Beantown Web

Friday, June 18, 2010

Job Prospects, Part II | June 2010

Beantown Web offers a two-part series of reports on a projected improvement in hiring prospects for the remainder of 2010:

Part I | Marketing & Advertising Executive Survey
Part II | IT HIRE Intelligence Survey

Part II

The 2010 IT HIRE Intelligence Survey reveals that 78 percent of respondents plan to hire IT staff in the next six months.

Hiring managers are most interested in hiring staff with the following experience:

Applications| 76%
Infrastructure | 58%
Project Management | 53%

While not all "applications" positions are Web applications, common skills include programming and databases.

Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston

A survey of job postings at Boston.com has been updated for June and appears in the right-hand column. Many skills are related to "Web Applications" including the following:

#1 SQL | 728 jobs

#3 Java | 463 jobs

#5 SQL Server | 264 jobs

#7 C# | 206 jobs

#14 PHP | 126 jobs

#17 MySQL | 111 jobs

Additional skills to consider developing include Ruby on Rails (RoR). While not in the Top 20 in terms of how frequently these keywords are mentioned in job descriptions, Dice.com reports a shortage of Ruby on Rails developers. Check out the following job opportunities:

#42 Ruby | 36 jobs

#47 Rails | 21 jobs

Job Search Strategy

The 2010 IT HIRE Intelligence Survey asked the following question: "When you are recruiting for technology oriented talent, which of the following methods do you use?" The top three responses were as follows:

job boards | 87%
referrals | 81%
social media (LinkedIn, etc.) | 59%

So, in addition to identifying jobs on job boards, it pays to develop your network of professional contacts using LinkedIn, because hiring managers are actively utilizing referrals and social media tools to find talent.

The 2010 IT HIRE Intelligence Survey was conducted by Monster.com on behalf of Technisource and featured responses from nearly 250 HR managers or recruiters focused on filling technology positions. A detailed summary is available for FREE download.

» Go to Job Prospects, Part I | June 2010

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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Job Prospects, Part I | June 2010

Beantown Web offers a two-part series of reports on a projected improvement in hiring prospects for the remainder of 2010.

Part I | Marketing & Advertising Executive Survey
Part II | IT HIRE Intelligence Survey

Part I

Marketing and advertising executives plan to bring on new staff during the third quarter. This net six percent increase is reflected as follows:

increase staff levels | 18%
decrease staff levels | 12%

The area of expertise most valuable to these executives is . . .

~ Web design/production

Despite the current unemployment picture, 45 percent of respondents said they find it challenging to find skilled professionals to fill these positions.

The Creative Group Hiring Index for Marketing and Advertising Professionals is based on more than 500 telephone interviews with marketing and advertising executives. Details are available in a press release available at The Creative Group website.

Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston

A survey of job postings at Boston.com has been updated for June and appears in the right-hand column. The skills most closely related to "Web design/production" include the following:

#6 JavaScript | 254 jobs

#11 HTML + CSS | 147 jobs

#16 Flash | 112 jobs

#18 Photoshop | 110 jobs

Web designers who focus on developing these four technology skills -- and proactively market themselves to marketing and advertising executives -- will likely to be presented with career opportunities over the next three months as these executives begin looking for creative talent.

» Go to Job Prospects, Part II | June 2010

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Friday, June 11, 2010

Web Innovators Group | WebInno26

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

This 26th installment (WebInno26) will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

Chargify | simplifies recurring billing for Web 2.0 and SaaS companies

Milabra | a pioneer in leveraging proprietary visual recognition technology for commercial purposes

Doink | a place to enjoy art and animation, and make your own

Side Dishes

Open Exchange Communications | the world's most advanced financial services meeting network

Trustmarker | digital badges with certificates used by websites to display certifications, affiliations, distinctions, and positions

Manpacks | provides a flexible subscription for your underwear, shirts and socks

JitterJam | helps your business capture relevant conversations on the real-time web and turn them into lasting and trusted customer relationships

BirchBox | a monthly gift filled with an edited assortment of the hottest samples from the beauty brands you love

RelayRides | allows people to borrow cars from car owners directly in their neighborhood

Event Details

Monday, June 14, 2010, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of hundreds of 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 1,300 members.

