Let’s get real about technology employment
There are open executive jobs right now and they go to the visible and accomplished.
Time for me to rant. Yet another reporter tapped me for info regarding the deplorable situation with technology employment. He made the assumption and took the point of view that there are few jobs and companies are not planning any significant hiring for the near term. He quoted national statistics about corporate hiring plans.
As a career coach, I feel a very different part of the elephant. Most of my clients are or soon will be successful West Coast technology executives. They are finding opportunities and most are hearing from recruiters for newly created projects/product lines in already successful companies. It is almost like a switch was thrown three months ago; new opportunities keep showing up. These are not replacement jobs, they are new jobs for new projects. And that is why I am optimistic.
There are jobs. One Seattle client, a Director of product development whose division was shut down, uncovered seven opportunities in two months and he was back to work in three. All the jobs were viable, each very different and on explosive growth tracks with funding to match. He was hired to grow the offerings of the company and he has a hiring plan to double the team within the next ten months. The new IT director he hired has yet to hand in his own hiring plan, but it is expected he will hire at least five people.
Here’s insider’s info on the employment sitch.
IMHO it is getting the execs back to work or working on new and growing projects that is the ultimate solution for the employment disaster. Most of my clients, senior executives, are employed and looking at or being courted for new, unannounced projects. More than that I can not share.
Here’s what I see from my perch on the West Coast. Companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and even PayPal are working on stealth mode projects. They are looking for senior executives in specific fields to build the business/products. Within the next 18 months, as those projects gain traction, new hires at all levels in the tech world will escalate as will any technology-adjacent company.
These projections are not on the employment analysis radar yet because, for the most part, the product plans (hiring plans) are not in place.
Many older companies are retooling their offerings to take advantage of social networking and mobile access to customers. They are ramping up new departments and hiring executives with a demonstrated track record in new products and most significantly, team building. Interviews focus how these executives build and maintain teams, how they recruit top performers and how they keep turnover low.
My guess is I am seeing only the tip of the iceberg. That for every Google or PayPal, there are tens of other companies also in stealth mode. And the ever-nimble mezzanine-level company efforts are backed even more aggressively by savvy investors who see the possibilities of transforming ordinary businesses through mobile features and social networking.
Why, then, are so many technology executives still looking for jobs? Because the bar is very high for these initial spots. Who is being courted? Those people with a highly visible track record; read, personal brand. If you are not in the public eye for your achievements, you won’t be called. If you don’t have a demonstrable track record and significant tenure, you won’t be considered.
That’s a tough mountain to climb, yet absolute proof why career planning and personal branding are critical for capturing the brass ring. Take heart, as these projects come to life, new jobs will be created and new companies will arise to service and provide products ancillary to these currently stealth products and services. You have but to look at FlipBoard for an example to see how an existing hot product such as the iPad can be leveraged by a startup company.
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Sales pitch starts here. Need help creating and promoting your personal brand for job search? Let’s talk to see if coaching maps to your needs. Having trouble networking to get to the right people for your champions? Download my books, Job Search Debugged and Networking Debugged. Both are based on field tested advice used to help my clients achieve their career goals. In the last 3 years, 98% of my clients who took my advice achieved their career goals within six months. That’s not brag, that’s fact.
Seattle readers take note: I am scheduled for a free presentation on career planning and job security on August 17. Advanced sign up is strongly advised to provide data for room and set up.
Branding, career advice, coaching, networking, Uncategorized
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career advice, employment, executive careers, executive jobs, Rita Ashley, Seattle
Themocracy
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by roberta matuson, Rita Ashley. Rita Ashley said: @thejobsguy Here's the other side of the employment sitch: http://bit.ly/awOGbV More optimistic and reality based. [...]
Tom, Your comments are spot on. Thanks for broadening the scope.
Great “rant” Rita!
You haven’t mentioned in your article about the only (retail) industry I know of that wasn’t affected by the recession, that being e-comm. The fast pace of e-comm has caused an explosion of SaaS and good ERP/CRM as well as warehousing software we call WMS and WCS (warehouse control system for product/order movements within the distribution center.) along with many other smaller systems. There are many new warehouse automation projects and thus, there are many new positions for managers, engineers and others within project management.
All recessions bring new life and new opportunities. Its the capitalism way of changing and can be compared to nature’s way of changing seasons.
The only advice I can give is to know that things change, so don’t do or look for or at the same old things. They might not be there and if they are, then may not stay around for very long.