Hiring Outlook

We just concluded a survey here on TheCanned.com about job seeker priorities. As you might expect, the priorities reflect the times.

If I had asked the average job seeker what he was looking for two years ago, I bet the top answer would have been either more money or more prestige. These days, prestige has fallen off the map. Only 3 percent of our 275 respondents listed “prestige” as the most important factor in their job search. A cool-headed 15 percent said professional development which, given the times, is perhaps the best tactical move.

Ringing in at No. 1 with a 15 percent margin of victory: stability. Coupled with 22 percent of the voting pool who said I’ll take anything!, this survey paints a desperate picture.

But what does it mean to chase a “stable” job in such unstable times? Aside from working for the federal government, stability is tough to pin down. The Treasury is hiring, and I’d label that department stable. From there on out it gets murky. Perhaps, after all, the best indication of a company’s stability is whether or not they are continuing to hire. If this is true, it is redundant for jobseekers to chase stability.

Instead, try thinking two moves in advance. Of course paying your bills comes first. But after that, try looking for positions that will set you up for future career growth. You’re probably not going to get rich during the next year. But given the opportunity to develop professionally, you can be first in queue when the market picks up.

Compensation and prestige still matter; they just matter as a potentiality rather than as an immediate reality.

When the housing bubble burst, it took the economy down with it. Housing prices plummeted, investors got hosed, banks went under and jobs got cut. But you already know this.

It may surprise you to hear that the mortgage industry is adding headcount again. Mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve been since the 70s, which is starting to spur activity. According to a recent Bloomberg article, however, the industry is ill-equipped to process the $3.1 trillion in mortgages that are due to course through the system.

Banks and brokers shed so many jobs last fall that they are understaffed. Bloomberg claims Bank of America just added 5,000 to the ranks. Nobody else seems to back up the story, but it makes sense. Community lenders didn’t fire so many people, so they are less likely to be adding people. National banks and thrifts, on the other hand, are running lean.

If you can get past the irony and the bitter taste in your mouth, retail lending might be a a decent industry to find a job.

The news media industry is changing. Long gone are the days when ratings and earnings weren’t required and massive staffs of old hawks were employed to create 30 minutes of perfected, unbiased fact. Here to stay are the days of digital journalists, predators (producer/editors) and one-man bands (a correspondent who can write, shoot, edit and be on camera).

Rising costs and diminishing ad revenue have forced the industry to change its model, but this doesn’t mean that the flashing sign next to the news studio is reading “no access.”

There is no question that the media industry has always been a difficult market to break into, and with the current job market, you might think it would be a bad time to try and get in. But, while the industry has been shedding many of its tenured employees, they have actually been adding less-experienced, entry-level type personnel. Plus, with less employees around to produce the same amount of airtime, more is being asked of everyone on board.

So what do you need to know to help you get your foot in the door?

First and foremost, be prepared to start with freelance work. Media companies, specifically production-based companies, are notorious for having their entry-level employees start on a temporary basis. It is partly a rite of passage and partly that financial costs have outgrown ad revenue (specifically for network news). But this shouldn’t be viewed as a total negative. Most freelance work has a specific end date; you will know if you are going to be promoted or canned. While this may seem daunting, it will give you a set schedule of promotion. Work your ass off for six months and you will be rewarded. Read the rest of this entry »

by Ben Deacon, guest author

Having just dusted myself off the scrap heap of unemployment last week, one would think that my new government job wouldn’t allow me the time to write a missive for TheCanned.com. It’s exactly that kind of thinking that is holding you back from landing a job in Uncle Sam’s extended family.

Today is St. Patty’s Day in Boston, a county holiday, and I spent my morning soaking at the Chinatown YMCA and listening to Annie Lennox’s Walking On Broken Glass on my iPod. These ideas came to me around minute 30 in the jacoozi.

The trick to landing a job in government is talking to people in government. Most open jobs are not advertised because there are people on the inside waiting to poach. A best practice for landing a government job is to bug the hell out of any of your friends who work in government. Call them every other day and say things like “I can’t believe that earmark is going to make it through committee. That garbage wouldn’t fly on my watch.” Government people love to hang out with each other so invite yourself out for a night of PBR’s. In short, become the insider.

