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Job Tips and Job News – HP says IT pros need own social network

June 18, 2010/0 Comments/in IT Professionals/by admin

HP’s near-beta social network, dubbed 48Upper, is about solving tech issues, not dating

Computerworld – WASHINGTON — Despite the flood of existing social networking tools, Hewlett-Packard Co. will soon introduce its own social network, albeit specifically aimed at IT professionals.

It’s called 48Upper and it comes with its own "manifesto," which says this about IT pros: "We have lived with the stereotype of being introverted, pessimistic loners for too long."

There’s also video that shows IT workers laughing, smiling and working in cubicles with stuffed animals.

This anti-Dilbert version of IT aside, 48Upper (which gets its name from an HP building in Cupertino, Calif.), incorporates familiar social networking tools, collaborative, friend-based, knowledge sharing, but is clearly aimed at users of HP system management tools.

The product is being readied for beta testing, and HP officials discussed some aspects of it at its software conference here.

There are a number of elements that make 48Upper different from the mainstream social networks.

Ever since e-mail, IT pros have networked with people outside their companies and institutions for help. The designers of 48Upper still expect users to seek out help from external IT folk, but this tool will have a few steps to help them filter out information that might reveal what a company might otherwise want to keep quiet.

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IT Staffing – Permanent IT Jobs ‘Returning to Growth’

June 16, 2010/0 Comments/in DFW IT Staffing, Information Technology, Information Technology Field, Information Technology Organizations, Information Technology Projects, IT, IT Budgets, IT Candidates, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, IT Job News, IT Jobs, IT Professionals, IT Spending, IT Staff, IT Staff Augmentation, IT Staffing, IT talent, IT Workers, Job Tips, technical recruiting, Technical Staffing, Technology Budgets/by admin

The IT jobs market is showing signs of recovery, particularly on the permanent side, according to Reed Specialist Recruitment.

Computerworld UK — The IT jobs market is showing signs of recovery, particularly on the permanent side, according to Reed Specialist Recruitment.

Andrew Gardner, senior divisional director of the technology division of Reed Specialist Recruitment, said that the number of available permanent jobs was picking up again particularly in SMEs, as well as in the financial services sector and in software houses.

“As part of the downturn, our permanent team took a mauling, but over the last five or six months, it has started to pick up again.

“We are now looking to build our permanent teams back up to meet the demand,” said Gardner.

Reed currently has a team of 25 in the permanent jobs division, and Gardner aims to recruit a further 20 in the next few months, which takes the total “slightly higher than we had before”.

Furthermore, Reed said its lead time between interviews and job offers has shortened to that of before the recession.

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IT Staffing – I.T. hiring picks up

June 15, 2010/0 Comments/in IT, IT Budgets, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, IT Jobs, IT Spending, IT Staffing, Job Tips/by admin

Salaries and hiring are both on the rise, Janco reports.

The I.T. jobs outlook is strongest among large companies, where many chief information officers have received the go-ahead to fulfill I.T. positions that were left unfulfilled last year, Janco Associates Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in information systems technology, says in its Mid-Year 2010 IT Salary Survey report.

In contrast, technology executives at smaller companies are being more cautious about hiring out of concern that the economic recovery will not be strong enough to support increased I.T. spending, the survey found.

Nonetheless, most chief information officers who participated in the survey said in post-survey interviews that they’re planning for 2011 with the assumption that the economy will improve early next year. If that holds true, I.T. hiring and compensation should rise for more companies, Janco says.

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Integrity in Recruiting
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Looking For Honesty and Integrity in Dallas IT Consulting Companies

June 14, 2010/0 Comments/in IT Consulting/by admin

I was in IT for several years before being laid off a few years ago. I was laid off right before September 11, 2001 and was working on my MBA in eCommerce at the time. I found myself in a very difficult situation as many other people did during that time. Because I was working on my MBA and was almost finished, companies I interviewed with considered me ‘over-qualified’ for most positions I applied and interviewed for.

I stumbled into IT Consulting sales and account management mostly because I wanted to continue to use my IT background for something and what a better way than to find the best people for Dallas IT Client departments and at the same time put people to work. It seemed to me like the best of both worlds. Having been a Dallas IT project leader, programmer, and production support engineer, I knew what Dallas IT clients were looking for and the type of people they needed. Also, having been out of work myself, I loved putting Dallas IT candidates and consultants to work.

My first position was with a company that had provided consultants for the last Dallas IT project team I was on. The company only had one client and it was my past employer! When they set up my phone voice mail, the pass code they used was 911. I was appalled that they would use that pass code considering what had just happen with September 11. The owner would never tell me what nationality he was, but told me to tell everyone they were an Indian company.

