Twitter‘s engineering blog noted last week that they are rolling out a Datacenter here in Utah to meet amazing increases in demand.

The success-plagued startup has garnered a lot of interest as well as frustration among its users who are "riding the rocket" of twitter’s incredible growth (the blog quotes 300,000 new accounts/day… amazing)

Keeping pace with these users and their Twitter activity presents some unique and complex engineering challenges (as John Adams, our lead engineer for application services, noted in a speech last month at the O’Reilly Velocity conference).

Interested in working @twitter? http://twitter.com/jobs

MTV (which, according to some sources used to play actual music videos) is asking the twitterverse and its audience to help them find the first ever TJ – Tweet Jockey, a social-media maven they will pay $100k to twitterfy the universe with MTV-rich goodness 24/7/365

Turn your tweets into a $100k job at MTV!

MTV and ZYNC from American Express(SM) have partnered to find the social voice of MTV. Nominate yourself or your favorite social media superstar and help them win the ultimate dream job: The first MTV TJ. The winner gets access to red carpet events, hot celebrities and earns a $100,000 salary. Follow @AmericanExpress for program updates. Read More

AP reporter Sandy Cohen adds:

MTV officials say the search is on for a new social media maven who will engage with the MTV audience and serve as a liaison between viewers and network honchos.

MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman called the TJ position "a natural evolution of how we connect with our audience."

The network has identified 18 potential candidates and is asking its audience to find two more. The 20 hopefuls will compete in a series of online challenges this summer designed to reveal their personalities and demonstrate how they connect with Twitter followers.

Five finalists will ultimately compete on a live show on Aug. 8, when fans will pick who gets the new job.

It sounds just crazy enough to get MTV some attention.  Although this isn’t the first time a media company has tossed out some big bones to someone in exchange for doing what they already love. CMT hired a blogger, Chris Nelson, amid crazy press in 2005 to watch reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard and… blog about it. His salary? A cool $100k for one year (no vacation allowed).

How did I find out about this? Well, twitter, of course:

Someone recently asked Robert Scoble if he would continue working at his current employer, Rackspace, if he won the lottery. His gut answer was ‘Yes’, though he didn’t know why until he saw this video from Dan Pink:

I wrote a lot more about this including notes on the subject on my ConnectedWell blog, but here’s the video for your consuming pleasure:

Resumes are digital now. That’s good for everybody–easy to share, easy to search, easy to save, easy on the trees.  It’s all good. But in an attempt for job seekers to keep their resume files organized, people are forgetting that other people read not only the content, but the file name you give your sweet little piece of literary masterwork*. Be warned. Some resumes may get a bad-rap from the beginning because of a slip-up in the file name.

My recommendation is a file name that actually sells you a little bit. For example, if you’re going for a project manager position and your name is Joe Cool, try out a file name like: “Resume–Joe_Cool–Talented_Project_Manager.pdf” and just see if you don’t get more bites on that little nugget of visual eye-candy of a hook!

Some real-world examples of either bad file names or pet-peeves of recruiters (ok, of me):

• resume.doc – Really? I am a recruiter. Do you think I may, possibly, already have a file named that already somewhere on my system? I will have to rename your resume in order to save it (or rename some other file).  You may risk just getting deleted if you’re not a standout candidate.
• 2009 resume.doc – This is worse than the previous one. Not only are you absent of creativity, you also haven’t updated your resume since last year.  Believe it or not, I have seen years in resume file-names dating back three years.
• 2010 resume.doc – This one tells me that you look for a job at least annually.  This one is your current years’ attempt at a new gig.  I should tell facilities to not spend a lot on your office’s name-plate. You won’t be around long.
• Micorsoft Resume.doc – If you’re applying for a job at a company (say, Microsoft), and you use that company name in the resume file name, please spell it right!
• Apple Resume.doc — If you’re applying for a job at a company (say, Microsoft), please get the company name right!
• anything.docx – “docx” is the new file format used in Microsoft Office 2007 or later. Some people don’t have that version of office and may not read your resume… or it may come out formatted very differently than you intended!
• anything.doc – In fact, not every company uses Microsoft Word. You’d be much better off saving your resume as a PDF file, which is nearly universal in both availability to view and formatting fidelity.  Use something like PDFCreator (free) to “print” any document to a PDF file.
• Joe_2010.05.0113.doc – You’re either seriously OCD organized, a librarian or an operating system. I don’t know what that says about you, but be aware.
• Resume10_v3.doc – This doesn’t really matter to me what version your resume is, other than for some reason you keep changing it.  I don’t care, but you did lose an opportunity to share something about you in your file-name that might have made you a little more memorable.

