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Europe introduces Blue Card to compete against America's Green Card
While the United States continues to argue about whether to raise the H-1B visa cap and reform green-card processes to allow more foreign tech workers into the country, the European Union wants to make it much easier for highly skilled workers from abroad to land jobs in the EU's 27 member countries.
The EU, which is predicting a severe workforce crisis over the next several decades as its Baby Boomer generation retires, aims to attract 20 million workers from the outside in the years to come.
The EU hopes that a new proposed "blue card" will help fill that void, providing a more attractive alternative to the U.S. green-card program, which critics say is plagued by backlogs, cumbersome processes, and insufficient quotas.
The blue card would provide educated immigrants, including tech professionals, with a two-year, renewable permit to work and reside in an EU member nation. Because the EU aims for a worker's blue-card application process to take less than three months, the visa would provide a fast track for foreign-born individuals to land jobs in EU member countries.
By contrast, the U.S. green-card process can take anywhere from five to 10 years for an individual to gain permanent residency. And the 85,000 annual quota on H-1B visas for temporary foreign tech workers has been running out quickly for the last few years, forcing many prospective workers to take jobs elsewhere.
In addition to being an alternative to the U.S. green card, the blue-card program will also provide an option to foreign-born individuals who might have considered taking jobs in Canada or Australia, two other favorite destinations for the highly-skilled international workforce.
The EU's unveiling of the blue-card program this week comes at the same time that the U.S. Senate approved a spending bill amendment that could raise employers' H-1B visa fees to $5,000 per worker from $1,500. The additional fees will be used to fund new scholarship programs for U.S. students pursuing technology, math, and science-related degrees.
Compete America, a coalition of technology companies that has been lobbying Congress for several years to raise the H-1B visa cap and make green-card reforms, blasted the fee hikes and expressed worry about the blue card's potential impact on the U.S. tech workforce. "Europe has sent a message. They're aggressively pursuing the professional talent they need to compete on the global stage," said Robert Hoffman, VP for government and public affairs at Oracle and co-chair of Compete America, in a statement.
"The Senate has unfortunately also sent a message, and it doesn't bode well for the U.S. economy," Hoffman said.
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-- 2008-01-10 00:47:39
Want to Get Ahead at the Office? Avoid These Common Blunders
You go in early, stay late, finish all your assignments on time and come in below budget, but you still haven't got the recognition you deserve at work. What gives?
According to Cynthia Shapiro, author of the book "Corporate Confidential," it doesn't matter how adept you are at your job because if you make these five common mistakes, you'll never be a star:
1. Following your personal agenda. Many of us assume we know how best to approach our jobs, but letting your own judgment dictate your actions is unlikely to get you noticed or rewarded. If you're not working on what your company or your boss thinks is important, you are never going to be seen as a valued asset, warns Shapiro. If your goal is to move up the ranks, drop your own agenda and do what you can to further theirs, no matter how misguided you think it is.
2. Voicing negative thoughts. Are you the office kvetch, always ready to badmouth your boss or ridicule the company's latest venture? Watch out: You may be ruining your career. "When it comes to business, being positive is more important than being skilled," says Shapiro. The next time you notice yourself griping, ask yourself: Is it more important to say what's on mind, or to get that next promotion?
3. Complaining to HR. Companies tend to portray HR as a service for employees, but that isn't strictly true. "The HR people are really there to protect the company from you and they do that by keeping you close," says Shapiro. If you bring an issue to HR, they will only work to address your concerns if it is in the best interest of the company to do so. If your problem threatens the company or your job performance, the "help" they offer may, in fact, be an attempt to minimize the company's liability or to collect the evidence they need to push you out of your job, cautions Shapiro.
4. Being too smart. You may believe that the smarter you are, the more likely you are to gain recognition, but that's not always the case. Showcasing your smarts can make you appear like more of a threat than an asset if it isn't done with finesse. "If you want to be promoted then use your smarts in support of your boss and your peers," Shapiro counsels. Word to the wise: Never point out what could be done better unless your supervisor specifically asks for your opinion, and even then you should tread carefully.
