InsideTech

Now more than ever, it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. And there’s no question about it — when it comes to value, not every U.S. city is created equally. Why chase a great salary if your rent swallows most of it, unemployment is skyrocketing and you spend two hours a day just to get to and from ...

Ever find out one of your friends hasn't read "Neuromancer" or doesn't know what a Babelfish is or why it's important to keep a towel handy at all times? Did you have that brief moment where you thought, "Man, it's like I don't even know you?" If you're gonna work in tech, write code, or just spend way too much time ...

Sometimes, a person will lose their job through no fault of their own. The whims of a psychotic boss, an economy in shambles, or a simple misunderstanding can have an otherwise satisfactory employee packing up his or her cubicle. Other times, a person will lose their job because they have done something so incredibly foolish, you wonder how they ever ...

Companies are cutting back spending, shrinking staff sizes, and making tough layoffs at a rate that most of us have never seen before. But there's still some job growth out there. Shrinking budgets have forced IT shops to invest in money-saving technologies like VoIP and unified communications, and those investments are creating job opportunities for IT workers who are serious about ...

Someone you know just lost their job. Yikes. You want to be supportive. You want to help them see the positive side of their misfortune. You want to buy them a drink. And you should! But please, tread carefully. The time directly following a layoff is a delicate one. Your friend will want your help, but they may not be ...

When you are looking to make the Big Leap—the one that puts you closer to the power centers of a business or organization—the interview process will likely be different from what you've experienced before. The more senior the person or people you're interviewing with, the more definite their ideas are likely to be about what they're looking for. They know that ...

Tech geeks, take note: Silicon Valley is still the center of the technology universe, but if you're thinking about a career in computing and want to avoid the Bay Area's sky-high cost of living, consider another locale—say, Durham, N.C., or even Huntsville, Ala. Flip through this slide show for a glimpse of the 30 cities boasting the most high-tech jobs per ...

SAP, network security, and business intelligence top this quarter's list of the IT job skills that companies are paying more for. While the overall value of IT certifications continues to decline, holders of several key certs and skills have made significant gains in salary over the past six months. Find out which areas of IT are hot in our analysis of ...

Sometimes our faces and body language give away more than we're trying to reveal, especially in a tense or nerve-wracking situation like a first job interview. In some cases, we might not even realize that our brow is furrowed or that we're repeatedly tapping our toes much to the annoyance of a future employer. CareerBuilder recently surveyed hundreds of different employers, ...

Whether you are a first-time job-seeker or you’re a veteran employee, it's important that you are cautious and thoughtful as you try to land your ideal job. There’s more to a successful job search than ironing your best suit and printing out extra resumes. Today's IT companies are looking for the best of the best; one typo on your resume or ...

1. Why do you want to work in this industry? Bad answer: “I love to shop. Even as a kid, I spent hours flipping through catalogues.” Don’t just say you like it. Anyone can do that. Focus instead on your history with that particular industry, and if you can, tell a success story. Good answer: “I've always loved shopping, but my ...

IT doesn't just mean the guy who comes to fix your PC when it breaks down. The technology industry has developed a diverse range of careers, including everything from tech support specialists to database administrators to specialized project managers. Whether you're just starting your IT career or looking to take the next step up the ladder, InsideTech is here to help. ...

The skills required for technology jobs vary widely from one position to another, but are some technical skills worth acquiring, no matter what your area of expertise? Absolutely. That’s clear from a review of Monster job ads for various technical positions. Listings for network engineers sometimes call for HTML skills. Help-desk jobs may require documentation skills. Programmers often need to know ...

Time flies when you're wasting it These days, no one can afford to waste time at work. Thanks to widespread downsizing, workloads are piling up. Unfortunately, extra hours in the day are not. Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leaving at a reasonable hour (i.e. holding onto your sanity) and staying late unnecessarily. You’ve got a ...

Don't just sit there, basking in your continued employment... Phew. You survived the culling. Or maybe your company has managed to avoid a mass layoff. Either way, you're one of the lucky ones. Unlike so many of your friends and family, you won’t have to deal with the unemployment office or cancel your cable -- yet. But instead of sitting ...

Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at ...

While there are as many different possible interview questions as there are interviewers, it always helps to be ready for anything. So we've prepared a list of 100 potential interview questions. Will you face them all? We pray no interviewer would be that cruel. Will you face a few? Probably. Will you be well-served by being ready even if you're not ...

1. A Closed Body Whether sitting or standing, your body should be loose and open. Do not cross your arms. Do not cross your legs. While you may think it conveys a sense of ease, studies have shown that a people read a closed body differently: they subconsciously think you have something to hide. What's more, you're missing a golden ...

Professional writers often worry that their work is unnecessary. After all, can't anyone with even a basic education write? The answer: no, they can't. Even college graduates don't seem to be learning composition basics. Of course not everyone is going to be the next Mark Twain, but career success does depend on not looking stupid. Sure, some clients, coworkers, or resume ...

The workplace is not what it was five years ago. Neither is the job hunt. The most successful candidates are those who are ready and willing to adapt to a changing landscape. But it doesn’t matter how ready you are for the modern workplace if your resumé’s straight out of 1994. And sometimes, it's the most minute details that make all ...