Software Resources' Blog

Do cover letters help get interviews or are they a waste of time?

2012-02-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

At the Secrets & Strategies career management group on LinkedIn this week, they were talking about some jobs guru who claimed cover letters are a waste of time and how you'll get more interviews if you stop using them. Another authority was cited as saying that hiring managers are peeved when they don't receive cover letters with resumes. Most people expressed confusion and exasperation, so I thought an answer to the dilemma would be useful.

Why cover letters?
A cover letter is designed to help build a bridge between you and a recruiter/hiring manager. Properly done it can get your resume read with serious attention and support the story that resume tells by revealing something more of the professional behind it.

How the Internet has changed recruitment and job search
The Internet makes applying for jobs much easier, so much so that uploading your resume into a resume database / Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), has become the default approach to job search. Job hunters now rely more on volume of applications than on the quality of those applications, yet most find this approach ineffective and frustrating.

Do cover letters help resume database performance?
ATS allow recruiters to access resume databases with keyword searches in much the same way as you use a Google search. The resumes with the most keywords, in the right places within the document and used most frequently rise to the top. The recruiter, just like you in a Google search, will probably look at no more than the top 20 results. How you achieve this is another conversation, but a cover letter can help that ranking and certainly will not hurt it.

Recruiters search databases for resumes, not cover letters, so an accompanying cover letter has secondary importance because it will be read only after the resume has been reviewed. But this does not mean that letter cannot increase your visibility through its keyword usage, and your desirability by adding insights additional to the resume.

"Experts" say cover letters are a waste of time
Their reasoning invariably demonstrates a lack of experience in how recruitment really works and the job search strategies that are likely to be effective in response. Resume databases are commercial enterprises, tailored to the needs of paying customers. If you see one of these options activated

A dialog box for inserting a cover letter
A dialog box requesting a cover letter as part of the application process
A dialog box demanding a cover letter be part of the application process
A dialog box requesting specific information as to your suitability

It means that someone in the selection cycle thinks information in addition to the resume will speed the recruitment process. When a resume database has one of these options, it would be crazy not to take advantage of the opportunity to promote yourself.

Because ATS function by tracking keywords, a cover letter with keywords relevant to the job posting can help your resume’s ranking, and therefore the likelihood of it being reviewed by a recruiter’s eyes, where it becomes an additional argument for your candidacy.

Cover Letters & Direct Approach
The goal of a job search is to be done with it as quickly as possible and you do this by engaging in the job search activities that get you into conversation with the job titles that are in a position to hire you as quickly and as frequently as you possibly can.

I have just completed two weeks of webcasts about how to execute a network integrated job search. We spent over three hours discussing how you integrate networking techniques into every aspect of your job search, so that you can develop the capability to approach, by name, the people who have the authority to hire you.

When you have the ability to approach someone directly involved with the selection cycle by name, not to personalize your resume with a cover letter would be insanity.

Martin Yate takes readers through over two hundred perceptive answers to tough interview questions in Knock em Dead 2012, The Ultimate Job Search Guide, in ways, like this one, that not only help you answer the question, but also help you grow professionally in the process.

Read more on the Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2012/02/do-cover-letters-help-get-interviews-or-are-they-a-waste-of-time.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb21#ixzz1n9BMFOhy

Why Temporary Work Is Worth It.

2012-02-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

Kerry Hannon

Today was the day. I put away the last vestige of the ho, ho, ho season—the festive bowl of holiday cards with pictures of smiling kids and pets, along with the occasional annual letters detailing whirlwind lives.

As I was taking a final gander, one caught my eye. It was sent by Gwenn Rosener. Gwenn is a woman I interviewed last year about her firmFlexforce Professionals, a recruiting and staffing company in the Washington, D.C., area that focuses on helping professionals, including retirees who want to continue working, find part-time work with competitive pay.

Gwenn, once an Ernst & Young senior manager, who holds a Harvard MBA in her back pocket, and her partners Sheila Murphy and Ellen Grealish all have executive-level management and consulting backgrounds. Grealish worked at Hewlett-Packardand Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), and Murphy held consulting posts, mostly with government clients, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

They started their business in 2010, and reeled in revenues of $140,000 with a profit of $47,000 that first year, placing CFOs, HR managers, business development and proposal writers, web designers, analysts, bookkeepers and office managers–all in part-time or temporary jobs.

“Dear Kerry,

Hope you have a wonderful holiday. Enjoyed connecting with you this year,” Gwenn wrote. “Thank-you for letting us share our story. A quick update since our last talk–we actually ended up quadrupling our sales this year and surpassed the $500k mark. It surprises even us.”

It didn’t surprise me. Temporary staffing is the bee’s knees these days.

Recently, the big online job site, CareerBuilder,released a Harris Interactive survey that showed that more than a third of American companies are operating with smaller staffs than before the recession.

To keep business trucking along, 36 percent of companies will hire contract or temporary workers in 2012, up from 28 percent in 2009, according to the survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professsionals.

