NZ Recruiter

Job outlook for 2008

First off, I'd just like to wish you all an exciting and adventurous 2008! I think this year will be a challenging one for everyone but there are great opportunities out there and I think it's probably a really good time for those of you considering what you want out of your career to take stock and make some decisions. You might want to try asking yourself the following five questions to start the year:

1. What did I achieve in my career last year? (give yourself a pat on the back).
2. What would I really like to achieve in the next year? (push yourself).
3. How can I achieve that where I am now? (planning for it).
4. What is the long term goal that achieving this will support? (big dreams).
5. How can I achieve my long term goal where I am now? (more planning)

The best thing about planning like this is it will help you keep a weather report on whether or not your current employer is helping you achieve your dreams. If it becomes increasingly difficult to plan to achieve what you want where you are, then you need to start considering new places to work. Don't be overly keen to move though, the ability to creatively develop your job in any workplace can give you some very valuable skills as well. You also need to factor in some other important points that may be just as valuable as you getting the chance to achieve your goals. Good examples of that would be, the quality of mentors you have around you, and also the growth prospects of the company you are with. Both these factors can sometimes out weigh your goals because of the huge opportunities they can provide.

With all this in mind, rest assured you've got plenty of opportunities out there as companies look to increase staff, according to the latest Hudson survey of over 1700 employers. So reflect, take stock, and plan.

How To Create Job Ads Just For Geeks

Here is an example of the perfect job ad for a Geek. GPS Tracking software company Telogis are advertising for Software Developers and use Google Adwords so their ads appear in places where Software Developers can see them (I found it in my Gmail, I'm not a software developer but I work with enough to think their targeting is pretty good). But when you click through you get the following page (pictured below) and you have to work out what the URL is to their jobs page. Too hard for me! Can anyone tell me what it means? If you can then I guess you can apply for their jobs too.

By the way, if you are looking for a Senior Java Developer or Architect role in Auckland or Wellington, we have ongoing opportunities there and throughout New Zealand. Feel free to get in touch in the comments or to email us to inquiry@searchniche.com.

Kiwi Goes to Silicon Valley on MBA scholarship

Link: Computerworld > AXI founder goes to Silicon Valley on MBA scholarship.

Here is a great story for all the other go-getters out there in New Zealand. Alex Dunayev who is the Director of local web solutions company AXI has won a premium scholarship to Stanford University to do an MBA. It will be great to see how Alex does and I really expect that he'll get both a fantastic education but also some great friends to help him in his career. Stanford's success in graduating entrepreneurs who create successful technology businesses (Yahoo, Google, SGI, Cisco, and on and on) really seems to be unmatched and that bodes well for Alex who already has experience in creating his own business. Well done Alex, I'm sure everyone in the NZ IT community would agree with me in that we hope you enjoy great success in your studies.

Australia Tries To Steal Kiwi Workers

Link: Computerworld > Australia will target NZ IT skills as shortages worsen.

I haven't been writing much recently, a real symptom of being insanely busy and the huge candidate shortage. The above article talks about how the candidate shortage is so great in Australia for IT workers that they are trying to target NZ as a recruiting ground. Not a silly idea I would say, although in my experience NZ IT workers who are here actually want to be here for reasons other than just money, if they were ready to move offshore in most cases they have already gone. Interestingly they mention Canberra as a place where they need people. I'm not surprised really, if you've been to Canberra you'd know there are about 300 other places in Australia you'd rather move to first. Wonder if that's got something to do with the "shortage".

Tech Salary Negotiations - IT jobs | Negotiation Experts

Link: Tech Salary Negotiations - IT jobs | Negotiation Experts.

Here's a great article to read and to reread when the time comes for you to negotiate  in your job. Negotiation is such an important skill to have - not just for sales or if your job function is to close deals. It's for everyone who collaborates and works with other people. It's essential for you in managing your own career. It's a skill that definitely takes time and experience to master, and even then, it's something that you just need to prepare for well.

Calum Coburn gives an in-depth look at different negotiation rules and tactics for IT professionals when it comes to job offers and annual reviews. Why IT professionals? Because they mostly don't have that skillset or experience as say, sales or marketing people do. Nevertheless, I think these rules apply to everyone. So if you're about to go into a job offer salary negotiation or annual review, have a read of his 32 points. He also gives 4 exercises to complete to prepare for the big event.

Some things I'd like to comment on :

Point 4. His advice: Get all offers in writing. I say: Well, not necessarily. If this is about a job offer through a recruiter or headhunter, most often the negotiations are before the offer is written out. Most employers like to give a formal job offer in writing when the deal is done - that is, the job is accepted at a specific salary. Most involved parties in a job offer (the client, the recruiter, the candidate) want it to happen, so the going back and forth is done verbally before the final job offer is written. If the recruiter has done his or her job right, there should be a pretty close meeting of the minds when it gets close to that salary negotiation stage anyway. Of course, you always have the right to negotiate after the offer has been written, but you most likely would have played all your cards to get to that point. But with this in mind, it's Point number 14 is important - read the contract well.

Points 6 & 7 His advice: Set your sights high & Ask for more. It's true. You never know unless you ask. Have confidence but also be realistic and realize the circumstances of your situation. It's important to you know yourself well - to what levels you can perform and deliver.

