12.7.2003

It's always the economy, isn't it?

So Teal and I have been debating whether or not politicians can really dork with the economy or not. I said no, they can posture and pout and pontificate, but they can never really destroy it. Like those obnoxious tamarind (?) trees in Denver, I think they can cut it way back, but it sprouts up with even greater vigor within months. Teal says yes, politicians can drive it into the ground. And that they have a bigger influence than I give them credit for. OK, well, here's an article from the New York Times that may or may not bolster either of our positions. Read it yourself and see what you think.

This is really funny; what, me worry?

Remember that big dot com boom? Or, should I say, dot BOMB bust? But hearken back to 1998, when entrepreneurial optimism knew no bounds and people were dumping good money into things like boo.com. Or Flooz. The offshore outsourcing trend puts me in mind of that. Here's an article on it... and an excerpt from the article:
"But it's not all a matter of cheap labor and big bonus checks for the IT managers who send the work offshore. That's because it doesn't always work. Gartner, the major analyst firm, reports that an estimated 50 percent of all outsourcing jobs fail. That failure rate is even harder to swallow when you factor in the public and political backlash against offshoring today. In the late 1990's, when IT was the hottest gig around and there were high-paying jobs to spare, there wasn't as much angst and frustration about the growing number of jobs that were being sent to India and Russia. Then the dot-com bubble burst, the roaring economy collapsed and people started to notice, and resent, the jobs that were no longer here for the taking."
- Sharon Gaudin, Choosing the Right Country for IT Offshoring
I have personally witnessed this. Gaudin is correct, it fails at least 50% of the time. I might even guess that the figure is higher, but companies don't want to admit that they were greedy and wrong. You don't make these decisions based solely on money; you make staffing decisions based on skills and cultural fit. But people never learn. That's why some companies have made a big show of getting rid of the offshore consultants and "making concessions" towards bringing jobs back to the U.S. My hunch is that they were probably going to anyway; they just wanted to get a little P.R. out of the maneuver.

Things are getting better in the job market?

I think so. Take a look at this article from earthweb.com about the state of the job market. It's quite optimistic. However, one crucial paragraph popped out at me - it's about the quality of the resumes that recruiters are getting. People - you've got a resume template here, it's FREE, it's one that recruiters love, and other boards have even stolen and rebranded with their own logos. The instructions are pretty clear (and there are pictures); if they're not clear enough, we're here to provide hints and tips. The feedback Fairies hear when they use this resume format is, "What a great resume you have" and "Gee, I wish everyone did their resume like yours". Make that recruiter's job easy! Use the Job Fairy resume template, if you aren't already. Also, the article talks a little about experience and slightly softer skills being a factor. So true. Networking helps, but the problem with networking alone is that it's limited, and there has to be an opening there for you already. Making your presence known on the job boards is a strategy that can pay off for you; recruiters may be looking for someone to fill an unadvertised slot - and you have all the right keywords in your resume. Post it, and they will call.

Warning: Your 13 week unemployment extensions are about to expire