The Depression just became a recession

Yes that's right folks. I will be starting a new contract coming Monday. It is scheduled for two months but a lot will be determined by the perception of the economy. For me the depression has just slowed down to a recession. I am being called back to the company I worked with last EMC2. It is a relief to have this opportunity. Thanks for the prayers and interest my friends and family have shown.

The Ultimate Job Search Question

I just had my sixth interview while job hunting this go round. I must admit that there are times that I feel I have more experience hunting for a job than some of the interviewers have looking for an employee. Some questions are scary like, 'what is your greatest weakness?' An interviewee would have to have completely lost control of his faculties to answer this from the heart. Most candidates will handle this with a, ' my biggest weakness is that I care too much about my work'. It's not likely an honest answer but it flies well in the interview room.

The Ultimate question is 'what salary are you looking for in this position.' In these economic times Employers are tempted to ask this question and it really defies logic as to what it accomplishes. An employer should be in a better position to determine the appropriate salary than the prospect. It makes you wonder if the employer is looking for a 'blue light special'. The job should really pay 80k but if he can get 3 qualified candidates and the low bid is 60k then the company saves 20k on this position. The problem is that after 6 months of working for the low wage the new employee now has more experience and knows he is making 25% less than his fellow workers. He finds a new job and the company has to go through the hiring exercise all over again and begin training a new employee. In other words a 'blue light special' leads to instability.

Most books on interviewing techniques suggest turning this question back on the employer. Ask what is the salary range the company is offering. A person could simply state he is looking for the going rate. He could also state what his last rate was which would be a factual response. I have talked to one employer who stated that he won't hire someone who backs away from the salary question.

I believe that the appropriate course of action is for salary not to be discussed until the employer has made his selection. Then if a salary can't be agreed upon an employer can move to his second choice.

'If God did not want them fleeced He would not have made them sheep'

I was watching the classic western 'The Magnificent Seven' not too many days ago. Yul Bryner, the bald headed good guy, was conversing with the all time bad guy Eli Wallach. The group of Bandidos led by Wallach were raiding the Village south of the border for food and supplies and oppressing the simple farmers of the village. Wallach was questioning Bryners motive for helping the villagers and tried to convince him they could both profit at the expense of the Village. His most compelling argument was that, 'If God did not want them fleeced He would not have made them sheep'.

I did a double take and rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing this scene correctly. Looking at the faces of the Bandidos I saw the faces of Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barney Franks. Then I noticed that Wallach looked slimmer and taller than I remembered him and quite resembled a very successful neophyte politician.

I am still looking for work and have my doubts that the 'stimulus package' will ever translate into employment for me. On the other hand paying it back will be my responsibility for years to come.

Week 9 of the Job Hunt

New jobless figures were not encouraging as statistics were announced. New Hampshire is now experiencing its highest unemployment since 1994. During the month of January unemployment rose from 4.3 to 5.1 percent. That is the highest one month spike ever.

For me personally the last 2 weeks have been very quiet but as of Wednesday of this week rolled around I received several new prospects. Two are for jobs in New Hampshire and one in Boston. The commute into Boston really does not scare me. I actually enjoy riding the 'T'. In fact Jeannette and I went to Harvard this Wednesday and had lunch there at Bertuccis. She was off from her teaching because of a winter break. With me off we were 'forced' to enjoy ourselves together.

Week 8 of the Job Hunt

Job hunting sort of reminds me of the song from Fiddler on the Roof - matchmaker. The sisters are talking and say, 'She might bring someone wonderful, or handsome, or rich'. In IT work you could be employed in almost any industry like banking, or defense, or construction, or...

I got a call from a recruiter today who said she was representing a Harley Davidson franchise. Had I heard of Harley Davidson? I had to admit I was aquainted with HD. I have some friends who would give their right arm to work for Harley Davidson. I don't own a Harley, but at one time I owned a Honda 350. That of course is a crime to a Harley owner. The franchise was almost two hours from where I live and the salary they were offering did not make that distance seem small.

