Washington State Unemployment - October, 2008 November 24, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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On the 18th, Washington State put out the October Employment report, and here are some of the high-level items of import:
- The total civilian employment number increased by .4% to 3,517,200 from September.
- Statewide Unemployment increased to 6.3% from 5.8%.
- Nationwide Unemployment stood at 6.5%
For the technology sector, we're starting to see the overall economy take a toll:
- Software Publishing employment statewide dropped from 53,100 to 52,700 from September to October.
- Telecomm (Wired + Wireless) showed no decline from September to October.
- In context of the 12 months that have gone by, Software Publishing shows an increase of 4.7% from last year, and Telecomm shows a decline of 300 workers in the same time period.
Basically, we're seeing firms in the Software Publishing arena being more financially conservative with their primary cost item - people. Too, I don't think these numbers reflect a number of the recent layoffs that have been reported, so I suspect that our November numbers will be lower. And, the Microsoft & Google hiring machines have been idled (mostly), so it will be interesting to see how the numbers change next month.
Was that a personal best? November 24, 2008
Posted by hardly Bar, Kettlebell, Medicine Ball, Other, Pushups, Row
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Warmup:
- 30 Medicine Ball Cleans
- 30 Situps
- 40 Kettlebell Cleans @ 16 kg (20 per arm)
- 30 Pushups
Workout:
- 10 Barbell Cleans @ 75#
- 35 Power Cleans @ 75#
- 20 Overhead Squats @ 45#
- 60 Knee-ups
- 1K Row: 3:40
- For total reps:
- 3:00 of Wallball @ 20#
- 3:00 of Pushups
- Reps: 131
- 2:00 of Squats: 80
- 2:00 of Sit-ups: 51 (clearly, I was not in top form on this… knee ups the culprit?)
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 11/24/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
Who likes Conspiracy Theories? November 24, 2008
Posted by hardly Other
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Mark Anderson of SNS fame has a thought-provoking post, The Men Who Killed JFK.
What I continue to find fascinating is the death-bed confession by these former spooks (is there any such thing as a 'former' spook?). Why is it that these men, who believe staunchly that they are highly patriotic, have to confess to these deeds? If they really thought they were doing right, why admit to something they're guilty about?
Some strong lessons there for everyone, especially those figuring out what they want to do with their lives.
And, a great last question by Mark: What do we do about this?
Hiked back to the Whiskey Bend Trailhead November 23, 2008
Posted by hardly Walk
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Hiked from Camp Lillian on the Elwha River Trail back to the trailhead. 45# pack, 5 miles, 800 ft elevation gained, and 800 ft elevationlost.
Beautiful fall day for a hike! Crisp, cool, and easy to maintain a good pace.
Monday, the back of my knees were sore, and I think it’s the constant lifting of my feet when they are wearing hiking boots. Interesting…
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 11/23/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 2:30:00.00
- Distance: 5 miles
- Average Pace: 30:00/mile
Going to camp Lillian November 22, 2008
Posted by hardly Walk
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Went w/my Boy Scout Troop’s Venture Patrol up the Elwha River Trail to Camp Lillian for an overnight. 45# pack, 5 miles, 800 ft elevation gained, and 800 ft elevation lost.
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 11/22/2008
- Time: 11:30:00
- Total Time: 2:27:00.00
- Distance: 5 miles
- Average Pace: 29:24.71/mile
What happens when your hopes, dreams & aspirations hit the rocks of reality? (part 2) November 20, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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Once upon a time, there were people who lived near waters that were hard to navigate. Where ship Navigators or Captains made costly errors. And when these errors were made, the ships in question ended up on the rocks, or the beach or the reef - you get the idea. When this occurred, the people living near by would run down to the water, pull out the survivors, and take all the stuff that washed up on the beach. Which is a great metaphor for our current times...
If you're an Exec at a great little Software or Internet focused company, this is a great time to be thinking about adding people to your staff from those firms who have run onto the rocks of reality.
There are a fair number of very good Developers, Testers, SDETs and Architects who are either about to hit the market, or who are really worried about their job. If you or your Dev leaders (formal & informal) have their eye on one or two really great people for the team, you might want to consider investing in them.
Look at it this way: You may well get more mileage out of adding one or two key Developers to your staff in the next quarter or two than any other thing you're doing right now.
Here's why:
- You show your people that you're listening to them about good ideas, like hiring a great Developer they know.