*Please, please do not actually try and make your resume anything resembling a literary masterwork.

I’m presenting at the Utah County Job Club tomorrow on how recruiters view your resume.  This event is held in the North meeting room of the East Bay Cafe on the Novell campus. Novell* graciously donates this space for the club’s use to the community. Come and see what “recruiter blinders” are and how your carefully hand-crafted resume actually looks from my eyes (hint: I don’t see what you see)

Also, check out/join the Job Club community on LinkedIn. If you can’t come tomorrow (or you might), at least participate in the conversation and share what you know!

Directions to the Meeting

The Utah County Job Club meets every Wednesday at 8am-9am at East Bay Cafe, the Novell Cafeteria. There is no fee to be a part of the group and you’re welcome to buy something to eat at the East Bay Cafe. This group is about providing a place where job seekers can connect to support each other and learn about effective job searching.

Address/Directions:
1800 South Novell Place
Provo, UT 84606

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Parking available on the south end of the campus – near the large main building H. Walk along the west side of Bldg H back to the East Bay Cafe (you’ll see a large orange sign). The meeting is held in the conference room on the far north end of the cafeteria area.

In the mean-time, here’s how to write the perfect resume. (finally!) Also a post of mine on adjusting your LinkedIn profile to act like a resume,  and below is a great SlideShare presentation called “Resume Zen” by Chris Ferdinandi over at EMC Career Services.  I’m too ADD to listen to the audio track without skipping here and there, but I agree with the content!

*Novell is my employer

Liz Seasholtz at WetFeet.com gives 12 really smart ways to fail your first impression in a job interview, and how you could avoid them or turn them around (if possible)

In the book You Are the Message, media executive Roger Ailes wrote that you only have seven seconds to make a first impression. With a job on the line in an interview, the pressure to immediately impress is even more intense. No wonder we get flustered.

Here’s the 12 ways to under-whelm that she mentions.  What are yours?
(click through for her good advice for each)

1. Show up sick.
2. You have a black eye (or other injury)
3. You have a nose-ring (unless it’s the right culture for that)
4. You’re sweating.
5. You’re underdressed.
6. You’re late.
7. You’re early.
8. You misuse your lobby-time.
9. Your handshake isn’t up to par.
10. You’re bad at small-talk.
11. You haven’t done your research.
12. You have a personal tick.

Alison Doyle at About has a good article on how to use your LinkedIn Profile as a resume, along with great tips on using LinkedIn in your job search.

“One of the most important parts of LinkedIn is your profile. That’s what you use to connect with people in your network and your profile is how you get found on LinkedIn by potential employers. In addition, your LinkedIn profile can increase your visibility online and help you build your professional brand.”

Some ways Doyle outlines you should use your LinkedIn Profile as a resume include:

• Adding a professional summary
• Adding keywords and skills
• Ensure your contact settings are current
• Add links to other sources of information about you
• Make your profile (or portions of it) public so you will show up in search engines
• Grow your network
• Get recommendations

There are a few other great suggestions along with details about each of these on Alison’s blog at About.com.

Personally, I don’t think you need a photo on your profile for it to be effective (in fact you should NEVER put a photo on your actual resume in my opinion) although I have one.

Also, it has long been a hand-tipping gesture to recruiters that someone may be just beginning to tip-toe toward searching for a new gig if their dusty LinkedIn profile suddenly gets a huge makeover. I say, keep it always updated, and keep ‘em guessing.

