 strategy. To make your job search as productive as possible, you need to put your plan into action. For example, if you are not accomplishing what you had hoped for in your job search, consider joining a job search group that shares a common goal. With that in mind, the article offers a handful of the most common tips for recharging a job search. 

Put your job search plan into action by following through on at least one job search activity every day. The more action you take, the more momentum you build. Try a new job search technique if your job search is not yet producing results. You may also want to fine-tune your elevator pitch so that it expresses what you want people to remember most about you. Stay in contact with your networking group. In addition to calling them, consider sending cards or interesting articles to those who have helped you. This goes a long way when developing rapport and creating good will. Join a job club or job search group to discuss leads and share ideas. 

Keep business cards handy since job opportunities can pop up when you least expect them. Use social networking sites to develop an online presence. Social networking is an excellent way to share information and ask for feedback, and these sites are available at night and on the weekend. The contacts you can make are virtually endless. If you are going to an event that seems overwhelming, take a friend along to help with introductions and build up your confidence. Prepare questions in advance. This will keep the conversation moving during networking meetings. Learn how to create rapport by discovering what you and your contact have in common. Finally, always follow up with the contacts you made. 


Click Here to View Full Article <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gettowork/detail?blogid=163&entry_id=68467>  
to the top 

________________________________

Five Mistakes Online Job Hunters Make
Wall Street Journal, July 22 

In a difficult hiring environment, building and maintaining an online presence is critical to networking and job hunting. Done right, it can be an important tool for present and future networking and useful for potential employers trying to get a sense of who you are, your talents and your experience. If done improperly, however, it can actually take you out of the running for important positions. Based on an understanding of best practices, the article highlights five mistakes online job hunters often make on social networking sites.

If you use Twitter or you write a blog, you should assume that hiring managers and recruiters are going to read your updates and your posts. Approximately 80% of hiring managers and job recruiters review online information about job applicants before making a hiring decision. Of those, 70% said that they have rejected candidates based on information that they found online, such as inappropriate comments and photos. Keep in mind that blanketing social networks with half-completed profiles accomplishes nothing except to annoy the exact people you want to impress. One online profile done well is far more effective than several incomplete ones. Many people make the mistake of joining LinkedIn and other social media sites and then just letting their profiles sit publicly unfinished. 

While privacy is important on social networks, you also have to get the word out that you are open to the idea of a new position. When connecting, focus on adding people you actually know or with whom you've done business. Whether it's on LinkedIn, Facebook or any other networking site, it's much more of a quality game than a quantity game. With the large number of people currently unemployed (and under-employed), many employers are being inundated with huge numbers of applications for any positions they post. In order to limit the applicant pool, some have stopped posting positions on their websites and job boards. Scouring the Web for a position and doing nothing else is rarely the best way to go. 


Click Here to View Full Article <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913304575371202791043546.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_careerjournal>  
to the top 

________________________________

Five Questions to Ask Before Taking That Telecommuting Job
Web Worker Daily, July 22 

Before you agree to what seems like a dream telecommuting role, make sure that both you and your potential employer are clear about the role, your responsibilities and your work process. While some employers have defined telecommuting policies in place and have management who are used to working with remote staff, many do not. Getting answers to these questions before you agree to take the job will not only clarify the role, but could also help your potential employer to produce its own telecommuting policy. 

As a first step, find out what equipment will be provided and whether or not equipment-related expenses will be reimbursed. It?s worth checking what equipment will actually be provided, as sometimes what an employer thinks you?ll need and what you think you?ll need won?t align. Next, find out how your performance will be measured. When you?re not coming into the office every day, your manager won?t be able to see that you?re hard at work. You will need to understand which metrics the company will use to assess your performance as well as how often they will be reviewed. 

Since communication and collaboration is one of the biggest challenges in working remotely, find out how the company communicates, such as IM or message boards or web conferencing. Once you know the frequency of check-ins (both physical and virtual) and how often the team meets, you will have a better idea of how well prepared the company is for working with remote staff and what type of technology you will require. Your definition of what ?telecommuting? actually means might differ quite substantially from your potential employer?s. It?s best to be absolutely clear on the expectation of the amount of time you are expected to spend in the office upfront, as even the requirement to spend a few days per month in the company office could get arduous for very long-distance telecommuters. Finally, find out whether the company has a written, defined telecommuting policy. 


Click Here to View Full Article <http://webworkerdaily.com/2010/07/22/5-questions-to-ask-before-taking-that-telecommuting-job/>  
to the top 

________________________________

How to Decode a Job Posting
Forbes, July 20 

During any job search you will review hundreds of job postings. Some will be very well written and provide quality information, while others will tell youhat about things that really matter to them, they can help you generate new ideas. They can point out trends happening around the country or tell you about the expectations and aspirations of their peer group. They can also suggest great ways to repurpose content using creative methods that you might not have thought of. 

By letting an intern show you your weak spot, you?ll be ready to face anyone else in the organization. You can use this information to craft better responses to questions about your work and adjust the way others perceive you. One way to do all this effectively is to imagine that you will need to get a job from your intern one day. At some point, the intern could be part of the network that will help you get the job after the one you just got. The interns will get big jobs one day, and they will remember each person who saw them for who they are and who they could be.


