Java Java Java!!!

If you’re a Java Developer in any area of the United States you are a hot commodity! Let’s face it you can pretty much name your price and someone will pay it. Austin is in dire need of Java Developers. We have a major shortage and WE WANT YOU! If you are a Java Developer and you are interested in relocating to Austin, please contact me ASAP!! I will make introductions during SXSWi.

Contact me directly at clewis@vaco.com

Are we too old to set goals?

So I recently started volunteering at an Emergency Foster Care Shelter near my home and wow has that opened my eyes to ALOT of things. I work with teenage girls and we do a variety of arts and crafts and discuss many topics. One of our recent topics was goals. These girls have some of the most amazing life goals. Even more impressive is that they are taking steps everyday towards achieving those goals. This really started me thinking………so I have business goals and financial goals but what are my life goals? More importantly, am I taking steps towards those goals everyday as these girls are?
I was so inspired by these girls and their positive attitudes despite everything they have been through living in a shelter and waiting to find out if they go back home, move in with a family member or go into the Foster Care system and they have not lost sight of their goals!

So I challenge all of you do write down one of your life goals, frame it and then put it somewhere you can read it everyday. What steps are you taking to achieve that goal?

See you on the goal line…….

Are you a Geek or a Nerd? Come on Be Honest…….

You’ve accepted an offer……..now for the resignation

Although this is how we sometimes want to resign…

we shouldn’t be burning any bridges when we resign from our current roles to move on to others……Here is what I would suggest:

1. Set up a meeting with your boss to resign.
2. Tell him/her you have something to discuss and would appreciate being able to get all the way through it before he/she responds.
3. Hand in a written resignation letter. Tell him/her that you are giving your notice (2 weeks is appropriate, if possible).
4. Tell him/her that you have reached an irrevocable decision and that you would like his/her respect and support of that decision.
5. Tell him/her that you have an incredible opportunity that will allow you to accomplish things in your career that you can not accomplish here.
6. Tell him/her that you are not here to “hold him/her up for money” and that you are not interested in a counter offer.
7. Ask him/her what (if anything) you should tell your co-workers.
8. Thank him/her for the opportunity and the experience.

Good Luck on your resignation and your new career opportunity!!

DO PURPLE SQUIRRELS & UNICORNS REALLY EXIST?

I just finished reviewing a position description for a position with a software development start-up here in Austin. The list of required skillsets for this position is 26 — and I can assure you that these are not easy-to-find requirements. The list is comprised of every hot technology buzz word under the sun. This position has been open for 4 months and now I know why….unrealistic expectations from the hiring manager. Is this position really hard to fill?

I dislike this “hard-to-fill” mindset. I know that some jobs, by their nature, are going to be a challenge, but the impossible ones just irritate me for a host of reasons.

1. After a while, hard-to-fill jobs take on a life of their own. Very soon, no one is good enough for the job as the hiring manager breezes through resumes rejecting all. Sadly, it’s often a needle in the haystack dilemma that will come to no good for anyone involved.
2. Hard-to-fill jobs, by their nature, often come from the most unreasonable of hiring managers. These are the managers who “know what they want and want what they want” with little regard to what is in their market.
3. Endless time is taken as the “critical job” sits empty. Honestly, how critical can it be if no one is doing it for 4 months? Honestly, this is dismal for all concerned.

Is it really a “Hard to Fill” job: almost never. Hard-to-please hiring managers: often times, yes. Unrealistic expectations? Once again, yes. There are, in almost all cases, no hard-to-fill positions. Most positions that are open for months are that way for a reason.

• Perhaps it is not the description of one job but actually two.

• There is only budget for one job? Make the case to adjust the budget and split the job.
• Cost is too high? Why are you looking at cost when you should be looking at value and ROI? Going one step further, what is the “cost” of not filling this position? Where are the pain points, and who is feeling them?

Lastly, the longer a job is open, the more scrutiny it should be under. “Hard-to-fill” jobs are a problem begging for a solution.

What “hard to fill” jobs do you have open?

IT Interviews Gone Wrong

What’s your BS Detector?

Any Recruiter or Hiring Manager knows that there is a certain amount of BS that goes into the interview process……

The first rule of BS is to expect it. If you want to detect BS you have to swallow some cynicism, and add some internal doubt to everything you hear. Socrates, the father of western wisdom, based his philosophy around the recognition, and expectation, of ignorance. It’s far more dangerous to assume people know what they’re talking about, than it is to assume they don’t and let them prove you wrong. Be like Socrates: assume people are unaware of their own ignorance (including yourself) and politely, warmly, probe to sort out the difference.