Keith Ferrazzi jotted down four things you can do to enjoy your job interviews. (pssst: If you’re not having fun, nobody else is!)

1. Make them like you.
2. Find a reason to care about the person.
3. Show them your passion.
4. Tell stories

Head on over to the Ferrazzi-plex for the scoop on actually how to do each of those four things!

I found a great post talking about the weekly drama that is job-hunting from Naomi Marr (web, twitter). In the post, Marr gives the run-down of a weekly jobseeker’s biorhythm and stops cold on Thursday–too far from Monday to be optimistic, and too far from Saturday to give up until the next week comes around:

THURSDAY – it just bites. You realize – Holy crabgrass, Batman! – another week has escaped you. You’re still unemployed and while you’ve learned a whole bunch – that doesn’t pay the mortgage. The conversations you’ve been having all week haven’t materialized in any booked meetings for next week and you’re not sure how this is going to play out. Thursday is the day it becomes all too real. You’re frustrated, scared and sad.

So… how do you manage the “Thursdays” in your job search? Please comment, below!

I know things are becoming more and more open these days, and there is a lot of information about you that is simply searchable online, but there are still certain things a resume is good for, and other things that are just not crucial, especially when you’re just being introduced to a company.

Still, I occasionally receive resumes with some of these items on them or included in the cover letter.  They are not necessary, and can hurt your chances of getting hired.  Still, not having them included on your resume shouldn’t affect you one bit.

1. Your Picture
   Your resume is not facebook (though some may say facebook is becoming your resume). Leave out your photograph for at least two reasons:

• First, it is illegal for companies (in the US) to hire you based on your race or sex, age, etc. Having your photograph on your resume puts the company you’re applying to in an awkward spot. If they hire you, was it because of your race? If they did not hire you, was it because of your sex? Are you too old? Some companies will refuse to consider resumes with images because of the liability, which means you just got deleted from the possibility of landing the job.
• Second: Humans make very quick judgements about things they may not be consciously thinking of. Do you want to have your appearance considered for the job (for better or worse) before you’re even interviewed? Isn’t dressing right for your interview stressful enough? Let your qualifications and intelligence speak for you, not your “buddy pic”. NOTE: If you are in a field where your physical image is part of the job, then, obviously, this is moot, but you knew that going in, I hope.

2. Your birthdate or age.
   I am surprised how much I am seeing this lately, and usually from younger applicants (I know they are “young” because they tell me how old they are). I am guessing this is from a lack of experience, but this is both a very private piece of information (in this age of identity theft) and companies can not hire you (or not hire you) based on your age, and you throwing it out there just makes recruiters (and their attorneys) squeamish. Leave it off there.

   If we see you graduated this year and your last job was an internship, we’ll get the picture–you’re entry-level. We don’t send out birthday cards until after you’re on the payroll.

3. Your social security number or other ID number (such as a resident alien ID).
   I see this frequently from individuals wishing to prove their citizenship or ability to work in the US. Maybe this is appropriate in other countries, but in the United States, simply stating “Authorized to work in the US for any employer” is sufficient.

   Please don’t give thieves a chance to steal your identity, either. If you included your birthdate as well, you should call your credit card companies RIGHT NOW.

4. Your references.
   This one is a matter of respect as well as privacy of those people you list. It is fully appropriate to disclose that you have professional references (the other kind of references don’t really do anything anyway) and you will provide them when it makes sense. However, revealing your references should be done somewhere in the interview process, usually when the company is about to make a hiring decision. Read: After the 2nd round.

   I should note here that it is appropriate for you to call your references and let them know you have released their phone number to a certain company who may be calling. It’s only polite and, remember, your relationship with your reference is much more important in the long-run than your relationship with the ACME Bean Counter company who may be calling them.

In a word, this example from Not Hired is a pretty good description of what not to do:

Data released today by job aggregation service SimplyHired shows that Salt Lake City ranks fifth of the top five markets for job seekers when comparing the number of job-seekers for each unique job.

