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via WebWorkerDaily by Aliza Sherman on 4/29/09 Written by Aliza Sherman . The other day I noticed that someone had posted a quick poll on LinkedIn . I thought a poll like that might be a good tool to use for informal market research, so I clicked on the link to create my own. However, I was met with a message saying that I needed to upgrade my account to access the polling feature. I perused the prices, then quickly determined I wasn't going to upgrade. This isn't the first time I've considered upgrading my LinkedIn account and decided against it, which led me to start thinking about all of the "freemium" apps — basically free apps with premium upgrades — I've been using. I started feeling guilty about taking advantage of the "free" in freemium services, especially because I've had the opportunity to interview founders of these companies, many of whom confess to struggling over pricing. So what makes us decide to pay for an app? My decision...

You can think about replacing the word Engineer with "Project Manager" - Andy If Sergey Brin applied for an engineering position at Google today, would he pass the requisite phone screening? Don't be so sure: While he might look good on paper, he'd probably have to brush up on his Python programming skills first. Even if he passed, would it tell his potential employer anything useful about the value he could bring to the company? Most engineers are familiar with the initial phone interview: a short, technical interview prepared by the prospective employer, and used to verify that the programmer meets the minimum technical qualifications of the job. Lots of employers think these screenings are a quick way to weed out bad engineers, but personally, I refuse to do them . Here are three reasons those looking to hire the best engineers should reconsider the "phone screen" interview altogether and jump right to a full-length phone or in-person interview: 1. Re...

Bernhard Kappe , Monday, April 27, 2009 @ 9:08 pm There's a list of deadly sins out there for just about anything related to information technology. Some have seven items, some have five, some even have nine. I haven't seen one with 21 deadly sins yet, but I won't be surprised if I do. Some focus on IT departments, some on unused software, some on agile software development, and quite a few on whatever they're trying to sell you. We've seen a lot in our ten years of developing software at Pathfinder, and the list that rings truest is the shortest and pithiest, from the  Standish Group : Ambition Arrogance Ignorance Fraudulence Abstinence Each of these is best illustrated by example: Ambition (or Overambition) Example: Trying to build something too fast with too many people and designed to be all things to all users.  This is also known as boiling the ocean.  It's something we see a lot from prospects.  We've got a saying...

by  Adam Pash Times are tough, but sometimes the silver lining to a bad economy is that it can be a perfect time to switch up your career. Blogger Marci Alboher suggests hiring a  career coach . Photo by  bionicteaching . It's tough to say what a career coach can do for you if you've never had one; lucky Alboher has, and she's here to share her experience: When I changed careers nearly 10 years ago, hiring a coach completely jumpstarted my process. Career changes and job searches take a long time and I'm impatient. I also had a lot of fear and anxiety about the process and I didn't want to overburden supportive friends and family with my constant need to talk about my process. I figured that working with a professional who'd seen hundreds of others through transitions was a way to speed things up. And it did. I used my coach for about 8 sessions to come up with a plan and a strategy; after that, I called her for advice now and then, but mostly felt com...

via Lifehacker by Adam Pash on 4/13/09 We've encouraged you to start a side business to turn something you love into extra income, but if you're not sure what might make for a good side gig, The Simple Dollar has 50 suggestions. Photo by Scoro . From antique refurbishment to web site design, the list offers a ton of side business ideas that don't require all that much from you in terms of start-up cost and commitment. Instead, they're jobs you can work on in your spare time as much or as little as you want. For example, here's a side gig that The Simple Dollar's Trent has tackled himself, and one that most Lifehacker readers could probably take on with relative ease: Computer troubleshooting: I had some success with this in the past, though I've largely moved away from it now. If you have a knack for fixing computers, this is a good place to start. Already got a healthy side business bringing in a little extra income in tough times? Let's hear ...