Jobs can seemingly open up at random so be persistent in reaching out. In Massachusetts, the ascension of a new Speaker of the House meant that all chairmanships were shuffled. Staffs expanded and contracted across the government in one week. To the layman this might come as a surprise, but for people paying attention it was a fantastic opportunity to get a foot in the door. Read the rest of this entry »

D. E. Shaw is a large hedge fund that thinks very highly of itself. Like all hedge funds, it looks to attract the very top talent available. Unlike most, however, D. E. Shaw is interested in candidates from all backgrounds.

This firm is huge. $30+ billion managed globally across many different investment approaches. The common thread in its products is that it looks for areas where technology innovation can build a competitive edge. D. E. Shaw looks to bring in talented people from all walks of life to create a culture of innovation (or so goes the company line). Its Associate program is one way to get a foot in the door.

Associates rotate to a different role every four months. Each rotation will focus on a different aspect of the business, from HR to investing. Of the many perks that come with the position are free lunch, casual dress, and a very competitive salary.

How to apply

Fill out a short online form on the D. E. Shaw Web site here. If you pass an initial screen, a representative from Strategic Growth (a.k.a HR) send you a full application. The application is short, but looks for test scores, awards, and achievements. You have a better chance of getting an interview if you’re a Rhodes scholar or competitive chess player than if you went to Harvard and worked at Bain & Co.

AOL Home Editor - New York, N.Y.

Online publishing is the new frontier for the media industry, so why not get in on the front lines? AOL Home is looking to hire a blog editor on a freelance basis. The editor will work from home. This might not be the staff position you always dreamed about, but it’s a foot in the door, a bullet on your resume, and some cash in your pocket.

This is not a copy editor position — it is a management post with responsibilities for recruitment, budgeting, and story planning, and reporting back to the parent company. AOL wants someone to manage the day-to-day of its new blog in addition to the overall vision and voice. AOL Home is tasked with becoming the go-to destination for home building and decorating needs.

What They’re Looking For

A familiarity with the industry is a huge plus, with a thick Rolodex being key. In addition to a degree related to English or journalism, AOL is looking for three to five years managing people and editing online content. The ideal candidate is familiar with SEO techniques and web publishing and content management tools.

To Apply

We scooped this job off mediabistro.com, so you should check out the listing here for more details. If you’re feeling lucky, you can send a cover letter, resume, and work sample to amezzafonte@aol.com

Clean Energy Program Manager (pdf)

Maryland Energy Administration
Annapolis, MD

Green is the trendiest color these days. More often than not, a company going green is little more than a well-funded marketing campaign. That is not the case with the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA).

The mission of the MEA, according to its Web site, is “to maximize energy efficiency while promoting economic development, reducing reliance on foreign energy supplies, and improving the environment.” Founded in 1991, the MEA recently channeled a funding boost into the Strategic Energy Investment Fund. In today’s economic climate, a government agency like this one may offer the best combination of stability and interesting work.

The Clean Energy Program Manager will work across the agency to further the use and generation of alternative energy in Maryland. The manager will begin by working closely with the Wind Energy Program, but will have a great chance to soak up more responsibility as it becomes available. The role will involve a good deal of reporting and analysis.

The MEA is considering people with a variety of backgrounds for this position. It is designed to be mid-level (three to five years of experience), but exceptional candidates at the entry level are also fair game. Work with energy or energy policy and a related undergraduate degree is preferred. Organizational skills and an ability to work persuasively with numbers are key skills.

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to Maria Ulrich at MUlrich@energy.state.md.us.

This Friday we received the latest numbers on unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do yourself a favor and don’t pay attention. These numbers have policy implications, to be sure, but they really don’t affect our job searches.

Lots of jobs have been lost and lots more will be lost. But this is a huge economy, and there will always be a certain number of openings as people move, retire, die, quit, get promoted, etc. Also, large corporations aren’t perfectly efficient with their human capital. Just because a firm cut a thousand jobs doesn’t mean it’s not hiring.

Check out this article from Fortune Magazine which profiles 20 large companies that are planning to hire serious numbers in 2009. Edward Jones, Cisco, Wegman’s, KPMG– some of America’s beheamoths are still adding headcount (notice that Microsoft makes the list, even after announcing plans to cut 5,000 jobs).

Most importantly, you can glean from this article the best industries to focus your job search:

• Health care
• Super markets
• Accounting
• IT engineering

Competition increases naturally with the unemployment rate, but there are still thousands of job openings nationwide. So screw the unemployment figures. These statistics are backward-looking, and if we’re going to beat the competition we’ll all need to do a better job of looking in the opposite direction.

Customer Experience Ninja
Bonobos, New York City