5. Not knowing when to jump. There are a number of ways to gauge whether you're in danger of being fired: You have a contentious relationship with your boss; you haven't gotten a raise in a long time; you're consistently given the clients or projects no one else wants. If any of this sounds familiar, start looking for a job as soon as possible, warns Shapiro. It always better to jump to a new position than to get terminated. "You are 10 times more appealing to an employer if you're still employed," Shapiro says, "And if you get a job while you still have a job, it prevents your new firm from calling your current employer, and creates a seamless jump on your resume."
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-- 2007-08-23 03:02:55
Joining Startup's:Winners, losers and how to spot them
Choosing the right company can have a huge impact on the trajectory of your
career. A New Scientist article discusses the tips and tricks scientists in
the biotech industry use to decide which offers to accept, but the advice is
almost universally applicable. For example, you can steer clear of companies
unlikely to have long-term viability by trusting your instincts. "You can go
into a car showroom and know some cars are better quality than others just
by looking at them," says Stephen Jackson, founder of Kudos Pharmaceuticals,
a UK biotech company developing cancer drugs. "In the same way, if you're a
scientist in the appropriate field you will normally have a very quick
response as to whether [the company's research avenues are] good or
not--it's instinctive." Even if a company benefits from good-quality
science, it can go in the bin if it's not run by experienced managers with
links to other companies and academic institutions. So it makes sense to
check up on your future bosses.
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-- 2007-07-02 01:16:26
Resume for Newbie's
One of the biggest problems for recent graduates is what to put on their resume. This is especially true for those individuals who have not yet held jobs with significant responsibility. But entry-level jobseekers need not have outstanding job experience to make their resume exciting and attractive to prospective employers.
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-- 2007-07-02 01:13:22
Are You Fairly Paid? How To Figure Out Your Market Value
More than 80% of workers who feel they're underpaid actually are not, according to a new survey of 13,592 people released by Salary.com. Instead, they are either overpaid, fairly paid or holding job titles that don't match the work they do. "Many people think the job title is the be-all, end-all of what defines a job's value," says Bill Coleman, an executive at Salary.com. "Titles are essentially worthless." To get a sense of how much you should be paid, he recommends collecting salary data from a variety of sources, including salary surveys, co-workers and industry associations.
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-- 2006-11-30 08:31:29
Cursed by a "Perfect" Colleague
We all know one of them, don't we -- those people who are Seldom in Error, and Never in Doubt? They just don't make mistakes. If all the evidence in the world says they made a misstep, they've got a ready answer to explain it away. It wasn't my mistake -- you must be confused -- that's not what I said -- and so on.
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-- 2006-10-13 06:32:07
Edaindia: Semiconductor design career
The best candidates are not on Job boards because they are not looking for jobs. The traditional method to reach such candidates is to post in the forum frequented by the desired applicant demographic. EDAIndia provides such a forum for IC design engineers in India.
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-- 2006-10-02 09:56:05
CareerJournal | How to Get a Job By Asking for It
You aren't begging for a handout when you ask for a job. You're offering prospective employers your experience and ability to contribute to their goals. If employers don't need what you're offering, they won't buy. However, if they do need your skills--or if you can create the need--you'll get the job.
It may surprise you to learn employers like to hear candidates say "I'd like to work here." Dick Stone, a recruiter for Gemplus, a SmartCard manufacturer in Montgomeryville, Pa., says, "I like it when [candidates] give me the feeling they like us. A little flattery goes a long way. Often the missing part in the interview is the commitment from the candidate to the firm."
Sounds easy, but for most job hunters, it isn't. Asking for the job in lieu of silently waiting for an offer is the hardest part. This step is what sales people call "closing" the sale.
Anyone can learn to apply the tricks of the sales trade to a job interview and close a sale. Following these nine steps will help you ask for the job--and get it.
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-- 2006-09-21 10:22:31
Don't Expect Confidentiality
It probably goes without saying that Googling candidates is now standard operating procedure. In fact, in some places, it is even considered a cheap alternative to background checks. After all, if you were an embezzler or an ax murderer, it would be quite likely to show up somewhere on the Web, right? Just don't forget to sanitize your Myspace or Facebook pages so that your having joined a group called Drunks United isn't the talk of the search committee.
