Focusing your efforts on jobs in growing industries and demonstrating how your work has generated revenue are just two simple ways to distinguish yourself from the rest of the job seekers competing for positions in a down economy.
CIO — With the U.S. economy inching closer to a recession, the job market is changing dramatically. Competition for jobs is heating up as an increasing number of skilled professionals, laid off from their companies, flood the market. Firms are reconsidering their hiring plans as they wait for the softening economy to firm up. And while the Internet has made it easier than ever for job seekers to post their resumes, that convenience has made it harder for candidates to stand out. Even the basics of a job search—resumes, cover letters, interviews and negotiations—have changed as a result of the economy. It's no longer an employee's market, and job seekers have to adapt accordingly—sometimes in radical ways that benefit employers more than job seekers.
If you're tired of struggling to find a job and don't want an economic slowdown to hurt your chances of landing a new one, follow the best practices outlined in this story for conducting a job search when times are tight.
MORE ON JOB SEARCHES
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How to Create and Execute an Employer-Centric Job Search Strategy
Searching the Hidden Job Market for Opportunities
Signs Your Job Search Isn't Working and Ways to Improve It
1. Forget the "shotgun" job search method.
Many people still use the "shotgun" method for conducting a job search. They read the Sunday job ads; they submit a standard resume to as many job boards as they can find; they call on a few friends. Then they submit their standard resume to either a handful of opportunities each week, or they submit to dozens of jobs with the same resume as long as the position sounds remotely interesting.
"As job seekers become more fearful of the economy, they fall back on the shotgun method because it feels like they're out there working it," says Phil Rosenberg, former division director of Robert Half International who's now CEO and founder of reCareered, a career counseling and resume writing firm.
The problem with the shotgun method is that it does not work, especially in a job market where employers have the pick of the litter. In fact, it does more harm than good. Recruiters are not likely to want to help you because you have given all potential hiring firms free access to your information, which negates the value they provide to their clients. Second, you commoditize yourself: By posting your resume everywhere, you become indistinguishable from a plethora of job seekers with similar skills. Consequently, hiring firms can immediately negotiate on price, driving your salary down or out. What's more, when you try to be all things to all prospective employers by sending a standard resume to everyone, you end up being nothing to no one. Your resume won't get noticed because it doesn't stand out.
2. Start with a plan to find the right company first and the job second.
What the shotgun method lacks—and what every job seeker needs—is a specific idea of the job they want and a plan on how to get it. Yet few job seekers start with these ideas since both require thought and time. Pressed to quickly find a new source of income, most job seekers don't feel they can afford the time needed to create a big-picture strategy; they simply want to apply to as many positions as quickly as possible. They feel they need to act, not sit and think.
That mentality is born of shortsighted fear. It's not the mentality of a long-term, solutions-oriented leader. Keep in mind that hiring managers want leaders with demonstrated success in finding creative solutions to difficult problems. Business plans, project plans, budgets and presentations all take time to research and develop. So does differentiating your job search. By taking the time to zero in on a specific career goal and to plan an effective job search, you demonstrate to hiring managers your clarity and ability to manage projects. It's a strategy that's worked well for me. One of my own recent interviewers commented, "So very few candidates truly understand what they really want that it is an eye-opening 'ah-hah, this guy is different' moment when someone can confidently communicate that to (us)."
The amount of time this planning requires varies by person, but it can range from as little as a few minutes for job seekers who have already committed to specific industries and geographies to a few days for those who are less certain of their goals. Since I was originally looking to change industries, I spent more than two weeks researching the leading firms in the industry.
For information on how to create and manage a job search project plan see my blog entry on the topic, Using Project Planning Skills in a Job Search.
3. Focus on growth industries and specializations.
Picking an industry that is still growing or is predicted to grow during these difficult economic times increases your chances of landing a new job and decreases your chances of getting laid off again.
Most of the job search engines, career sites and economists agree that the top industries for 2008 include...
Read the views of online Certification Experts, which provide the real questions and correct answer and explanation for the students / professionals who are seeking or enhancing their level of expertise. more at certkingdom.com
July 14, 2011
Microsoft COO Goes on Competitor-Bashing Spree
For his annual keynote at the Microsoft Wordwide Partner Conference, taking place this week in Los Angeles, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner wasted little time challenging Microsoft's many competitors. He flouted the supposed weaknesses of Cisco, IBM, Google, Oracle and others, letting attendees know that Microsoft is gunning for these companies' business.
With VMware (VMW), he referred to something he called the "VMware tax," noting that Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software offers the ability to run more virtual machines, after the first six, at no additional cost. "We caught VMware flat-footed because of the economics of the cloud," he said. "The more VMs you add, the more you save."
