career

Career Idea: Training, Certification, And Retention

by

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

In a recent discussion with some people on retaining and training workers, I noted a simple solution to getting people trained and getting them to stay.

“Why not support them in getting certifications?”

My logic is simple

  1. You need to train people.
  2. Training isn’t always fun.
  3. Certifications are seen as valuable to one’s career.
  4. Certifications often require training – and that’s probably more interesting than just some class.
  5. So a company that supports certifications gets people educated, and if those people aren’t big on training, they may like a certification better.
  6. People getting the certification feel valued (and trusted as certifications would make it easier to look for a job).
  7. People will feel confident because in case of a layoff or something they’re still more valuable. It’s insurance.

Imagine a workforce that knows it’s going to get valuable training and certifications? That they’ll have that extra information on their resume or in their job review? Even if a new job may be tempting, why leave a place that recognizes you and helps you improve?

(Besides, the longer you’re there the more loyal you may be.)

I had two companies support me in certifications, and it certainly affected my attitudes towards them – in a postiive way. Someone shelled out the money to get me certified, and both allowed me to get trained on their own time. It’s hard to turn that down, and I stuck with them both untilthe bitter end.

So consider that next time you’re trying to figure out how to get better employee retention, or get people trained, or even boost morale. Guaranteed certifications may be something to ty.

Though I’m still getting my acquaintances to try it out at least they’re listening . . . though maybe you’ll have more luck.

– Steve

Where The Jobs Are

by

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

So something strange has been happening to me and some friends in the job market. People are reaching out to us with great positions. In other states.

Now we’re in Silicon Valley, technical professionals. Sure Silicon Valley has its problems, but reaching out to us to see if, hey, y’now maybe you’d like to leave, seems weird. Like why do recruiters assume we might want to pick up and move cross country?

So I decided a little analysis is in order for you careerists as I’m betting you’re seeing this too.

The Valley Paradox

First up, there’s a bit of a paradox about Silicon Valley. It’s harder to get employed here if you live away, but much easier when you’re here. I know someone who looked for work for months in the Valley, but when they moved here they had a partial offer in two weeks, a contract in four weeks, and an offer at that same company two weeks later. When you’re in the Valley it’s a bit easier to stay in the valley job-wise.

So I’m not sure if anyone is up to leave because coming back would probably be a wee bit harder. Besides I get the impression if anyone is leaving, it’s permanent, and that means giving up a lot.

But people are certainly reaching the hell out to here, which makes sense. If you’ve got time at one of the big names, or experience in the right industries, you’re valuable. I mean who’s going to turn down hiring someone who was at Apple or Google – even as a contractor.

Which leads to one of my first realizations of these Valley Raiders:

A Silicon Valley Hire Is Valuable

For all those recruiters wondering if I’d like to swap Sunny California for, say, Colorado, what have they got to loose?

Getting someone from Silicon Valley is pure gold for a recruiter. Who’s going to turn them down? Who’s going to say no? Who’s not going to offer them a lot of money? Not only is it assumed such a hire is good, much like hiring someone with a useful certification, hiring someone from Silicon Valley insulates a recruiter from blame because everyone assumes that hire was probably a good idea.

(Or in short, if the Silicon Valley hire fails, no one blames the HR person).

So it’s probably worth spamming people with leads.

Next, are people trying to leave the Valley? Apparently, yes.

Yeah, Some Of Us Are Trying To Go

Silicon Valley has its problems. I won’t lie, I’ve written about the paradoxes before. Its crowded, its pricey, and if you’re not up to ply the career game here it’s not for you.  You have to have a plan to live here.

So it won’t surprise people that Silicon Valley is showing more “outbound” job searches lately.  More people here are at least exploring options, so if you’re a recruiter, why wouldn’t you take a few seconds to send a Valley candidate something else?  You might hit gold – and that gold is looking to mine itself.

OK, that metaphor sucked, so let’s distract from that by looking where recruiters are trying to send we Valley folk.

Where The Leads Are

Here’s the states I and my friend keep getting opportunities in – and why.

New Jersey

Yeah, I’m not exactly up for moving to New Jersey, but it’s a pretty decent place and it doesn’t deserve a lot of the jokes aimed at it. It has bad areas but also great ones, is conveniently located, and produced John Stewart. It’ll be better when they get rid of Chris CHristie, though he’s working hard to get rid of himself.

The unemployment rate is about 4.8%,kind of middling. (thanks BLS – http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm). I can see that putting a bit of pressure on recruiting, because . . .

It’s the 8th largest state economy in the US. Yes, little New Jersey has a GDP the size of Sweden. Suddenyl not a state to laugh at anymore is it? (Thanks Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP)

I also noticed that the pay rates I get offered are competitive with Silicon Valley.  Yeah people are willing to pay Silicon Valley rates in New Jersey.

So short form here, I think recruiters trying to staff in NJ are smart hitting up the Valley. There’s probably a need for talent, its got a big economy, and some smart people are willing to toss around a lot of cash to make it work.

(That also means that NJ might be a good target if, say, you want to move and find work but Silicon Valley and other spots aren’t your bag)

Colorado

Colorado isn’t exactly a state I’ve considered moving to. I mean I’m sure it’s nice and all, but it’s not my thing. But I and friends keep hearing from them, and when you look at the numbers it makes sense.

First, Colorado has a 3.5 unemployment rate. That’s tight, they need people.

Second, it’s the 18th largest economy of the states. Not huge, but hey it’s Algeria.

Third, it’s a nice state in general. There’s cities like Denver, lovely areas, natural resources.  Colorado’s advantages remind me of some pitches I heard from Scottish recruiting companies – you get lovely land and great urban areas.  I can see the appeal.