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Saturday, June 05, 2010

MITX Technology Awards | 2010

Forty-nine New England companies were honored at the 7th Annual MITX Technology Awards earlier this month. They were recognized for their innovative development of up-and-coming technologies in the digital space. The ceremony was attended by 350 industry professionals.

The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) is the region’s premier professional organization for the Internet business and marketing industry.

MITX Technology Award Finalists

Listed below are the 49 companies honored at this year's ceremony.

[NOTE: Hover over company name to view a tooltip summary of that company's mission. Click the "in" icon to reveal your LinkedIn connections at that company.]

Awareness, Inc. | Burlington

Baydin, Inc. | Boston

Big Room Studios | Portland, ME

Brainshark | Waltham

Brightcove | Cambridge

BuySellAds.com, Inc. | Cambridge

CashStar, Inc. | Portland, ME

City of Boston | Boston

Conduit Labs | Cambridge

Copanion, Inc. | Andover

Daily Grommet | Lexington

DataXu | Boston

Dexrex Gear | Cambridge

Direxxis | Needham

en-Gauge, Inc. | Rockland

Episend, Inc. | Watertown

FashionPlaytes | Salem

FitnessKeeper, Inc. | Boston

Gemvara, Inc. | Lexington

Gotuit | Woburn

ITA Software | Cambridge

JitterJam | Bedford, NH

Kanguru Solutions | Millis

LineSider Technologies | Danvers

Litl, LLC | Boston

Localytics | Cambridge

MediaFriends, Inc. | Woburn

Modiv Media, Inc. | Quincy

Mzinga | Waltham

Nasuni | Natick

Netezza | Marlborough

Nexage | Waltham

Panjiva | Cambridge

RAMP | Woburn

RatePoint, Inc. | Needham

Searchandise Commerce | Beverly

Spring Partners | Charlestown

Sproxil, Inc. | Somerville

StylePath, Inc. | Lincoln

Tangoe, Inc. | Orange, CT

Tervela | Acton

TravelBrains | Bedford, NH

Unica | Waltham

Vertica Systems, Inc. | Billerica

Viewfinity | Waltham

VisibleGains | Waltham

Where, Inc. | Boston

Wistia | Lexington

Zipcar, Inc. | Cambridge

A press release reveals the winners and provides additional details.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Startup Watch | May 2010

Startup companies spring up like dandelions in May in the Boston metro area. Mass High Tech highlights startup companies each week in a series called "Five You Should Follow."

Startup Watch for May

Here are 20 startup companies to keep your eye on:

[NOTE: Hover over company name to view a tooltip summary of that company's mission.]

» Active Shock, LLC | Manchester, NH

» Apperian, Inc. | Boston

» Applico, LLC | Babson Park

» Capturecode | Waltham

» Cloudant | Somerville

» CloudSwitch | Burlington

» Currensee, Inc. | Boston

» Digital Reef, Inc. | Boxborough

» DormNoise | Cranston, RI

» Egg-Energy | Cambridge

» Foundation Medicine, Inc. | Boston

» Hire Reach, Inc. | Wellesley

» Hoozinga, Inc. | Burlington, VT

» Neuron Robotics | Somerville

» Nine Technology | Middleboro

» NovaTract Surgical, LLC | Guilford, CT

» Peekaboo Mobile | Boston

» Pinyadda, Inc. | Boston

» Spotlight Media, Inc. | Boston

» Tixlist.com | Boston

Five new startups are listed every Tuesday at Mass High Tech -- The Journal of New England Technology. Access Startup News for details. If your company was founded within the last three years, and would like to be considered for the Watch List, contact the Startup Watch editor.

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Friday, May 07, 2010

Boston Market | May 2010

Small business owners are ready to spend to grow their businesses in 2010, but may not be quite ready to hire.

According to a recent survey less than 20 percent are considering an increased budget for staffing and HR activities in 2010. However, the same survey reports that they are ready to spend on marketing and this could help graphic designers, Web designers and Web developers who are positioned to assist small business owners in growing their businesses.

The third annual Signs of the Times National Small Business Survey reveals the following:

46 percent have plans to grow business by improving their company’s online presence
42 percent are considering increasing spending on marketing and advertising initiatives
36 percent plan to utilize social media/networking websites to build business

The survey was was sponsored by FedEx Office and involved 500 interviews of small business owners who employ 5 to 100 employees and own firms that generate over $100,000 in annual revenue. The online interviews were conducted in early April. For additional details download a FedEx Office Signs of the Times 2010 Survey Fact Sheet.