- You show that you care about people by giving them work.
- You show that you believe the business will come out the other side of this.
It's called seizing an opportunity. It's called vision. It's called leadership.
You like games, so do you want to be part of an experiment? November 19, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Games are so very important for our lives. When you think about it, most of how we learn involves playing games.
A buddy of mine who lives in L.A. has founded a new game studio that's focused on creating MMO learning games for kids.
Trouble is, he needs a Lead Developer. A Lead who has experience creating game software, and who also knows their way around MMOs.
If you know someone like this, could you please let them know about this role?
Like I said, this is an experiment, and I appreciate your help!
How do you use a dumbbell? November 19, 2008
Posted by hardly Bar, Cycle, Dumbbell, Pullups, Row, Run
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Today was a bunch of rope climbs. Kinda fun… I think I made it up there 4 times, which is a bit of a record for me!
Warmup:
- 300M Row
- 10 Overhead Squats @ 65#
- 30 Push-presses @ 65#
Workout:
- 40 Split Jumps
- 40 Knee-ups w/20#
- 3X:
- Deadlifts (sorta… devolved into bodyweight squats due to sore back)
- Overhead Squats @ 65#
- 200 M Run
- Time: 12:34
- Kipping Practice
- 4x Rope Climb
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 11/19/2008
- Time: 09:46:01
re: Juggling Faster November 19, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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I'm a bit behind in finishing up a post or two, and there are several new posts by some key people I read that bear commenting on, and..., and..., and!
Let's start these posts with the good news/bad news category.
Two posts, Companies on the Road South, and CarDomain layoffs: The Real Reason point to some interesting thoughts about the real problems at several notable companies in the news of late.
For those of you reading the tea leaves, none of these come as huge surprises.
For hiring managers out there, two things to be thinking about: 1) Do you want/need people from these companies and have you already reached out?; 2) There are going to be other companies announce layoffs in the coming months/quarters, and are you planning ahead for these?
I can read your mind - you're saying to yourself, "Hardwick's off his nut, this is going to raise my costs, and I need to be focused on reducing my burn rate."
While all of that might be true, ahem, consider that those companies with great recruiting functions and CxOs who get the talent equation in the software industry (Google, Microsoft, Amazon) are making selective hires from these troubled companies, and others that see will be announcing their trouble in the near future.
You do earn your salary because you're a strategic thinker, right?
What happens when your hopes, dreams & aspirations hit the rocks of reality? (part 1) November 18, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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There's a great story about our what we see v. reality.
Back in the '70s a pilot was preparing to set a low-altitude speed record in a surplus F-104 Starfighter. A Psychologist did some estimates based on the projected max speed of the aircraft, and figured that if the pilot ran into the ground, which is a real danger in this sort of work, his brain would tell him about a second or so after the crash.
If you're a job hunter, you're the pilot in the above scenario.
Because of the economic fears that are traipsing about, firms that are in good financial shape, but concerned about maintaining their cash are basically shutting down hiring, except for those roles that are absolutely necessary. Firms that are not in good financial shape are cutting unneeded staff.
There is a lot in this that merits further analysis, like what is 'good financial shape', and we'll set those aside for the moment.
What we can analyze a bit is your career aspirations. There are four points to pay attention to.
First, the most important thing you can do is protect yourself. You probably need a paycheck, so make sure you're among those that is considered valuable to the firm. And, get your resume in order, your linkedin profile all spiffed up, and start looking at other opportunities. You just don't know when the axe will fall, so it's better to be ready than not.
Second, if you're thinking about moving up the ranks in Software Development to a managerial role, or higher, to an exec role, it's very tough sledding right now. This is due to simple supply and demand: There are far more people looking for these roles than there are openings. Although, I hear tell the CEO slot at Yahoo is open.
Third, this is all temporary, and we will see economic growth again. Write down your dreams and aspirations. Stay focused on how to add and/or improve your skills to get the role you are looking to take on next. Maybe you're thinking of learning Python, or Ruby, or what-have-you. Now is a good time to focus on that.
Fourth, firms are still hiring individual contributors in the Software Development field. Python, Ruby, .NET, Java. Yup, these are in demand. Note to hiring managers: Stop thinking you're going to have an easy time finding good Developers with these skills, or that you'll be able to drop salaries for Developers with these bona fides. You're not.
And, individual contributors with these dev skills will be in demand as we come out the other side.
