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<blockquote data-quote="SeniorGeek" data-source="post: 163108" data-attributes="member: 4823">Among the things ncrtscisme said were...I consider it likely that there will be more reductions, and it may reach the berserk point.&nbsp; But I think this may be like boiling a frog.&nbsp; I do not envy those who will have to make things work with miniscule staffing.&nbsp; It will be like working in a Package Division!I think that sizeable employers look for expertise in specific areas. The people with fairly specific certifications (such as a Cisco or Microsoft certification) seemed to find jobs quickly. &nbsp;I am a lucky exception - I am a generalist, the only cert I had was A+ and I found employment quickly. But I am now a Manager, so I really do have to have some understanding of all our IS stuff. My UPS experience has helped: my Director has been impressed when I talk to our Telecom vendor in telecom vernacular and when I know more about OS/2 than the vendor&#039;s Tech. [Yes, I said &quot;OS/2&quot;. It lives on!] &nbsp;Though employers seldom put much value on it when hiring, the wide range of cross-discipline experience gained at UPS comes in handy - for example, our landlord&#039;s telecom people, working with the PBX vendor, could not solve a periodic reboot on our satellite PBX (that happened during my employer&#039;s Board meetings, every 2nd Friday). From my UPS experience, I recalled a server that used to reboot unexpectedly but regularly...and that APC power supplies perform a self test every 14 days.&nbsp;In any company large enough to have a professional HR person, you will need the certification (and/or degree, previous job title, experience with specific brand name products, etc.) to stay out of the reject pile. Or know somebody. &nbsp;That leads me to &quot;talking to people&quot; as a better job-finding strategy than responding to advertised listings. My wife was complain, um, mentioning my impending lack-of-employment to everyone who would even pretend to listen. One asked for my resumé, which he forwarded. The great job I now have was never advertised. The company I am with is small and did not even create a job title until they decided to hire me. They had relied on word-of-mouth referrals and had a few candidates.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="SeniorGeek, post: 163108, member: 4823"] Among the things ncrtscisme said were...I consider it likely that there will be more reductions, and it may reach the berserk point. But I think this may be like boiling a frog. I do not envy those who will have to make things work with miniscule staffing. It will be like working in a Package Division!I think that sizeable employers look for expertise in specific areas. The people with fairly specific certifications (such as a Cisco or Microsoft certification) seemed to find jobs quickly. I am a lucky exception - I am a generalist, the only cert I had was A+ and I found employment quickly. But I am now a Manager, so I really do have to have some understanding of all our IS stuff. My UPS experience has helped: my Director has been impressed when I talk to our Telecom vendor in telecom vernacular and when I know more about OS/2 than the vendor's Tech. [Yes, I said "OS/2". It lives on!] Though employers seldom put much value on it when hiring, the wide range of cross-discipline experience gained at UPS comes in handy - for example, our landlord's telecom people, working with the PBX vendor, could not solve a periodic reboot on our satellite PBX (that happened during my employer's Board meetings, every 2nd Friday). From my UPS experience, I recalled a server that used to reboot unexpectedly but regularly...and that APC power supplies perform a self test every 14 days. In any company large enough to have a professional HR person, you will need the certification (and/or degree, previous job title, experience with specific brand name products, etc.) to stay out of the reject pile. Or know somebody. That leads me to "talking to people" as a better job-finding strategy than responding to advertised listings. My wife was complain, um, mentioning my impending lack-of-employment to everyone who would even pretend to listen. One asked for my resumé, which he forwarded. The great job I now have was never advertised. The company I am with is small and did not even create a job title until they decided to hire me. They had relied on word-of-mouth referrals and had a few candidates. [/QUOTE]

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