And nearly a third of those employers want to hire before April. “Temporary jobs from staffing and recruiting firms are playing an increasingly important role in the economic recovery,” according Eric Gilpin, president of CareerBuilder’s Staffing & Recruiting Group.

Based on CareerBuilder’s data, the following are examples of staffing and recruiting positions currently in demand: Occupational or Physical Therapist and Speech Language Pathologist, Java or .Net Developer, Network Engineer, Administrative Assistant, Customer Service Representative and Business Analyst.

I get it. From the employer’s perspective, hiring temporary workers simply makes sense in many circumstances. They can staff up for short-range project without the price tag of healthcare and other benefits.

And in this employment market, they can attract the crème de la crème. These are often workers who have been downsized, or taken early retirement packages. Once the dust clears, they discover they either need or want to keep working.

Is this a good thing? It certainly can be. As a career transition expert, I view temporary work as a perfect chance for a career switcher to try on different hats, work in various types of businesses, even add new skills and experience.

A temporary, “dip in the pool” assignment lets you get a feel firsthand if this is something you really want to do. I always tell people who ask my advice on changing careers–do the job first-moonlight, apprentice, volunteer. If you can get paid for a temporary gig, go for it. That’s the only way you’ll know if the new career is all you dreamed it would be.

But even if you aren’t thinking of career changing, here are other reasons why a temporary assignment may be worth it.

· Gets you out of bed in the morning. You’ve got something to do.

· Gets you in the door. It may lead to full-time work with an employer eventually. Don’t miss the opportunity.

· Gets you decent pay. You can make your experience a plus. Employers are typically willing to pay you generously, providing you have the chops, if you solve their problem or need quickly. It lets them bypass the hand-holding and learning curve stage that a younger, less experienced, but lower-paid worker, might require.

· Builds your professional network. Nurture relationships with co-workers during your assignment. You never know where a contact may lead you, and who they might be able to refer you to for future jobs.

· Lands you new and au courant references for future employers to contact about what you’ve been up to lately.

· Keeps your resume alive. It’s a bone to stave off the disgrace of those gaping holes of idleness in your resume.

· Keeps your skills sharp. You know the mantra: Use it or lose it.

· Lets you get psyched about a work project–without the pressure of long-term expectations. No job is forever, anyway. This one just might be shorter than most, and that can be tremendously freeing.

You can’t expect that temporary or contract positions will lead to a full-time or on-going position. I know that. If it is a job or a company that turns you on, though, you can subtly let it be known that you’d love an opportunity to be considered for a full-time position should things change. And, please, don’t take it personally, if it doesn’t. It’s not about you…it’s about them.

Even if it’s just what it claims to be, a temp job, you still win in my experience. First, it might be just the flexible work schedule you’re looking for. Secondly, if it’s a full-time job you really want, it still has your back.

When you’re making money, the truth is you feel better about yourself. You feel valued. It builds confidence. That’s far healthier than shooting out resumes and not getting a single response. And seriously, you never know what might come your way when you back away from the computer screen.

A final tip: Hone your yarn-spinning. Even if the assignment was the pits, and that’s always possible, find a clever to use it in a future job interview. It can be a great example of your work ethic, ability to helicopter in and solve a problem, or fill a professional need for a company. Make the time spent part of your personal career story. Poetic license.

So Gwenn, well done and congrats on a terrific 2011!

Wishing you a successful new year,

Kerry

Click here for an Index of Articles by Kerry Hannon

5 LinkedIn Tips for Career Success in 2012

2012-01-17T13:48:00.000-08:00

CIO — When 80 percent of people reportedly don't know how to use LinkedIn properly, a New Year's resolution is born.

The professional social network, which has more than 100 million users worldwide, added a number of new features to its portfolio in 2011. Your challenge: keeping up with LinkedIn to best position yourself professionally this year.

"LinkedIn is not just a place to find a job. It is a tool to help build your professional network, as well as a way to find business opportunities for whatever job you are currently doing," says Eve Mayer Orsburn, author ofThe Social Media Business Equation and CEO of Social Media Delivered."[It] provides a way to find the people you want to do business with and connect to them virtually when you may not have had the chance to meet them in person."

Here are five tips from two LinkedIn experts to set you on the path to success in 2012.

1. Focus on Your Profile

One common mistake LinkedIn users make is not having a clear focus in their profile, says Lewis Howes, author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success on Linkedin. To ensure your profile has the maximum impact on others, you need to explicitly detail who you are as a professional within the "Summary" section.

To do this, Howes recommends reviewing your profile and making sure the following items are included in your summary: who you are as a professional, who you can help and how you can help them.

Another common profile mistake: not fully completing it.

"This sends a bad message to anyone investigating you for a potential partnership or job," Orsburn says. "If you don't follow through on completing your own profile, what other things will you fail to finish? Take the time to fill in as many of the fields as you can, and always include a picture.

