Many people have set up goals for the new year; have you? But there is a big difference between setting up the goals and actually achieving them. In order to get from the planning to the reality, business consultant Alexandra Samuel has formulated a list of steps to take using an Excel spreadsheet. She uses the spreadsheet to assess all of her ongoing endeavors and to pare away everything that is extraneous to achieving her goals.

The first step in the process, Samuel says, is to write down your most important goals for the year, or any time period you want to work with. She recommends having no more than three major goals here, and to put them at the top of your spreadsheet in large letters, so that they jump out at you.

Then, add all of the activities you are currently involved in or expect to be involved in. Put them all in one column, one activity per row. Some may be a lot more significant than others, and that’s OK. This part of the process may take a little time, so you don’t need to be in a big hurry to get it done, she says. Look at your list and realize that you are not going to get to the things that really matter – those three big things at the top of the spreadsheet – if you try to do everything on your list.

Sort your activities into related areas, and then label how important they are and how urgent they are, Samuel says. She uses different colors to categorize her tasks. Then try to determine which of these tasks can help you get to one of your major goals, and which tasks you can farm out to others. In order to do this, you may have to schedule meetings with others to work this out, and explain the situation

Then, get rid of the tasks you don’t plan on doing at all.

Then take another look at your list. Is it manageable, or is there still more on it that you cannot reasonably do and still chase your big goals? Look again to see if there is anything that you can cut or delegate – it may be tough, but better to admit that you cannot get to these things rather than have your truly important goals get lost in the shuffle.

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to find a new position, put THAT at the top of your spreadsheet and then contact a recruiter at Bayside Solutions. We have many positions for IT and other professionals at companies throughout the Bay Area.

The engineering profession, like so many others, took a hit during the 2007-2009 recession, but many engineering specialties will have been bouncing back and will continue to do so in 2012.

What’s Hot
Aerospace, biomedical, computer hardware and mechanical engineering are among the specialties that have been adding engineering jobs in recent years.

Companies are showing interest in college graduates of engineering programs. “Out of 70 employers that came to our fall 2011 campus job fair, 25 were specifically looking for engineering students,” says Bill McCarthy, associate director of the career development center at Binghamton University in New York.

Those firms were hiring for positions in computer hardware, mechanical, industrial, materials and electrical engineering.

The upshot for qualified engineering job seekers in 2012? If you knock on doors in the right industry sector, you’ll be in demand.

Auto Industry Comeback Creates Engineering Jobs

The Detroit automakers and their business partners are beginning to get credit for improving their products, and engineers are being hired to further that effort.

“The in-demand engineering jobs are in mechatronics, LED lighting and lithium-ion batteries,” says Jim Bazner, global vice president of human capital solutions at MSX International, a managed service provider specializing in auto industry talent.

Competition is fierce to hire the few individuals with a background in both mechanical and electronic engineering, according to Julie Lustig, recruiting manager at MSX. “Folks with this experience can work for a lot of different organizations,” she says.

Despite Strapped Governments, Civil Engineering Shows Bright Spots

Recovery Act money is on the wane, but civil construction projects are creating work for engineers on projects that can’t wait any longer. “We’re projecting that we will be hiring about 30 engineers as program design managers, project managers and construction managers as well as civil engineers,” says John Robak, COO of Greeley and Hansen, an environmental engineering firm based in Chicago.

“New funding opportunities in green design, particularly for sustainable infrastructure facilities, will also support growth in 2012,” he says.

Unconventional Engineering Career Opportunities

Engineers will also find novel niches of opportunity in 2012. “We’ll probably hire two to three more engineers in 2012, with advanced degrees and experience, mostly mechanical engineers, because they can work across areas,” says Jeff Richard, president of CED Investigative Technologies, a forensic engineering and accident reconstruction firm in Shelton, Connecticut.

Richard’s firm looks for engineers who can communicate: His employees might be called on to introduce concepts to clients who don’t understand the technology, or to get in front of a jury.

Relocation May Be Less Than You’re Hoping For

Engineers will be on the move in 2012, some on less favorable terms than they might like. Many companies don’t even give their current employees help with moving expenses if their jobs are relocated.

And new entrants to the field may not find jobs in the engineering hot spots of San Diego, Seattle or Chicago. “Young grads might need to go to Detroit or Texas or Fargo [North Dakota] for a few years to accumulate technical skills,” says Paul Kostek, a former president of IEEE-USA.

If you are job hunting, you obviously want to set yourself apart from all of the other job hunters out there, to show how unique you are.

According to business consultant Bill Barnett, an effective way of doing this is to establish what he calls a “personal value proposition.” It is similar to value propositions for a product, Barnett says, that is, the benefits a product provides and its cost.