This is not the first year that Turner has bashed competitors. Last year at WPC, Turner mocked Apple (AAPL) for its problems with the then recently released iPhone 4, calling it Apple's Vista, referring to Microsoft's own less-than-enthusiastically received operating system.
Apple was not spared Turner 's mockery this year either. Comparing Apple's approach to its operating systems with Microsoft's, Turned mused that "your guess is as good as mine as to when [Apple will merge] the iOS and MacOS." Windows 8, in contrast, will be a single OS that will bridge a wide range of different devices, he noted.
Turner also took apparent delight in displaying photos of an unnamed authorized Apple reseller store in Latin America that was selling Apple desktops and Apple laptops running Windows 7. "That should tell you a lot about having a great OS."
Some of Turner's jibes were more enthusiastic than coherent. "It is so good to have something to compete with Salesforce.com (CRM) head-to-head," Turner trumpeted, referring to Microsoft's Dynamics CRM Online, which has gone live in direct competition with Salesforce.com's offerings. "Now, we have this humongous pacifier to stick in the mouth of [Salesforce.com CEO] Marc Benioff."
Not all of Turner's talk was bluster. He also took the opportunity to provide a eulogy for Microsoft products that the company hopes its users will upgrade, namely Windows XP, Office 2003 and Internet Explorer 6. "Those products deserve a standing ovation. They have been so good to so many people. But you know what? They are dead. End-of-life is 2014," Turner said.
These widely used products define what Microsoft is for far too many people, he added. "The reality is that is not what we are at all. You can't even begin to get someone's mind around Lync and SharePoint and the cloud until we get these old applications remediated and moved forward," he said.
Turner also outlined the strategy partners should take to help get their customers onto the Microsoft Azure cloud. Microsoft's Azure service has already collected 40,000 customers across 41 countries, although this is a small percentage of the customers Microsoft would like to have using this service. He explained that the two vital pieces of software that every organizations should have to get cloud ready is Microsoft System Center and Microsoft Active Directory.
"When they want they want to go to the cloud, these two assets will make that possible," he said. "If they are not quite ready to go to cloud, it doesn't matter. We'll take them when they are ready."
With VMware (VMW), he referred to something he called the "VMware tax," noting that Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software offers the ability to run more virtual machines, after the first six, at no additional cost. "We caught VMware flat-footed because of the economics of the cloud," he said. "The more VMs you add, the more you save."
This is not the first year that Turner has bashed competitors. Last year at WPC, Turner mocked Apple (AAPL) for its problems with the then recently released iPhone 4, calling it Apple's Vista, referring to Microsoft's own less-than-enthusiastically received operating system.
Apple was not spared Turner 's mockery this year either. Comparing Apple's approach to its operating systems with Microsoft's, Turned mused that "your guess is as good as mine as to when [Apple will merge] the iOS and MacOS." Windows 8, in contrast, will be a single OS that will bridge a wide range of different devices, he noted.
Turner also took apparent delight in displaying photos of an unnamed authorized Apple reseller store in Latin America that was selling Apple desktops and Apple laptops running Windows 7. "That should tell you a lot about having a great OS."
Some of Turner's jibes were more enthusiastic than coherent. "It is so good to have something to compete with Salesforce.com (CRM) head-to-head," Turner trumpeted, referring to Microsoft's Dynamics CRM Online, which has gone live in direct competition with Salesforce.com's offerings. "Now, we have this humongous pacifier to stick in the mouth of [Salesforce.com CEO] Marc Benioff."
Not all of Turner's talk was bluster. He also took the opportunity to provide a eulogy for Microsoft products that the company hopes its users will upgrade, namely Windows XP, Office 2003 and Internet Explorer 6. "Those products deserve a standing ovation. They have been so good to so many people. But you know what? They are dead. End-of-life is 2014," Turner said.
These widely used products define what Microsoft is for far too many people, he added. "The reality is that is not what we are at all. You can't even begin to get someone's mind around Lync and SharePoint and the cloud until we get these old applications remediated and moved forward," he said.
Turner also outlined the strategy partners should take to help get their customers onto the Microsoft Azure cloud. Microsoft's Azure service has already collected 40,000 customers across 41 countries, although this is a small percentage of the customers Microsoft would like to have using this service. He explained that the two vital pieces of software that every organizations should have to get cloud ready is Microsoft System Center and Microsoft Active Directory.
"When they want they want to go to the cloud, these two assets will make that possible," he said. "If they are not quite ready to go to cloud, it doesn't matter. We'll take them when they are ready."