Boston Market

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration more than half of all Americans either work for or own a small business. This means that nearly half of everyone else who has a job works for a larger organization. These companies are hiring as evident by the 290,000 jobs created in April, the highest monthly increase in four years. These larger companies are most likely to advertise for workers in major metropolitan newspapers and their online equivalents. In Boston that means the Boston Globe and Boston.com.

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston, as measured by Boston.com job postings, has been updated and appears in the right-hand column. This analysis provides links to those companies hiring and which technology skills they are looking for.

The job market for technology workers has cooled over the past 30 days after impressive gains during the first quarter. More than half (11 out of 20) of the most in-demand technologies experienced job posting increases from early April. A new entry in the Top 20 is "social media" entering the charts at #15 ahead of such popular technologies as ASP.NET, Flash and MySQL. This reflects the increased interest in companies of all sizes in using social media to engage customers as detailed in a recent blog post Two Social Media Surveys‏.

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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Two Social Media Surveys

The jury is still out on the benefits of social media. Two reports released earlier this month provide insights into the social media phenomenon.

2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

A survey of more than 1,900 marketers reveals the top three questions about social media that marketers want answers to:

How do I measure social media return on investment?
What are the social media best practices?
How do I best manage my time with social media?

A video summary of the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report is available for review. The PDF version of the report is available for FREE download.

Social Media Survey

More than 200 marketing professionals were asked about the value of social media initiatives to their organization. A quick snapshot of responses reveals the following:

"innovative and invaluable to their business" | 54 percent
"useful and helpful, but could live without it." | 37 percent

A press release of Marketers Indicate Social Media Important, Most Not Profiting, Many Still Learning is available for review. The PDF version of the report is available for FREE download.

Social Media Breakfast

Answers to your social media questions can be obtained from industry experts by attending a Social Media Breakfast. These networking events occur in 40 cities across the United States and Canada.

If you live near Boston the next event will occur on Thursday, May 6. Here are the experts presenting at this event:

» Aaron Strout, Chief Marketing Officer at Powered

» Edward Boches, Chief Creative & Social Media Officer for Mullen

» Kyle Flaherty, Director of Marketing, BreakingPoint Systems

This event, Creating Brand Advocates Across the Social Web, is FREE, but space is limited. Details & registration are available via Eventbrite.

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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Server-Side Language of Choice

Programming languages come in all shapes, sizes and levels of complexity. If you are a front-end Web designer your exposure to programming might be limited to using prebuilt JavaScript code, perhaps generated by Dreamweaver or downloaded as part of a jQuery (JavaScript library) plugin.

XHTML, CSS and JavaScript are all referred to as client-side code because the markup can be accessed by simply using View > Source from the Web browser. What if you want to create dynamic Web page content from a database using a server-side scripting language which is hidden from the visitor downloading a page from your website? What are your choices?

Server-Side Language Options

Here are a few of the most commonly used server-side programming options:

ASP
ColdFusion
Java
Perl
PHP
Python
Ruby

If you were new to programming and had to choose just one server-side language to focus on, which would you select?

CSS-Tricks

A popular design website, CSS-Tricks » a Web Design Community created a poll and asked readers the following question:

"What is your server-side language of choice?"

Readers were asked to choose the language that they actually like the most, even if they were familiar with several languages.

Survey Says . . .

More than 11,000 readers completed the survey since it was posted more than a month ago and the choice is abundantly clear. Here are the results:

PHP | 75%
ASP | 8%
Java | 5%
Ruby | 4%
Python | 3%
ColdFusion | 2%
Perl | 1%
Other | 2%

More than 200 readers posted comments. You can review this discussion and post your own comments at New Poll: Server Side Languages.

These results confirm the following Elance Work Index finding:

"PHP is the number 1 most in-demand skill for online work for all of 2009."

Training Options

Here are four FREE tutorial websites that Web designers and developers can access to learn how to add PHP scripting to your skill set:

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Monday, April 05, 2010

Boston Market | April 2010

Job postings have increased by more than 50% since the beginning of January for the 20 most in-demand Web technologies in Boston. Since early February only two technologies have experienced single-digit declines in postings: Photoshop and MySQL.