via Lifehacker by Adam Pash on 4/13/09 These days, if you want to know more about someone, the first thing most of us do is Google them. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that monitoring your online reputation is extraordinarily important. Photo by Jan Tik . Whether you're tracking your personal reputation or your business' reputation, it's important to know what's being said—especially so that you can address reputation dings as soon as possible. To this end, we've already detailed how to track your ego online , so give it a quick look if you're interested in setting up a reputation monitoring system. In a post-Twitter world, you can also use something like previously mentioned TweetDeck to create a persistent Twitter search to keep track of what's being said about you online. (For example, we keep a fairly close eye on what people are saying about Lifehacker this way, so that if people are having issues with the site or complaints with a pos...

via Lifehacker by Kevin Purdy on 4/14/09 We posted yesterday about 50 side businesses you can start in spare time , but it's not always apparent which sideline works best for your time, or career. Marci Alboher offers some advice on that front. Career writer Alboher writes at Manage Your Life that your part-time job, or freelance gig, or even casual pick-up work should benefit you in more ways than just bolstering your bank account. Find work that doesn't conflict with your main revenue earner, and hopefully find it in a growing field. She also advises: Keep in mind that part-time work doesn't have to be a "job." Working as a freelancer or consultant will likely give you more flexibility than will a position that has fixed hours and a fixed location. Recognize that not all jobs are advertised. Often, positions are created when a person shows up with the right set of skills and the moxie to propose herself for the position (see Jennifer Bergeram's story...

via Lifehacker by Adam Pash on 4/15/09 If you've ever taken a work-related trip, chances are you're familiar with the concept of the per diem (Latin for "per day")—a daily cash stipend intended to cover your expenses. Photo by chrisdlugosz . Weblog Get Rich Slowly details how to apply this concept to your monthly budget, creating a per-diem budget for all your spending cash. As a guy who just finished paying off $14,000 in credit card debt, I wanted to share one tip that helped me get over the bad debt hump. I allocate my spending money on a per diem system. At the beginning of each cycle of my monthly budget, I set aside funds for: Every fixed expense that I have (rent, cable/internet, groceries, power) Any unique expenses (a plane ticket, for example) And, of course, my savings (about 8 percent of my after-tax, after-401k income) After allocating this money, I go to the bank, withdraw the remaining funds in cash, and divide it among envelopes for each day o...

If you're looking for work right now, you're not alone. While Todd Thibodeaux, president of the Computing Technology Industry Association claims that there are  300,000 well paying IT jobs available  now, LinkedIn groups and online forums are filled with posts from highly skilled project managers, technical leads and database administrators who are struggling to find work. Can both sides of the debate be right? The truth is that the technology job market is broken and desperately in need of repair. You can choose to: (a) Complain about it (b) Work to fix it (c) Roll up our sleeves and do whatever is necessary to find appropriate work for yourself This post is about option (c). Let's get to work. Read More ...

from Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life by DLM Writers I know some of you are list hounds, so if you'd rather skip the monologue, scroll down a bit. A month ago I shared some specific ways to get ahead at work . For me it worked, I got promoted within my IT group and was actually bumped up 2 spots. As I mentioned in that post, I was promoted directly by a VP (my boss' boss), which was unusual. Since then my boss was let go basically because anarchy broke out in the group and people were quitting daily. However, it got me thinking. What if I didn't have a VP that recognized my efforts? When does the atmosphere at work get so backstabbing and bureaucratic, that there is no good process to overcome it? What if a star employee wants to grow but management doesn't know what to do or how to take advantage of the enthusiasm and motivation? Those are all questions that I will address over the next few weeks because they are best answered individually. However, there are several t...

This week I'd like to review the top interview questions that are typically given by recruiters and hiring managers alike. These questions are meant to delve into the psyche of a potential new hire, and reflect the kind of worker and teammate that you are. Getting the hiring manager's perspective on a role is never fully possible, but evaluation of these questions can give you some insight and hopefully push you along to that next interview and, ultimately, being hired! http://tinyurl.com/dcnp88 From Cassandra Engle | Lead Technical Recruiter | Direct: 916.978.1783 Strategic IT Staffing, LLC