InsideTech

A job posting lists these skills: J2EE, EJB, JSP, XML, WebSphere, Oracle, UML, HTML, servlets and a minimum GPA of 3.0. You meet them all, aside from the one for UML. But does the company really expect to find a candidate with this laundry list of skills? Should you apply, or keep looking? Technology executives, hiring managers and human resource professionals ...

All job hunters are waiting for that call - the one that says they've landed the job. But as eager as you may be to escape either your current job or the unemployment ranks, don't abdicate your power position once the offer comes in. Now it's your turn to sit in the interviewer's seat and ask the company and yourself some ...

You've just been offered your first professional job in the real world. You breathe a sigh of relief: The search is over. Unfortunately, it's not. In many ways, the real work, deciding whether this job is really the one for you, is just about to begin. Looking for a job after college is difficult enough. Deciding on a job offer when ...

Say goodbye to the silos of yesteryear - techies over here, marketers over there, sales reps somewhere else, and on and on. In organizations today, where teams often include everyone from product managers to information architects, technology professionals must often prove themselves not just with their technical prowess, but also with their ability to work with colleagues whose expertise varies markedly ...

After you’ve successfully completed a job search, shouldn’t networking be the last thing on your mind? Not so, say networking experts. In fact, internal networking, right from the beginning, is key to maintaining the upward trajectory of your career. Here’s how to successfully launch your networking campaign at a new job. Why Network from the Start? “When you start in a ...

When you’ve worked so hard to get that first job after college, the last thing you want is to screw it up. Sadly, new grads do it all the time. The problem rarely stems from lack of knowledge or poor technical skills. It often goes back to something simpler: Your persona in the workplace, particularly during your first few weeks on ...

When you start a new job, human nature is to focus on the surface of things: the photocopied vision statement included in your orientation package, how your peers dress and the date HR designates for your first performance appraisal. But if you’re going to use this job to further your career goals - or even if you just want to last ...

Your first day of work will help define you in the eyes of your new coworkers. Make a good first impression, and you'll soon be viewed as a capable, respected colleague. But a bad first impression could mean months or years of trying to undo the damage. Here's what you can do - both before and during your start date - ...

You've got your diploma and a brain stuffed with C++, but you don't have a job. What do you do? Take an internship, possibly unpaid, and hope it turns into a full-time gig or helps you build up your contacts and references. Welcome to the new reality of technology internships. Recent graduates who entered college while the economy boomed expecting multiple ...

Getting What You Want As stated elsewhere, employment is an agreement between two parties. Ideally, this agreement should involve trading two commodities of equal value—the employer's money and resources for the employee's time and effort. Many employees feel they are not in the position to negotiate, but as the saying goes, "Everything is negotiable." As your career progresses and your ability ...

The Information Technology (IT) and tech industries may lend themselves to a few key misconceptions. You may have some false hopes or reservations about the type of work and environment you'll find in the IT world. This week, I'm going to do a little myth-busting and reveal the reality behind the three top tech misconceptions. 1. Tech is exciting. I've been ...

When a woman we'll call Mary was offered a high-level student-services position at a prestigious college, she was thrilled to accept. But two years later, Mary was fired despite strong performance reviews and a reputation as a rising star at the college. The reason? She lied on her resume - and got caught. An HR initiative requiring employees to furnish college ...

Techies often make information technology their career, because they love working with computers, whether cobbling together networks or building Web sites. But if your work is also your hobby, when do you have time for anything else? Is this situation simply a win-win for techies and their employers? Or does focusing too much attention on one part of your life pose ...