Monthly Archives: January 2011
U.S. Cyber Challenge – Major Shortage of Cyber Security Workforce Professionals
GAITHERSBURG, MD /PRNewswire/ Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today announced its plans to support the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC), an initiative designed to create a pipeline of cyber security professionals from high school through college and beyond. Its unique use of multiple and scalable talent competitions and talent development initiatives enables individuals to develop their skills, gain access to advanced training and achieve recognition with scholarships, internships and jobs.
“Our country is working hard to develop a technical workforce that will keep us competitive on a global scale,” said Charles Croom, Vice President of Cyber Security Solutions, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions. “Protecting our competitive advantage and digital infrastructure requires the expertise of trained cyber security professionals. We realize that Lockheed Martin’s leadership in cyber security and STEM efforts can only succeed through partnership with organizations such as the U.S. Cyber Challenge,” he said.
Recent studies have shown that while there is a shortage of technical workers, the field of cyber security is rapidly evolving. In fact, former federal officials have estimated there are only 1,000 U.S. security specialists with the skills necessary to operate in cyberspace and the country needs about 10,000 to 30,000 such professionals.
USCCa division of the not-for-profit Center for Internet Securitydevelops and conducts online competitions and on-site camps where talented people will be discovered, nurtured, and progress toward careers as technical cyber security experts. The ultimate goal is to reduce the risk profile for the nation in the critical area of cyber security professionals.
“We are pleased to see Lockheed Martin take a leading role in support of the USCC, which works to fill the gap in critical cyber security skills development. Our goal to recruit 10,000 Americans can only be accomplished through public and private partnership,” said Karen Evans, National Director, U.S. Cyber Challenge.
Lockheed Martin is the leading provider of cyber security solutions to the Federal government. Our solutions are designed with the right team, processes and embedded technologies to provide customers with mission resilient systems that are always available.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 133,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation’s 2009 sales from continuing operations were $44 billion.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin
CONTACT: Mary Phillips, +1-240-252-9425, mary.phillips@lmco.com
2011.02.18/19/20 Comprehensive Career SEMINAR | Free | Stuttgart, Germany
You are invited to meet with Bill Golden, CEO of USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com to discuss the job market of 2011 through 2017.
Cost: FREE
Monday, Feb 18/19/20, 2011 Time: 9AM-12PM and 1-4PM
Place: Stuttgart Marriott Hotel Sindelfingen Mahdentalstrasse 68 Sindelfingen, Baden-Wurttemberg 71065 Germany
This year’s presentation is titled: ‘The Future of Work, Employment and Economic Stability’. The seminar has been updated now that we know a whole lot more about what the economy and job market will look like.
This will be a ‘comprehensive’ overview seminar covering:
* Economics 101 – the state of our current economy
* The impact of politics and policies on employment
* Employment trends across a wide range of industries
* Understanding opportunities in the defense and intelligence industries
* Discovering new career opportunities
* Determining your marketplace value
* Determining if you should go back to school
* Identifying relevant career opportunities
This seminar is appropriate for all levels of job seekers that are ‘professionals’ with a definable skillset, or that are engaged in studying for a careerfield.
A benefit of attending this seminar is that your resume will be evaluated after the event, your general market value estimated in up to three job markets, and we will work to identify relevant opportunities with specific employers.
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About your presenter
This seminar will be given by Bill Golden, a senior career advisor for more than 140 career information blogs that are sponsored by USAJobZoo.com and USADefenseIndustryJobs.com, aka IntelligenceCareers.com
Bill’s background includes almost 35 years working within defense and intelligence, either in operations (’75-96) or as an industry analyst and consultant (’96-present).
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Preregistration
Preregistration is not required but it would be nice if you dropped us an email with your resume attached. That way we can review it and possibly have our analysis completed by the date of the seminar.
Send your resume and intent to attend this seminar to seminars@usajobzoo.com
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Why this seminar is free
USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com represent a combined 500,000+ job listings for professionals across the USA and in 28 countries.
We are earn our way in life in getting you to use one of our recruiting websites and applying to employers. The more professionals that apply to companies puts more money in our pockets for a job well done.