[Want more LinkedIn tips, tricks and analysis? Check out CIO.com'sLinkedIn Bible.]

2. Make "LinkedIn Today" Part of Your Routine

Last year, LinkedIn launched a new product called "LinkedIn Today"—a social news service that aggregates the top headlines and stories related to your industry and based on what your connections share. LinkedIn Today, Howes says, is a feature you should pay more attention to in 2012.

You can find LinkedIn Today under the News tab at the top of your LinkedIn homepage or by visiting www.linkedin.com/today. The industries you see listed are what LinkedIn guesses you're interested in based on information in your profile, but they can be easily customized.

Howes notes, too, that while LinkedIn Today a good resource for keeping up on news—especially news that your contacts deem important—it can be a valuable tool for promoting your content if you have a blog. Howes recommends adding LinkedIn's "Share" button to your blog posts to increase the chances of being featured on LinkedIn Today.

3. Brand Yourself an Expert With "Answers"

One of the most valuable and underused features on LinkedIn is "Answers," Howes says. This part of the site is a forum where users can propose questions, seek advice and ask for opinions.

"So many users are asking questions about their most painful points in their career or businesses," he says. "If you're an expert in a topic, then you should be answering more questions in order to pick up more clients and grow your business," he says.

"Answers" is also a good way to contact others who are interested in the same topics as you, says Orsburn. If you're looking for a job in the IT industry, for example, search through questions tagged with that category to find one that would showcase your abilities and knowledge in that area.

[10 LinkedIn Tips to Boost Your Job Search]

4. Refresh Your Profile, Even if You're Not Job Hunting

Just because you're not currently looking for a job doesn't mean your LinkedIn profile should lie dormant. Keeping your profile updated, Howes says, is essential for maintaining an accurate personal brand, as well as the potential for new business opportunities.

"If someone wants to do business with you, they are most likely going to do some research about you on the Web," Howes says. "It's important you have everything up to date and portray your profile the way you want it to look. This means keeping it updated, adding new recommendations and advanced applications to enhance your profile."

Howes also recommends paying particular attention to the keywords you use in your profile, so you rank higher in searches for your areas of expertise.

5. Make New Connections in 2012

The more quality people you are connected to, the more opportunities that could come your way. This year, focus on growing your network and connecting with new people, Howes says.

"Businesses grow based on your relationships, so you want to keep expanding and growing connections in your immediate and expanded network," he says.

But be careful when requesting new connections, though. Do your homework on who they are, their past positions and their interests; find common ground; and be sure to craft a personal note requesting to add them to your network, using the information above.

Orsburn recommends spending 10 minutes a day on LinkedIn to see where your efforts take you. "Start participating in groups and discussions, and start finding new connections to make," she says. "The payoff will be better business connections in 2012."

Kristin Burnham covers consumer technology, social networking and Web 2.0 for CIO.com. Follow Kristin on Twitter @kmburnham. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Kristin atkburnham@cio.com

January 2012: The Top Spots!

2012-01-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

Tech hiring managers are resolute in their staffing priorities for 2012 — they need innovative professionals who design, code, build and operate. Indeed, developers dominate the new year’s most pressing hiring needs for a second straight year, although ops professionals make their list debut.

According to data compiled from nearly 1,200 tech-focused hiring managers and recruiters, Java developers are the top priority. Demand for tech professionals with java know-how has grown year/year for more than two years as measured by job postings on Dice. If your company is looking to hire this talent, don’t dawdle — a seasoned Java developer clearly has options.

Software developers moved up one-spot on the list to claim the number two position this year. Employers want developers who have strong opinions on what makes for high quality code, and a passion to create excellent user experiences and business solutions. On Dice, there are software developer positions posted in 44 out of 50 states. Outside of the major metropolitan markets, we see good demand in Florida, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona.

Anecdotally, hiring managers have been telling us about the talent crunch for both mobile (#3) and .NET developers (#4) for different reasons. Mobile has become ubiquitous and the number of qualified, experience developers hasn’t caught up with the market. For .NET, the money gap and the concerns about .NET limiting careers has held back tech professionals from fully embracing the Microsoft framework.

New to this year’s list: systems (#7) and network (#8) engineers/administrators. Their appearance may demonstrate companies have pushed the backbone of their organizations too far. Doing more with less has limits as these professionals maintain, operate and optimize entire communication channels and platforms.

The tech recruiting market is active and hiring managers have defined the priorities to start 2012. The only certainty is that companies will find ways to build value within their business and tech professionals will have a headlining role.

Alice Hill
Managing Director, Dice.com

* A single job posting may reflect more than one skill, location or type of position; therefore total figures for those attributes may be greater than total jobs posted.

6 Hot IT Jobs That Will Pay Well in 2012

2011-12-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

CIO — Despite ominous predictions about how cloud computing will eviscerate IT departments, 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for IT careers. Cloud computing is in fact creating new roles for IT professionals, while the proliferation of smartphones and tablets has ignited demand for software developers. The IT job market, which experienced a strong rebound in 2011 after the recession, is expected to burn even brighter in 2012, despite global economic challenges, according to IT staffing industry executives.

