Promoting Professional Geekery #28: Help With The Job Search

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Quickly, who reading this is good at the job search?  You know resumes, cover letters, networking?  OK, at least decent?  How about “my job search abilities aren’t as bad as most people I know?”

OK if you fit into any one of these three categories, you’ve got a way to do what we do here – promote the Professional Geek ideal.  In fact, you’ve got a way that’s very valuable, but you may not see it.

A good job search is a skillet.  In fact, it’s a very unique skillet because a lot of people don’t have it.

Ever met people who are good at what they do, but don’t have a job?  Ever met someone who is good at getting work but just never seemed that qualified?  That’s your proof right there that the job search is it’s own, unique skillet.

If you’ve got the job search skills, in fact if you’re just about average, you can help out your fellow geeks by helping them get better at the job search.  Teach them how to do better resumes, to interview, to do cover letters, etc.  Even if you’re only good at one part of the job search, share the knowledge you do have.

There’s also many ways to do it.  You can write up a blog post, do a video, speak at a con, act as a personal counsellor, etc.  Done right, your job search skills can be immortalized for many others – in fact I keep technique write-ups I send to people.

This helps promote professional geekery in one of the most important ways – helping people actually do what they like for a living by teaching them how to find work.  It makes the dream real.

So often the ability to find a job is the only real difference between people making their dreams cone true and not.  It’s a sadly neglected, ill-taught skillet overall, made worse by changing times.  You, those who are good enough to enlighten others, can teach the skills that help dreams come true.

So, take an honest assessment of your job search abilities, and see if you should start being an advisor, reach out to friends, do panels, etc.  You can make a huge difference to current and future progeeks, and make their dreams a reality.

That will light the way for others.

– Steven Savage

3/6/2012: Yahoo Layoffs Coming?

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I’ve been hearing about this story since yesterday: Yahoo is looking at some large layoffs.

Now this won’t surprise anyone because we’ve been waiting for this (while a lesser amount of us have been waiting for them to turn the corner).   Everything I’ve heard suggests a lot of non-tech cuts, dropping some products and lines (which will mean tech cuts) and general structure and focus work.  Considering the hiring of Boston Consulting Group, I’m not surprised.

Takeaways:

  • Duh.
  • This is probably Yahoo’s last chance to get it right.  However they aren’t ditching or selling themselves off, so there’s some plan there, or the vague illusion of one.
  • This may be a slight blow to Silicon Valley, which hasn’t always done well adsorbing layoffs in tough times, but I don’t expect it to be too bad.
  • Yahoo has got to get this right or give up.  Whatever this is, it’s the last chance before just being bought or selling themselves off in pieces.
  • After the layoffs I expect a small uptick in hiring as they replace people they didn’t need to get rid of.  This has the smell of a “more than we need” chance to me.
  • Frankly, I wouldn’t work at Yahoo unless you’re playing contrarian.  I’m not confident enough in their opportunities.
  • Morale at Yahoo has got to be TERRIBLE.

– Steven Savage