Re: Is the job market really *that* bad? (long)

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Andrew Plato wrote:
 
> Okay - the Silicon Valley job market is bad: for recruiters and lower-end
> tech writers.  But there is business. It's there. You just have to be in
> the right places.  I agree that job boards are a waste of time. 99% of the
> jobs are, like you said, are ghost jobs. You have to be inside talking
> with decision makers, not outside talking with recruiters.

I'm not in the Silcon Valley market - and I'm glad of it. I've been
sniffing out the job market in Vancouver, Canada (just to hedge my bets
against the lack of angels and VCs), and there are a reasonable number
of jobs locally. However, they're not being so heavily advertised as
last year. Companies that once took out full-page ads are putting a
dozen lines in the regular classifieds, and many are simply listing the
jobs on their own sites; last week, in three hours, I found three
openings that were only advertised on the companies' sites. I've even
sniffed out a few startups with funding. This total is much lower than
last year, but if I can find these prospects when I'm just window
shopping, I'm not too concerned if I actually decide to buy into the
local market.

However, for what it's worth, I am in regular correspondence with a
number of writers in Silcon Valley who have been laid off. Most of them
seem able to survive, but most of them have had to wait, scale back
their expectations, and get creative about their job search. One found a
job in four weeks, but others have taken 8, 10 12 - even 14 weeks. One
lucked into a media relations job that was an improvement on his old
job, but another moved back to Ontario to find work, another took a job
as a software engineer, a couple are doing reasonably well contracting
(but are a little stressed by the uncertainty), and several have found
jobs at 2/3rd to 3/4 of last year's salary. Of course, this is only an
anecdotal summary but it suggests that all tech-writers haven't taken
the Trail of Tears out of the Bay Area or are re-enacting The Grapes of
Wrath just yet.

I suppose that this summary might qualify as bad from some perspectives.
And I won't simply say that the market of today is simply a necessary
corrective to the craziness of the last few years, because if you're in
the middle of looking for a job, that would seem like a callous
attitude. However, I still remember the miserable market for academics
that drove me into tech-writing in 1995. From that perspective,
scaled-down prospects are less important than being able to find any
work at all.

-- 
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"And if I grow old someday I may rue
The loss of a dream soft and pretty
But they couldn't scare me with the fires of hell
And you can't scare me with pity."
-The Mollys, "Came for a Dance"

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