"I expect it to be better and not just a little bit better," says Tammy Browning, senior vice president of Yoh staffing's western region. "I would say it will be 10 to 15 percent better than 2011 in terms of hiring."

Indeed, Jerry Irvine, CIO of Chicago-based IT outsourcer Prescient Solutions, says he has hired 30 people so far in 2011 and plans to add another 30 to 40 next year. Currently, he has 13 open positions for senior project managers, SharePoint programmers, infrastructure engineers, systems engineers and ITIL helpdesk technicians.

Aggressive hiring is good news for the many IT professionals seeking new jobs. According to the latest IT Employee Confidence Index from staffing firm Technisource, 32 percent of 257 employed IT professionals plan to look for a new job.

IT staffing experts also anticipate that IT salaries will finally spike after years of stagnation, as employers realize they need to pay premiums for certain IT skills in a competitive job market.

"Tech salaries have been flat for a number of years," says Alice Hill, managing director of IT job site Dice.com. Hiring managers have tried their best to poach good people from competitors, she says, but now they're going to have to increase pay to compete on the staffing front.

Shane Bernstein, managing director of Los Angeles-based IT staffing firm Q, concurs: "Salaries and [contract] rates will be higher [in 2012] because the economy seems to be getting better in the tech sector. More companies are hiring. The supply of talent is extremely low and the demand for talent is extremely high."

Want more good news? The job opportunities and earning potential aren't centered solely in Silicon Valley. Across the country, from New Hope, Penn. to Scottsdale, Ariz., companies are vying for IT talent, adds Hill.

Here are the six IT jobs that staffing experts say will be in greatest demand and will command the highest salaries in 2012. The best part: Many of these jobs are also serious fun.

1. Mobile Application Developers

IT professionals who can develop applications for mobile devices are hands down the hottest commodity in IT these days. IT staffing experts agree that this group will remain in this enviable position through 2012, as companies race to adapt their Websites and apps for smartphones and tablets.

Demand for mobile application developers is obvious on Dice.com, where job postings for Android and iPhone developers are up 129 and 190 percent, respectively, over last year, according to Hill.

The technology division of staffing firm Robert Half International projects starting salaries for mobile application developers to increase 9.1 percent in 2012, to a range of $85,000 to $122,500 per year.

Yoh's Browning says salaries for mobile game developers range from $110,000 to $140,000 per year, but she notes, they tend to prefer to work as free agents. "On average, an Android developer can demand $70 per hour to $100 per hour on a contract," she says.

Adds Hill, "It's never a bad time to be a software developer, especially right now, and if you're a mobile software developer, it's your year."

2. Software Developers

Programmers writing PC-based applications should not feel slighted by their mobile counterparts. Companies need their share of Java, .NET, C#, SharePoint, and Web application developers. Yoh's Browning says Java is hot because it's an open platform that speaks to any back-end system, so large organizations use it to transfer data from legacy systems. Consequently, the salary range for Java developers runs from $60,000 to $150,000 per year, depending on experience. The average contract rate for Java developers is $90 per hour. Base salaries for Web developers range from $61,250 to $99,250 per year, according to Robert Half.

3. User Experience Designers

Because so many of the apps companies are developing—whether for PCs or mobile devices—are customer facing, they need user interface or user experience designers to ensure the apps are fun and intuitive to use. Robert Half anticipates starting salaries for user experience designers to rise 6.7 percent, to between $71,750 and $104,000 per year.

4. IT Security Professionals

As security threats from Duqu to data breaches mount, organizations need IT professionals who can fend off malware makers and cyber thieves. Hill says job ads on Dice.com for various "cyber security" professionals increased a whopping 141 percent in 2011 over the prior year.

Organizations' shift to cloud computing is also spurring the need for infrastructure security professionals, says Prescient Solutions' Irvine. "By putting applications in the cloud, companies have more Internet paths," he says. "They have to have a more secure environment to control entrances and exits to and from their environment."

Irvine also anticipates application security specialists—people who run application scanners through individual Web pages in search of vulnerabilities—will have a good year for finding jobs in 2012.

Robert Half expects base salaries for data security analysts to rise six percent, to a range of $89,000 to $121,500 per year.

5. Data Warehouse Architects, Analysts and Developers

Companies' desire to extract insights from the petabytes of data streaming into their back office systems is driving demand for data warehouse architects, analysts and developers. Q's Bernstein says companies will be making a big push in 2012 to clean and organize their data so that they can better mine it.

Robert Half expects base salaries for data warehouse analysts to climb 6.7 percent, to a range of $88,000 to $119,000 per year in 2012. According to Q, data warehouse developers command average salaries in the range of $120,000 to $135,000 per year or contract rates ranging from $65 to $85 per hour. Data warehouse architects can earn $130,000 to $160,000 per year or $80 (or more, depending on experience) per hour on contract, also according to Q.