July 13, 2011
8 hot features in Windows 8
The rumor mill is in high gear as people speculate about new features in Microsoft's latest version of Windows. Here's a compilation of the latest leaks, rumors and previews.
Microsoft recently allowed select OEM partners to download updated preview builds of Windows 8. Since then, there have been several leaked images of supposedly new features that you might see in the next version of Windows when it launches (perhaps in early 2012). And Microsoft showed off some features in a preview last week. Here we have compiled the most interesting ones. (Watch a slideshow version.)
First look at Windows 8
1. Windows Phone 7's theme and UI
Last week, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 8 will have a tiles-based interface. Called Immersive, this GUI is meant to be used in full-screen mode, and is probably targeted at tablets running Windows 8. Source.
2. Ribbon User Interface in Explorer
It looks like Microsoft is taking the Ribbon GUI that they introduced in Office 2007, and gradually extended to their other software products including Windows Live Essentials 2011 and Windows 8. So expect a Ribbonized Explorer. Source.
3. Cloud Integration
The Windows 8 Explorer interface suggests it will access Microsoft's cloud services, possibly SkyDrive and Windows Live Mesh. SkyDrive is an online storage space that you can put your files in, and Mesh lets you sync your other Windows computers and mobile devices remotely. Both are already available by installing Windows Live Essentials 2011 onto Windows 7 or Vista. Source.
4. Windows Live Integration
Along with being more wedded to Microsoft's cloud services, the Windows 8 preview suggests that you'll be able to use your Windows Live (or Hotmail) account to log into your Windows 8 computer. The profile image of your Windows Live user profile would then appear to the far right of the system tray. If you want to experience how this might work, this unofficial, user-created app mimics this feature for Windows 7. Source.
5. Built-In PDF Reader
Microsoft may include the capability for Windows 8 to load and display PDFs, with its own PDF reader they're calling Modern Reader. So there will be no more need to download and install Adobe Reader or its speedier competitor Foxit Reader. The user interface and look of Modern Reader is full-on Metro. Source.
6. ISO Mounting
It looks like you'll be able to mount an ISO file to Windows 8 and access its contents as though it is a data CD or DVD drive. Having this functionality in prior versions of Windows has been available only as a third-party program, such as Virtual CloneDrive or Daemon Tools. Source.
7. File Download Verification
First implemented into Internet Explorer, it looks like Microsoft may be expanding its SmartScreen filter feature throughout the Windows 8 ecosystem. So when you try to download a file, SmartScreen will kick in and evaluate whether the source URL is known to distribute malware. Source.
8. Aero Auto-Colorization
Here's something that doesn't address the critical nuts-and-bolts of Windows 8, but could be fun: Aero can be set to automatically change the colors of your Windows theme based on the primary colors of a desktop wallpaper image you use. The result could be harmonious or awful, of course. This is one of those tinker-around-with toys. There's already a program that does the same thing for Windows 7 called Aura. Source.
8 more rumored features of Windows 8
The following have been publicly announced, reported or heavily rumored:
1. App Store: It seems like every company has or is about to launch an app store, so it should come as no surprise that we're probably going to see one in Windows 8. There has been debate for months whether screenshots that have been leaked are fake.
2. ARM Processor Support: Indicating Microsoft is probably looking to position Windows 8 for tablet use as well, the company confirmed the OS will support ARM, the processor used mostly in embedded systems and mobile devices.
3. Factory Settings Restore: If your Windows computer has been hit with Trojans, worms or viruses, Windows 8 could have an option to restore it to its "factory settings" -- like the daisy-fresh way it worked when you first started it up. This is supposed to be faster to run than using the restore method that comes with most OEM computers.
4. History Vault: Windows' long-time "restore to a given point in time" function will be renamed History Vault and become like OS X's Time Machine. It will be a more robust tool that takes a "snapshot" copy of the entire contents of your Windows 8 computer's hard drive and then lets you easily restore things to that prior system state.
5. Instant-On and Improved Power Settings: There have always been minor to annoying power setting issues with Windows. Rumors of near instant-on and better efforts to save on power consumption would fit into Microsoft's goal to make Windows 8 more tablet-friendly.
6. Internet Explorer 10: Yep, Microsoft only recently launched IE 9 and has yet to release a preview of its follow-up. It's probably a safe bet IE 10 will be in Windows 8 when the OS launches.
7. Multi-Touch Interface Support: Another sign that Microsoft likely wants to make Windows 8 more appealing for tablets is rumored support for multi-touch interfaces. We can probably assume that the aforementioned Immersive UI is being developed to work ideally with a multi-touch screen. (In fact, Microsoft did confirm multi-touch capabilities in a preview late last week.)