Definitely a good checklist to keep and to refer back to when the time comes.

Software by Rob : Personality Traits of the Best Software Developers

Link: Software by Rob : Personality Traits of the Best Software Developers.

Here's a good blog for software developers to add to your RSS feed. Software by Rob is a blog written by a software developer for software developers - from hiring, to managing, motivating and self-development. One article I like is based on his personal observations of the best four personality traits he's seen in developers that he's admired. The kind that make you think - whoa, I'm gonna quit my job and go work for his startup!

In a nutshell, he finds that the best developers are:

1. Pessimistic in the short-term. They anticipate problems and find points of failure before they happen, but are also optimistic in the long-term - they're confident in overall success.
2. Anti-Sloppy Code.  He refers to NASA's software systems that have zero-defects
3. He sees great developers as Long Term Life Planners. With set goals, discipline to get there in their home life carries over to their work life.This third trait I think is applicable to success in anything - not just developing.
4. Very Attentive to Detail

Hopefully I didn't spoil it all. It's a good read - especially the loads of comments with different perspectives on what the common traits are and aren't.

Recruit.net introduces 1-click salary checker for Australia and India

Link: recruit.net » Recruit.net introduces 1-click salary checker for Australia and India.

    
   

If you're interested in knowing how salaries compare in Australia or are actually looking for a job over there, check out Recruit.net. a job search engine primarily in Asia Pacific at the moment covering job opportunities in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and India. They have just partnered with PayScale (see earlier post) adding a 1-click salary checker to each job listing for Australia and India. Good resource to see what the market range is for specific roles in those countries. Hopefully they will be adding the salary checker to more countries.

Here are some of the reasons they give on why it's useful (I'm not sure about third one!):

- Wanting to negotiate a salary with a new employer, or reviewing your pay with your current company.

- Considering career or roles changes and wanting to know what the financial implication of making such a change is

- Wanting to know how much a potential romantic interest of yours makes (hey, the more information the better right?), etc.

Obviously, employers that visit us can also benefit of both the indicative salary information on the recruit.net site, or request a salary benchmark study to ensure your remuneration levels are on market.

 

NZ Start-up Optima makes a name for itself Overseas

Link: Software start-up Optima scores big deals overseas - 27 Mar 2007 - NZ Herald: Technology News from New Zealand and around the World.

I love hearing about Kiwi firms kicking butt overseas. Optima Corporation, developer of resource allocation optimization and management software, has been making a name for itself overseas, primarily in emergency services with their Siren Predict and Siren Live software, and in the aviation industry with their Global Pairing software.

What's great about this company is the history and the niche that it's taken hold of. They started as a group of maths research students and lecturers from the University of Auckland. With the help from venture funding and funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, they have been able to commercialize their software to markets overseas.

One thing to think about: their biggest barrier to growth is finding and recruiting good developers. As with all companies, their greatest competitive advantage is its people.

Beating the Aussies in "Bling" @ CeBIT

Link: Computerworld > Kiwis ‘out-bling’ Aussies at Hannover’s CeBIT show.

Let's face it. Anytime New Zealand beat the Aussies in anything is time for celebration. Be it sport, IQ, or technology. So there's no holding back when sixteen innovative Kiwi technology companies "out-blinged" them with our ICT presence at CeBIT.

Kudos to Zephyr Technology for being featured on the BBC Technology website. They're a leader in Smart Fabric sensor technology, developing physiological monitoring products for the medical, sports and wellness and defence markets. They look like an interesting company with a growing niche - which seems to be a trademark of home-grown technology companies that embark on the global playing field.

How Doing Good Work Hurts You

Most of us wouldn't think of doing "good" work as hurting us. But in a recent conversation between Michael Bungay Stanier and David Allen on GTD Connect (subscription only) Michael made this point loud and clear. Based on a previous description by Designer Milton Glaser, Michael asserts that in our lives we are only ever doing three kinds of work:

• Bad work
• Good work
• Great work

Michael believes that you will only ever do more "great" work if you can endeavor to remove some "good" work from your life. This idea resonated with me as I believe that the characteristics of great work are fundamentally different from good. In particular, I believe great work requires either a challenge or learning in order to give you a feeling of achievement and satisfaction. And I also believe that great work requires imagination and creativity. Good work can benefit from it as well, but for great work it's a necessity.

In our careers we often get caught up in the mundane or the routine, in work that is neither challenging nor a learning experience. But I believe that the key to turning this around is to take some of the good work you do and focus on using your creativity to make it great. Challenge yourself, stretch yourself to make your work into a creative environment. It will make all the difference for yourself in your career, as well as in your enjoyment of your life.

In particular, I have found that the more creative I was at work, the more I enjoyed myself. Quite often it led to success, but not always! But despite any failures, it has always created indirect benefits that I never considered beforehand. I think it is tough to be creative in our everyday work. And unfortunately many companies seem to pay lip service to wanting people who "think outside the box" (See Kathy Sierra for more). I also think that a lack of tools to really evaluate someone's creativity is a set back for companies in the hiring process.

Have you had an opportunity to be creative at work and have had that backfire on you? Or had it be wildly successful? Would you like to share that story? I would be more than interested in hearing about stories of creativity at work as it seems to be a topic that many readers are really interested in.