We also hope to help you become successful in your job search. A bit of good advice just might get you a great job and your company will probably need someone like us to find more professionals. Your recommendation of us to your employer matters.
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SOURCE IntelligenceCareers.com
Customer Service, 1.800.919.8284 or customerservice@intelligencecareers.com
2011.02.21 Comprehensive Career SEMINAR | Free | Heidelberg, Germany
You are invited to meet with Bill Golden, CEO of USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com to discuss the job market of 2011 through 2017.
Cost: FREE
Monday, Feb 21, 2011 Time: 9AM-12PM.
Place: Heidelberg Marriott Hotel Vangerowstrasse 16 Heidelberg, Baden-Wurttemberg 69115 Germany
This year’s presentation is titled: ‘The Future of Work, Employment and Economic Stability’. The seminar has been updated now that we know a whole lot more about what the economy and job market will look like.
This will be a ‘comprehensive’ overview seminar covering:
* Economics 101 – the state of our current economy
* The impact of politics and policies on employment
* Employment trends across a wide range of industries
* Understanding opportunities in the defense and intelligence industries
* Discovering new career opportunities
* Determining your marketplace value
* Determining if you should go back to school
* Identifying relevant career opportunities
This seminar is appropriate for all levels of job seekers that are ‘professionals’ with a definable skillset, or that are engaged in studying for a careerfield.
A benefit of attending this seminar is that your resume will be evaluated after the event, your general market value estimated in up to three job markets, and we will work to identify relevant opportunities with specific employers.
===========
About your presenter
This seminar will be given by Bill Golden, a senior career advisor for more than 140 career information blogs that are sponsored by USAJobZoo.com and USADefenseIndustryJobs.com, aka IntelligenceCareers.com
Bill’s background includes almost 35 years working within defense and intelligence, either in operations (’75-96) or as an industry analyst and consultant (’96-present).
===========
Preregistration
Preregistration is not required but it would be nice if you dropped us an email with your resume attached. That way we can review it and possibly have our analysis completed by the date of the seminar.
Send your resume and intent to attend this seminar to seminars@usajobzoo.com
===========
Why this seminar is free
USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com represent a combined 500,000+ job listings for professionals across the USA and in 28 countries.
We are earn our way in life in getting you to use one of our recruiting websites and applying to employers. The more professionals that apply to companies puts more money in our pockets for a job well done.
We also hope to help you become successful in your job search. A bit of good advice just might get you a great job and your company will probably need someone like us to find more professionals. Your recommendation of us to your employer matters.
===============
SOURCE IntelligenceCareers.com
Customer Service, 1.800.919.8284 or customerservice@intelligencecareers.com
Tech Workers Feel ‘Infinite Loop’ as Wages Remain Flat
NEW YORK, NY /PRNewswire/ Technology professionals endured a second straight year of nearly flat salaries, according to the 2011-2010 Annual Salary Survey from Dice, the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals. Tech workers, on average, garnered salary increases of about one percent (0.7%) to $79,384 from $78,845 in 2009, after receiving a similar increase the previous year.
Despite the marginal increase, there are glimmers of the business recovery within the study. Nearly half of those surveyed (49%) received a salary increase in 2010 compared to just 36 percent who saw raises in the previous year. And more technology professionals received bonuses: 29 percent compared with 24 percent of respondents in 2009.
Tech professionals expressed slightly more satisfaction over pay than last year, with 50 percent “somewhat” or “very satisfied,” an increase from 46 percent of respondents who felt that way last year. Still, nearly four out of ten technology professionals anticipate they could make more money if they change employers in 2011. Those professionals (24%) who felt switching employers would not increase their pay earned, on average, nearly $13,000 more than those who anticipate finding higher salaries elsewhere.
“Companies can no longer get away with paltry salary increases for their technology staffs based on the demand we are seeing for talent,” said Tom Silver, SVP, North America at Dice. “The moderate increases in satisfaction levels indicate that tech professionals’ concerns are being heard by some companies, but certainly not all. Retention is the key to driving additional contributions to the business from technology staffs. Employers that are reluctant to increase compensation or step-up retention efforts will likely pay for their unsatisfactory ways.”