The rankings were “determined by the ratio of job seekers to unique open positions (duplicates removed) in metro areas around the country.”  Utah’s capital, Salt Lake City (Jobsearch), and presumably surrounding metro areas such as Ogden and Provo/Orem fared well in the overall list, opposed to nearby Las Vegas, which has 26 candidates for every unique job opening.

SimplyHired revealed their findings only on the top and bottom 15 markets. Regional areas such as Denver, Colorado Springs, Albequerque, Phoenix, Boise, Reno and others were not included in either of these lists.

Salt Lake City, Utah Ranks 5th overall in best cities to find a job, according to data released today by SimplyHired.com

These are interesting statistics, for sure. There are a few caveats I see that you should consider as well:

• These data do not seem to specify if the candidats for each job are qualified for it or not.  This can either mean the actual number of candidates for a given position is actually less, or it may mean that companies are hiring for positions that our population does not support (which requires relocation).
• These data are statistically approximated, but we do not know if or how these data include information such as:
  • Passive candidates who are not looking for work (and therefore do not search for jobs) but still change jobs thanks to personal referrals or other reasons.
  • “Tip-toers”… people who are well-employed, but “google” around for jobs, but don’t jump at anything because the opportunity they currently have is sufficient than the opportunities they see.
  • Hidden jobs that are never posted openly because candidates are hired from within and/or hired through personal networks.

Its not fair, but recruiters pwn you when it comes to getting an interview. Until you’ve moved beyond the screening stage and your recruiter is actively working with you, TREAD CAREFULLY or some of these behaviors might lead to an eternal busy signal when calling your recruiter.

If you want to hurry up and wait, here’s some great ways to skip the line and jump headfirst into the “resume blackhole”:

1. Blah, blah, blah and don’t respect their time.
   Once you get a meeting with a recruiter, its good to find out if they have time for you, and how much. Then keep to it. That shows respect, and smarts on your part… to juggle a conversation, and exit gracefully when the time is right. If the conversation is going well, but it’s time to leave, simply state something like, “I’d like to continue this, but I know we’re out of time. Should we reschedule?”
2. Ask for an interview without knowing if there’s even a job open.
   Candidates know the recruiter is their gateway into the company. Coaches and job-hunters tell you to get an interview at all costs, but asking for one before you know there’s even a job can end up killing your chances to get one at all.Remember: The recruiter’s job is not to interview. The recruiter’s job is to find the right person to fill open positions. The interview is a tool in that process to be used with the right people at the right time. Not anytime.
3. Call back. A lot. A few times everyday works best.
   It’s appropriate to call an office line and then maybe a mobile phone if they didn’t pick up. Leave a courteous message briefly reminding them of who you are and what specific position you’re interested in. Chances are high they know you called, but just can’t get back to you at the moment.  Recruiters have caller ID , too, and a hyper-sensitive awareness of phone-numbers and people (which are some basic DNA characteristics of a recruiter). If you consistently call multiple times a day (especially if you’re as reliable as Old Faithful), your recruiter may begin to find things to be busy with when you call. Or worse, out of nowhere, you’ll get a voicemail they left late at night (on purpose so you wouldn’t be there to answer) saying “Thanks, but no thanks.”Call. Leave a brief, specific message (referring to the exact role you’re interested in ). Possibly email the next day or two days later mentioning that you called a few days before, and asking for an update on the status of your application and/or the specific job you are interested in.  Let them know that, if there is no progress, or if you are no-longer a candidate, it’s OK for them to tell you.
4. Promise to follow-up if they don’t get back to you.
   Don’t say, “I’ll check back in a few days if I don’t hear from you.”  A busy recruiter will simply say to themself, “OK, great. I don’t have to call you back, let’s see if you follow-through on your promise.” Its not polite to give someone a deadline for no reason at all. Putting them on the hook may just guarantee the phone stays on the hook whenever you call.
5. Don’t take “no” for an answer.
   When you’re being told a position isn’t right for you, It’s completely fair to ask what was missing from your background or experience to keep you out of the running.  Ask for candid feedback, and request if there’s a seperate set of positions they feel you’d be more qualified for, or  if the things which limited your candidacy this time around can be improved upon for the next time.  Phrasing your questions like, “Is there something in the job requirements I do not meet?” will encourage your recruiter to be open and honest with you, and you’ll likely avoid platitudes like, “well, you’re just not a match” (the recruiter version of “we’re just not that into you”).