I couldn't help but to ask if the HD franchise would throw in a company cycle as a perk. We both laughed and then moved on. You never know what the 'matchmaker' will bring.

Networking is essential

On Thursday night I played indoor tennis with a friend and reviewed with him how the jobhunt is going. I needed the exercise and talking about the jobhunt I believe is helpful. I don't know whether my interview on Wednesday was successful or not. I think it went well. I answered all the questions appropriately and I believe the position is a good fit for me.

On Friday I had lunch with some of the boys from my last job at EMC. It was a payoff of sorts. Being from Southern California I am a fan of the LA Lakers. Since EMC is in New Hampshire there is no shortage of Celtic fans. Since the Lakers beat the Celtics last week they bought my lunch. They also mentioned 3 more people were let go from that project last week. At least 2 of these were whom I thought of as superstars. Go figure.

The message here is it helps to talk with people about the job hunt. Someone might have a lead or at least a word of encouragement or they just might buy you lunch. Thanks guys. Go Lakers!!!

How many Do-overs can we afford

The New York Times says that Timothy Geithner will be having a do-over of Americas financial system http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/business/economy/11geithner.html

As I recall that plan was rushed through congress with the notion that something had to be done or our economy would go belly up. Does that sound familiar? It sounds just as familiar as today's newscasts. Now Geithner is talking about 2.5 trillion dollars or more to shore up the banks. Don't worry about the costs because it will include printing money. Shades of Jimmy Carter and the I word

Why are we rushing to spend 900 billion dollars on programs that won't create jobs anytime soon. One estimate is that every job created will cost $300,000. Not a very good return on our tax dollar.

Thats okay though because if it doesn't work we can just have another do-over. What will a do-over stimulus bill cost?

We really don't need this stimulus bill the way it is written. Take another month and find out what creates jobs. Then pare the bill down to a 'measley' 300 billion dollars and we and our children will be better off.

do it right the first time

One of the fun jobs I do is refferee basketball games. As such i try to be absolutely neutral and call them as I see them. I do have my political hot buttons, but I believe that I should support the president of the U.S. and our elected leaders. I have been rooting for President Obama as his term begins to do a good job for the country. As I pay attention to the sell given for the economic plan I am disappointed that the rhetoric is pushing this stimulous plan as a last chance without which we may never recover. It seems like reality is that this bill is fundamentally flawed, and should be pulled back and rewritten as a bill that actually will create jobs without expanding our national debt to enormous proportions. My father used to tell me that 'any job worth doing is worth doing right'.

Week 7 of the Job hunt

My contract supporting information technology ended December 17th. I did enjoy the Christmas holiday. The nojob situation was in the back of my mind as you might expect.

I have heard a great deal of negativity regarding the state of the economy. I can't help but believe the axiom that when your friend loses her job it is a recession but when you lose yours it is a depression.

Since December 17th I have talked to a number of recruiters and had numerous phone interviews. I have also had 3 personal interviews but no grand prize as of this writing. I have another interview this Wednesday.

It is my intention to begin recording some of the experiences I have while going through this process. Hopefully I will not be writing many articles labelled 'jobhunting'

Stimulus plan should be limited

My contract ended and I am looking for work. Even so I do not believe that the current stimulation bill in congress should be hurried through as President Obama is requesting. A bill for almost a trillion dollars in spending should not be rushed through the legislature. The impression I have is that our congressmen don't really know how this bill will actually create jobs.

I have seen reports that suggest that only about 13 cents on the dollar will create jobs. The rest appear to be for pet projects. The extra $25 a week unemployment will not make the difference for me but the fear of paying on that trillion in taxes for years to come is bothersome. It is easy to get into debt and then suffer for years trying to climb out of it.

My vote is for a bill that will truly aim at creating jobs. The bill should be around two to three hundred billion. That still seems like a lot of spending on top of the 700 billion already given to prop up the banks. Nix the rest of the stuff.