Notwithstanding the hopeful signs in the study, it appears wages have been reset lower for technology professionals who are entering the field. For the second straight year, the average salaries of technology professionals with less than two years experience have declined, and are six percent below their peak average wages in 2008.
There are two clear cut paths for technology professionals to earn more money: working for a larger company and/or continuing to add expertise and skills. First, technology professionals on average earned $88,075 working for companies in excess of 5,000 employees, while the smallest companies (50 or fewer employees) paid on average $69,658 to their technology workers. As for skills, those with annual wages of $100,000 or more were technology professionals with experience in Advanced Business Application Programming ($105,887), Informatica ($101,898), Extract Transform and Load ($100,983) and Service Oriented Architecture ($101,827).
Most Popular Skills and Average Wages
By analyzing the frequency skills appear in job postings on Dice, a core set of skills emerges for technology professionals.
Currently, Oracle experience is requested in more than 15,000 job postings on any given day or nearly a quarter of all job postings on Dice. Demand for that top requested skill is up 57 percent year/year. The national average salary for technology professionals with experience in Oracle Database is $90,914 and for Oracle Application Server is $88,063.
Following Oracle, J2EE/Java (14,663 job postings, up 50% yr/yr) and C, C++, C# (14,123 job postings, up 46% yr/yr) are the most frequently requested skills. Technology professionals proficient in J2EE/Java earn on average $91,060, while programmers specializing in the C languages earn between $85,500 and $90,350 on average.
The average salary for Project Managers is $100,143, but companies request project management experience in wide variety of job postings (12,513, up 50% yr/yr) making solid project management skills a must.
Rounding out the top five is SQL (11,875, up 47% yr/yr), the programming language, with an average salary of $84,375.
Raises Return to Silicon Valley
After a slip in average salaries last year, paychecks for technology talent in Silicon Valley increased three percent to an average salary of $99,028. In addition, 35 percent of Valley respondents received a bonus in 2010, as compared to just 26 percent in 2009.
The steps employers are taking on compensation are sparking higher levels of satisfaction. More than half (52%) of Silicon Valley tech pros reported they are satisfied with their salaries, as compared to 46 percent who were satisfied last year. That gain comes directly from previously dissatisfied technology professionals which fell from 37 percent in 2009 to 31 percent currently.
“The revival of employment demand for technology professionals started about this time last year in Silicon Valley. Very quickly, companies are facing higher compensation costs, retention troubles, and shortages in certain skill-sets,” said Alice Hill, Managing Director of Dice.com. “This experience provides a roadmap for employers outside of Silicon Valley, because demand is strengthening across the country for tech talent.”
Average salaries in New York ($87,298) and the Washington D.C./Baltimore corridor ($89,149) inched higher year/year, while average salaries in Atlanta ($82,944) and Philadelphia ($81,986) jumped five percent year/year – the strongest performance in any of the top 10 metropolitan markets. Two markets showed declines in average technology salaries, Los Angeles dropped four percent to $84,551 and in Chicago average technology salaries declined one percent to $79,933.
Dice Salary Survey Methodology
The Dice Salary Survey was administered online with 19,798 employed technology professionals from the Dice community responding between August 31 and November 15, 2010. Respondents were invited to participate in the survey through a notification on the Dice home page, and registered technology professionals were sent an email invitation. A cookie methodology was used to ensure that there was no duplication of responses between or within the various sample groups, and duplicate responses from a single email address were removed.
