Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

Stop telling me there are no jobs to be had. Layoffs make news, but there is so much more to the employment story. Saying there are no jobs for executives and tech leaders is like telling Meryl Streep and Susan Sarandon there are no good acting roles for women over forty.

There is so much stealth mode activity going on, no one can accurately predict a technology employment outlook.

Read on for resources and companies.   For even more current info on who is hiring visit Seattle Examiner.com and  the WTIA job board.

And for those of you who insist you are going to tweet your way to a job, check out the Twitter listings for Seattle and follow SeattleTechJob.

Suit up. Find every reason to visit companies, friends and HR departments.  Talk to sales people, connect with vendors who service the companies you are interested in.  Don’t forget to go to trade shows.

Raoul Encinas, Technology, Services, & Project Executive, posted comments on LinkedIn every job seeker should consider.

“This will sound contrarian but thousands of companies are hiring in the Greater Metro Atlanta area right now. The reason you perceive that this is not the case is for 2 reasons: the mythical ‘hiring freeze’ and the way we hear about news.

It’s easy to write headlines and read about certain types of news stories, especially those that are negative. Here’s the obvious example – we all know what happened on the Hudson River recently with a US Airways plane. If there’s ANY commercial plane crash at all, you will hear about it.

When was the last time you saw or read a news report that ‘OVER 1000 PLANES LANDED SAFELY YESTERDAY’ at your local airport? Why is that not newsworthy?

That analogy, when applied to job search, helps you as follows. Keep in mind there are several million productive employed adults in your metro area. Consequently, many hundreds of companies employ large numbers of people, and even in difficult times such as these, VOLUNTARY turnover at those companies numbers 15%-25%. The reasons for these numbers are that ‘life happens.’ People get married, get divorced, move, die, just quit, go back to school, are sick of their boss, etc.

Take a random company with 1000 employees that experiences 20% turnover, and that company – EVEN IN A HIRING FREEZE – will very quietly be hiring about 3-4 people per week just to maintain existing levels of service and productivity.

Hiring freeze, for most companies, means net new adds. Incremental hiring. Growth/expansion-related hiring.   So don’t get hung up on who is hiring the MOST or REALLY hiring – lots of companies are. Focus more on identifying 20-40 target companies, and network your way directly into those companies so that you are on their radar. Figure out who typically is a decision-maker for your level and build that relationship.”

I couldn’t say it better myself.  Thanks Raoul.

If you know of job openings, let me know so I can post them here.  Send them to coach at jobsearchdebugged dot com or post through the comments section below.  Don’t forget to look at jobs posted on LinkedIn.  This list is about companies that are hiring, not recruiters or job boards.  Check back frequently as new companies are added.

1. Rafe Needleman of WebWare offers an ongoing list of companies hiring technical professionals.  Check his site periodically.  This list is impressive and real.
2. Big Fish Games has 35 openings in Seattle.
3. This link to Fortune’s list of companies that are hiring. is a good place to start.
4. Companies in Chicago that are hiring.
5. Elaina Dulaney, a PR and MarCom professional says she finds leads on craigslist.com.
6. Hundreds of consulting and temp positions are listed on Sologig.  Most are through agencies, but many are not.  You can search by geographic region.  By-pass the ‘offers’ to get to the search area.  Click here for a Seattle example.
7. Katarina Kibbon contribues this bit of job search info:  VisualCV is hosting a virtual job fair on February 3rd from 10-3 EST where 20+ employers from the DC/MD/VA area will be hiring for 200+ opportunities from account manager to senior management. Anyone interested can register for free at www.visualcvjobfairs.com.
8. VisialCV also lists companies they believe are hiring.  Katarina assures me the list is current; it is a good list.
9. Darrell DiZoglio submitted names of companies that are hiring: He believes they represent over 600 openings: Amazon, Schering Plough, British Petroleum, Booz Allen, TIAA-CREF and Kinetic Concepts.
10. Darrell suggests reading The Investors Business Daily .
11. Both Classmates.com and Redfin are rumored to be hiring in Seattle.
12. Check out Expedia for jobs in Seattle.
13. Don’t forget about Amazon in Seattle.  They always have critical needs for top techs.
14. Amanda Fletcher from Stonehenge says they have openings for consulting engineers in Tulsa area. Currently hiring for Project Managers, COGNOS developers, Web and Application Developers, Business Analysts and others.
15. Web designers may find jobs here.
16. 13 more companies hiring.
17. Mona Mcaldok of Vertaphone sumitted a link,: www.vertafore.com or contact Mona Valdok, Senior Recruiter at mvaldok@vertafore.com to learn about several open recs.
18. From Elizabeth Smith, Internal Recruiter for Avery Dennison: Avery Dennison is definitely looking for talent in key areas. Elizabeth can be contacted: elizabeth.smith@averydennison.com.  Contact her directly if you have questions..
19. Big Fish - Seattle game company has 35 openings
20. Amazon is hiring hoards of people in all sections of the company
21. Google is looking for product focused social networking pros
22. Shopzilla is hiring in L.A.

Check back to this blog location for ideas on how to conduct your search in a tight job market.  Learn to be the Meryl and Susan of job search.  For other resources check www.newjobinabox.com.

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6 Responses to “Stop telling me no one is hiring”

1. Jason Alba says:

   January 27, 2009 at 1:31 pm

   Rita – amen! Thanks for pulling all of these links together, it is gloomy, but there is opportunity for those who look!
2. Katrina says:

   January 27, 2009 at 7:49 pm

   Great article Rita! There definitely are opportunities out there and it’s hard to find them without some guidance.

   VisualCV is hosting a virtual job fair on February 3rd from 10-3 EST where 20+ employers from the DC/MD/VA area will be hiring for 200+ opportunities from account manager to senior management. Anyone interested can register for free at http://www.visualcvjobfairs.com.

   There are also over 700 employers featured on our site.
3. Darrell Z. DiZoglio says:

   January 28, 2009 at 12:14 pm

   Thanks for being a positive inspiration to all job hunters! Great site.
4. Colleen Aylward says:

   January 29, 2009 at 7:10 pm

   Thanks, Rita! I will distribute this to all my Seattle area job seekers… a real boon!

   They are all creating InterviewStudio Showcases to send out to these types of postings, so we’re hoping they will have the extra advantage of a complete online profile to stand out from the crowd of resumes!
5. | Rita Ashley, Career Coach says:

   April 29, 2010 at 9:53 pm

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6. Land that big six figure job | Rita Ashley, Career Coach says:

   May 2, 2010 at 5:16 pm

   [...] are looking for candidates. You have to know how to be found because they are certainly looking. There are jobs out there in spite of what the media and your unemployed friends tell you. All those products need [...]