For example, one job seeking manager set his target market for companies that are operations-based, firms that can benefit the most from making improvements in their performance. This person targets companies that are in trouble, businesses that need to have new things built, new management practices put in place. He isn’t a turnaround specialist, or someone who comes in with a cutting knife. But he also isn’t interested in taking the helm of a smoothly running operation and just maintaining the status quo.

He looks for private companies with sales between $150 million and $1 billion. He is not interested in start-ups or huge conglomerates. This person also looks for the right environment. Companies which for him pose an ethical dilemma – such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling enterprises – are also not on his list of preferred employers.

It may sound like he is unnecessarily limiting his options. But he is recruited regularly by companies who are aware of his strengths and his preferences. He doesn’t get calls from the companies that don’t fit his preferred employer profile, but he does get calls for jobs that fit his personal value proposition.

To develop a personal value proposition, you need to set clear parameters of the kind of place where you would like to work — a place that needs what you have to offer. You naturally want to take your career in a certain direction, so clearly defining what that direction is – as in the example above – will enable you to be more effective at your work.

But the real bedrock of your personal value proposition is establishing what your strengths and weaknesses are – what you know and what you can do. You need to be very clear about these.

The last step in developing your personal value proposition is connecting your strengths to your ideal job, showing an employer how your strengths fit with what the company needs. There should be a clear, firm connection. One way to help make this connection is to give evidence of your value by your accomplishments through reports and other measurable achievements.

If you’re looking to bring value to a company in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Bayside Solutions today. We can help you find work in some of San Francisco’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

Although the economy is growing, it’s doing so very sluggishly, with unemployment  still hovering around nine percent. For every job available, there are about four unemployed people, according to statistics.

The news focuses relentlessly on layoffs and the long-term unemployed. As unemployment remains high, people become anxious about job security and the stability of their employer. It appears as if the job market has crashed and burned, that no one out there is hiring. Reading the headlines, it is easy to believe this myth, but it is exactly that, a myth. Companies are still hiring. In fact, some human resource consultants say the number of job offers made during a recession remains about the same as in a more healthy economy. Even in a recession, innovation and entrepreneurship are still at work, and companies are working to bring new products and services to market.

But, reading the doom and gloom in the headlines sometimes makes people feel that it’s not even worth the effort because the economy is so bad. But this is not true. The job market still exists; it has just become more selective. People who are valued for their skills, experience and accomplishments will have little trouble finding a job, and can get a job offer in a relatively short period of time.

Those in the worst position during a recession, however, are the long-term unemployed. They stand little chance of getting a job offer during a recession. They might even have trouble gaining employment in a growing economy, because there is little value placed on their skills and competencies.

The economy doesn’t stop during a recession, it just slows down, and the same thing happens in the job market – it slows down. Companies make more effort to avoid risk, and so hiring decisions tend to take longer. But, eventually, hiring managers reach a decision – they must, because they need to continue their operations so that they can serve their customers.

So, if you are a job candidate, you can be pretty sure there is a company out there that needs your help; you just need to be smart and savvy in your job search. Network, persevere and look for the companies that are attempting to start new projects.

Working on short- and long-term temporary assignments with Bayside Solutions in San Francisco can be a great way for someone to keep skills current and learn new ones. Contact a recruiter today to learn more about the different type of assignments we have available.

It sometimes happens in a career that you hit a dead end, that you find yourself in a job where you see no room for advancement or change.

There are several different strategies you can use to try and address this situation. One is talking to your boss to discuss different options – taking on more responsibilities, for example. Another option is a transfer within the company. If these alternatives don’t work, your next choice might be to look for work elsewhere.

If this is the course of action you are considering, you might also want to think about contingent work. Contingent work is not often thought of as a way to boost your career. Many consider it a stop-gap measure, a way of keeping your skills fresh if you get laid off.

But, while temping doesn’t offer the security of a permanent job, and benefit plans vary, it does have advantages if you are trying to jump start your career.

By working in different companies in different jobs, you get to add to your skills, which can help you down the road in looking for a permanent job. You also get valuable experience in seeing how different organizations work. In fact, the skills you pick up doing the temporary work will make you a better candidate when you do apply for other jobs.

Another advantage of contingent work is that you get to meet people in various companies, allowing you to build up a network that might eventually help you when you look for full-time employment.

A good personal support network is helpful while going through this transition. Family and friends who are supportive can offer the stability to help balance the change in your work life.