   Finally, when the call is complete, you may ask permission to email or call the recruiter if future opportunities arise, if you can connect with them on LinkedIn or another network you both use (LinkedIn recommendations are an excellent “parting gift” to your recruiter, btw), and then graciously thank them for their time and let them off the phone.

You should note that all of these suggestions change when you’ve moved beyond the passive/tense/delicate “screening” process and into the active “interviewing” process . In the latter, all of the above change, except the respect thing. That one seems to stick around for, well, ever.

The summary is to remember that your recruiter is just as interested in finding the right person to fill their jobs as you are in making the right move. Help them help you. Openness and respect mutually in the beginning will pay dividends. Respect them, be low-maintenance, don’t make them work hard for you and, when the timing is right, they will work very hard for you.

Good luck!

P.S. Enjoy a good laugh at other jobseeker’s sakes at NotHired.com. Some links may be NSFW. Others may make you roll with laughter.

Annually, Fortune Magazine highlights the 100 best companies to work for in the US. Thanks to the economic downturn, many people are looking to recession-proof their jobs, and part of that includes changing jobs.

Here’s the latest list (below), from the February 4, 2008 edition.  Find the full Fortune 100 list online.

It’s worth noting that eBay is the only company listed on the Fortune 100 that is in Utah.

Notes:
N.A.: Not available. U.S. employees includes part-timers as of time of survey. Job growth, new jobs, and voluntary turnover are full-time only. Revenues are for 2006 or latest fiscal year. All data based on U.S. employees.
* Average annual pay: yearly pay rate plus additional cash compensation for the largest classification of full-time salaried and hourly employees.

If you’re vying for a position at a company, there is a fine line you must walk between looking like everyone else and being so different you don’t fit in at all.

Here’s a few simple ideas I can suggest for getting around the gatekeepers, receiving straight feedback, and (if you’re right for it) the job.

• Research: Candidates who do their research on their target company immediately jump ahead of the rest when all skills are equal. And, don’t just regurgitate what the website says, dig deeper. Find out competitors, read analyst reports, blogs, insider opinions or comments left around the web by employees. Really look into the organization!A key research item people don’t consider is the people who you may know that work (or have worked) for that company. Respect their time (a.k.a. buy them lunch) and see how they would recommend you move forward with approaching the company.
• Focus your Message: No joke, I received a resume today that said, “Objective: Any management position anywhere in your company.”  I have no idea what the rest of the resume said because I moved on instantly.Your goal is to coordinate all of the various skills and items on your resume into a cohesive, easilly-digested, sugar-coated tablet of skilled resume goodness. It needs to be an authentic representation of who you are (and what you’ve done), but it also needs to easilly/bluntly/obviously answer the question: “What will do you do for me that nobody else can do?”The most-crucial step of focusing your message is to also focus on your target audiences*! Will you speak to a recruiter first? A hiring manager? A gatekeeper of some other sort? If you’ve done enough research, this should be clear.* I made “audiences” plural on purpose. Don’t think for a second that your messaging to the recruiter and the VP should be the same!
• Consistently Deliver the Message: Red flags get drawn all over your application when your story seems to change without rhyme or reason.Know your availability, know your schedule, know your salary expectations, and above all, know your elevator pitch – cold.Your presentation to whoever you speak with, on the phone, by email, or in-person, should reflect both the intensity and passion you want to bring to the job, plus your humanity and personality that would make working with you a breeze.Candidates who shift their message, or push too hard with their message, are equally as likely to be turned down as candidates who don’t have a rational message at all.

What other things have YOU done to find success with standing out from the crowd? Please share!