The first detection tool is a question: How do you know what you know? Often they can’t answer quickly. Even credible thinkers need time to sort through their logic, separating fact from fiction.

People so rarely have their claims challenged, that asking someone to explain how they know sheds light on whatever ignorance they’re hiding. It instantly diminishes the force of a BS driven opinion. However, someone who is bullshitting you won’t have researched or thought through anything.

Hiring Managers – Are Candidates Cocky or Confident?

How many of you are sick of interviewing really talented technical candidates that you can’t hire because they are so cocky that everyone on your team would quit if they had to work on a team with them?  Confidence is great in a candidate, being cocky is just annoying! What do you in this situation? Do you take a risk and hire the candidate because they have kick-ass tech chops or do you cut them loose?

As An IT Manager, What Are Your Bad Habits?

Seven Bad Habits IT Managers Should Avoid

An IT manager’s work is never done. From developing and implementing information systems to supervising server maintenance to researching methods to ensure the security of information that passes through the information server, a workday in the life of an IT manager is seldom a dull one. Even the best IT manager is guilty of a few professional bad habits, however, and these habits could prove detrimental to a smooth-running work environment.

1. Overloading on new technology. It’s good to keep abreast of the latest advances in technology, but unless what you already have is no longer effective, there’s no need to “upgrade” every time a new operating system or software comes out on the market.
2. Hoarding. Hoarding expertise or projects will eventually come back to bite you. You might feel a sense of job security if only you’re the only one in the IT department who has the expertise and knowledge required for maintaining your company’s network infrastructure, but what happens when the network goes down and you’re on vacation? Or sick? Since you’re the only who knows what to do, you have to suck it up and come in on your day off.  Taking on too many projects may win you a well-deserved pat on the back from management and clients, but it also means your staff may be too busy to handle emergency situations should they arise.
3. Being greedy. Not to be confused with hoarding projects, IT managers who are guilty of being greedy are those with clients who write up requests for proposals (RFPs) with unrealistic demands or clients who refuse to spend what is necessary to complete the project yet insist on getting it done–and the IT managers go on to promise a deliverable that is not realistically possible. The IT manager is faced with the decision to either refuse the project because the client’s request is unrealistic–and lose a potential future client in the process, or try to complete the project and risk failure–and also the loss of a potential future client. An IT manager can negotiate with the client an early completion incentive into the RFP and/or a penalty for projects that run over-budget or late.
4. Being lazy. You’d be hard pressed to find an IT manager who isn’t working hard, but many get comfortable in their roles and don’t go the extra mile to ensure peak network monitoring, compliance auditing and data security measures are in place. It’s better to put in a little extra effort to catch glitches now before they turn into costly problems later on.
5. Envying what other companies have. Just because another company, or divisions within your own company, has a larger budget or better software to work with is no excuse to not effectively work with what you have. Instead of focusing on what others have, focus on ways you can improve operations within your own department.
6. Management by intimidation. You won’t motivate your staff with constant verbal outbursts every time something goes wrong. It is demoralizing to your staff, and it fosters a mindset that results in a lack of collaboration and finger pointing.
7. Pride. IT managers are very knowledgeable about their jobs, but some are too proud to acknowledge when they don’t know about a certain topic, or they think they can do everything themselves when they really can’t or shouldn’t. An IT manager who can admit when he has made a mistake or bad judgment call is viewed more favorably than those who insist they’re perfect.

Thank you to www.recruiter.com for this great article

Are You a Lazy Jobseeker?

I am becoming increasingly aware of YOU the lazy jobseeker.  Why don’t you take my calls?  Why won’t you return my emails?  You are openly advertising that you are seeking a new job.  WTH! How bad do you really want a new job? I am attending SXSWi in Austin and I am seeing people pass out resumes, network, some are wearing T-Shirts with their skill sets on them.  What are YOU doing?  Posting your resume on Monster or Dice? LAME! It will take more than that for you to get in front of the right people.  Competition is fierce people…get out there and network.  you are competing against candidates from EVERYWHERE! Not just active jobseekers but also passive jobseekers that are employed and are checking out new opportunities now that the market is getting better. YOU need to stop being lazy and get yourself out there! Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date…if you’re not on LinkedIn SHAME ON YOU. Contact a local recruiter.  A great recruiter will know about the best opportunities in your market.  A great recruiter will give you a list of local networking events that you should be attending.  A great recruiter will help you with any resumes changes and help you with your LinkedIn profile as needed…….If you are a lazy jobseeker, a great recruiter can’t help you unless you are willing to do your part.  Are you willing to do your part for the right job?