Click Here to View Full Article <http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2010/07/30/fire-up-your-career-by-befriending-the-intern/>  
to the top 

________________________________

Much More Than Office Space
Entrepreneur, July 22 

Some entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the vacant real estate left in the wake of the economic recession to create new types of working spaces for entrepreneurs and start-ups. The most popular of these spaces combine the amenities of a marketplace with the business assistance features of a small business incubator. Sites such as POOL Together in Arizona, the Embarcadero in San Francisco, the Brewery in Los Angeles, and Pike Place Market in Seattle are at the forefront of this trend. They primarily function as business incubators, offering entrepreneurs affordable leases in a shared commercial space, and its owners provide assistance with business planning, marketing, space customization and cross-pollination as part of a comprehensive lease agreement.

The most popular of these shared workspaces offer a support system to local entrepreneurs as well as a built-in sense of community. They are typically located in previously occupied storefronts that closed down due to poor economic conditions, rather than in overpriced executive suites. These workspaces are not in the business of renting out workstations or office space ? they are in the business of building local entrepreneurial communities. As a result, they can offer all of the unique advantages, resources and opportunities that only arise as a result of being part of a like-minded community. 

In hard-hit economic areas, these shared workspaces for start-ups represent an opportunity to breathe new life into the community. In some cases, they become a venue for ongoing events such as theatre productions, musical acts and a seasonal farmers market. In other cases, they emphasize low-recent incentives and permanent infrastructure for merchants, who can customize the space according to their diverse needs. As a result, they enable home-based businesses to transition into new commercial spaces and meet fellow vendors. As this business incubator model catches on, real estate developers may expand it to other cities around the country. 


Click Here to View Full Article <http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/location/article207614.html>  
to the top 

________________________________

Are Female IT Graduates Still Underrepresented?
Communications of the ACM, July 30 

According to the latest figures from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, women are still lagging behind men in earning degrees in typically male-dominated subjects. In fact, over the past decade, there has been little or no increase in the number of women taking up mathematical sciences. Indeed, the figure has stayed at a constant 38%. In engineering and technology degrees, women still account for just 15% of the student population; meanwhile, the number of women studying computer science has actually fallen in the past five years, from 24% to 19%. Taking a big picture view, this under-representation of women in IT could impact the competitiveness of industries that require a highly skilled, IT-savvy workforce. 

While careers advice services in schools certainly play a role in encouraging girls to choose an IT career path, primary schools also have a responsibility. There are not enough female role models teaching science in primary schools, and this lack of role models at an early age is impacting the educational system at each successive stage. Higher education action group Universities UK said that institutions are working to bridge the gender gap, encouraging more women to take science-based subjects and in turn encouraging men to take typically female-dominated subjects such as medicine and education. 

On a positive note, more women are working in science-related industries in the UK than in many European countries. This can largely be attributed to the work universities have done with schools to encourage participation in these subjects. By supporting the creation of this base of high-quality women IT talent, the UK will be able to remain competitive on a global basis.


Click Here to View Full Article <http://cacm.acm.org/news/96822-are-female-it-graduates-still-underrepresented/fulltext>  
to the top 

________________________________

U.S. Congressman Introduces Measure to Address Crisis in K-12 Computer Science Education
ACM Press Room, July 30 

Colorado Congressman Jared Polis recently introduced the Computer Science Education Act, a key legislative initiative that is part of a continuing effort to improve the state of K-12 computer science education. The legislation will bolster computer science education programs across the country, and help ensure that the education pipeline will produce the workforce the nation will need to thrive and compete in the 21st century. The Act targets a variety of factors that currently work against quality computer science in K-12 education, such as uneven computer science learning standards across the states and limited availability of professional development for computer science teachers.

The new computer science legislation is supported by major stakeholders in the computing field ranging from industry to nonprofit associations, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA). As Congress reviews the recently enacted Elementary and Secondary Education Act, these organizations are working to make sure that the proposed Computer Science Education Act is a way to strengthen U.S. K-12 computer science education. The central part of the Act proposes grants to assess the current condition of computer science education in the states, and create state plans and actions for reform. 

Other key features of the Computer Science Education Act legislation include plans to fund planning grants for states to work with stakeholders to assess their computer science offerings in K-12 and develop concrete steps to strengthen them. There are also plans to fund five-year implementation grants for states, in partnership with local school districts and institutions of higher education. Other elements include professional development and teacher certification programs; online courses; commissions to review computer science curricula; and computer science teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education. Overall, this legislation addresses the policies and practices that are undercutting K-12 computer science education in the United States and provides a much-needed catalyst for reform. It also acknowledges the central role of computer science in the digital revolution that is sweeping commerce, society, and all fields of science. 


Click Here to View Full Article <http://www.acm.org/press-room/news-releases/2010/cs-ed-act>  
to the top 

________________________________

To unsubscribe from the ACM CareerNews Early Alert Service, please log in with your ACM Web Account username and password at: http://www.myacm.org and follow the 