Diary of a Network Geek

So, I’ve been putting off making this announcement for about a week, but I’ve been laid off from my last job. My very kind Director, who I hadn’t worked with for very long, was good about reassuring me it had nothing to do with my performance and that it was 100% about cutting costs and trying to increase margins. He also volunteered to be a good reference for me. In fact, he said it while HR was still on the line with us. So, I’m in the market again, a little sooner than I’d hoped, but, well, job change rarely happens on our timetable, does it?

Of course, when I started this blog more than 20 years ago, before blogging software was a thing and, really before blogging was much of a thing, I did it because I was changing jobs. It was my attempt to “game” the search engines into ranking my website and, therefore, my resume, higher in the hopes that a recruiter would see me and reach out. Now, of course, we have sites like LinkedIn, and you can find my profile there. I’ve got no idea where I’ll land this time or how long it will take to find a new gig. I know the longest I was out of work was a year back at the end of the dot com bust, starting between when Compaq and HP merged and when Enron went under because they got caught cooking the books. It was rough because so many people in technology were out on the street all at the same time. From what I understand, things are better now, at least in Houston where I am. And, it’s easier since I’m more than willing to work either a hybrid schedule or go back to being in the office all the time. I don’t mind either way, as long as the commute isn’t too bad.

So, anyway, there we are. I’ll be making a similar plea for help on LinkedIn, too. If you know of anyone hiring experienced IT Managers or Directors, send them my way!

So, last week, we finally had layoffs at my company.

No, I wasn’t one of them, and, in fact, we lost fewer people than some of our other offices.  Or, for that matter, many of the other people I know who are in the oil and gas industry.  And, while I don’t expect to lose my job any time soon, since I’m one of the few IT people here, there’s no telling what the future holds.
So, in short, I’m not quite…
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Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why."
   --Bernard Baruch

Sadly, not mine.

So, regular readers know how much I love coding up little random generators, right?  Well, this is the same thing, only it’s not random and I didn’t make it.
I’ve changed jobs a lot.  I mean, it’s unusual that I stay at the same gig more than three years.  So, I’ve made a lot of resumes, sometimes even customizing them to the particular job I may be applying to at any given moment.  Well, now, you don’t have to do that kind of work yourself.  Now, you can use Resunate, the Smart Online Resume Builder!
You just load up your current resume, then add in the job you want to apply for and let this website tell you where your resume matches, or doesn’t match, the job description.  Then, as if that weren’t enough, they actually let you create a new resume based on the changes, automagically!

Wow, I can’t tell you how much I wished I’d had that when I was job hopping so much in the nineties and early noughts.  This would have saved me so much hassle!  Well, in any case, you have it now.  And, what the heck, it’s Friday and you’ll be dreaming of another job today anyway, so you might as well go use it to update your resume!
Have a great weekend, y’all!

Yes, there’s more than one down side.

And, no, I don’t mean the lost domestic jobs. While this article on AustralianIT details practices in that country, I’m sure the same thing is happening here: Body-Hire Scams. Basically, IT workers from “less advantaged” countries are brought into a highly industrialized country, like Australia, with the lure of good jobs and a better life. Then, the job either ends early, or never materializes, and the victim is left to find a way to maintain their status. The truly ugly part of the scam is when the predatory company offers to keep the victim in the country, for a price. Nasty, nasty, nasty. So, watch out for shifty IT recruiters, you H1B1 visa folks! Don’t get scammed!