If you’re looking to make a change, contact Bayside Solutions. We have many direct-hire, temp-to-hire and short- and long-term temporary assignments with some of San Francisco’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you’re over 50 and looking for work, it can be tough. There are many stories that mature workers have about the ways they have been misunderstood and unappreciated.

They are told that they are overqualified, or that they cannot learn new things, even though that is what they have been doing their entire careers.

To try and prevent discrimination against those over 40, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act in 1967. But if you believe that you personally have been discriminated against because of age, there really is little recourse. Few have the time and resources and energy to take a company to court because there are many reasons for denying someone a job.

The bright side, says career coach Priscilla Claman, is that since the Baby Boomer generation, being over 40 is not perceived as that old anymore.

If you are over 50 and looking for work, there are several things you need to pay attention to, Claman says.

The first is whether you are still enthusiastic and excited about your work. Or has your attitude become more negative because of your experiences? If you come across as sullen or grumpy, you are really hurting yourself. No one wants to work with complainers or someone who is not upbeat and pleasant.

The next thing to take note of is your personal appearance. Have you kept up with the times, or are you wearing clothing that proclaims here is an old person? How long have those shirts and pants been in your closet? Maybe some new clothes, a haircut and a gym membership are needed. They will not only help you look better, but you’ll feel better as well, which in turn will help your self-confidence.

Have you allowed some of your skills to become outdated? Do you need a refresher course on the latest technology or regulations? Take the time to bring yourself up to date, Claman says.

And finally, look for ways to sell your age and experience. How is being older helpful in your field? In many jobs where expertise is required, you need to have experience in order to achieve that expertise. The point is that you cannot get it unless you are older.

Assess your career strategy and look for ways that you can leverage your age to your advantage, Claman says.

No matter what your age, is you’re looking for work in the San Francisco area, give Bayside Solutions a call. We can help you find temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments that can go a long way to invigorating your career. We look forward to hearing from you!

Green technology, cloud computing and CRM technology are gaining popularity as the demand for these skills continues to grow. What other IT skills are currently in demand?

According to a report released in 2011 by Dice. com, the United States’ leading career website for technology and engineering professionals, based on an analysis of their job listings, cloud computing leads the pack with a nearly 300% jump in demand. Dice makes an association between the boom in cloud-related applications and an increased demand for JavaScript expertise, which saw a 98% increase and HTML, which showed an 85% increase.

Skills related to information security are also in demand, as are those related to virtualization.

The report also shows that Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is among the most sought-after skills of the moment. Others are SAP expertise and PeopleSoft experience.

Further analysis from the Dice report:

• Demand for Hadoop knowledge grew slower than other NoSQL related technologies, but there were still more Hadoop jobs than there were jobs in every other NoSQL technology combined.
• Traditional RDBMS technologies are still the most popular, with the most jobs and strong growth.
• Demand for Oracle eBusiness Suite skills dipped but remained strong for Oracle’s database. SAP hiring experienced the most growth in the applications area, followed by PeopleSoft.
• Silverlight overtook Flash.
• Demand for iPad skills decreased but iOS demand increased.
• There was an increased demand for skills in Facebook and Twitter.
• Azure was the fastest growing platform.

The five programming languages with the most growth were:
1. HTML5 (45.2%)
2. SAP Sybase PowerBuilder (26.0%)
3. Ruby (15.8%)
4. Python (15.8%)
5. Silverlight (12.6%)

The top languages, by total number of jobs, were:
1. Java (16,152 jobs)
2. HTML (9,736 jobs)
3. XML (9,651)
4. JavaScript (9,618)
5. C# (7,940)

Takeaways:

• Microsoft professionals are doing well, with strong growth in C#, Silverlight and Azure.
• Java is still sitting pretty
• SAP is rebounding.
• Oracle database skills remain vital, but other Oracle applications are questionable.
• Demand for CRM skills are in decline, with Siebel, Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics all taking hits in the past three months.
• NoSQL is a small but growing niche.
• You can’t go wrong with HTML5 and JavaScript.

You have been laid off from your job and are looking for another one. The employment picture is a rather bleak one, as you have no doubt found out. You had a very good salary at your old job, and you are willing to take a pay cut to find something else, which you tell employers.

But that doesn’t seem to help much. The conventional wisdom among some employers is that if you were making more in your previous position than they are willing to offer for this one, you won’t be around that long because you will be looking for greener pastures. They will assume that you are overqualified for the job.

How do you handle a situation like this?

One way to blunt the problem is by focusing on your skills and experience and how much they can help the company. If you can provide the expertise they need, if you can help them solve the problems they have, the company might not be so focused on salary.