The updated list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston appears in the right-hand column. The list is compiled based on how frequently that technology or keyword appeared in job postings at Boston.com which is managed by Monster.com. The search area is a 50-mile radius around Boston.

Database expertise continues to top the list of desired skills with the following technologies holding three of the top five positions:

A few of the biggest movers during the first quarter were the following:

JSP | up 79%
SharePoint | up 72%
PHP | up 70%
e-commerce | up 61%
Web services | up 60%

Training Opportunities

JavaScript opportunities abound with 289 job postings mentioning this technology, placing JavaScript in 6th position. The most popular JavaScript library is jQuery with 50 job postings. jQuery is the featured training opportunity this month with two learning seminars occurring on the same evening, Wednesday, April 7:

jQuery | Beginners
http://www.meetup.com/bostonphp/calendar/12154308/
Cambridge | MIT

jQuery | Intermediate to Advanced
http://meetups.jquery.com/events/boston-jquery-meetup-2-10
Boston | Downtown

With job opportunities on the rise now is the time to enhance your technology skills and expand your personal network to improve career prospects.

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Friday, March 26, 2010

SXSW Web Award Winners | 2010

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

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

The judges selected their favorite (Best of Show) from the 18 finalists. And the winner is Wolfram Alpha.

Web Award Winners

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

Activism | Waterlife: Green and Non-profit websites that are striving to make the world a better place.
Amusement | Atlas Obscura: Humor, memes and all the stuff that is weird for the sake of weird.
Art | odosketch: From traditional photography to untraditional performances, this category focuses on web-based collections of life, society and culture.
Blog | The Vile Plutocrat: Sites that revolutionize the power of publishing by providing regularly updated content of a personal or professional nature.
Business | TheyMakeApps: Sites devoted to the promotional needs, functions and services of for-profit businesses.
CSS | Legwork Studio: 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 | Mint.com: While the SXSW Interactive Web Awards focus on the best new Internet destinations, this category is devoted to sites that launched before January 1, 2009.
Community | Aardvark: 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 | 1066: From elementary school learning to advanced technology-related tips, these are sites that help you learn.
Experimental | BooneOakley: These are cutting-edge and trend-setting destinations that are pushing the envelope and challenging our perceptions of the web.
Film / TV | Jim Carrey: Sites related to actors, television, films and the film industry, as well as destinations that offer streaming video content.
Games | Smokescreen: The online destinations that help make your life a lot more fun.
Mobile | Gowalla: Sites optimized for handheld and portable devices.
Motion Graphics | We Choose the Moon: Animations, cartoons, and other intriguing content built using applications such as Adobe / Macromedia Flash.
Music | Echo & The Bunnymen: Sites related to musicians, bands, and the music industry, as well online radio and other destinations that offer streaming audio content.
Personal Portfolio | Clouds 365 Project: The portfolios, pet projects and personal collections of individuals who are displaying their work and passions online.
Student | D.I.E. - Der Interuniversale Erdball, Inc.: This category is devoted exclusively to the student web designers who are refreshing this industry with new talent and new ideas.
Technical Achievement | Wolfram Alpha: 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. Submissions for the 2011 awards will be accepted starting in early August. Check out the Web Awards FAQ for additional details.

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Startup Companies | Boston

Seventy five startup companies all looking for talent. You can talk with a company representative in person at a FREE networking event.

The only requirement is to be flexible on commitment and compensation -- bootstrapped startups may be offering alternative compensation including the following:

reduced rates
equity
internships
part time
etc.

The Startup Companies

Here are the startup companies, along with the company contact, who will be present at the event to answer your questions:

How To Participate

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 4:30 PM

Location: Tequila Rain (near Fenway Park)

Registration (FREE): Jobnob Boston Happy Hour

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Web Innovators Group | WebInno25

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

This 25th installment (WebInno25) will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

Swift Mobile | custom apps that thrill your attendees and increase your event's success!

Noteflight | the online notation software that's reinventing music on the web.

Trefis | helps you understand how a company's products impact its stock price.