6. Infrastructure Professionals

Cloud computing has yet to eliminate IT infrastructure jobs. Now and through 2012, cloud computing—and Windows 7 migrations—are creating demand for network engineers and systems administrators.

Dice.com's Hill says companies are seeking IT professionals who can set up and manage virtual server and virtual storage environments, who can identify which applications are used the most, and who know how to reallocate hard drive storage among those various applications.

The move to Windows 7 is necessitating infrastructure upgrades for some companies, while others eye opportunities to consolidate their data centers and move applications to the cloud, says Sean Ebner, vice president of strategic accounts for Technisource. In the short term, IT departments need infrastructure professionals who can help them plan and execute upgrades and consolidation initiatives, he says.

Network engineers should see their salaries rise 5.8 percent due to increased demand in 2012, to a range of $75,000 to $107,750 per year, according to Robert Half.

"The demand for this talent is so high right now," says Yoh's Browning of these hot IT jobs. "Hiring managers need to move quickly and waste no time putting offers out. There are bidding wars right now for this talent."

Meridith Levinson covers Careers, Project Management and Outsourcing for CIO.com. Follow Meridith on Twitter @meridith. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Meridith atmlevinson@cio.com.

How to Accomplish More by Doing Less

2011-12-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

TONY SCHWARTZ

Two people of the same skill work in the same office. For sake of comparison, let's say both arrive at work at 9 am each day, and leave at 7 pm.

Bill works essentially without stopping, juggling tasks at his desk and running between meetings all day long. He even eats lunch at his desk. Sound familiar?

Nick, by contrast, works intensely for approximately 90 minutes at a stretch, and then takes a 15 minute break before resuming work. At 12:15, he goes out for lunch for 45 minutes, or works out in a nearby gym. At 3 pm, he closes his eyes at his desk and takes a rest. Sometimes it turns into a 15 or 20 minute nap. Finally, between 4:30 and 5, Nick takes a 15 minute walk outside.

Bill spends 10 hours on the job. He begins work at about 80 percent of his capacity, instinctively pacing himself rather than pushing all out, because he knows he's got a long day ahead.

By 1 pm, Bill is feeling some fatigue. He's dropped to 60 percent of his capacity and he's inexorably losing steam. Between 4 and 7 pm, he's averaging about 40 percent of his capacity.

It's called the law of diminishing returns. Bill's average over 10 hours is 60 percent of his capacity, which means he effectively delivers 6 hours of work.

Nick puts in the same 10 hours. He feels comfortable working at 90 percent of his capacity, because he knows he's going to have a break before too long. He slows a little as the day wears on, but after a midday lunch or workout, and a midafternoon rest, he's still at 70 percent during the last three hours of the day.

Nick takes off a total of two hours during his 10 at work, so he only puts in 8 hours. During that time, he's working at an average of 80 percent of his capacity, so he's delivering just under 6 ½ hours of work — a half hour more than Bill.

Because Nick is more focused and alert than Bill, he also makes fewer mistakes, and when he returns home at night, he has more energy left for his family.

It's not just the number of hours we sit at a desk in that determines the value we generate. It's the energy we bring to the hours we work. Human beings are designed to pulse rhythmically between spending and renewing energy. That's how we operate at our best. Maintaining a steady reservoir of energy — physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually — requires refueling it intermittently.

Work the way Nick does, and you'll get more done, in less time, at a higher level of quality, more sustainably.

Create a workplace that truly values a balanced relationship between intense work and real renewal, and you'll not only get greater productivity from employees, but also higher engagement and job satisfaction.

There's plenty of evidence that increased rest and renewal serve performance.

Consider a study conducted by NASA, in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration, of pilots on long haul flights. One group of pilots was given an opportunity to take 40 minute naps mid-flight, and ended up getting an average of 26 minutes of actual sleep. Their median reaction time improved by 16 percent following their naps.

Non-napping pilots, tested at a similar halfway point in the flight, experienced a 34 percent deterioration in reaction time. They also experienced 22 micro sleeps of 2-10 seconds during the last 30 minutes of the flight. The pilots who took naps experienced none.

Or consider the study that performance expert Anders Ericcson did of violinists at the Berlin Academy of Music. The best of the violinists practiced in sessions no longer than 90 minutes, and took a break in between each one. They almost never practiced more than 4 ½ hours over a day. What they instinctively understood was the law of diminishing returns.

The top violinists also got an average of more than 8 hours of sleep a night, and took a 20-30 minute nap every afternoon. Over a week, they slept 16 hours more than the average American does.

During my 30s and 40s, I wrote three books. I sat at my desk each day from 7 am to 7 pm, struggling to stay focused. Each book took me at least a year to write. For my most recent books, I wrote in a schedule that matched the great violinists — three 90 minute sessions with a renewal break in between each one.

