Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Fastest Growing Companies | Fortune 100

Job losses are subsiding. The worst may be over. Prepare now for the turnaround.

Hale Stewart provides a visual analysis of job loss trends in his column at The Huffington Post. Based on one visual below, it is possible that 2010 will bring a return to net job creation.

Fastest Growing Companies

So, where should one start looking for employment opportunities? One avenue is to target large companies that have been growing during the downturn. Fortune magazine has released its list of the 100 fastest growing Fortune 500 companies.

While 21 of these companies are international, many states landed at least one company on the list. Here are the states with the most fast-growing large companies:

  • California | 15
  • Texas | 13
  • New York | 8
  • Massachusetts | 6
  • New Jersey | 5
  • Michigan | 3
  • Missouri | 3
  • Oklahoma | 3

You can access the list for your state at the Fortune section of CNNMoney.com.

Fastest Growing Companies in Massachusetts

Here are the six fastest growing large companies in Massachusetts:

[ NOTE: Simply log into your LinkedIn account on a separate tab, then click the "in" icon next to the company name below to identify the LinkedIn connections you might have within that organization. ]

  1. Bruker | Billerica
  2. Pegasystems | Cambridge
  3. Thermo Fisher Scientific | Waltham
  4. Zoll Medical | Chelmsford
  5. Atlantic Tele-Network | Salem
  6. Sapient | Boston

Conclusion

Remember, if you're trying to land work at one of these companies, take the advice offered by the 8th annual Sources of Hire Study:

"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."

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Facebook Fans gain access to an interactive map of the six fastest growing Fortune 100 companies in Massachusetts. Become a fan today! ]

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fastest Growing Startups | Q2 2009

StartUpHire is a job search engine whose mission is to connect talented individuals to exciting career opportunities at venture backed companies.

They have compiled a list of the fastest growing start-ups backed by venture capital (VC). They focused on major metropolitan markets and formulated the list based on job postings during the second quarter.

The metropolitan areas include the following:

  • San Francisco-Silicon Valley
  • New York
  • Southern California
  • Baltimore-Washington
  • Seattle
  • Austin
  • Philadelphia
  • Denver-Boulder
  • Atlanta

Access a list of the fastest-growing, VC-backed companies in these metropolitan areas at StartUpHire which provides direct access to job postings in these and other cities.

Boston's Fastest Growing Startups

The 10 fastest growing VC-backed companies in and around Boston are as follows:

[ NOTE: Beantown Web now features the LinkedIn Company Insider Widget. Simply log into your LinkedIn account on a separate tab, then click the "in" icon next to the company name below to identify the LinkedIn connections you might have within that organization. ]

  • Acceleron Pharma | Cambridge
  • CambridgeSoft | Cambridge
  • Turbine | Westwood
  • ITA Software | Cambridge
  • Kronos | Chelmsford
  • Senior Whole Health | Cambridge
  • Zipcar | Cambridge
  • Gomez | Lexington
  • E Ink | Cambridge
  • Acquia | Andover

Fast growing companies need bright, energetic workers. Start making connections today!

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Facebook Fans gain access to an interactive map of the 10 fastest growing startups in the Boston area. Become a fan today! ]

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

TECH cocktail Boston 3

TECH cocktail is returning to Beantown for the third time to help showcase the local Boston tech scene.

TECH cocktail is a community for developers, designers, bloggers, technology enthusiasts & entrepreneurs interested in technology in local communities.

Events coordinated by TECH cocktail are planned for the following cities:

TECH cocktail Boston

The Boston event will feature a handful of local start-ups providing demonstrations. Local sponsors will also be sharing their story with the technology crowd.

Eric Olson, a Massachusetts native and Bentley College alumnus, is a co-founder of TECH cocktail.

Details

  • Date » Thursday, September 3
  • Time » 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
  • Location » Tequila Rain (near Fenway Park)
  • Price » $10

Details and registration are available through TECH cocktail.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is on Facebook. Become a fan today! ]

Monday, August 17, 2009

Ignite Boston 6

This FREE networking event is coordinated by O'Reilly Media.

Ignite activities are held in more than 50 cities around the globe. Access Ignite Event Locations to see if a group has been established in your city.

The Boston event will feature the following:

  • social networking (in real life)
  • keynote speaker (to be determined)
  • lightning talks (20 slides in 5 minutes)

Books, t-shirts and other promotional items will be raffled off.

Check out Ignite Event Wrap-ups from the previous Boston event to see if the topics are of interest to you. The list of topics for the upcoming event has not yet been finalized.

This is a fun activity -- the sixth in a series. Space is limited to the first 300 registrants and seats are filling up fast. Sign up now.

