[FRIAM] !RE: A million tech jobs unfilled

Tue Mar 14 13:51:25 EDT 2017

Regarding the larger conversation: It will be interesting to see what
happens if the tech-worker visas stay frozen. I suspect that program has
encouraged the unreasonable pickiness that many companies display. If the
companies really need employees, either there will be employees who meet
the exact skill set the company wants for the price it is offering, or the
company will need to broaden the search (either in terms of skill set or
money offered). At some point, either the company finds people to hire, or
it goes under due to sheer lack of manpower. Even if they do find exactly
what they are looking for, presumably companies filled with only
overly-specialized employees will show other signs of stagnation that are
ultimately detrimental.

In my limited experience, one of the disconnects is that the people
evaluating resumes, and sometimes even the people doing initial interviews,
often have little clue what skills are needed for the job. Some H.R. person
interviews a hiring manager looking for a programmer, and the manager says
"Well, what I'd really like is someone with 5 years of x, 10 years of y,
and project management experience." The H.R. person writes something
vaguely like that in an add, but doesn't know that 6 years of M and 4 years
of N counts as 10 years of y. And it all goes down hill from there. And
that the manager would also have been perfectly happy for people with a
variety of related skill sets doesn't matter for everyone who's resumes got
flushed.

At this point, much of my experience is applying for jobs in the federal
sector, where regulations force the initial rounds of evaluation to be at
arms length from anyone who might know what to look for. It is amazing the
jobs that I have been deemed qualified for and the jobs I have been deemed
unqualified for, during the initial arms-length stages.

-----------
Eric P. Charles, Ph.D.
Supervisory Survey Statistician
U.S. Marine Corps
<echarles at american.edu>

On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 1:33 PM, Eric Charles <
eric.phillip.charles at gmail.com> wrote:

> More re: age reply
>
> You will be at the mercy of state and local laws there. Federal laws
> specifically only apply to people being discriminated against because they
> are over the age of 40.
>
> I don't know much about more local laws around the country. I know that in
> D.C. age discrimination claims can be made by anyone 18 or older.
>
>
>
>
> -----------
> Eric P. Charles, Ph.D.
> Supervisory Survey Statistician
> U.S. Marine Corps
> <echarles at american.edu>
>
> On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 4:45 PM, Jacqueline Kazil <jackiekazil at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Re: age reply -- as someone does a lot of work in diversity in tech. I
>> would consult a lawyer about the age response. That sounds like
>> descrimnation to me.
>>
>> My husband is almost 40 and having same issue.
>>
>> Lastly. I will say that one of the best junior developers I hired was
>> 55-ish or so. Their loss.
>>
>>
>> On Thursday, March 9, 2017, Gillian Densmore <gil.densmore at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> @Nick My recent experience for tech jobs as Owen(Dad) noted bonkers. My
>>> experience isn't unique either. I like using tech and have geeked out many
>>> times about tools like Dreamweaver,  Dragon Speaking (or GooglesVoice To
>>> Text helper )
>>> What I've come across that's borderline insanity: Knowing how to read or
>>> (possibly) use I duno HTML, NODE - equipment (for example) and if their is
>>> (was) something like a Python for web that as well.
>>> basically looking at tech tools as a mix of companions and tools. Ok
>>> that's make sense.
>>> What doesn't?
>>> (this is a real example):
>>> I sent a company my resume and some examples I'd done, and (politely)
>>> asked that have the option to work remotely. The outfit was a company in
>>> florida. They got back to me saying literally:
>>> "You're skills and disposition are more than a mach for this this
>>> position. However We're only interested in people with PHDs and can also do
>>> Conversion to Funding Metrix to ensure our Metrix for Success are properly
>>> being met."
>>> (I had to think: Was that even English?)
>>> I also had someone say: "Due to your stage of life we've persude other
>>> younger and also qualified candidates" (So Because of being 30 or so you
>>> turned me down for a teen in College I thought"
>>>
>>> Sufficed to say these example made me realise several things: I really
>>> want to get my Tech/Science/Art play nice and work together project going
>>> again, and eventually off the ground.
>>> And that a certain type person is just bonkers.
>>> Some tools are a bit to quirky. WordPress is a good example. Ever tried
>>> changing one background for a (similar) or even entirely different one?
>>> That's an incredibly basic thing. Yet (to me) but many themese make it a
>>> PITA
>>> Android , that Dough Roberts for as kick but he has ranted (infamously)
>>> to here and to google and his blog(S?) about because it's super quirky.
>>>
>>> Sufficed to say quirky and has personality is one thing. But I simply
>>> don't get this giant jerk attitude that people have now (tech or
>>> otherwise).
>>>
>>> I'm stuck on the part of no how-to for jobs. Like I've said here(and to
>>> my bosses) Just because Xplace does it one way. Their might be a good
>>> reason to do it some otherway at Acme as compared to WilyCayoties. And not
>>> everyone has a head for or a desire to write in raw code but likes to use
>>> tools.
>>> Besides...might not always be needed if a doodad already exists.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 10:21 AM, Nick Thompson <
>>> nickthompson at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi, Owen,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.  I have learned a lot from the blow back.  Apparently Tech jobs
>>>> have become more siloed in the last decade, so people can get stuck in
>>>> their soloes (Silos?  Is that like “potato”?)  I have a relative who may be
>>>> stuck in a silo, even while living in Eastern Mass.  I would think that
>>>> such a person would take a few months off and do a certificate or a crash
>>>> course somewhere and emerge in another silo, if the opportunity is as great
>>>> as it seems to be.   I used to tell my undergraduates, “smart,
>>>> *flexible* people will always find work.”  Is that wrong?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Nick
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>>>>
>>>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
>>>>
>>>> Clark University
>>>>
>>>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *From:* Friam [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] *On Behalf Of *Owen
>>>> Densmore
>>>> *Sent:* Thursday, March 09, 2017 10:11 AM
>>>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <
>>>> friam at redfish.com>
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] !RE: A million tech jobs unfilled
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I don't think you made a mistake, Nick. I think it is easy for the news
>>>> to make such a broad statement by simply being very inclusive. *Everybody*
>>>> needs to be tech-savvy in any job nowadays.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For me, the more important issue is companies making such a loud noise
>>>> about their labor force difficulties. It's certainly real to them! They are
>>>> not lying, but may be being absurdly specific about their requirements. The
>>>> evolution of the the tech culture is always surprising me.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> So no worries.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>    -- Owen
>>>>
>>>> ============================================================
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Jacqueline Kazil | @jackiekazil
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ============================================================
>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
>> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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>>
>
>
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