I also later found out that they had consultants that programmed the code of one of the systems I had supported at my former company and had stolen it. They were selling the system to other companies in the same industry! I spoke to the IT Development Manager who was over the systems I had supported and she said that although upper IT management knew this company had stolen their code, they were still doing business with them!

Anyway, there is more. When I started working for this company they only had one client; my past employer! The CEO gave me a list of clients to “show off” to potential clients. I mentioned that they only had one client and he said “I know, but this is what I want you to tell the potential clients.” I told him I would not lie for him or anyone else. I found that he lied to clients, consultants, candidates, and his own employees all the time. He lied to his VP of Marketing, and the VP of Marketing would lie to him and ask me to cover his lies. I told him no way!

I was there for two months before the final straw. Having never been in a sales role in my life, and in a horrible economy, I made my first placement as an account manager. I placed a consultant with a Downtown Dallas company. In violation to our contract, they hired our consultant away. The CEO of our company became so enraged that he threatened to kill the CEO of the new client company for violating the contract! The CEO of the client company was totally blind sided because he was not even aware that his manager had hired our consultant away.

I immediately went to the parking lot, called the client CEO and apologized then went back to my office and packed all my stuff. I decided that I could not work at a company that operated without honesty and integrity and especially a company headed by someone that threatened people’s lives!

Although my first experience with IT Consulting/Recruiting firms was a pretty bad one, I felt like I really found something that I loved to do – find the right fit between Dallas IT Clients and Dallas IT candidates and consultants. I decided that I would find a company to work for that operated with honesty and integrity.

I will share more about what I have found on that search later….

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Job Tips and Job News – Resume vs. Online Profile: What’s the Difference???

June 14, 2010/0 Comments/in job search, Job Seekers, Job Tips/by admin

I was recently asked about the difference between a resume and an online career profile. Is there a difference? Should there be a difference? Are they considered in different ways? What should be included or avoided?

Good question… short answer… YES! They are different.

There are a number of things to consider when creating a professional profile online vs. creating a resume to email or present to a company, or when applying for a specific role.

Here are some thoughts that can help…

When creating a resume for a specific company or position you are pursuing, it’s critical that you tailor it for the specific recipient. Emphasize the experience you’ve had that would be most important to that particular company or position. Although your experience may be very broad, if they don’t very quickly see the direct related experience for the role, it’s unlikely you will be considered further. Using words from their job description, their terminology, and giving special attention to the skills you have that are directly applicable to their requirements is key. The extra effort involved in customizing your resume for each individual application will pay off in a greater chance at a response.

When creating an online profile, whether it be a LinkedIn profile, your personal professional website, a Visual CV, a job board, or any number of other venues online to post your information… it has to appeal to a broader audience. You won’t know who will see it, or what kind of role they have in mind when they’re looking.

Although you may be interested in a variety of opportunities when you are applying, the viewer generally only has one role they are looking to fill. Your online profile should help them understand all your experience and see the fit for multiple roles.

~ An online profile isn’t limited to two printed pages! While it’s usually not a good idea to create a submitted resume that’s more than 2 pages long, you don’t have that kind of restriction with an online profile. You can include much more information, more detail, more accomplishments, more strengths, and more keywords. Keywords are important, as that’s the most likely way they will find you. Include as many keywords as you can think of that someone might use to find someone with your background. With more detail, the likelihood of being found in a search rises, and it gives the viewer a greater chance of finding what they are looking for.

In an online profile, just as in a resume, it’s important that your information is written in short, substantive, sentences and/or bullet points. When someone is scanning your information, short lines will get read, paragraphs will not. It’s important that they grasp your experience quickly and easily, in order to gain their further interest.

~ An online profile can include testimonials! A submitted resume doesn’t generally have the space, and it’s not the best venue to include third party comments. However, an online profile can be a great place to include reference information and comments to “back up” the assertions you make about yourself in your profile. It’s great to express your strengths and accomplishments, it’s even better when someone else confirms them as well.

~ Consistency is key! It’s critically important that a resume you submit to a company, and your online profile agree with each other! Nothing will torpedo your chances for an opportunity than the appearance of an attempt to deceive. Although the resume you present may not give the entire picture of your full responsibilities in a particular position, it should never contradict the more detailed description. If your role was as an Office Manager of a small business, and your responsibilities included accounting, your resume should never make it appear as if your entire role was as an Accountant.

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Integrity in Recruiting
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Tags: resumes, resume writing, job hunt, online candidate resumes, online candidate profiles, job tips.

