Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler For anyone who trusts the power of prayer...

I am a federal employee (Corps of Engineers) and feel very secure about my future. However, our entire IT department has been replaced with contract hires... a few of them were hired by the contractor's to keep doing their jobs but the others are basically being let go.

If Corp's policy on contracting out IT work is any indication of what the rest of the federal government is doing I would think twice.

Hey everyone.

Nick's plea really connected with me. I've worked in IT, and I've been a "right-sizing" (I really detest that term) victim. So I decided that if the only thing I could do to help him out was to share his story and try to get him in touch with someone who needs his services, then that's what I was going to do.

A little over a year ago I launched a little technology blog devoted to data related software, with a little general BI discussion thrown in. These days the site gets a few thousand visits a month from people who work in many industries and businesses from small to large.

I've not mentioned it here before as I didn't want to be seen as promoting myself or my site, but this is different.

I've just posted a short piece on the site to do what I can to help our friend Nick land a good job. You'll find a link to Nick's resume. Pass it on and let's get Nick the job he not only needs, but wants.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Kruncher

Very nice Kruncher. Now THAT'S Christmas.

Thats awesome Kruncher!!

Nick -

I'll try to offer a silver lining to the cloudy situation.

I saw in your resume that you've been working on your MBA. Two years ago, I was laid off from my job for the first time in my life (and only thus far, but I'm not holding my breath). At first, it was definitely a bit of a blow to the ego, but it seems like you're past that point already and realize some things are completely out of your control.

In any case, when I lost my job, I decided to go back to school full time for ~6 months and finish my MBA in an accelerated fashion. Before that I was on a 3-year track with a little over a year to go. For me, this turned out to be a huge blessing as I was job hunting the entire time and by the time I graduated I had a couple of opportunities lined up. On top of that, because I now had those three fancy letters on my resume, I managed to score a decent pay increase and a job that I enjoyed (and still do) far more than the one from which I was let go. Not to mention that once I accepted the fact that I was not going back to work and dedicating myself to school, I really was able to enjoy the time away from work. It was a rare opportunity to take some time away.

Obviously it's not easy taking yourself out of the workforce for that long and not easy financially, but it may be a way for you to make something of the bad situation, especially if the prospects of landing another job in the near-term don't look good.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Jason

I just wanted to publically thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, ideas, and suggestions. I'd especially like to thank Kruncher for her creative idea to get my resume out in front of even more people. That is yet another avenue to a job search that I've never had in the past, and who knows, maybe that right person from the right company will see it and contact me.

Hoping and praying,
Nick

You're very welcome. I know it's not much, but it's what I can offer.

BTW, that's Mr. Kruncher.

Don't sweat it; it's a curse that's followed me for my whole life.

Doh.

Sorry.

Nick,

Crappy news! I can't imagine the feeling of uncertainty when you have a family to support. My thoughts are with you and your family. I firmly believe that good things happen to good people, so keep the faith in yourself and you can make something happen.

Best of luck!

Yeah, what Calvin said.