“UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.” - Dennis Ritchie

Statistics, we love to quote them. And you know what they say – “so many statistics, so little time”. But there are some interesting statistics regarding Tech jobs like, did you know that Phoenix is a “top ten place for tech jobs“? Yes, you are reading this correctly (doubt me?, click the link). I’m sure that most people would never guess Phoenix. So what’s my point? You need to be open-minded in your job search and leave no stone unturned, you just never know where an opportunity will turn up. How about Omaha Nebraska – “Union Pacific Corp. will move 300 information technology jobs to Omaha“. Another example of a great opportunity, because I can guarantee you that a fair number of Tech employees decided not to move to Omaha. Another opportunity if you are willing to make a move.

Job search is an art. In addition to the traditional search (job boards, headhunters, etc.) that EVERYONE is doing, you need to think outside of the box and look for opportunities where fewer people are likely to look (like Omaha). Leverage your search engine skills and look for those unlikely combinations that will translate to better odds for you. Go where “few men have gone before” and there will be less competition and more opportunities.

Tech Job posts are among the most popular, so I thought it would be a good idea to both recap and provide some interesting links to help in your search.

• Technology Jobs – HotJobs – Most of the top job search sites have focused job search pages for many job functions, and HotJobs is no exception. Their Tech job search page is well put together and easy to read. Top of the page has a listing of Tech related jobs functions (Applications Engineer, Data Analyst, etc.). Click any of these to view a page listing jobs for this function. You can narrow the search (location, etc.) by using the additional criteria on the left hand side of the page. Below this are featured jobs, click on these to link directly to the job. The bottom of the page has additional career advise and services, right hand side of the page has a basic search function.

• hitechNY.com – While this particular site is focused on NY (and indicates that there are over 40,000 tech jobs in NY), most states and many cities have similar sites dedicated to Tech (and other careers). Not much on the main page here, and if you can’t figure out how to get to the next page, perhaps Tech is not a career for you. The next page has tabs at the top for Job Seekers, Partners and Job Fairs. Click on Job Seekers to link to a page with additional links to Search for Jobs, Search for Employers (don’t forget the strength of applying directly on employer sites), Training and more. Click on Search for Jobs, put in your criteria and off you go.

• .tech_centric – “Computer, Tech & IT Jobs Search, Careers, Employment, Postings” is the tag line for this website. Top of the main page has tabs for Job Search and Post resume. The left hand side of the page has the basic job search function as well as links for Create a Resume, Set-up Job Alerts and Review saved jobs. Featured recruiters are also listed on the left. The center of the page has Browse Jobs by job function followed by jobs by location and Latest News in Technology. The right hand side of the page has the latest jobs as well as a salary survey.

• information-technology Thingamajob – This is another job search site with a targeted search on information technology provided by Thingamajob.com. The top of the page has tabs for Create an Account, Post your Resume, Login, Find a Job and more. There is a basic search function right below the tabs, followed by Information Technology jobs by subcategory. At the bottom center of the main page has a listing by state. Left hand side of the page has a number of links to subcategories by function and state as well

• Articles about “find a new job” in Technology – These links, provided by About.com, has a number of links to articles and resources to help you in your Tech job search.

• JustTechJobs – This site, as you might suspect, focuses on job search for Technologists. There are tabs at the top for Searching Jobs, Posting a Resume and “About Us”. Clicking on the “About Us ” link launches an amazing page with 120 related websites which are specific to your technology specialty (like JustOracleJobs.com). The main page lists Recent Tech Jobs on the left-hand side, with a quick search at the top Tech news feeds below. There were 1,253 tech jobs when I checked the site.

• Hewlet Packard – HP’s career website provides an overview of the company with links to Search Job and Submit your Profile on the left of the page. Their are separate tabs for Students & Graduates and Diversity. Searching all HP jobs returns over 2,245 opportunities with Information Technology returning 155 jobs (additional technical jobs can be found under other categories).

• Where Are the Tech Jobs? - This article, produced by Internetnews.com, gives a little more information on where to find jobs. With any luck you will source a number of interesting job search ideas.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Honesty. I was just talking about this with a colleague the other day. We were talking about bill rates, and how some companies don’t tell the candidates they’re working with what they’re billing them out at. Why not? If they have a problem with it, they are rookies in the consulting business and need some hand holding – or just don’t work with them. I always thought it was best to let them know what your margin is, they’re going to find out anyways. If you know certain things about the client or position (even if it’s negative), let the candidate know about it. Trust me, it does more harm than good if you’re trying to wiggle a candidate into a position that he/she wouldn’t normally be interested in. Don’t be one of those “shady” recruiters we all hear about. Be approachable and honest about the hiring process, it will pay off in the long run.

Work More. I hate to say this, because I don’t typically enjoy this anymore. But, when I was REALLY succesful in the recruiting biz, I was working well over 40 hours per week. There really isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. And the best time to get a hold of people is after business hours. When I first got into the biz, I would work Saturdays most every week. And it paid off. I think all the work I did early in my career has really paved the way for me now. I don’t really need to work over 40 hours anymore, but I do when I’m under the gun. I’ve worked with recruiters in my day that were rookies and didn’t think they needed to work more than 35-37 hours per week at most. Wrongo! You can survive for a little while, but you’re not going to be a top producer. Put in that extra effort and hours if you really want to be a rock star recruiter.

