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Does a Long Layoff Make You Damaged Goods?

People who are laid off have reason to fear that with each passing day, the widening gap in their employment history makes them less attractive to potential new employers. No one likes to have a hole in his or her resume. If that hole starts to grow uncomfortably big, are you doomed?

Not really, says Fortune’s career advisor Anne Fisher,  who checked in with several recruiters to get their opinions. As it turns out, when unemployment rises, employers cut potential new hires a break.

“In this market, six months is nothing,” one recruiter tells Fisher. “This is unprecedented. In the dot-com implosion, for example, lots of managers got laid off — but many other industries were still strong, so there was someplace for those people to go.You have to take a long-term view and expect that it may take you a full year to land the job you want.”

Fisher has found some polls to bolster her perception. One says that executives can now be unemployed nine months before it even begins to hurt their marketability. Another says that 10.1 months is how long most senior managers have to job hunt these days. Recruiters tell her is also always a mistake to jump into the wrong job simply out of desperation. That will lead to short stays in jobs, and that will make your resume look even worse.

The special advice for IT employees, of course, is not to fall behind on trends and technologies. It’s especially important in this field to stay up to date in your field, so even if you’re sitting home all day, keep reading those trade journals, industry blogs, and white papers.

Google Profiles as a Job-Hunting Tool

Google’s new profile service could be an important tool for job seekers. Recently unveiled by the Web giant though they’re still being “worked on,” the profiles allow you to present yourself, in your own words and reflecting your own priorities, in Google’s search results.The good news: Your profile shows up on the first page of results. The less good: It shows up at the very bottom of the page.

Placement aside, you should care about this. At a minimum, you can show off your academic and professional credentials by treating the profile like an online resume. Though it’s not really set up to be formatted like a resume, it’s a tool to reinforce the image you’ve tried to present through cover letters, resumes and interviews.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t look up people online nowadays. At the very least, you have to plan for prospective managers to find your profiles on LinkedIn or Facebook, as well as in old news items you may be in, or references to you in the profiles of friends or colleagues. If you’re really smart, you’re tailoring your online presence to be a part of your professional persona, using social networks and a personal Web page to hammer home your message of talent and professionalism.

Also, you can’t ignore the fact Google’s profiles are part of… Google. As they gain traction – and given Google’s sheer presence, I think they will – managers, HR folks and recruiters are sure to scroll down to find the profile for each candidate they vet.

Cheaper Routes to Certifications

EarthWeb’s Eric Geier is well aware – as you likely are as well – that studying and testing for IT certifications can be expensive. Luckily, he offers two great suggestions for getting the study materials you need at a bargain price. His first idea: Join the IEEE Computer Society.

For $28, for a half year, and non-students can join the society only for a half year at $49. This gives you free access to a conglomerate of study resources and networking outlets. You’ll have access to 3,000 distance-learning course modules, where your favorite certifications will probably be included. Course subjects range from Cisco to Java to project management. You also have access to 600 selections from Safari Books Online, Essential Tech, and Business Library. Plus you are given access to 500 books through their e-Learning Campus, provided by Element K. You’ll also get discounts on select conferences and be able to participate on committees.

Geier’s other good idea: Join the Association for Computing Machinery.

Students can become members for as little $19, for an entire year. Professional membership starts at $99, also for a year. All individual members receive full access to over 2,500 online computing and business courses, in multiple languages, and 1,000 virtual labs provided by Element K. Also like the IEEE Computer Society, ACM gives you access to 600 selections from Safari Books Online. The ACM Online Books Program also includes an additional collection of 500 online books from Books24×7.

Geier also points out that it’s worth checking out your local library. You never know what they may have on hand.

Job Hunting Tips for IT Graduates

Folks about to graduate from college must be thinking they have lousy timing. Not only are they competing with everyone else getting their degree, but they have to prove they’ll be a better hire than hundreds – even thousands – of newly unemployed, experienced IT workers. InformationWeek and TechCareers was kind enough to offer some tips.

• Take Advantage of Your Youth: Hiring managers tend to think younger workers are more comfortable with technology. This is the time to use that to your advantage. Companies want to stay ahead of the curve on new technologies, so you should emphasize this strength.
• Describe Your Experience Creatively: Highlight any experience you’ve gained while obtaining your degree. If you don’t have any “real” experience to point to via internships, then discuss what kind of volunteer work you’ve done with various organizations.
• Make Use of Your Contacts: This probably is the most critical part of your job search, so make sure to develop good relationships with professors, on social networks or within any organization that can help you build professional contacts. Developing strong social skills now will help you in job searches throughout your career.

The News: More Layoffs in the Tech Sector

Study: Kansas Ranks First in Technology Growth [Kansas City Business Journal]

Tech Mahindra Faces Bloated Satyam [The Wall Street Journal]

Sony Ericsson Posts Loss, to Cut 2,000 jobs [Forbes.com]

Google’s CEO Predicts Strong Year for Android [NetworkWorld]

Should We Pay Hackers To Find Bugs? [InfoWorld]

Facing Large Loss, Toshiba to Shed 3,900 jobs [The New York Times]

YouTube Launches Movie, TV Section [InformationWeek]

Use Twitter for Job Hunting…Maybe

It’s a big day for Twitter: Oprah has arrived! So get ready for even more Twitter hype. While this social networking phenomenon hasn’t cured cancer yet, a flurry of articles, hype, and cable news personalities has it solving just about every other malady that plagues mankind. I’m not sure I buy into all this noise just yet, but I’m willing to listen. At Forbes, for example, Tara Weiss can fill you in on how to use Twitter to find a job. The article does include a few inspiring success stories, such as this one.