I wrote both those books in six months — investing less than half the number of hours I had for each of my first three books. When I was working, I was truly working. When I was recharging — whether by getting something to eat, or meditating, or taking a run — I was truly refueling.

Stress isn't the enemy in the workplace. Indeed, stress is the only means by which we can expand capacity. Just think about weightlifting. By stressing your muscles, and then recovering, you gradually build strength. Our real enemy is the absence of intermittent renewal.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop to Three-Year Low

2011-12-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

By Shobhana Chandra and Bob Willis - Dec 15, 2011 1:17 PM ET

The fewest workers in three years filed claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week, indicating the world’s largest economy is strengthening heading into 2012.

The number of applications for unemployment payments dropped by 19,000 to 366,000 in the week ended Dec. 10, less than the lowest forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the least since May 2008, according to Labor Department figures issued today in Washington. Other reports showed manufacturing accelerated this month after pausing in November.

“The U.S. economy, unlike the rest of the world, is gathering momentum as we head toward year-end,” said Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities Inc. in New York. “The labor market is improving sharply,” he said, and “we look for gains in industrial production.”

A reduction in firings may pave the way for an increase in employment that will help spur consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Lean inventories and growing demand may probably spark gains in production that will keep factories at the forefront of the expansion.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose, snapping a three-day drop, on the improving economic outlook. The gauge climbed 0.6 percent to 1,218.71 at 1:03 p.m. in New York.

Manufacturing may contract this month from China to the euro region as global demand slows and Europe’s leaders struggle to contain the worsening debt crisis, reports today showed.

Global Manufacturing

Chinese factory output may decline for a second month in December as Europe’s fiscal woes weigh on exports and home sales slide, preliminary results from a Markit Economics survey indicate. In the euro area, manufacturers may face a fifth straight month of contraction as the region endures its worst quarter for 2 1/2 years, a separate report showed.

Manufacturing in the regions covered by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Philadelphia accelerated more than forecast in December as orders and employment grew.

The so-called Empire State Index, covering New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut, climbed to the highest reading in seven months. The Philadelphia Fed’s gauge for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, rose to an eight-month high.

The improvement helped ease concern factory demand was cooling after another report from the Fed in Washington showed industrial production unexpectedly dropped in November for the first time in seven months. Output at factories, mines and utilities declined 0.2 percent after a 0.7 percent gain in October. Economists forecast a 0.1 percent advance, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

‘More Timely’

“The weakness in November followed strength in October, so I wouldn’t necessary extrapolate one month,” said Kevin Cummins, an economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford,Connecticut. “Given this month’s jump in the Empire State Index, it does suggest that there was factory output growth in December, which is a little more timely.”

The decrease in production was led by a drop in auto output even as sales increased last month to the highest level since August 2009.

Reports indicate that the floods in Thailand may have caused shortages in some auto parts, said Cummings, “so you might be getting effects from that as well, which shows that it may be just a temporary event in November.”

“November was one of the strongest sales months of the year,’ Erich Merkle, sales analyst for Ford Motor Co., said on a Dec. 1 teleconference. “Sales appeared to be carrying strong momentum as we finish the year and head to 2012, a very encouraging sign.”

Producer Prices

Another Labor Department report today showed the producer price index increased 0.3 percent last month after declining 0.3 percent in October.

Jobless claims were projected to increase to 390,000 from 381,000 initially reported for the prior week. Estimates ranged from 375,000 to 412,000. The Labor Department revised the previous week’s figure up to 385,000.

“We’re seeing improvement in labor-market conditions,” said Julia Coronado, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas in New York. “It’s good to see claims moving this much below 400,000.”

The financial industry is among those most affected by the European debt crisis. Morgan Stanley (MS), the investment bank whose shares have declined 45 percent this year, said today it plans to cut about 1,600 jobs amid a drop in revenue from investment banking and trading. The figure amounts to about 2.6 percent of the 62,648 employees New York-based Morgan Stanley had at the end of September.

Firing, Hiring

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- accelerates.

A hiring summary index, developed by economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has climbed to the highest level since mid 2008. “The improvement is an encouraging sign for employment growth, at least over the next several months,” according to a report today by Andrew Tilton, a New York-based economist at the bank.

The gauge tracks forward-looking measures like job openings, planned hiring by small businesses and Manpower Inc.’s quarterly survey.

Slow progress in the job market remains a concern for the Fed, which this week left unchanged its statement that economic conditions are likely to warrant “exceptionally low” interest rates “at least through mid-2013.”

“While indicators point to some improvement in overall labor market conditions, theunemployment rate remains elevated,” the central bank said in a statement after its meeting on Dec 13.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington atschandra1@bloomberg.net; Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net

IT Employment Continues to Outperform Overall Labor Market!

2011-12-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Alexandria, VA, December 7, 2011- In November, IT employment continued its pattern of month-over-month growth and outperforming the general labor market.

