Monday, March 30, 2009

Sources of Hire Study | 2009

How do large companies fill open positions? The 8th annual Sources of Hire Study reveals the inner hiring practices of large organizations. This study looked at more than 300,000 openings filled by 45 large corporations.

On The Inside

Of the 300,000 full-time positions filled in 2008 here are percentages of internal vs. external candidates who filled those vacancies:

  • internal transfers & promotions | 39%
  • external sources| 61%

So, once you land a full-time position within an organization, deliver on expectations and position yourself for future opportunities. Four out of 10 of these opportunities will likely be filled by an internal candidate and this gives insiders a competitive advantage.

On The Outside

If you are on the outside looking in, the most common external sources that large organizations utilize to fill vacancies are the following:

  • referrals | 27%
  • company website | 20%
  • job boards | 12%

Here are the six most popular external websites (job boards) that provide candidates for these large employers (percentage of companies that actively worked with each site):

Even though more companies work with Monster, CareerBuilder has overtaken Monster as the top source of new hires from all job boards.

The most visible trend in 2008, according to the authors of the study, is the pressure to reduce costs attributed to the following sources:

  • third-party recruiters
  • newspapers
  • traditional job boards

A steady growth of sourcing tactics is also evident especially the following:

  • social networks
  • search engine marketing

The report suggests that the use of job boards as a source of hire has peaked and predicts that this source will diminish in the future.

LinkedIn Strategy

If social networks are gaining ground, then the top social network for large organizations is LinkedIn which offers these three tips for finding jobs through its network:

  • update your profile
  • get recommendations
  • add connections

Twitter Strategy

For a perspective on activating your job search via Twitter, access a recent BusinessWeek article, Is Twitter the Next Monster?

Conclusion

In this study more than 17,000 positions were filled from approximately 200,000 referrals. That gives external candidates a better than 1 in 12 chance of landing a job through referral. Compare that success rate with the hundreds of resumes that typically stream in via online submissions for every job and you'll understand why the report concludes as follows:

"We continue to advise job seekers to NEVER apply to a company without first networking to an employee in that firm for a referral. The difference in probability of getting “up to bat” is too large to ignore."

The 29-page full report is available for free download from CareerXRoads.

[ NOTE: You can now search more than 240 articles in the Beantown Web database by using the Google search box in the right-hand column. ] >>>

Monday, March 23, 2009

Girls in Tech | Boston Launch Event

Girls in Tech is coming to Boston, New York, Portland (OR) and other cities.

Girls in Tech is an organization focused on women's innovative and entrepreneurial achievements in technology.

Boston Launch Event

Girls in Tech Boston cordially invites you (women only) to celebrate its official Boston launch party on Tuesday, March 24th.

Cost: FREE!

Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

To imagine the networking possibilities, check out Attendee List to see if this is a group of professionals that you might like to meet.

Details of the Boston event are available at the Girls in Tech website. Registration is required.

Other launch parties are scheduled as follows:

Social Networks

Even if an event is not scheduled for your home town, you can join the Girls in Tech movement via the following social networks:

[ NOTE: You can now search more than 240 articles in the Beantown Web database by using the Google search box in the right-hand column. ] >>>

Monday, March 16, 2009

SXSW Web Awards | 2009

More than 12,000 online voters selected this year's People's Choice Award at the SXSW Interactive Festival. And the winner is Lost Zombies.

The five day event in Austin, Texas celebrated the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology.

The judges selected their favorite from the 18 finalists. And the winner is We Tell Stories.

Web Award Winners

Here are the 18 categories along with the winning website and the category definition:

Activism | Tweet Congress
Green and Non-profit websites that are striving to make the world a better place.

Amusement | Addictionary
Humor, memes and all the stuff that is weird for the sake of weird.

Art | Things I Have Learned in my Life, So Far
From traditional photography to untraditional performances, this category focuses on web-based collections of life, society and culture.

Blog | The Bygone Bureau
Sites that revolutionize the power of publishing by providing regularly updated content of a personal or professional nature.

Business | Jasmax
Sites devoted to the promotional needs, functions and services of for-profit businesses.

CSS | ProjectMiso
This category showcases sites that push the boundaries of CSS coding technology, bringing together top-notch design and content with standards compliant and accessible code.

Classic | Flickr
While the SXSW Interactive Web Awards focus on the best new Internet destinations, this category is devoted to sites that launched before January 1, 2008.

Community | Lost Zombies
Social networks and wikis that have quickly developed an extraordinarily active multi-user community and an exceptional following of users who assist with content development.

Educational Resource | The Cycle
From elementary school learning to advanced technology-related tips, these are sites that help you learn.

Experimental | We Tell Stories
These are cutting-edge and trend-setting destinations that are pushing the envelope and challenging our perceptions of the web.

Film / TV | Hulu
Sites related to actors, television, films and the film industry, as well as destinations that offer streaming video content.

Games | Why So Serious? The Dark Knight Alternate Reality Game
The online destinations that help make your life a lot more fun.

