global workforce...You must believe this and sell like it (alot more to come on this topic). [sic]

If Cognizant is running away from acknowledging the truth of their business, perhaps they should have their webmaster change the HTML title of their homepage. "Offshore Outsourcing IT Services Provider - Cognizant Technology Solutions" sounds a little like a company which sells offshoring.
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IT pros get serious about career management
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:41 AM

Word on the street has tech turning around. The good news? Techies are a little smarter now.

[S]obered by the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the subsequent recession, IT professionals aren't looking for on-site massages and sky-high stock options.

Instead, they're focused on long-term employment security, on-the-job professional development and adequate health-care benefits. "A lot of them are looking for stability first right now, both in the company and in the position," says Chris Vennitti, regional manager of the mid-Atlantic for Robert Half Technology, the IT-staffing unit of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robert Half International Inc. "They're looking for competitive compensation. And they're wanting, if possible, to get involved on the business side of the company."

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Moving back home, or moving on?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:38 AM

That is the question for current college seniors, graduating over the next few weeks and wondering (or not) what their next step might be. Tom Ashbrook of WBUR's On Point radio show hosted an hour-long segment this week on the topic, including a closer look at the job outlook for the Class of 2004:

After months of economic stagnation, the job market is picking up again. But the job market still has not caught up to the rest of the economy, and for many college seniors the opportunities are hard to find.

Guests on the show include:

> Angela Clinton, supervisory economist at the National Estimates Branch of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
> Elizabeth Farrell, reporter, The Chronicle of High Education
> Jeff Taylor, founder and CEO of Monster.com
> Evan Rytlewski, senior at University of Wisconsin and editor-in-chief of the Daily Cardinal newspaper
> Cynthia Parker, director of career services at Colby College

To listen, go to On Point on WBUR and click on the "Listen" link for "Where the Jobs Are".
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May 4, 2004

April numbers
Posted by at 5:13 PM

From CNN|Money: Job cut plans jumped in April

The number of planned job cuts jumped in April as U.S. employers announced plans to cut more than 72,000 jobs despite the general decline in corporate downsizing, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc....
While [the percentage is] up from March, it was 51 percent lower than the 146,399 job cuts announced a year ago. April had the second highest number of cuts announced last year.

Hopefully the April showers will bring May jobs... errr, flowers.

Also from CNN|Money: Factory orders soar 4.3%

Orders received by U.S. factories jumped in March, the government reported Tuesday, with the third gain in four months coming in well ahead of estimates -- another sign the beleaguered manufacturing sector may be finally regaining its footing.

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Balancing lives can lead to balanced books
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:21 PM

Fast Company's May issue spotlights an accounting firm that recognizes the benefit of balance (and not just in their clients books).

...Plante & Moran, the 11th-largest accounting firm in the country, has been particularly successful at [retaining and advancing women]. The Southfield, Michigan-based firm has the largest percentage of female partners (19%, and those are all equity partners, mind you) of any of the 15 largest accounting firms, including the Big Four. According to industry publication "CPA Personnel Report," of the Big Four, Deloitte & Touche comes closest with 16.3%, followed by KPMG (13%), PricewaterhouseCoopers (12.7%), and Ernst & Young (11.6%). And this is no one-off feat: Plante & Moran has been at the top of the heap since 1996 (Deloitte tied for first twice). The firm's turnover rate--just 14%--is also one of the lowest in the industry.

...Plante & Moran's women-friendly initiatives aren't just some belated graft onto an inhospitable host. Instead, they fit right in with the 80-year-old firm's long-standing people-focused culture.

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Write good cover letters
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:04 AM

Its importance seems obvious, but too many job-seekers pay insufficient attention to the cover letter when applying to a job.

A great cover letter is the golden key to any job search. Yet despite a glut of advice books and Web sites, an estimated 85% of cover letters are so flawed that senders never land an interview, career coaches say. Even experts err. An "ideal" letter sent to me by one career counselor contained this sentence fragment in the first paragraph: "With a great deal of interest."

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Tech jobs are sprouting again
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:55 AM

Here is welcome news from BusinessWeek: tech may be coming back.

For the first time in three years, the tech job market is showing signs of life. After losing some 900,000 jobs since April, 2001, the industry created 2,600 jobs in February and added 11,600 more in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And with the tech recovery gaining steam, that appears to be just the beginning.

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May 3, 2004

Learning from the mistakes of others
Posted by Jason Butler at 11:15 AM

Anil Dash gives a helpful suggestion.

Do not send your resume out to someone with "Track Changes" enabled. It just means your potential employer can actually watch your lies being written in front of them.

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Opting back in at the top
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:43 AM

Sara Lee Corp. announced the hiring of Brenda C. Barnes as President and COO. Brenda last made headlines in 1998 when she stepped down as president of PepsiCola North America to spend more time with her children. Two important items of note:

1. Brenda never entirely left the corporate world. During her "opt out" period, she served on six corporate boards and did a stint as interim president and COO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (Not your typical PTA mom!)

2. Her husband manages investments from a home office. (Not your typical husband!)
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Funding for Women's Business Centers safeguarded by Senate
Posted by Diane Danielson at 9:54 AM

The Senate last week passed S.2267, the Women's Sustainability Recovery Act. Originally introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as part of S.2186, the legislation safeguards Women's Business Centers (WBCs) funded through the Small Business Association in 39 states (In Massachusetts, it's the Center for Women & Enterprise).

Without this adjustment, all sustainability grants to WBCs could be cut in half -- or worse 23 centers could lose funding completely -- and thousands of women in business would lose this valuable resource. The legislation requires the SBA to fully fund all qualified centers and still allows new centers to be opened in unserved communities.

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