Austin Employment Web Log

I read a nice set of posts by a lovely UK recruiter with advice for job-hunters while on the hunt. Long story short: keep your sanity, be organized, methodical and thorough. Although she is correct and all of her tips are useful, I would boil things down even further. The following appears to get the best results, which is the whole point of job-hunting. 1. An excellent, achievement-centered LinkedIn profile is by far the most important tool for job hunting.   Here are some links to get you started . Be sure to include all the important key words ( not buzzwords ) so the searches can find you. I threw out numbers 2 and 3.  They are obvious. Jobs lined up this way, where the employer goes to the effort of finding you, have a far higher chance of closing  (yielding a job offer) than sending your resume out to tons of ATS black holes . These employers are serious . These employers are interested in you . These employers are ready to hire now. Tab...

Fifty years after the original series was cancelled, STAR TREK continues to supply deeply embedded, powerful, cultural, practical and philosophical memes, and continuing, interesting and relevant dramatic content (if the reader didn’t know, there is a new, refreshing and quite challenging STAR TREK series, Discovery . I watched several episodes on a long plane trip – it is well worth a try). Amazingly, there are many obvious parallels between STAR TREK and high tech companies. Clearly, high tech is leading the (productive) future of humanity, at least for the present, and the analogies are right to the point. Let’s take a quick look: Captain (later Admiral) Kirk – sometimes impulsive, often inspiring, always charming, winning leadership. He can take huge risks when he has to, and somehow always seems to come out on top, and credibly so. Engineer Scott – Boss of the technical, master of the warp drive engines, phasers and photon torpedoes, provides the Captain wit...

This report on the Texas Economic Outlook June 2019 from Texas A&M is recent, full of data and appears both objective and complete. Here's a very brief 2019 outlook for the United States. Wage growth in Austin appears to be accelerating  due to the tight labor market. In a genuinely red-hot labor market, wages go up noticeably . I'm not seeing it myself . Neither are other reporters.   There are reasons for this . Lots of reasons . Take-aways : The tight labor market is a mixed blessing. Some economic reporters don't buy it . For most, it's easy to get a job , relatively speaking, but it is harder for your company to hire needed people. Good times for individuals are bad times for employers. It's complicated . Not everyone benefits. Overall economic growth is slowing . The trade war with China is one of several reasons . There are more and more recession warnings . Some believe these are false alarms . Other opinions are mixed . This is proba...