Another way around this problem is to work through a staffing agency, taking a position as a contingent or contract worker. This will help you on several levels. First, you will be employed by the staffing agency, not by the company where you will be working. All salary and benefits issues are with the agency, which will not be so concerned with past salary history. Second, you will get a foot in the door at a company, and if you perform well, you may get a job offer that way.

You also can try avoiding talk of past salary altogether. It may be tough to do, but it’s always worth a try. What you could do is research what the salary range is for the job you are applying for, and focus on that if you get the chance to interview.  Be sure to focus on a salary range, rather than pinning yourself down to a specific figure.

Finally, if company officials are still convinced that a previous high salary is a disqualification because it means a worker will soon move on, you should let hiring managers know your circumstances have changed and that you understand you may not be able to command the type of salary  With the high unemployment rate, and many workers underemployed, people are just glad to have jobs, and are much more likely to hang on to them.

Produce positive results in your career by bringing your résumé to a Bayside Solutions recruiter. We can help you contact some of the mover and shakers at some of the Bay Area’s finest employers. Give us a call today!

During your job search, you discover what can only be called the job of your dreams – it’s just what you’ve been looking for, and it matches your qualifications exactly.

So you apply and land an interview. The interview is a great success. You get along well with everyone there, and they seem to really like what you have to say.

Afterward, you send a thank you note and wait. A few days go by, then weeks, and still no word. Finally, you get a letter of rejection in the mail. You are dumbfounded. It looked like the perfect job. You breezed through the application process.

You may get the urge to take this rejection personally, but don’t. There may be many reasons why you didn’t get the job, some of which might come as news to you.

The first thing to remember is that this isn’t an exact science. There is no fool-proof method that hiring managers use to choose people. Some of the selection is actually taking place at a subconscious level. It is more intuitive. So the whole thing is not really about you, it’s about the recruiter.

Another thing to keep in mind is the competition, especially with the current high unemployment rate. There were probably 200 or more other people who applied for the same job you did, and only about 10 (if that many) even got called for an interview. So, in a way, you can consider yourself lucky that you made it to the interview stage. This is actually an opportunity for you to take advantage of – apply for other openings at the company for which you believe you are qualified. Since the hiring managers now know you, and you have made a good impression, you may end up with something better down the road.

Another reason for the rejection letter may have to do with abrupt changes in direction by the company. It may have wanted to hire you, but changes to budgets or other factors may have led to a sudden imposition of a hiring freeze. Again, keep in touch with the company – you may be contacted again later when it starts hiring again.

Another factor in the rejection may just have to do with the hiring manager’s impression of whether you will be a good fit for the position, or how well you will fit in with the current employees. So, again, this is not about some failure on your part, but more about the culture of the company.

Stay proactive, and don’t take things personally. If you get rejected, contact the hiring manager and tell her to remember you for future openings and ask her if r she could refer you to anyone in her network who may be hiring.

Speaking of hiring, Bayside Solutions is always looking for terrific professionals who want to work in some of the Bay Area’s best companies. Contact us today to learn more about the temporary, direct-hire and temp-to-hire opportunities we have.

You have been a good employee, a hard and productive worker. But even though you have worked hard for your company, when the recession hit and cutbacks were made, you were one of the people caught in the downsizing.

You find yourself back searching for a job. You thought it wouldn’t take long, given your skills and experience. But what was supposed to be a job search lasting weeks has now become a year, and employers are beginning to express concern that your skills may have become outdated.

If you find yourself in this position, how should you approach the job search?

The first thing to look at is your resume. Since this is the first thing the employer will see, how you sell yourself and your skills is important, even more so if you have to deal with a gap in your employment history.

If your resume doesn’t address the issues that concern the employer, it will be put on the stack of rejected applications right away. So, in this case, you need to rework your resume, using a format that doesn’t fit the traditional mold.

In this case, you want to use what is known as a combination resume, which is geared more for people who have been out of work for a while, or for people who are changing careers. The combination resume is what the name implies, a combination of what you have done, along with when you have done it.

The first part is the introduction, where you give the employer a taste of what you have done and the value you would have to the business. You would highlight briefly your outstanding accomplishments along with your other qualities. It gives a checklist of qualifications.

The next section is accomplishments, where you highlight what you have done. This is an opportunity to show that you still have the skills and experience to do the job. Here you want to be as specific as possible about what you have done and include the achievements you are most proud of.

Then, only after you have highlighted your skills, accomplishments and experience, do you list your work history, giving a chronological listing of previous employment, with a short summary of your duties in each job.

Then, lastly, you would include your educational background, which would include college and any professional development training.

Bring your resume to Bayside Solutions! Many of the Bay Area’s top companies look to us to help them fill temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire positions. We look forward to hearing from you.