8. Really Fast Install: Supposedly, installing Windows 8 will take up less than half the time it does with Windows 7.
Microsoft recently allowed select OEM partners to download updated preview builds of Windows 8. Since then, there have been several leaked images of supposedly new features that you might see in the next version of Windows when it launches (perhaps in early 2012). And Microsoft showed off some features in a preview last week. Here we have compiled the most interesting ones. (Watch a slideshow version.)
First look at Windows 8
1. Windows Phone 7's theme and UI
Last week, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 8 will have a tiles-based interface. Called Immersive, this GUI is meant to be used in full-screen mode, and is probably targeted at tablets running Windows 8. Source.
2. Ribbon User Interface in Explorer
It looks like Microsoft is taking the Ribbon GUI that they introduced in Office 2007, and gradually extended to their other software products including Windows Live Essentials 2011 and Windows 8. So expect a Ribbonized Explorer. Source.
3. Cloud Integration
The Windows 8 Explorer interface suggests it will access Microsoft's cloud services, possibly SkyDrive and Windows Live Mesh. SkyDrive is an online storage space that you can put your files in, and Mesh lets you sync your other Windows computers and mobile devices remotely. Both are already available by installing Windows Live Essentials 2011 onto Windows 7 or Vista. Source.
4. Windows Live Integration
Along with being more wedded to Microsoft's cloud services, the Windows 8 preview suggests that you'll be able to use your Windows Live (or Hotmail) account to log into your Windows 8 computer. The profile image of your Windows Live user profile would then appear to the far right of the system tray. If you want to experience how this might work, this unofficial, user-created app mimics this feature for Windows 7. Source.
5. Built-In PDF Reader
Microsoft may include the capability for Windows 8 to load and display PDFs, with its own PDF reader they're calling Modern Reader. So there will be no more need to download and install Adobe Reader or its speedier competitor Foxit Reader. The user interface and look of Modern Reader is full-on Metro. Source.
6. ISO Mounting
It looks like you'll be able to mount an ISO file to Windows 8 and access its contents as though it is a data CD or DVD drive. Having this functionality in prior versions of Windows has been available only as a third-party program, such as Virtual CloneDrive or Daemon Tools. Source.
7. File Download Verification
First implemented into Internet Explorer, it looks like Microsoft may be expanding its SmartScreen filter feature throughout the Windows 8 ecosystem. So when you try to download a file, SmartScreen will kick in and evaluate whether the source URL is known to distribute malware. Source.
8. Aero Auto-Colorization
Here's something that doesn't address the critical nuts-and-bolts of Windows 8, but could be fun: Aero can be set to automatically change the colors of your Windows theme based on the primary colors of a desktop wallpaper image you use. The result could be harmonious or awful, of course. This is one of those tinker-around-with toys. There's already a program that does the same thing for Windows 7 called Aura. Source.
8 more rumored features of Windows 8
The following have been publicly announced, reported or heavily rumored:
1. App Store: It seems like every company has or is about to launch an app store, so it should come as no surprise that we're probably going to see one in Windows 8. There has been debate for months whether screenshots that have been leaked are fake.
2. ARM Processor Support: Indicating Microsoft is probably looking to position Windows 8 for tablet use as well, the company confirmed the OS will support ARM, the processor used mostly in embedded systems and mobile devices.
3. Factory Settings Restore: If your Windows computer has been hit with Trojans, worms or viruses, Windows 8 could have an option to restore it to its "factory settings" -- like the daisy-fresh way it worked when you first started it up. This is supposed to be faster to run than using the restore method that comes with most OEM computers.
4. History Vault: Windows' long-time "restore to a given point in time" function will be renamed History Vault and become like OS X's Time Machine. It will be a more robust tool that takes a "snapshot" copy of the entire contents of your Windows 8 computer's hard drive and then lets you easily restore things to that prior system state.
5. Instant-On and Improved Power Settings: There have always been minor to annoying power setting issues with Windows. Rumors of near instant-on and better efforts to save on power consumption would fit into Microsoft's goal to make Windows 8 more tablet-friendly.
6. Internet Explorer 10: Yep, Microsoft only recently launched IE 9 and has yet to release a preview of its follow-up. It's probably a safe bet IE 10 will be in Windows 8 when the OS launches.
7. Multi-Touch Interface Support: Another sign that Microsoft likely wants to make Windows 8 more appealing for tablets is rumored support for multi-touch interfaces. We can probably assume that the aforementioned Immersive UI is being developed to work ideally with a multi-touch screen. (In fact, Microsoft did confirm multi-touch capabilities in a preview late last week.)
8. Really Fast Install: Supposedly, installing Windows 8 will take up less than half the time it does with Windows 7.
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