About Dice
Dice, a Dice Holdings, Inc. service, is the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals. With a 20-year track record of meeting the ever-changing needs of technology professionals, companies and recruiters, our specialty focus and exposure to highly skilled professional communities enable employers to reach hard-to-find, experienced and qualified technology and engineering candidates. www.Dice.com
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SOURCE Dice.com
CONTACT: Jennifer Bewley, +1-212-448-8288, Dice Holdings, Inc., dicemedia@dice.com; Kona Luseni, Makovsky + Co, +1-212-508-9684, kluseni@makovsky.com
Web Site: http://www.Dice.com
Offshoring Has Not Cost Domestic Jobs According to New Research
U.S. Companies Say Offshoring has not Cost Domestic Jobs, According to Research from Duke University and The Conference Board
- Most companies say offshoring of jobs has not resulted in higher unemployment domestically
- The desire to cut costs is not the primary motivator for companies moving some job functions to overseas locations
- Firms shifting jobs overseas may be responding to a shortage of skilled domestic employees
- Manufacturers and high-tech/telecommunication companies are less likely to use captive offshore operations – owned by the company and located on foreign soil – and are moving increasingly toward the use of third-party providers of offshore labor
DURHAM, NC /PRNewswire/ The sixth annual study on corporations’ offshoring trends was released today by the Center for International Business Education and Research’s (CIBER) Offshoring Research Network (ORN) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and The Conference Board.
The study is part of ongoing research into the effects of offshoring trends on American competitiveness and reflects the sentiments of business managers as regional economies around the world continue to recover from the global recession and economic upheaval in Europe and Asia.
“Over half of the participants in our survey say offshoring has resulted in no change in the number of domestic jobs in most functions,” said Fuqua Professor of Strategy and International Business Arie Lewin. “The finding that the U.S. software sector has the highest ratio of offshore to domestic employees – almost 13 offshored jobs per 100 domestic jobs – may be a reflection of a scarcity of domestic science and engineering graduates in the U.S.”
In addition, survey respondents are broadening the range of factors that influence their selection of an offshore location to include the location of the best service provider and the quality of infrastructure, e.g., telecommunications, power and transportation. In spite of placing a high priority on cost savings and labor arbitrage, the survey finds average achieved cost savings offshore have declined for functions at many companies. For example, IT services and software development have experienced consistent declines over the past five years while average achieved savings have increased for administrative and innovative functions.
According to the researchers, survey participants have lower expectations than previous respondents for average cost savings in several offshoring functions. Contact center, information technology and software development offshoring have seen the largest declines among all offshoring functions as companies new to offshoring discover a number of hidden costs involved, including expenses for training, staff recruitment and retention, and government and vendor relations.
“The potential for cost reduction alone is no longer reason enough to move operations,” said Ton Heijmen, Senior Advisor to The Conference Board. “One survey respondent noted it has taken his company several years to discover that the impact of labor arbitrage disappears in fewer than three years. Companies are now shifting from cost-driven offshoring implementations to a multidimensional value proposition in creating a global footprint.”
As companies expand offshoring activities by increasing scale or by offshoring more diverse and complex functions, most firms see a decline in the overall efficiency of their offshoring processes as measured by average cost savings across offshored functions. This may be partially attributed to a loss of managerial control as offshoring operations are expanded, requiring companies to improve coordination and management of their global sourcing.
About Duke CIBER
Duke’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) was established in 1992 by The Fuqua School of Business and has been directed by Professor Arie Y. Lewin since 1995. The Offshoring Research Network (ORN) was conceived as a multi-year initiative focused on understanding the relationship between offshoring and American competitiveness.
There are 33 CIBERs located throughout the U.S. that are funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI through a competitive bid process. Duke CIBER collaborates with other CIBERs to carry out projects, and engages in outreach activities with other centers and departments at Duke as well as other colleges and universities, businesses and communities.
To learn more about Duke CIBER, visit http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/ciber/site2006.
About Duke Offshoring Research Network (ORN)
Duke ORN is a network of research partner universities, scholars and practitioners that has become the most recognized international research network tracking the globalization of services over time. ORN began gathering data on buy-side companies in 2004. In 2006, the survey was extended to Europe with EU partner universities and began gathering comparable data for service providers in over 50 countries in 2007. Researchers from top universities in Italy, France, Japan and Korea joined the network in 2010.