Checkout medical jobs at Health Jobs USA.

Job Searching is emotional.

Angel Matos is led away by his coach after kicking the match referee

And, sometimes, things simply don’t turn out as you planned it. But, like most things in life, its not what happens to you, but how you react to what happens that matters. And, yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle job-search defeat.

… and there’s also a very wrong way.

I thought of this when I learned about Cuban Olympic Taekwondo competitor Angel Matos, who lost his match due to what he felt was an unfair disqualification… he took too long for a medical injury break.

Feeling that you were disqualified unfairly is one thing, but how he reacted to the disqualification is totally something else, and totally inappropriate:

From AP: “Cuba’s Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee square in the face after he was disqualified in a bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo Federation to recommend he be banned for life.”

Angel Valodia Matos (L) kicks Taekwondo Referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden after being disqualified from an olympic match

Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov. Matos was sitting there, awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for taking too much injury time. Fighters get one minute, and Matos was disqualified when his time ran out.

Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden, who will require stitches in his lip. Matos spat on the floor and was escorted out. [Source: NBCOlympics.com]

Watching video of the altercation makes it clear Matos was warned of the timing, and apears to have been disqualified fairly.

In terms of job searching, there are countless reasons why a company may have disqualified you from landing the current position. Whatever they tell you may seem trite or even insulting… if they deliver the news at all.

But again, it’s how you react to the dissapointment that can make all the difference. Here’s some possible reactions that might not land you a job there, but will ensure you don’t get “banned for life” in terms of possible employment by that company, or the people who work there:

1. Thank them graciously.
   Some thoughtful, but simple thank-you notes to those who interviewed you could go a long way to making sure you aren’t a sore loser. Keep it very simple:
   Mary,Thank you for considering me for your position. Sorry it didn’t work out this time, but I am glad you found the right match. Good luck with your endeavors and please let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future.

   Take care,
   [Signature & contact information]

2. Don’t go away mad, but please… go away.
   For some, thank-you notes might seem too out of character. No problem. But, emails or voicemails pleading or begging for another chance just adds insult to the situation–for you, and the company that turned you away.Just let it go. Really, it’s better that way.
3. Don’t let grudges develop.
   If you see these people at events or other functions, be cheerful and cordial. Ask a polite question about the project you were being considered for, but BEWARE not to show off, or get overly exuberant with your former would-be employer that you end up making a fool of yourself (think: lampshade images from company christmas party-kind of foolishness).Be courteous and genuine, but be BRIEF. Wish them well, and be on your way.

What do you think? How have you handled losing a job opportunity better than Matos lost his gold-medal opportunity?

We are hosting a job-fair/open house tomorrow (July 23) from 4pm until 8pm at our offices in Orem, Utah. If you are curious about the Utah Technical job market right now, or you know someone who is, send them by!

We’ll be taking resumes and conducting interviews, and likely playing some pretty mean Mario Kart on the wii.

SOS Engineering & Technology
1256 S. State #101 (West Doors)
Orem, Utah 84097

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A friend called on Saturday, frantic, because they have a telephone interview Monday morning. They had never had a telephone interview before, and her nerves were getting to her.

The key is to control what you can control, knowing that you are as ready as possible. Here are some other tips to help you out:

1. Attend to your surroundings.
   Taking a tip from Penelope Trunk, make sure your surroundings are right. Be ready, place and time. This is a crucial first step that many people overlook. Life is busy, but being ready speaks a lot:

   “Don’t take the interview when you are at your desk and can’t talk freely. Don’t take the call when there is too much noise in the background. And don’t walk from one place to another because the breathlessness that comes from walking and talking at the same time subconsciously conveys lack of authority to someone who doesn’t know you.”

2. Keep Notes at the Ready
   This is an excellent benefit to phone interviews… you can keep NOTES!

   Maureen Crawford Hentz over at QuintCareers says it like this. You should “consider keeping some notecards or an outline in front of you to remind yourself of key points you want to cover with the interviewer. You don’t want your responses to sound scripted, but you don’t want to fumble for important points either. Do also have your resume in front of you so you can remember highlights of your experience and accomplishments.”