Get involved with Sales. In our industry there’s always the sales/recruiting battle. I think it’s always going to be there, but I generally think it’s ridiculous. Recruiters are the heartbeat of the company, without them, sales can’t deliver. Goes both ways though. If you don’t have sales, no need to recruit! I think there also needs to be a solid management team in place that understands both sides of the business. I’ve been in situations where sales management would blame the recruiting staff for EVERYTHING. If submittal numbers were low, we’d get blamed. If someone wasn’t an ideal fit and didn’t get the job, we’d get blamed (I could keep going here, but you get the picture). Unfortunately it usually wasn’t the recruiting that was the issue, he just looked at his little reports and made assumptions. Needless to say, most of that staff turned over in a short amount of time. My advice as a recruiter is to get in really good with the entire sales organization. Go on meetings with them, go to happy hours with them, get to be the “go to” guy. Trust me, if you win the respect of the sales organization, you’ll be far more effective for yourself and the company.

Know the Technology. Obviously, not all recruiters should know how to program a Java application or anything like that, but at least know enough to talk intelligently to the candidates you’re working with. Want to sound like dumbass? Ask really technical questions you know nothing about. I always find that funny. You should research a candidates profession before meeting them. Know something about what they do, know some good questions to ask that you can comprehend the answers, make an effort. I used to recruit a lot for Business Analysts. So I made an effort to simply meet with a Sr. BA that I had hired and learn all about what he does on a daily basis. Pretty easy to do. He actually went so far as helping me with some general questions that I could ask new candidates. Most consultants (if you have a good relationship with them) will gladly help you understand what they do….just ask. Knowing a little about what your candidates do will help with your validity as a recruiter and will increase the respect you get from any incoming recruits.

Relationships! I mention relationships a lot when talking about recruiting. It’s the single biggest necessity in recruiting. This is a people business, you NEED to get to know the people you’re dealing with. Don’t just get to know them professionally. Get to know them personally, hang out with them outside of work, develop long-standing relationships with them. Back in the day, I’d judge some of my success by the amount of x-mas cards and wedding invitations I got from my candidates. I truly wanted to know them, and I made extra efforts to do so. I’d invite them to my house for a sushi party, I’d go golfing with some of them, I’d invite them to play on my hockey team, and of course I’d have regular lunches with ALL of them (whether they were looking for a position or not). Every year I’d hand write 500+ x-mas cards, and include something personal about my family and whatever I knew about theirs. I guess for me, I really like that part, I truly do. I didn’t just want to be another recruiter to them, I wanted to be “Skippy” or “Ehren” or “Seimer” or whatever other names I was called (I will not mention the bad ones). The great thing about the whole social networking phenomenon is that a lot of the “get to know them” is automated for you. Facebook is sweet because you can see them in their element, outside of work. Because of all of this, the amount of referrals I received were off the charts. And my turnover was lower than others, because they knew me and didn’t want to leave me in a bind. Don’t look at candidates as dollar signs, look at them as potential friends, they’ll open up more.

I guess I could keep going on this subject. There are so many things we all can do better as recruiters. But just remember, you’re dealing with people. Treat them with respect and dignity and they’ll do the same for you. And dole out free lunches and happy hours! Free booze and food make people happy.

I keep in tune with the economy and job market (although I hate the media right now), and I always laugh when people try and make an accurate evaluation of when we’re going to come out of this recession. Like anyone frickin’ knows, c’mon. I keep hearing, Q3, Q4, blah blah blah.

Personally, I really don’t think we’ll see a significant amount of progress until next year. Consumer confidence is absolutely destroyed right now, and companies are taking a “wait and see” approach. The tech field has been relatively stable in the Minneapolis market, but I don’t foresee any growth in the immediate future. I think we’ll see more layoffs and companies turning to consultants to do the work that needs to be done, but it will be hit or miss. Obviously retail and financial companies will be hurt, but the beauty of the Minneapolis job market is the amount of diversification that’s present. Healthcare should do well, the medical device manufacturers should maintain, insurance is doing well. When some industries are down, there’s always something else that picks up the slack.

Also, companies use technology to gain efficiency, and I don’t foresee a big change in that this year. However, they will be very cautious on who they hire or engage for the things they need to get accomplished. My advice, sharpen your skills now more than ever. If there are jobs out there, it will be more competitive than ever! You’ll be facing other applicants more qualified than you at times, and you need to prepare yourself for that challenge. Make sure you don’t forget about personal branding, afterall you’re a product and you need to know how to present yourself as a quantifiable entity.

Keep feelers out there at all times, and don’t burn any bridges. I always laugh at people that get pissed at me because I contact them or email them, what a stupid move. That person will be the one that gets laid off and has NO contacts or opportunities on the horizon, then he/she will post his/her resume on Monster.com and get killed with phone calls from all the staffing companies offshoring their recruiting capabilities to India. Good luck!

So, stay positive right now and remain optimistic, things are on the mend and we will pull through this downturn. But, don’t become complacent about your job and finanical situation….be prepared.