Duke ORN maintains a Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshoring_Research_Network.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org
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SOURCE The Conference Board
CONTACT: For Duke: Chris Privett, +1-919-660-8090, chris.privett@duke.edu; For The Conference Board: Carol Courter, +1-212-339-0232, carol.courter@conference-board.org
Web Site: http://www.conference-board.org
Employee Confidence in Job Security and Company Outlook Increased; Mixed Expectations on Pay Raises and Bonuses Amid Rising Uncertainty About Job Market
Employee Confidence in Job Security and Company Outlook Increased in Fourth Quarter; Mixed Expectations on Pay Raises and Bonuses Amid Rising Uncertainty About Job Market
While Majority of Those Bonus Eligible Expect a 2010 Bonus, 45% of Employees Don’t Expect a Pay Raise in 2011; Employees Report Highest Rate of Health and Dental Benefit Cuts in Two Years
SAUSALITO, CA /PRNewswire/ Despite recent economic reports that show jobless claims down for several consecutive weeks, employees reveal mixed feelings about what is in store at their employer, for the overall job market and their pay check in the year ahead. According to the Q4 Glassdoor.com® Employment Confidence Survey of 2,118 U.S. adults aged 18+ conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive®(1), employees are more confident in their job security and company’s outlook in the next six months than they were in the third quarter. However, this optimism is not universal as employees remain pessimistic about pay raises and have grown more uncertain about the job market since last quarter.
This varied sentiment may be influenced by the types and frequency of employer-initiated actions and cuts that impact employees and their jobs. In the fourth quarter, 40 percent of employees(2) reported their employers made changes to the number of staff, organizational structure, compensation and benefits, or other perks in the past six months, which is down from 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 when the majority of these job actions involved layoffs or layoff plans. In the past year, the highest incidence of employer actions shifted to compensation changes or cuts. This quarter, more than half (52 percent) of employees who reported at least some change indicated their company made changes to or reduced compensation in the past six months, up from 50 percent a year ago. One in four (27 percent) said their own compensation (pay, bonus, etc.) was reduced during the same period. However, layoff reports dropped 11 points year-over-year with 46 percent of employees reporting their employers initiated or communicated layoffs in the past six months.
While reported cutbacks in other areas declined or remained at the same level from the third quarter, health and dental benefit cuts peaked at the highest level in two years following steady quarterly increases. This quarter, 28 percent of employees who cited at least some changes reported cuts to their health and dental benefit in the past six months, compared to 22 percent in the third quarter and 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, employees reported fewer cuts in perks (i.e. commuter subsidies, free food, tuition reimbursement) (12 percent) and hiring freezes (24 percent) than in previously reported quarters. The rates for furloughs, unpaid leave and/or mandatory vacation (17 percent) as well as job restructurings/redundancies (11 percent) remained unchanged from the third quarter.
“Employees are getting mixed signals from their employers and the market, so it’s no surprise employee confidence in the fourth quarter reflects a mixed bag of optimism and caution,” said Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor.com career and workplace expert, who has run global HR departments at Electronic Arts and PepsiCo before co-authoring Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. “Employment confidence is very personal. While there are some recent positive indicators in the labor market, these don’t capture the wide range of employer cuts and other actions employees see and feel on a regular basis. Employee sentiment about their job, company and market will likely remain tempered until they see consistent and sustained periods of growth, fewer cutbacks at work and among their friends’ companies, and more people getting hired into positions that were either eliminated or put on hold during the recession.”
The Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey highlights four key indicators of employee confidence in the areas of salary and bonus(3) expectations, job security, job market/re-hire probability and company outlook. The fourth quarter highlights are below:
Compensation: 45% of Employees Do Not Expect Raise; Majority of Those Bonus Eligible Expect 2010 Bonus; Men Significantly Outnumber Women on Bonus Eligibility and More Likely to Expect Bonus Increases
Employees are less confident about getting a pay raise in the next 12 months than in the past two quarters. Nearly half (45 percent) of employees report they do not expect a pay raise in the next 12 months while approximately one-third (36 percent) believe they will and 19 percent are unsure. Those who think they will receive a pay raise is down one percentage point from the third quarter and five points from the fourth quarter 2009. Those in the West are even less optimistic where more than half (55 percent) do not expect a pay raise in the next 12 months, up from 48 percent in the region in the third quarter, compared to those in the Northeast (44 percent), Midwest (42 percent) and South (43 percent).
