Memorial Day 2009

All gave some…
Some gave all.

I spent last Saturday with my kid’s scout unit helping put flags on the graves at Fort Logan National Cemetery. It was a reminder of those who have sacrificed for our country.

Two stories in the old Rocky Mountain News capture some of the details about those who gave all and are buried at Fort Logan:

• Silent eulogies whispered in stone
• Wake for an Indian warrior

Thanks to them for their service.

Wake for an Indian warrior

NotJobs: How NOT To Get a Job Interview

Dustin Williams, a career counselor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has a career advice column on the InkKC blog.  In his recent column, Dustin covers his top 5 tips on How NOT To Get a Job Interview.  His topics are:

5. Use an unprofessional email address: Smokedog420@whatever.com or 1hotmama@youwish.com
4. Not following instructions when submitting application materials
3.  Submit a junky resume
2. Have cute/sleazy/stupid human trick pictures on social media sites
1. Avoid networking!

See the full details on the InkKC weblog:
http://www.inkkc.com/dustin+williams/blog/4062

NotJobs: How Not To Nail An Interview

Steinar Skipsness describes himself as “a 27 year old Seattle native who doesn’t drink coffee.” Skipsness consults on search engine marketing, but seems to be looking for new employment. To help his chances, he taped mock interviews with some unsuspecting candidates.  I’m not sure I agree with his ethics, but his conclusions are strong.

Skipsness offers his 22 tips on “How to Nail an Interview.” His site contains a number of video snippets which support his points. As shown in the video above, some of his examples better demonstrate how NOT to get a job.

IMHO, his top ten tips are:

3. Be on time
4. Cell phone off
5. Know the company, and why you want to work there
8. Dress in a clean conservative manner
9. [Facebook & MySpace] Profiles to private
11. Don’t babble
12. Don’t badmouth a boss
14. Don’t play with your face/hair
19. Have accomplishments
20. Have passion

Take a look at all 22 tips on his web page:
http://www.howtonailaninterview.com/

How Not to Get a Job: Job Fair Division

Don’t do this:

Hat tip to Boozeworthy for the image!

1987 Computer Salary Survey

After graduating from college, I set out on the job hunt. One of the companies interviewing me at the time was Source EDP Personnel Services. Source EDP provided IT consulting services, and billed themselves as “the world’s largest recruiting firm devoted exclusively to the computer profession”. As part of their offering, they shared their 1987 Computer Salary Survey and Career Planning Guide. After I got the another offer, I stuck the salary survey in a file, where it stayed until last week.

The first graphic image in the publication is of a stack of greenbar paper with large dollar signs in ASCII art.  But, even though the data is old, it can still offer a useful comparison to today’s technology salaries. We’ve come  a long way!

Here’s the meat of the survey for non-management positions:

I. Non-Management	Annual Compensation ($000)
(salary according to length of time in the profession)	15th Percentile	Median	85th Percentile
Commercial Programmers & Programmer/Analysts
1 year – 2 years	18.5	22.5	26.5
2 years – 5 years	23.5	27.8	32.0
Over 5 years	28.0	33.0	39.0
Engineering/Scientific Programmers & Programmer/Analysts
1 year – 2 years	19.6	25.0	28.5
2 years – 5 years	25.5	30.0	35.0
Over 5 years	31.0	38.0	46.0
Personal Computer/Microprocessor Programmers & Analysts
1 year – 2 years	18.0	22.0	27.0
2 years – 5 years	22.0	28.0	33.0
Over 5 years	28.4	35.0	42.0
Systems (Software) Programmers
1 year – 2 years	23.4	27.2	31.0
2 years – 5 years	27.7	33.0	37.5
5 years – 7 years	32.0	38.0	45.0
Over 7 years	36.0	42.0	50.0
Software Engineers
1 year – 2 years	22.0	27.0	30.1
2 years – 5 years	27.5	32.	37.0
5 years – 7 years	31.5	38.0	44.0
Over 7 years	37.2	44.5	53.1
Data Base Analysts/Data Management Specialists
1 year – 2 years	22.0	26.0	31.5
2 years – 5 years	26.0	35.0	42.0
5 years – 7 years	34.0	40.0	48.2
Over 7 years	37.2	44.5	53.1
Communications Analysts/Technical Specialists
1 year – 2 years	22.0	26.0	30.0
2 years – 5 years	28.9	37.0	47.0
Over 5 years	33.6	43.0	51.2
Information Center/Office Automation/Decision Support Specialists
1 year – 2 years	18.5	24.1	27.1
2 years – 5 years	23.5	30.0	36.0
Over 5 years	29.5	37.5	45.0
EDP Auditors
1 year – 2 years	22.0	25.0	29.0
2 years – 5 years	26.5	31.0	37.3
5 years – 7 years	30.7	36.0	46.2
Over 7 years	35.0	42.0	51.0
Technical Writers & Editors
1 year – 2 years	17.5	1100	27.5
2 years – 5 years	23.0	28.0	33.0
5 years – 7 years	26.0	31.0	38.0
Over 7 years	27.0	34.0	41.0
Senior Analysts, Project Leaders & Consultants
2 years – 5 years	27.0	33.0	39.6
5 years – 7 years	32.5	37.7	44.5
Over 7 years	36.0	42.0	50.0
Computer Operators
1 year – 2 years	14.0	18.0	20.0
2 years – 5 years	17.0	21.0	25.0
Over 5 years	20.0	25.6	31.5

Source EDP was purchased by Romac International, and later became Kforce Technology Staffing. Kforce still offers a salary survey and career guide. Download the latest version in PDF format from here.
http://www.kforce.com/files/documents/2008_Tech_Job_Seeker_SS.pdf