At the same time, "people who still have a job tend to forget that they're the lucky ones," Taylor says. "They don't realize that there are people in Silicon Valley and on Route 128 who are sitting around, networking at meetings, or volunteering at companies just for the experience. Maybe they're getting some stock options in return, but no pay." In that light, having suffered through a salary freeze or a round of pay cuts at your company doesn't seem so brutal.
If you do decide to stay, that doesn't mean that your role has to stay the same. It's time to volunteer for the task forces and teams that will be credited with reinvigorating your company.
"At most companies, there are some incredibly interesting projects happening in the midst of a downturn," Taylor says. "Those are the projects that will change the company's direction and position it to be successful again. Those are the projects that you want to lead or get involved with. And if you have the energy to look for a job, why not try applying that energy within your company instead?"
Of course, you should always keep an eye on the job market -- in case that perfect position does materialize somewhere else. And holding on to what you've got doesn't preclude you from firing off a ré sumé now and then. Advises Taylor: "For most people, now is not a wonderful time to look for a job. Your first thought ought to be, "How can I make my situation better?" Scott Kirsner
Skills, shmills. If you want to compete these days, update your Rolodex, insists Colleen Aylward, president and hall monitor (her preferred title) at Devon James Associates, a Seattle-based recruiting firm. The technology companies that hire her want high-impact contacts who will generate revenue, boost funding, or open doors in overseas markets -- starting today. Aylward even recommends that job candidates add a list of "strategic relationships" to their ré sumé .
That's not to say that there aren't any skills worth acquiring. Web design, building cool apps, and online marketing have been ushered offstage, along with MC Hammer and Ally McBeal. In a decade that could be dubbed the Uh-Ohs, problem solving is king. "Companies have problems: 'Our product is no longer competitive.' Or, 'We have to streamline operations because we grew too big,' " Aylward says. "They want someone who has solved that specific problem before." Hiring for potential is out. Hiring for expertise is in.
More upgrades to consider: speaking one or more foreign languages, preferably German, Japanese, or Spanish. It's no longer preferred that you do business abroad; it's expected. Another invaluable skill is the ability to integrate systems (technical as well as human). In the wake of so many mergers, companies are trying to sort out incompatibilities and eliminate redundancies.
As for the skills that served global hit-and-run deal makers so well a few years ago, many of them matter less in a world where international partners often approach their American counterparts more cautiously because of the precarious state of the economy. "Companies used to value the hotshots who made the deals," says Aylward. "But now they value the employees who can keep clients happy, so that their clients don't go to the competition." Chuck Salter
Despite all the promise of Internet job hunting, a tiny proportion of jobs are filled online. Forrester Research found that even at the peak of the tech boom, only 4% of job hunters found employment through online boards. (Help-wanted ads scored a 23% success rate that same year.) "Job boards are a research tool, not a matchmaking service," says Margaret Riley Dikel of the Riley Guide (www.rileyguide.com), one of the Internet's longest-running listings of online employment resources. "Boards are best used to survey who's hiring in what fields. Otherwise, they should be pretty far down on a job seeker's to-do list."
One smart tactic is to use the Web to collect information on the handful of companies that you want to work for. As in all things Web related, the more targeted the search, the better the yield. Start at your preferred company's home page, or run an advanced Google search on links to the company's site. For example, Dikel ran a quick search of pages linking to Pixar, the producer of computer-animated hit movies. In less than a minute, she discovered two pages that point the way toward connecting with Pixar insiders: One page was a list of former students from Florida State University's computer-science department who are now working at Pixar; the other was an announcement that a Pixar executive would be speaking at an upcoming 3-D film festival. Ultimately, a personal contact at the company that you want to work for is more powerful than all of the CareerBuilders and Monsters combined. Bill Breen
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