Mobile | Gigotron
Sites optimized for handheld and portable devices.

Motion Graphics | NVIDIA Speak Visual
Animations, cartoons, and other intriguing content built using applications such as Adobe / Macromedia Flash.

Music | James Zabiela
Sites related to musicians, bands, and the music industry, as well online radio and other destinations that offer streaming audio content.

Personal Portfolio | Ali Felski
The portfolios, pet projects and personal collections of individuals who are displaying their work and passions online.

Student | Modernity Spirit of Experimentation
This category is devoted exclusively to the student web designers who are refreshing this industry with new talent and new ideas.

Technical Achievement | Aviary
These are the sites that are re-inventing and re-defining the technical parameters of our online experience.

Implication

Web designers and developers can scan the Web Award Winners and the Five Finalists in each category to stimulate the flow of creative approaches to resolving current design challenges.

Then, get busy designing the next award-winning website. The cost to enter this year's competition was a mere $10 and the deadline was mid-October. Check out the Web Awards FAQ for additional details.

[ NOTE: You can now search more than 240 articles in the Beantown Web database by using the Google search box in the right-hand column. ] >>>

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Women to Watch | 2009

Who are the 10 Women to Watch in 2009 in the Boston metro area according to Mass High Tech?

Last Thursday evening 10 women were honored by their peers in tech and life sciences as "go-getters, hard working, inspirational and motivational to their peers. These up-and-comers are continuing to grow and will shape the future of their industries."

Women to Watch in 2009

Click the "in" icon next to each name to reveal the individual's LinkedIn profile.

The sixth annual event was held at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge. A summary of the proceedings is available at the Mass High Tech website. You can view photos and bios of each recipient, as well as, watch videos of their acceptance speeches at the Women to Watch 2009 website, where you can also access info on honorees from the previous five years. In addition you can nominate an influential woman for consideration for the 2010 award. The nomination process is open to women working in the technology and academic communities in New England.

[ NOTE: You can now search more than 240 articles in the Beantown Web database by using the Google search box in the right-hand column. ] >>>

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Boston Market | March 2009

Question:

Which has collapsed the most in the last 12 months?

  1. the stock market
  2. crude oil prices
  3. Web technology opportunities

Answer:

If you answered c. you are correct.

  • S&P 500 Index 1 | 43%
  • Light Sweet Crude 2 | 56%
  • Web technology opportunities | 66%

Top 20 Web Technologies

The technologies mentioned most often in Web-related job descriptions are listed in the right-hand column. The list has been updated for March. Opportunities have declined dramatically over the past 12 months for these skills and reflect a 66% decline in average job postings. While some technologies have rebounded in the past month, the general downward trend continues as employers exhibit caution in their hiring plans.

IT Hiring Index & Skills Report

This long-term trend is evident in the chart below.

According to latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index & Skills Report, chief information officers (CIOs) still expect to hire more technology workers than fire during the second quarter of 2009. Nationally, a net two percent hiring increase is expected. The New England states can expect a net five percent increase. Details can be found in a Robert Half Technology press release.

While Web-related skills are not at the top on the demand list, 39 percent of CIOs are looking for technology workers with "Web development/website design" skills.

Stay the Course

The implications are clear. Despite a significant drop in opportunities over the past 12 months, employers still expect to hire technology professionals during the next three months.

Technology workers who want to maximize their opportunities should continue to focus on developing skills listed in the Top 20 list in the right-hand column. They should also continue to expand their network of professional contacts most likely to value these skills.

The best opportunity this month to learn about the Web technology marketplace and make valuable business connections is by attending the next gathering of the Web Innovators Group.

(1) source: Yahoo! Finance
(2) source: NYSE.TV

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Web Innovators Group | WebInno21

If you are interested in previewing the latest innovations on the Internet and mobile devices, check out the next gathering of the Web Innovators Group.

This 21st installment (WebInno21) will feature the following presentations (sign in to your LinkedIn account on a separate tab, then click the "in" icon below to reveal your LinkedIn contacts at each company):

Main Dishes

  • Adroit Interactive | modify, deploy, test and optimize online advertising in real time, across your entire campaign

  • Bravo Cart | a state of the art, fully integrated e-commerce and shopping cart platform that can be set up by anyone with the most basic computer skills

  • lil'grams | hands-down the simplest, most convenient way to share your baby's memories with all of your loved ones automagically

Side Dishes

  • CoachesTown | provides teams, scout troops, clubs and other organizations with FREE team websites and online communication and management tools

  • JitterGram | connects you with customers looking for just-in-time deals

  • JotNot | the easiest way to create Word and PDF documents from pictures of whiteboards and print

  • mCaddie | social networking and software for golfers

  • PickupZone | identify a local pick-up point to get your packages when and where you want

  • Wiggio | a free online toolkit that makes it easy to work in groups

Details

Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of several hundred pre-registrants to determine if this networking event is right for you.

Registrants are encouraged to join the Boston Web Innovators Group on LinkedIn and connect with more than 700 members.