3. Get Some Practice

   Alison Doyle at About says, “Talking on the phone isn’t as easy as it seems. I’ve always found it’s helpful to practice. Have a friend or family member conduct a mock interview and tape record it so you can see how you sound over the phone. Any cassette recorder will work. You’ll be able to hear your “ums” and “uhs” and “okays” and you can practice reducing them from your conversational speech. Also rehearse answers to those typical questions you’ll be asked. “

4. Know your skeletons
   Nobody’s perfect, but everyone has reasons things happen. Be ready to answere questions about things like “job hopping, being fired. Avoid weak excuses. NEVER CRITICIZE YOUR FORMER EMPLOYERS.Role-play and rehearse your responses to difficult or uncomfortable issues that may come up in the conversation.” [Source: HimJobs.com]

There’s no question something interesting is happening with Utah’s professional/technical workforce right now, and I think there are no less than four competing factors at play any business-owner should be paying very close attention to:

1. Real and Wage Inflation
2. Intense Competition for Talent
3. Corporate cost-cutting
4. High Energy/Commute Costs

The hardest part to pin-down is that the economic indicators show a market that is schizophrenic. Utah’s high tech job market is part recessionary and part booming. There’s both signs of weakness, but signs of boom-cycle madness.

If there were ever a time to unveil the invisible hand and see what’s really going to happen to this economy over the next six-12 months, now is the time… those who navigate this juncture well stand to gain a lot of opportunity, while these massive icebergs of clashing forces might very well crush entire sections of our economy and workforce if we’re not paying close attention.

Real and Wage Inflation

The Fed won’t admit there’s inflation yet, even though everyone else is worried about it… but one trip to the grocery store tells you a dollar doesn’t go as far these days. This plays into issues 3 and 4, and is the driver for issue 2.

Bottom-line: If the same amount of money you made last year isn’t cutting it, talented people will demand higher wages for the same jobs they were doing a year ago.

If the company they currently work for won’t pay up, no problem, they’ll just move.

Intense Competition for Talent

As a recruiter, I use every tool I can find. The job boards, these days, are as silent and un-exciting as a Hillary Clinton rally in Payson. The war for top-talent has moved from remote, tactical operations using unmanned email probes and remote-controlled resume submittal to (continuing the analogy) hand-to-hand, street fighting. Candidates are being approached at every angle, from every recruiter, in very creative ways…. and they’re getting hired, too!

At the Blogger Dinner last Thursday, Steve Spencer quipped something like: This is just like the late 90s. It doesn’t matter if you can actually do any of the stuff on your resume, but if you have the right acronyms, you’re hired!

(And, yes, Steve’s company is hiring… tell ‘em I sent ya)

Corporate Cost-Cutting

Client after client of mine has issued cost-cutting warnings. Several more companies are putting in-place hiring freezes, readjusting their priorities, laying people off or closing down all together.

This hyper-sensitive focus on costs can be unacceptable to a workforce already in high-demand.

One jobseeker for a Salt Lake-based IT Outsourcing firm told me last Thursday that his current employer has”implemented a new performance-based pay plan where you get a “very low base wage” and, if you hit certain quotas every day, you will get paid more.

The story goes that these employees, if they are industrious little busy bees, can earn even more than they have been making, but the employees don’t quite see it that way.

“Its a joke,” my jobseeker friend told me. “I’ve done the math. It is impossible to make anything close to what I have been making. I am outta here.”

There’s bound to be losses when a company needs to refocus. A recent article by Tiffany Hsu in the Baltimore Sun explains this very well:

“It costs a lot to let someone go,” said Don McNamara, president of Heritage Associates Inc., a management consultant company based in Laguna Niguel, Calif. “So we’ve got to circle the wagons and pull in a little bit.”

Businesses, he said, can cross-train employees in multiple roles to boost productivity and restructure to remove inefficiencies…. but employers can’t cut too many expenses and perks without risking driving workers away.