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--VJ 2006-08-31 00:57:15
CareerJournal | How to Handle a Boss Who Takes Credit for Your Work
My boss is inappropriately praised for a lot of work she has nothing to do with. The problem is that she seems to feel a need to imply -- and sometimes outright state -- that she is responsible for the work done by me and others who report to her.
She creates the perception that she has a hand in (or is solely responsible for) every contribution our group makes. And it works great for her; she has received two promotions in the three years I've been at this job, while the most progress anyone who reports to her has made is to have the word "senior" added to our existing titles while we stay in the same pay grade.
How does one address this situation without seeming petty? (Or is this actually a petty complaint?)
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--VJ 2006-08-31 00:51:44
Writing Cover Letters That People Will Read
Employers today are often slow to hire, and have even been known to retract offers at the last minute. Part of their indecision over adding another engineering salary to the payroll stems from uncertainty about what the next quarter will bring. Whatever the reason, their indecision is misleading to job seekers because it appears that there are plenty of job opportunities. But in reality, many of them will never get filled.
Slowly, we are shifting to an employee-driven market as opposed to an employer-driven job market. With fewer candidates to choose from, one would think that they would have better odds at the job they are seeking. But that's not the case. Employers often drag out the hiring process, looking for the perfect engineer to help with their project. Looming talent wars will likely change change this trend, but for now, employers are thinking quarter to quarter, rather than long-term. That mindset puts today's job seekers at a disadvantage.
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--VJ 2006-08-24 01:26:52
Best (Hiring) Practices
Hiring is never a one-way street, and applicant happiness should be considered from initial interaction until the end of the process, whether it leads to employment or not.
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--VJ 2006-08-24 01:22:15
The jobs paradox
... Qualified engineers and MBAs, but they have no jobs. India had more than 60,000 unemployed graduate engineers at last count, according to government figures. No official figure for unemployed MBAs has been published yet.
And yet, India also has a shortage of skilled technical manpower. The country will face a shortfall of 1,50,000 IT engineers in 2010, says a Nasscom-McKinsey report released four months ago.
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-- 2006-08-15 11:10:15
NewScientistJobs - Insider Article - Careers Guide - New for 2006
Who are the top employers in R&D? How is the UK faring against its overseas rivals? Are you earning enough? And what skills do employers want this year?
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-- 2006-08-19 05:06:09
Getting Lucky
"Chance favors the prepared mind" -Louis Pasteur
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-- 2006-08-19 05:08:44
How Too Many Long Hours Can Be Bad for Your Career
Approximately 2,500 years ago, Confucius told his students: "To go too far is as bad as to fall short." Excessive work, he said, is as undesirable as laziness. As simple as this advice may sound, most of us still fail to grasp it, thinking that the only downsides of overwork are fatigue and burnout. In reality, the side effects can be much more serious. Especially for managers, hard work can become toxic at extreme doses and "poison" a career.
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-- 2006-08-19 05:08:12
A Job Hunter's Guide To Recruiter Code Words
Recruiters, like many specialized professionals, have pet words and phrases they pull out regularly at work. These code words can speak volumes about what a search executive is thinking about a candidate.
Here is a sampling of terms -- some more common than others -- that search executives say they often rely on when assessing potential hires:
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-- 2006-08-19 05:07:41
How We Did It
My department just successfully concluded our largest search ever, with more than 300 applicants for a tenure-track position in the sciences. As head of the department and a member of the search committee, I thought it might be helpful to share how we made our decision
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A look into what happens with your CV and your interview responses -- 2006-08-19 05:07:25
Writing the perfect IT management CV
Building a CV that targets an upper-level IT position, such as architect or consultant, requires a different approach than creating a CV to land an entry-level tech job. Although many of the standard rules still apply, you need to follow some more specialised guidelines. In fact, a few of these tips may actually contradict your previous notions of what your CV should include (and exclude).
resumé
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-- 2006-08-19 05:05:38