IT Staffing – 8 Trends Driving IT Job Growth, Salaries

June 12, 2010/0 Comments/in Information Technology, Information Technology Field, Information Technology Organizations, Information Technology Projects, IT, IT Budgets, IT Candidates, IT Consulting, IT Hiring, IT Industry, IT Job Growth, IT Job News, IT Jobs, IT Professionals, IT Projects, IT Spending, IT Staff, IT Staffing, IT talent, IT Workers/by admin

Will job prospects for U.S. IT professionals fare better or worse for the rest of 2010? It’s hard to tell from the latest economic and employment data being released by IT career experts.

Network World — Will job prospects for U.S. IT professionals fare better or worse for the rest of 2010? It’s hard to tell from the latest economic and employment data being released by IT career experts.

Reports issued in the first week of June provide conflicting information about IT hiring, compensation and outsourcing trends. On the plus side, these reports say IT hiring will increase during the second half of 2010, and CIOs are more optimistic about their budgets and staffing levels than they were a year ago. However, IT salaries and benefits are still being squeezed from all sides, and it’s difficult to tell which IT skills are most in demand on a month-to-month basis.

“There’s more volatility in the market than at any point in time since we started tracking IT pay data in 1999,” says David Foote, CEO of Foote Partners, a consulting firm.

As evidence of the volatility, Foote points to the May 2010 U.S. Department of Labor National Employment Report, which showed a net loss of 100 IT-related jobs in May, following a gain of 8,800 jobs in April. Foote has been tracking ups and downs in employment in five key job categories – IT services, computer systems design, data processing, computer/peripheral equipment, and communications equipment – for the past six months.

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ProVisionTech Jobs – Dallas IT Jobs – Dallas Technical Jobs

Integrity in Recruiting
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Tags: IT professionals, IT career, IT hiring, CIOs, IT salaries, IT skills, IT pay, IT services

Get your free report, “5 things you need to know before hiring a Dallas IT Consulting or Dallas IT Staffing company

June 12, 2010/in Dallas IT Consulting, Dallas IT Recruiting, Dallas IT Staffing, Information Technology, IT, Technology, Uncategorized/by admin

Mike Hanes of ProVisionTech reveals practices of local Dallas IT Consulting and Dallas IT Recruiting firms that could be wasting your time and costing you money as a Dallas IT Manager or Dallas IT Director.

Information Technology – 10 Myths about Data Warehousing

June 11, 2010/0 Comments/in Information Technology/by admin

Debunking some common myths about data warehousing to bring the focus back to business

There are several reasons why data warehousing projects are expensive and fail to produce sufficient value for the business. I consider following 10 myths to be the main cause of the problem:

Myth #1 – A data Warehouse can create competitive advantage

Myth #2 – A data Warehouse is required for business intelligence

Myth #3 – Data Warehousing starting point is an enterprise data model

Myth #4 – You need both an Operational Data Store and a Data Warehouse to cover the entire spectrum of business reporting

Myth #5 – Data Warehousing requires an engineering approach

Myth #6 – Data Warehousing fails due to problems with transaction-processing systems

Myth #7 – We can’t predict what questions will be asked from a data warehouse

Myth #8 – Data Warehousing improves decision-making

Myth #9 – Data Warehousing empowers front-line and business staff to do their own analysis

Myth #10 – Data Warehousing reduces overall cost of reporting on business performance and opportunities

I’m sure that this will come as a sacrilege to those who have spent a career building their knowledge and practice of data warehousing. I’ve examined this topic in a lot more detail at A Myth Buster Anthology of Data Warehousing.

Job Tips and Job News – Resumes – Content That Grabs Attention and Builds Interest

June 11, 2010/0 Comments/in job search, Job Seekers, Job Tips, Resume Tips/by admin

Your resume has two main purposes:

1. To represent you and your career in a way that keeps you in the running for a job opportunity when you aren’t there in person. Therefore, it’s important that it gets enough attention that it actually gets read.

2. To build enough interest in the mind of the Hiring Manager that he or she invites you for a job interview. Your resume needs to position you as the uniquely qualified job candidate that can be a hero in their job.

Here’s how you grab attention with a first-rate Career Story. Tell a brief, interesting story that links you directly to the Hiring Manager’s needs.

Use descriptive words that show energy, action, and tell a winning story of a successful person. (Describe yourself as the hero!)

Include skills and experiences that match what the job requirements and qualifications.

In other words, present your career in a way that grabs the Hiring Manager’s attention. If you don’t, you’ve lost them for good.

For example, turn this Career Summary…

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