May 31, 2006

Seven tips to keep job hunters' hopes up
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:48 AM

BostonWorks "Climb" columnist Penelope Trunk provides seven insider tips on to use the Net to your advantage when job hunting. Here's a sample from tip #1:

1. Navigate the online labyrinth.. . .Try to imagine how someone else would use a search box to find you, and be very specific about your skills. These rules also remain true if you post your resume to an online database. The mass of resumes on job sites is so unruly that human resource staff are paying people in India $20 an hour to sort through resumes to find the good ones, according to David Hanley, the owner of recruit'n, an online recruiting service. So, even in this case, keywords are your best friend.

...

 

May 24, 2006

How to ask for a pay raise
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:34 PM

From our sister site, About.com (we are both owned by The New York Times Company) comes this useful discussion of how to negotiate a pay raise:

Want more money than you're currently making? If your goal is to stay in your current job working for your present employer, you'll need to ask for a raise. Planning and preparation are key when you ask for a raise. So are timing, your employer's pay practices, and the market-based pay rates for your job.

...

To stay or not to stay, that is the question
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:57 AM

Local NPR news station WBUR is running a great series this week called "Boston at the Crossroads" about the future of the Greater Boston economy and region.

The question for you, as an individual, is whether you will stay and make a living - and your life - here, or whether you will seek to do so elsewhere. What are the attractions of Boston? Do your skills and talents match up with Boston's industries and growth opportunities? And what are the downsides (we all know about the much-publicized expensive housing)?

The latest installment in the series explores this question: what exactly makes people decide to settle and stay in an area, specifically in Boston:

“The most important reason is that other skilled people are here,” says [Ed] Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard. “Increasingly, cities are located in places that consumers want to live rather than in places where producers want to produce. I think as we think about Boston at the crossroads, the important thing is making sure that you have houses that skilled people want to live in that are affordable, and to compete on the national field for cities, if you’re about attracting skilled workers, it means attracting people by being a consumer city, to make it a place where those skilled people want to live."

Carve out a block of time for this audio segment, which runs over 13 minutes. But it's well worth the listen, as is the entire series, as you consider your future moves.

Good luck (and, of course, we hope you decide to stick around).

...

 

May 23, 2006

Plastics:The Graduate::Online advertising:Gen Y
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:48 PM

You got that, right? A simple analogy, from your SAT days?

For those of you that don't recall or are too young to have seen the film, the translation is as follows: the current day version of the career advice Dustin Hoffman (aka, Benjamin Braddock) received in the 1967 film "The Graduate" is "Online advertising." That's where the future and the money is, all of you seniors just doffing your mortarboards in this graduation season.

The story was picked up by Business Filter blogger Maura Welch from Business Week. The links trail starts here.

...

French tech firm moving HQ to Cambridge, planning to hire
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:53 AM

A French company that makes radio-frequency identification tags for library books, prescription drug vials, and other products has announced that it is moving its global headquarters from Marseille to Cambridge:

Tagsys will join a small cluster of Boston area firms that specialize in the technology, known as RFID. Initially, however, it will only move about a dozen employees, including chief executive Eli Simon, to its new offices in Kendall Square near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While it will keep about 80 workers in France, the company expects to have about 25 employees here by August and between 50 and 60 within a year, Simon said.

Read the full article from today's Globe.

...

 

May 17, 2006

High heeling it to the top
Posted by Diane Danielson at 4:02 PM

Karen Archembeau writes in Forbes.com about how to march your high heels to the top.

In a time of corporate scandals and bankruptcies, wars and terrorism, isn't it time for a change to the male model of success? Isn't it time women stopped trying to be more like men and started trying to be more like themselves? Isn't it time women brought their talents to the party? Isn't it time to redefine what it means to be successful? Women--and men--shouldn't have to give up their lives for their careers. It doesn't have to be one or the other; it can be both.

...

 

May 16, 2006

Top Mass. employers in new Globe 100
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:03 AM

What better place to conduct your employer research than through the new Globe 100?

Just published today, the annual section in the Boston Globe lists Massachusetts' top employers. You can check out employer profiles by industry, growth rate, or profitablity, and explore a wealth of articles, charts, and rankings, including a new tally this year of the 100 largest employers in Massachusetts, whether publicly or privately held or headquartered here or out of state.

