Renoir;

I have been thinking about you.

In 1992 I decided to change professions from electronic engineering to programming. I did that only to support my wife, two children and myself. When I landed my first full time programming job I said to my friend, “Now what field should I train in to be ready for my next job”?

My friend was graduating from College with a degree in SQA (Software Quality Assurance). The speaker at the commencement ceremony was a Ph.D. and the President of Auto Desk (Auto Cad). He stated, “In my career I have had 17 different kinds of jobs, nine of which no longer exist! My advice is to always be aware of the market and stay in higher education”! By the way my friend has been out of work for 1 1/2 years. Who needs SQA?

The economy only seems to get worse in the San Francisco Bay Area. That is not a problem though as politicians have jobs. As long as our leaders have employment everything must be all right. People who are employed will tell you there is no problem.

Some advice:

1. Getting a job is a job and should be treated as such.
2. If there are any organizations in your area that can assist you in looking for work seek them out!
3. Surround yourself with positive people. Avoid negative people.
4. Define a plan how to look for work. Newspapers, professional organizations, network and any source available must be used.
5. Have several resumes of different types ready and modify they as required. The purpose of the resume is to get an interview. The purpose of the interview is to get a job.

Contact me at tomwhiteley2@attbi.com and I will share some experiences and ideas with you.

Good luck.


Tom


>Been away for a few months while looking for a new contract. Good news is that I'm pretty handy with tools (real ones - not software) and have been getting the proverbial ends to meet for the most part.
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>I sent out resumes and applied to over 120 companies and recruiters. To date I have received 11 responses; 4 rejections and 7 stating that I will be notified if there is anything in the future. Oh yeah, and 109 no answers, which appear to go under the rejection heading in my book. 1/5 of these were in direct response to Foxpro positions another 2/5 were for other IT related postings. The remaining 2/5 were to companies and recruiters that hadn't actually advertised for specific positions. Looking for work, trying to make money as best I can and taking care of family hasn't left time for training or learning anything new. Looks like I need to rethink where I am and where I'm going...
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>Any suggestions?
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>An on-line observation... Ever notice how easily people drop in and out of on-line communities? It's like someone can exist as if they have been part of it forever and also cease to exist as if they were never there. Make sense? Doesn't seem to happen in the tangible world. Mine anyways.
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>Regards, Renoir