According to a monthly index of IT jobs developed and published by TechServe Alliance, a collaboration of IT services firms, clients, consultants and suppliers, the number of IT jobs increased by more than 7,100 rising to 4,068,400 jobs in November, up by more than 84,000 jobs from November 2010 or 2.1%.

In comparison, overall job growth for the economy was less than 0.1 percent in November and up only 1.2 percent year-over-year.

"Despite a mixed report on the overall jobs market, demand for IT professionals remains strong,” stated Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “I remain very bullish on the prospects for continued growth in 2012 and anticipate IT employment will surpass its all-time high set back in June 2008,” added Roberts.

For a complete November 2011 IT Index, please click here.

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ABOUT TechServe Alliance

TechServe Alliance is a collaboration of IT services firms, clients, consultants and suppliers dedicated to advancing excellence and ethics within the IT services industry. Hundreds of IT staffing, IT solutions and IT consulting firms and tens of thousands of affiliated professionals, count on TechServe Alliance to keep their leadership informed, engaged and connected. TechServe Alliance serves as the voice of the industry before the policymakers and the national and trade press. By providing access to the knowledge and best practices of an entire industry and tapping the "collective scale" of hundreds of companies, TechServe Alliance supports its members in the efficient delivery of best-in-class IT services for clients and exceptional professional opportunities for every IT consultant.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

2011-11-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Learn more about the science of success with Heidi Grant Halvorson's HBR Single, based on this blog post.

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.
If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter@hghalvorson

The Valuable Transferable Skills Veterans Bring to Employers

2011-11-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

The Valuable Transferable Skills Veterans Bring to Employers

By Jean Muller and Margaret O'Brien

A career in the military is not your average career. Because of the military's unique working environment and mission, veterans acquire unique skills and qualities that employers desire – and that give them an advantage in a career search.

Veterans are some of the most sought-after people in the workplace for a number of reasons. Perhaps the three most prominent reasons include their code of ethics, reliability, level of education.

Code of Ethics: It is difficult to conceive a better-vetted group of individuals than veterans. Veterans often have incredible clearances. This means they've already gone through a rigorous process of background screening and character evaluation. Now, whether a company chooses to utilize an individual's clearance isn't really as important what the clearance says to a potential employer. It clearly marks the veteran as trustworthy and able to handle high-level information that wouldn’t be given out to many individuals. This, clearly, is an asset for veterans seeking a career change.
Reliability: Veterans are exceedingly reliable. They come from a culture and workplace that values action and follow- through. Consequently, if they say they're going to do something, they're going to do it. If a timetable is established, it will be followed. Of course these are real advantages in the military workplace, but they are also highly sought after traits in the private sector.
Education: Veterans, as a group, are highly educated. Veterans at all lengths of service have hands-on technical skills and advanced education. Quite often veterans hold advanced degrees. In particular, 15-20 year veterans increasingly go beyond their bachelors degrees and acquire and masters or doctorate-level education.

Unique Working Environments, Unique Skills 
Employers know well that veterans have numerous other advantages as employees in addition to the quality character traits, and technical and managerial skills listed above. With the diverse needs of the military come diverse military jobs, and so various veterans will find their specialized skills are also highly valuable to potential employers. Because of this, don't forget to highlight these skills as well. In the end, though, the unique characteristics fostered by a career in the military that might seem run-of-the-mill to an individual surrounded each day by other dedicated service members may just be the characteristics most valued by a potential employer.

Jean Muller and Margaret O'Brien are the brains behind the success and expertise of Career Search America, a recently-launched website dedicated to helping veterans transition from military to civilian careers. With a combined 25 years of experience of career coaching in the "real world," they are excited to expand their services online.

How To Customize Your Primary Professional Branding Tool: Your Resume!

2011-11-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

How To Customize Your Primary Professional Branding Tool: Your Resume

By Martin Yate CPC

Your resume is the primary branding tool to introduce and position yourself to the professional world. It is, quite simply, the most financially important document you will ever own: when your resume works you work, when it doesn't you don't. Properly executed, a carefully branded resume insures that prospective employers and colleagues see you, as you want to be seen. Short-change the effort you put into your resume and you cheat employment and future success.

No one likes writing a resume, but you'll find the process essential to defining a brand that your professional world is eager to embrace. This is critical because in today's harsh world, your resume all too often disappears into resume databases with millions of others, rarely to be pulled by a recruiter's search. When recruiters do find it, it will get a 5-45 second scan and if a clearly defined and relevant brand doesn't jump out, they'll move on to the next. You can control these issues.

Your Brand & Resume Needs Focus
Eighty percent of resumes lack a target job title at the top of the document, but when recruiters do resume database searches, they start with a job title and then add keywords, from the company Job Description. When you give your resume a target job title and focus on the skills you bring to that specific job you will get more interviews.

Talk Like Your Customer
It is common sense to find out what your customers are buying and sell to their expressed needs, rather than selling what you think they want. Understanding your customers' needs and then satisfying them first in your resume and then on the job is the foundation of professional success.