Side Dishes

Textaurant | aims to create a dialogue between restaurants and patrons through the use of technology

GeoLenz | a resource for enabling developers and businesses to rapidly deliver precise contextual data for geospatial locations associated with their applications

Shortbord | earn cash and deals to promote your favorite companies

HomeField | privately watch and discuss game video online

Conversation Associates | core mission: the simplification of digital analytics

Sustainable Minds | enables companies to innovate and grow through environmentally sustainable product design

Vuuch | it's like Facebook for files

Special Breakout Session

A panel conversation entitled Serial Web Entrepreneurs’ Founding Stories will be conducted with the following serial-entrepreneurs:

[NOTE: Beantown Web features the LinkedIn Profile Widget. Simply click the "in" icon to view the individual's LinkedIn profile.]

Event Details

Monday, March 1, 2010, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of hundreds of 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 1,200 members.

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Boston Market | February 2010

Web-related technology jobs abound as a new decade begins with impressive job gains. The Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston posted an average 30% increase in job opportunities over the past 30 days. This performance more than makes up for the sluggish job markets of January and December.

Every single technology in the Top 20 posted gains over January. The online Boston Globe want ads, managed by Monster.com, is the source of the job postings listed in the right-hand column.

What's Missing?

Of course not all Web technologies are in equally high demand by employers. Database and programming skills never seem to go out of fashion. This demand bodes well for web developers.

Web designers, on the other hand, can count on the following two Top 20 skills:

HTML/CSS | #10
Photoshop | #12

Web Designers should also consider positioning themselves in the user interface (UI | #19) space. Wikipedia makes the following distinction:

"Newer implementations (of web user interfaces) utilize Java, AJAX, Adobe Flex, Microsoft .NET, or similar technologies to provide real-time control in a separate program, eliminating the need to refresh a traditional HTML based web browser."

One Web design skill that dropped out of the Top 20 this month is Flash (#22). While it is not unusual for technologies to move in and out of the Top 20 on a monthly basis, it will be interesting to monitor the demand for Flash skills over the next year. For an interesting perspective on Apple + Flash + HTML5 check out a recent podcast made available on Marketplace on National Public Radio.

What Else is Missing?

Another "technology" that gets mentioned frequently in job circles is "content management systems" (CMS). While the generic term has not been able to crack the Top 30 -- this month it stands at #36 -- individual CMS applications fair even worse in terms of job demand. Here are four common CMSs:

WordPress | 9 jobs
Drupal | 7 jobs
Joomla | 1 job
ExpressionEngine | 0 jobs

Combined there are 17 job opportunities for these technologies, not enough to land any of these technologies in the Top 50!

So, caution should prevail in setting a goal to master these technologies IF your goal is to land a job. One the other hand, IF your goal is to start your own Web consulting company, then you might benefit from positioning yourself as an expert in these and other niche technologies.

Best Training Opportunity

The best training opportunity for March arrives with Flash Camp Boston. "Best" because it's FREE! Technologies on the schedule include the following:

PHP
Flash
Flex
ColdFusion

While PHP is the only technology in the Top 20, these emerging technologies are worth monitoring, especially if you want to position yourself as a specialist in these lower demand, niche skills. As Biran Rinaldi pointed out in the August Boston Market report, 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.

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Best Business Books | 2009

Business -- a nice concept that didn't work out too well for millions of Americans in 2009.

It is challenging to identify an American who was not affected by The Great Recession. Yet, how many of us saw it coming? How many of us made adjustments once the storm arrived? How many of us have made the necessary corrections to get back on course and strengthen our ships to survive the next storm which will inevitably batter our shores?

Business Book Resources

What is not difficult is to identify are resources that can help us navigate the world of business, regardless of our choice of occupation. What follows is a quasi-scientific analysis of the Best Business Books of 2009.

An online search revealed 14 "Best of" lists from the following sources:

Best Business Books | Runners Up

All told, 118 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list. Thirteen books were mentioned on at least two lists (the Honorable Mention). Here are the eight books identified on at least three lists (the Runners Up):

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street
How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In
In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Best Business Books | Winners

Two books were were mentioned four times on the "Best of" lists. And the two best business books of 2009 were . . .

Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—And Themselves
Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust

Too Big to Fail takes a look back and explores how we created the storm that crashed our economic ship. Trust Agents takes a look forward and explores how we can use social networks to build a stronger ship to weather the next storm.

Business Action

Identify one book from the lists above and commit to learning more about the business world. Making a study of best business practices can only help improve job prospects and career success as we move into a new decade.

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