Fourth, it sounds like it’s economy has gotten diversified and is expanding its footprint.  Colorado had its technical players once, and it sounds like they want to do it again.

When you analyze it Colorado is probably a pretty nice place to go if you want nature, a good economy, and tech and culture without the crowding.

I’m starting to notice.

Texas

Well when you get leads from Texas that’s pretty damned obvious. Texas is working to grow it’s tech sector, has decent employment, is the second largest economy after California, and you don’t get snow. Plenty of companies have offices or are starting them there, a few companies are moving there.

Now I’m not one that buys the Texas economic miracle – from infrastructure issues to dependency on fossil fuels, I’ll stick with California, thanks. I don’t trust the politics nor the long-term potential.  But I get why people think I may want to move there – growth, space, and of course a hell of a lot cheaper.

It’s also got medium-level unemployment, and the second largest economy in the US – roughly equal to one Canada.  I suspect Texas politicians may know the fossil fuel industry has problems and want to diversify.

So yeah, I think we have a picture of the recruiters bugging me and my friends.

Why People Are Targeting Silicon Valley Recruits

What did I find just traipsing through these offers? That some of these recruiters know what they’re doing. They’re figuring “why not” and targeting jobs with areas that have appeal – the pay and opportunities of NJ, the many options of Colorado, the growth in Texas. When I started this analysis I sort of wondered – now I don’t.

As you can see, some of these folks aren’t random – they know what they’re appealing to. It doesn’t hurt to wing off a few options to Silicon Valley people in case

But this also means something more for you, my geeky job seeker.

A lot of us love the Valley. A lot of us are’t leaving – though that’s not a mindset everyone shares. But if any of these places appeal to you, if some of the other geek areas aren’t your bag, go take a look.

Ask your friends what recruiters are approaching them, draw up a picture – like the one above – and see if anything comes out. You might just find your next job and a great new place to live.

And you can always sell the recruiter on the fact that hey, you’re willing to move.

Oh, but you still want that insane pay rate.

  • Steve

 

Reflections On Becoming A Consultant

by

So as many of you know, round about last year I decided to give the consulting thing a go – possibly permanent.  I’d gotten tired of turnovers, layoffs, transformations, reorgs, politics, etc.  I took a 5% pay cut – and a return to 40 hour weeks – and gave it a shot.

The end result is I actually liked it.  Now let me note that I’m not giving up being a permanent employee (or my own business if anything works out).  My take was that if any contract resulted in an offer and I figure it’d work out since I’d been at the place awhile, I’d take it.  And, of course, if I stay a contractor who knows where I’ll be business-wise.

(I’d say of the places I’ve contracted at over the last 20 years, about one out of 4 were “worth making permanent” – they were all good, but some didn’t have the right opportunities).

But, still, for now and the foreseeable future I’m doing the contracting thing.  And there’s a lot to share.

Here’s what I’ve experienced with my shift to going contractor.

Medical Benefits: Not as big a pain in the backside as you’d think – many placement companies provide them, if only medical.  The big issue may be jumping between companies, so you’l need to stay on top of this, occasionally do short-time COBRA, or just go for your own.  It’s not horrible, but it’s a bit of work, and Obamacare makes it easier for many.

Other Benefits: Many contracting companies that focus on professionals offer people on longer-term assignments some pretty nice deals.  You may just have to bounce that 401K around (have your own investment plan)

Pay: Here’s where it gets interesting.  As a contractor I get paid hourly, and tend to work around 40 hours a week.  I also don’t get bonuses or stock usually.  But I found compared to being a regular employee I get an enormous amount of time back -and when that overtime comes in its pretty impressive.  Technically I’m making more per hour as a consultant considering that unpaid overtime of other jobs (stock and bonuses included)

Working With The Companies: If you’re selective, you’ll find most contracting companies you go with are good – and there’s a lost of god ones, especially in IT.  Most people are pretty chill, and if you do it right you can line up multiple assignments in a row – though be careful with time of year.  Speaking of . . .

Timing Is Everything: Openings are cycler, which can be a pain.  I had to switch companies due to work availability as my last contract ended before Thanksgiving.  My new and my old company were both awesome, fortunately.  However you need to know cycles in your industry.  Also have some liquid cash around for having a few weeks off here and there.

Train Yourself: One thing you may not get is training support and reimbursement, so that’s up to little old you to do.  That can be a pretty big chunk of change.  However . . .

Rates Can Be Generous If You’re Smart: Right now I’m making a decent wage for a good job, but you have to be smart and not get lowballed.  If you’re skilled and smart, you can break the average, and there is room for negotiation.  I’ve interviewed for some seriously crazy hourly amounts.

You Have To Have a Pitch: A good consultant has to know how to pitch themselves.  If you’re not going to do that it might not be for you – unless you get a really good representative.

People Treat You As Competent: One thing I’ve noticed over my years of contracting is that people usually give contractors more of a benefit of a doubt than employees.  This isn’t true of everyone, but I find it’s true more often than not.  For some people this can be very refreshing if, say, they had a bad layoff.

It Is a Career: A lot of people in Silicon Valley have a consulting phase of life, and some people will make it their career.  You can do this all/most of your career – if you plan.  People eve respect it.

It Can Help In Retirement: If you’ve been a consultant, then it’s a great retirement plan.  You can work smaller projects, intermittently, etc.  If you get good at it, you’ve got something to use into old age – I meet people consulting in their 70’s (and raking in a nice wad of cash)

It’s A Bit Of A Pain On A Resume: As you may have many short assignments this gets tough.  I keep a history of resumes, and put the most detail on the latest.

That’s my experience.  Hope it gives you some ideas!

  • Steve