You research employer needs for your target job by collecting six job postings and deconstructing them into a single document that reflects:
1. How employers prioritize their common needs; which ones are common to all and which are common to some.
2. The words they use to describe these requirements

These are the skills that recruiters will look for and the words they will use to find your resume in database searches. These are also the skill priorities that recruiters use in resume evaluation and focused on in interviews throughout the hiring cycle.

How To Write A Killer Resume
When you understand how employers quantify your target job, you have a template for the story your resume must tell and the foundation for positioning a brand with solid employer appeal; you'll improve database performance and quickly tell any reader that you "get" what is truly important in this job.

Martin Yate CPC, is the NY Times bestselling author of Knock em Dead The Ultimate Job Search Guide, and Secrets & Strategies For Success. As Dun & Bradstreet says, "He's really just about the best in the business."

10 things the CIA can teach you about your own career

2011-11-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

10 things the CIA can teach you about your own career

Maryann Karinch, Special to CareerBuilder

All of the following points reflect the kind of engaged and intelligent behavior you will readily find at the CIA. They capture not only what makes things work at the agency, but also why people who join tend to make service at the CIA a career.

1. Commit to the work. What you do is not who you are, but who you are has chosen to be here now and pursue this work. Keep your commitment. Caring about your organization's purpose helps your commitment to your work stay strong.

2. Build trust with colleagues, clients and competitors. You cultivate allies by establishing trust: Your consistency in expression and behavior is a genuine asset and contributes to your personal, organizational effectiveness.

3. Mentor and seek mentoring. For your own professional development, learn from those with proven expertise who have demonstrated an interest in the growth and strength of the work force. Likewise, help others to build their individual skills, appreciation for the organization's mission, and team spirit to reinforce the company in image and reality.

4. Get it right. Whatever the task in the field or at your desk, see it as an essential piece of the company's work. Do your best, ask for critiques, then send it in.

5. Encourage dissent in yourself and others. Healthy dissent is the lifeblood of a dynamic, forward-looking company. A bias for inaction out of fear of criticism undercuts the ability to solve a problem or explore opportunities.

6. Listen and reflect. You never know what you'll hear, what you may learn, and even what you may discover anew unless your mind and ears are open. Meetings, trade shows, phone conversations, e-mails, web searches -- all kinds of events and people offer potentially valuable information. Systematically collecting and analyzing it is the core intelligence function and an invaluable tool for any company.

7. Commit to continuing education. Take advantage of learning opportunities provided by or supported by the company, but don't stop there. Stay sharp through exposure to trade literature and events, blogging, and honing so-called soft skills through organizations like Toastmasters. You want to be intellectually fresher than the competition.

8. Know the agenda. Whether it's a staff meeting, lunch with a prospect, or taking a trip, nothing happens without an agenda. If it's not yours, then it's someone else's.

9. Have a bias for action. You can turn on a dime, but the bigger your organization, the harder it may be. Do what you can to develop organizational readiness for action. Always lean forward.

10. Identify and cultivate shared values. A team with shared values can work together despite differences in methods and agendas. Factors such as integrity and high personal performance standards engender cooperation and smooth the way to productivity.

Maryann Karinch is the author of more than 17 nonfiction books, including "Business Lessons from the Edge," "Business Confidential" and "How to Become an Expert on Anything in Two Hours."

How to Answer Tough Interview Questions

2011-10-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

By Monster Staff

When it comes to interviews, you need to be ready for anything. While there are definitely some questions you’ll hear again and again, it is in your best interest to prepare especially for the tough interview questions.

We’ve put this list together to help with your interview preparation. These provide expert tips for formulating your interview response strategy, practicing your answers to curveball questions and tailoring your experiences to the information interviewers need to hire you. With the right preparation, you can turn those tough job interview questions into softballs.

Don’t Get Thrown for a Loop

Response Strategies for Interview Questions

Beat Interview Brainteasers

How to Answer Key Interview Questions When You’re Overqualified

Six Interview Answers You Need to Get Hired

100 Potential Interview Questions

Prep for the Top 10 Interview Questions

Consulting Industry Update

2011-10-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.softwareresources.com/userfiles/file/TSAContractornewsletterSummer2011.doc

Employee Referral Program

2011-10-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Software Resources Employee Referral Program

Introduction

You can help Software Resources, a friend, and yourself by participating in the Software Resources Employee Referral Program. You can earn a cash award of up to $1,000 if you refer an external applicant who is hired to a designated, open, position with Software Resources. All open positions can be found athttp://www.softwareresources.com/jobsearch.aspx?s=2

Who is an Eligible Employee?

The Employee Referral Program is open to all regularly employed Software Resources consultants and previously employed consultants.

Miscellaneous

In the event an applicant is referred from more than one source; for example, from two employees, the deciding factor will be the date of receipt of the referral within the Office of Human Resources. The Office of Human Resources will inform the participating parties when such situations arise.

Payout

Contact your recruiter for details at (407)515-6020 x100.