The overall economic news for Massachusetts is good, and broad-based:

Some years a hot industry sector or two, such as banks or high tech or retail or life sciences, have dominated at the top of the list.

But when the top performers of 2005 are tallied, every pillar of the state's for-profit economy shows up: Internet technology, represented by the Company of the Year, Akamai Technologies Inc. of Cambridge, as well as leading companies in defense contracting, electronics, the life sciences/biotechnology/medical products cluster, and money management.

One of the lead features describes the attraction of employers to local brainpower:

In industries as diverse as banking and software, consumer products, and biotechnology, the state has become a magnet for businesses craving brainpower, highly educated product developers, and wealth managers.

Interested? You can see an overview and links to all Globe 100 items here. Or just cut to the chase and go straight to the rankings.

...

 

May 15, 2006

It's never too early for career counseling
Posted by at 8:23 AM

A recent article from abcnews.com reports that a growing number of parents are taking their teens to career counselors. As Carol Smaby, one of the parents interviewed for the article, put it, "Today's generation of kids are going to have to be able to jump around a lot more so they have to have different skills. ...there's so much out there." As a career coach having worked with both adults and teens, I wholeheartedly agree.

Mindy Bingham, whose Career Choices curriculum used in 3,800 schools nationwide, says kids can't be asked soon enough to begin thinking about their future careers. She targets children as young as 13 with a 10-year plan designed to take them right into the work force.

"The emphasis is on helping kids become career-focused and career-committed," said Bingham, whose firm, Academic Innovations, is based in Washington, Utah. "It's not about choosing a specific career, but … knowing the process so that if they have a boss who comes in the door and says 'We're closing down the business' or 'Technology just changed your job,' they'll be in position to know how to make this change."

...

 

May 14, 2006

Mothers worth a lot, study says
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 5:32 PM

. . .but then again, we already knew that, it being Mother's Day and all.

But a new study from Waltham-based Salary.com actually puts a price tag on the potential annual earnings of a full-time stay-at-home mom:

A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge, according to a study released Wednesday.

A mother who works outside the home would earn an extra $85,876 annually on top of her actual wages for the work she does at home, according to the study by Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts Salary.com.

Food for thought, as we thank mothers today in non-financial ways for all they do to keep our families - and the country - running.

How much are you worth? Find out with Salary.com's Salary Wizard, right here on BostonWorks.com.

...

Worst business advice/best comeback
Posted by Diane Danielson at 1:42 PM

From Businessweek's profile of Patricia Woertz, new CEO of Archer Daniels:

One of Woertz's first bosses told her that having kids would ruin her career. "Get yourself fixed," he said, "and put it on your expense report." At her retirement party one of her kids said: "I'm glad you didn't listen to him."

Happy Mother's Day to Patricia and the rest of the working moms of the world!

...

 

May 12, 2006

Thinking inside the box
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:15 AM

The story seems to be filtering its way out now and was picked up by FORTUNE magazine writer Julie Schlosser in March. Turns out the inventor of that oft-maligned staple of contemporary office life, the cubicle, died a few years back. And just before he passed away, he had a confession to make:

Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called "monolithic insanity."

Propst is the father of the cubicle. More than 30 years after he unleashed it on the world, we are still trying to get out of the box. The cubicle has been called many things in its long and terrible reign. But what it has lacked in beauty and amenity, it has made up for in crabgrass-like persistence.

Sound boring? You're wrong. There's a good chance that you're one of the millions of workers who spend the majority of their waking hours cooped up in some variation of Propst's invention, so you owe it to yourself to learn a little more about your immediate environment. There is also an interesting photo gallery of cubicles through the years.

Once you're fully inspired, let us know your own thoughts on cubicle life.

...

 

May 11, 2006

Dilbert visits the career counselor
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:21 AM

. . .and it ain't pretty - but you gotta keep a sense of humor during your job search, right? Check it out.

You can check out Dilbert every day - you'll find the little guy with his trademark scoop tie on the lower right of the BostonWorks.com home page.

...