[Kyle Flaherty] left his marketing position in Boston last spring determined to find an in-house public relations job. He tweeted (Twitter lingo for posting a message) about his decision and included a link to his professional blog, where he described the kind of work he was looking for. Within days his tweet was retweeted. That is, an acquaintance forwarded it–to his current boss.

Sounds so simple. The real advice here is simply to use Twitter as yet another way to put yourself in front of people who make hiring decisions. The way you do that is to find them by doing various searches on your industry and even recruiting firms that work in your field and then follow their “tweets.” Respond eloquently when appropriate, and slowly build up your online identity by posting your own intelligent tweets about your industry and hope people start following you. The good news is that all this is rather effortless so it won’t be a major time sink for people already wrapped up in other social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. 
 

That’s what John Johansen did when he decided he wanted to leave Boston for somewhere more affordable. He targeted marketing professionals in Raleigh, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Austin and started following their tweets. When someone in those circles said something very interesting, he responded with an @ message–a public comment. This helped him develop relationships with marketing professionals in those cities. They in turn introduced him to others on Twitter.

Johansen eventually found a job in Austin. Maybe you can make Twitter work for you too. As for Oprah, well, she already has a pretty good job.

Don’t Bargain Basement Yourself

In today’s job market, you might be tempted to offer to work for free or at a reduced salary during a trial period to prove yourself to an employer. Don’t do it, says consultant Edward Navis of Full Spectrum HR in Little Falls, N.J. You’ll simply devalue yourself and set the company up for a pay discrimination suit, he says.

“From a marketing perspective, people look at free things as having no value,” Navis says. “And even if they say yes to reduced pay, they may not see you as worth more at the end of the trial period.”

Regardless of the economy, companies have to stick to the standard of equal pay for equal work and equal qualifications. If you’re a member of a federally or state-protected class based on your disability, race, religion, gender, etc., and the company lets you work for free, or at a reduced rate, you could later file a pay-discrimination case against the employer.

The same theory applies when companies do layoffs and re-hires. “A recent court decision found in favor of a 60-year-old chief financial officer facing a job loss because of tough financial times,” Navis says. “He offered to take a steep pay cut, bringing his salary down to $60,000 annually. His offer was rejected, but he later found out that his replacement, much younger than he, was earning more than that. He filed an age discrimination claim, and things aren’t looking too good for the employer right now.”

– Dona DeZube

Making an Interview Work

Today’s ultracompetitive job market is inducing more candidates to adopt misguided methods to stand out in an interviewer’s mind. The old saw, “You want to stand out for the right reasons,” applies more than ever. Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal provides a useful roundup of tried-and-true interview advice.

A few tactics prone to backfire: Arriving an hour early for an interview (it’s best to arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time); mentioning your own current financial or personal challenges; handing out bound summaries of your past work-related projects.

Other interviewing chestnuts that remain as valid today as 20 years ago:

• Have a firm handshake
• Stay focused on the interviewer
• Exude an upbeat attitude, and never mention personal woes.
• Do your homework on the employer, then show it by relating your background and record with the company’s needs.
• Mention past accomplishments that are relevant to the opportunity, not just responsibilities – just as you did in your customized resume that got you the interview.
• Say nothing about compensation until the employer has made an offer.
• Know what similar positions pay in case you’re pressured to name your price during the interview.
• If you view the job as just a stopgap, don’t let that feeling slip out. You’ll be eliminated from consideration immediately if the interviewer detects, or even suspects, any lack of enthusiasm. (I’ve experienced this personally.)
• Quality-check your follow-up communications with the same care you put into proofreading your resume and cover letter. An error there could put all your effort to waste.
• After an interview and initial thank-you message, wait at least a week before checking on your candidacy.
• Don’t call a recruiter’s cell number even if it’s listed on her business card. Call only the office number.

– Jon Jacobs

No Posting Required

Astute business managers are always looking to add a great employee, even if they don’t have an opening. That’s because managers face business and personnel challenges that can only be remedied by talented people, and job postings often produce a flood of both qualified and unqualified candidates.

The concept of proactively marketing your skills to pique the interest of hiring managers was discussed in a thread created by FM1 on the Dice Discussions board.

It seems FM1 had some success submitting his resume and cover letter to local employers who touted their open door policies toward talented candidates on their Web sites, even when they appeared to have no open jobs. FM1’s initiative resulted in several interviews.

If you decide to take FM1’s approach and cold market your skills, use these tactics to achieve the best return:

1. Contact business managers: While it’s possible that a recruiter or HR rep may recognize your value and pass your resume along to IT, managers know their current and future hiring needs – and how to manipulate their budgets so they can squeeze in an additional hire. If you’re very bold, send your resume and cover letter directly to the CIO or CEO. Executives are often impressed when they are contacted by candidates, and they’ll pass your resume to the appropriate manager, which can result in an interview.
2. Anticipate business challenges: A rare skill set or experience with a respected competitor might be enough to get you an initial meeting. However, a sure fire way to score interviews is to do some homework on the company and its IT department, and then use your cover letter to discuss challenges they face. Secure an interview by describing how you’ll solve the problems.
3. Follow-up: Place at least one or two phone calls to the manager after sending your package, because he or she may not feel an urgent need to respond without an opening to fill. This is ideal an ideal method for employed candidates who want to surreptitiously test the waters. It also provides referral and networking opportunities to unemployed candidates who’d rather make something happen than sit at home waiting for the phone to ring.