“You’ve got to be sensitive to your people and make sure morale isn’t one of the things you cut,” McNamara said. “If this comes as a surprise to them, they might be tempted to update their resumes at another company.”

High Energy/Commute Costs

Even thinking about high gas/energy prices makes me exhausted, but the simple fact is we are receiving regular calls and updates from our candidates seeking more commute-friendly work options, telecomuting, shorter commutes, or other benefits to offset the incredible rise in fuel costs this last year has seen. For once, the State has taken a lead here, generating (I predict) pressure on many new fronts to allow employees to have more control over when, where and how much they work.

On the flip-side, a lot of people who otherwise want to keep their current job are interested right now in part-time, flexible, contract-based work options too. That is an unforeseen consequence of these higher prices.

Summary

At the end of the day, companies are asking their employees to do more with less, while these same high-demand employees are not afraid of feeling out their options and making a more lucrative move if needed.

I fear, for companies too cost-conscious, this will become a race to mediocrity unless they very creatively examine their work demands, and be very open and honest with their employees. Find out what they need/want and even while cutting costs, you can make work fun and, heck, maybe even more productive.

Girl Geek discussion at BarCamp London

A few days ago, I was part of an interesting conversation. I had a lunch meeting with three managers of a department for one of my clients. One (male) had just completed several first-round interviews with candidates I had provided. Another manager (female) asked him a very simple, but awkward question:

How many girls did you hire?

Of course, I chimed in quickly that our candidates are selected solely on skill-match, qualifications, education and relevant experience and NOT on their gender… which is the truth.

However, a few days later that comment is ringing in my head.

Its not that I have never recruited a woman to fill a job… we do it a lot… but there is no denying it that, if I was to take a look at the gender of my candidates, most of them are male. Of course, I don’t TRACK that sort of thing in my office.

Also, my company is likely one of the most fair/balance organizations I’ve ever worked for in terms of men/women employees…

About a month ago, Gizmodo published a story reporting that Girl Geeks are “On the Rise”

the male-dominated era of technology and gadgets may be coming to an end. Some activities, such as using a DVR to record a TV show, or streaming movies or games, are more popular amongst women than men.

But, when it comes to filling technical jobs with a balanced number of male/female candidates, where ARE the girl geeks?

I have a few theories:

• My recruiting processes are structured in such a way that our jobs are just not interesting to female applicants?
• Girl Geeks have secret clubs that they tell nobody about… and they share their jobs with each other only.
• Girl Geeks have a drive and purpose that is different than the current bulk of candidates I work with. It appears that many professional women I know have a strong entrepreneurial “I can do it myself” streak… maybe “workin’ for da man” (pun only half-way intended) is even LESS interesting to women?

Please comment, below… especially if you are a girl-geek and you have some insight for me?  I would especially like to know if, as a woman, you feel the existing job-search “system” out there is unfair to you, and why…

Today, I listened to Peter Clayton’s Total Picture Radio interview with Jim McGovern of ItzBig.  In the interview, he addressed something in a way–I am embarassed to admit–I never fully grasped before:

The Anonymity Problem for Job Seekers

The simple fact of the matter is, the Recruiting Industry has long been too sympathetic to the employer or hiring manager, and far too hard on the seeker.

Regularly, I have HR/Hiring managers confess to me their worst sins… like throwing out a whole stack of resumes or deleting their whole “candidates” folder in their email program “on accident” because they needed to clean up space on their hard-drive to make room for their grandson’s little league photos.

At the end of the day, I do believe job-seekers work too hard to have their careers tossed into black holes, set to puree, and hopefully something turns out at the other end.

More than that, McGovern is right–truly excellent, talented candidates who are currently employed can’t afford to be found looking around.  In an economy like ours where “bouncing back” from being fired would be relatively hard… passive candidates need better tools to keep their identity private when job-seeking until they are ready to reveal it.

ItzBig’s subtitle says it all: “Be Found — Not Found Out” I wish them all the luck.