Life as a telemarketer
Posted by Jason Butler at 5:17 AM

Once upon a time in Syracuse, I needed a few dollars for books and ramen and Milwaukee's Best. I followed an ad for American Frozen Foods, where they put me in front of a telephone and told me to call nice people across upstate New York and sell them large amounts of frozen beef. I was the worst telemarketer you have ever seen, and six hours later, I was a former telemarketer.

It's still apparently not a fun job, as Annie from Boston tells us in "I just called to say I love you."

(Via Universal Hub)

...

 

May 9, 2006

More about the Job Fair for Boomers
Posted by Diane Danielson at 8:24 AM

For more on Monday's Boomer+ Job Fair:

Soha was among nearly 500 people who packed a conference room yesterday at the Radisson Hotel in Boston for a job fair for those 45 and older. Sponsored by Operation ABLE, the nonprofit job-training program for mature workers, the event drew 25 employers, including Lahey Clinic, Simmons College, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, John Hancock Financial Services, and MIT.

...

 

May 8, 2006

It's Job Week on NECN
Posted by Diane Danielson at 9:45 PM

NECN (pronounced "Neckin" for those in the know; otherwise known as New England Cable News) kicks off Job Week with lots of informative segments including one for the 40+ job hunter and networking tips from yours truly (You'll have to watch the video about finding your "comfort zone" if you want to know more about the airplane test for networking).

...

 

May 2, 2006

Seeking a few good men and women
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:10 AM

If you are contemplating or are already in a career transition, you may want to consider a new program being offered by BostonWorks, the BostonWorks Job Hunt Workshop:

Are you a mid-career professional considering a career change? Would you like to accelerate your job search process? Or do you simply need a new job and don't know where to start? Then the BostonWorks Job Hunt Workshop is for you.

The BostonWorks Job Hunt Workshop is an intensive, one-day, hands-on, interactive program designed to provide you with the skills and tools you need to undertake a successful job search.

Why "a few good men and women"? Because this special opportunity to work with a career consultant from global career management firm Lee Hecht Harrison in an interactive, all-day workshop - meeting right here at the Boston Globe on Friday, June 23 - is limited to just 20 participants.

If this sounds like you and you want to learn more, click here to get full information on the Workshop program, how to apply, and how you can give your career the boost it needs.

...

 

May 1, 2006

Do you lead a crazybusy life?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:47 PM

Following on from a previous post of mine on this topic, here's an interview from today's Globe with Arlington-based psychiatrist and author Edward Hallowell.

Hallowell's new book "CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone A.D.D.", seems to touch a nerve with many. Here's a sample:

Q. Don't you practice what you preach?

A. I do. What I tell people, and what I do, is to prioritize and get rid of your leeches -- people or projects that wear you out. It's not just your time that you lose -- you lose your energy and enthusiasm and then nothing feels good.

Check out the whole interview.

...

Immigrant work boycott today
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:31 AM

Seeing any impact at your workplace from the planned immigrant boycott today?

Today's Globe notes that pro-immigrant groups are divided:

Organizers expect thousands of immigrants across the state to take part in marches, economic boycotts, and work stoppages today to draw attention to their contribution to society by joining a national "Day Without Immigrants."

But the effort has divided immigrants and their supporters. Some worry that widespread absences from workplaces, restaurants, and hospitals will alienate the broader public at a sensitive time in the immigration debate.

What are your thoughts on this hot topic? Let us know on our message board.

...

Longer hours are the new 'regular' workday
Posted by Jason Butler at 7:13 AM

This may be the least surprising story in yesterday's Globe. Folks are working longer and longer hours; 37.5 no longer counts as a full week.

These days, so many workers are putting in hours on Saturday or stretching the workday past dinner a few times a week that it's hard to define "regular" anymore. Baxter Strategies Inc. recently found that 13 percent of all full timers in the United States regularly work more than five days a week. Almost 4 percent of full-time workers put in seven-day weeks, the marketing research firm found in its survey this year of more than 2,500 full-time employees.

I guess I'm among this crowd. I do work-related research every day, and I fire up the VPN and access my email from home every day, including weekends. It's good to know I'm not alone.

...