Details

Access Ignite Boston for details and registration. Also, consider joining the Ignite Boston Facebook group to begin networking with more than 70 FOOs (Fans of O'Reilly's) in the metro Boston area.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is also on Facebook. Become a fan today! ]

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Hard Skills + Soft Skills = 60 Days

Hard skills land you the interview. Soft skills land you the job. We need both hard skills and soft skills.

Hard Skills

If you are a typical job seeker expect to be unemployed for four months. If you are out of work and have a Web technology background there is one skill that will land you a full-time assignment in half the time! What is this high-demand, high-tech skill?

  • Microsoft's .NET technology

This single finding was reported in a quarterly report issued by CareerBuilder entitled The Staffing Supply & Demand Outlook. The study included more than 5,000 hiring managers and 9,000 workers.

This finding is consistent with the latest Beantown Web research that reveals a high demand for the following fast-growing skills:

  • C#
  • Web Services
  • ASP.NET
  • SEO
  • Ajax

Soft Skills

Virtually every job description lists "excellent communication skills" as a core requirement. However, higher level soft skills are in high demand according to one survey of Boston employers:

  • Employers who say it is difficult to find "strategic thinkers" | 80%
  • Employers who say it is difficult to find candidates who can "lead and motivate" others | 75%

A press release of the 2009 Greater Boston Area Talent Markets Survey is available for review. A more detailed FREE 44-page report is also available from Camden Consulting Group.

60 Days

Few activities will alter the trajectory of your career faster than upgrading specific hard skills and soft skills. If you are a Web professional consider developing a 60-plan (a strategic plan) to incorporate ASP.NET into your skill set. If you are a professional in any discipline spend 60 minutes today identifying "strategic thinking" and "leading & motivating" examples you can point to in projects you have worked on. Employers are actively looking for these hard and soft skills.

Hard skills + soft skills = 60 days to your next opportunity.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Become a fan today! ]

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Boston Market | August 2009

The unemployment numbers will likely continue to rise for the next 12 months according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Employment in the Information Technology (IT) sector, however, continues to outperform the general employment marketplace with a lower percentage of tech workers out of work.

Information Technology workers are in demand, at least those who possess technology skills that are valued in today's marketplace. This analysis shines a light on these in-demand skills.

Boston Market

Job opportunities continued an upward momentum in the Boston technology marketplace for the second consecutive month. Sixteen of the Top 20 Web Technologies are "in the green." These technologies were mentioned more frequently in job descriptions this month than last month. The updated list of Top 20 Web Technologies appears in the right-hand column.

Five of the Top 20 Web Technologies have seen impressive gains in job postings -- an increase of at least 50% since early June. The five hottest technologies are as follows:

  • C# | 74%
  • Web Services | 63%
  • ASP.NET | 57%
  • SEO | 55%
  • Ajax | 53%

Web professionals who possess these technical skills and are actively pursuing opportunities would do well to highlight these skills on resumes and in social media profiles.

Training Opportunity

The best value in Web technology training might be RIA Unleashed : Boston. This one-day conference is billed as New England's only conference focused on building rich internet applications (RIAs) using the Adobe Flash Platform including Flex, AIR, ColdFusion, Catalyst and other technologies.

None of these technologies, including Flash, are currently Top 20 technologies in terms of how frequently they are mentioned in job descriptions. However, as conference organizer Brian Rinaldi pointed out to me, demand is only half of the supply/demand equation. Skilled professionals in these technologies are finding high-paying work because there are relatively few professionals trained in these emerging technologies.

What makes this conference attractive is the cost of ONLY $30, while the early bird supply of 100 tickets lasts. Even at the next level of $50 this training opportunity promises to be a real bargain.

To learn more about this November (Friday the 13th) training opportunity in Waltham, access RIA Unleashed : Boston.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Facebook Fans gain access to an expanded listing of the Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston. Become a fan today! ]

Monday, August 03, 2009

Social Media Breakfast | Boston

The Social Media Breakfast was founded as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn.

The breakfast series began in Boston and has now spread to more than two dozen cities. Social Media Breakfast was founded by Bryan Person.

Boston Breakfast

The topic for the next Boston seminar is "The Power & Peril of Online Communities." The presenters are as follows:

Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.

Details

When: Friday, August 7, 2009, 8:30 am

Where: Communispace Corporation | Watertown

Registration is only $7.99 and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of more than 70 pre-registrants to determine if this networking event is right for you.

To learn more about this event access the Social Media Breakfast website where you can learn more about upcoming events in more than two dozen cities. You can also learn more about starting a Social Media Breakfast event in your city.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Become a fan today! ]