In the annual supplemental year-end bonus question, 75 percent of employees reported being bonus eligible, which breaks down to 79 percent of men and 71 percent of women. Of those bonus eligible, the majority (58 percent) expect a bonus while one-third (37 percent) do not. By comparison, in the fourth quarter of 2008 shortly after the market crashed, 57 percent said they expected a bonus while 40 percent did not. Of those who currently expect a bonus, 21 percent expect it to be more than their last bonus, 47 percent expect it to be the same and 16 percent expect it to be less while another 16 percent are unsure. Of those bonus-eligible, more men (62 percent) than women (53 percent) expect a bonus; and, of those who expect a bonus, twice as many men (16 percent) than women (7 percent) expect an increase in this year’s bonus over their last.
Job Security: Layoff Concerns for Self, Coworkers Drop
After edging up in the third quarter, employee concerns about layoffs dropped in the fourth quarter. Employees concerned that they could be laid off in the next six months decreased to 17 percent, down three points from the third quarter and the year-ago quarter (20 percent). Layoff concerns are highest among those 35-44 (21 percent) and more so among men in that age group (25 percent) compared to women (16 percent).
Employee concern for coworker layoffs also dipped slightly in the fourth quarter, with 31 percent reporting concerns their coworkers could be laid off in the next six months, down from 33 percent in the prior quarter. This is a considerable decrease from the fourth quarters of 2009 (39 percent) and 2008 (42 percent).
Job Market: Optimism Rises among Unemployed Job Seekers; Employees More Uncertain in Ability to Get Rehired
For the first time in a year, slightly more unemployed job seekers think it is likely (31 percent) that they will land a job in the next six months than those who believe it is unlikely (27 percent) while one-third (34 percent) remain uncertain. However, despite recent positive job data, employed adults (including those self employed) reveal greater uncertainty in the job market in the fourth quarter than in the prior seven quarters. If they lost their job, one-third (33 percent) report they are uncertain whether they could find a job matched to their experience and compensation levels in the next six months, up from 28 percent last quarter. This sentiment is pretty evenly split among those who think it is likely (34 percent) and those who think it is unlikely (32 percent). Not surprisingly, optimism in the ability to land a new job in the next six months is highest among younger workers 18-34 (43 percent) compared to those 35-44 (36 percent), 44-54 (26 percent) and those 55+ (26 percent).
Company Outlook: Greater Optimism — 4 Point Increase in Expectation for Company to be “Better”
In the fourth quarter, 42 percent of employees (including those self-employed) reported they expect their company outlook to get better in the next six months, up from 38 percent in the third quarter. Only nine percent expect their company’s outlook to get worse in the next six months, down from 13 percent in the third quarter, and 10 percent in the year-ago quarter. Nearly half (48 percent) expect their company’s outlook to stay about the same. Twice as many employees in the West (15 percent) expect their company’s outlook to get worse in the next six months than those in the Northeast (7 percent) and South (7 percent).
For more details and methodology of the survey, see the Glassdoor.com Confidence Survey Summary and Methodology, http://www.glassdoor.com/press/.
(1) This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Glassdoor from December 27- 29, 2010 among 2,118 adults ages 18 and older of whom 1,279 are employed full time, part time and/or are self employed, 1,157 are employed full time and/or part time and 151 are unemployed but looking. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For full survey results and complete methodology, please contact individuals listed below.
(2) For the purposes of this study “employees” were defined as U.S., adults 18+ employed full time and/or part time unless otherwise indicated.
(3) The bonus supplemental question is typically administered during the fourth quarter.
About Glassdoor.com
Glassdoor.com is a career and workplace community giving a free inside look at jobs and companies. Glassdoor enables employees, job seekers, employers and recruiters to simultaneously see – for the first time – unedited opinions about a company’s work environment along with details on salary, company reviews, as well as benefits and CEO approval ratings. Glassdoor, founded in 2007 with a public beta version launched in June 2008, has since offered job interview questions and reviews, office photos as well as career advice. Headquartered in Sausalito, Calif., Glassdoor was founded by Richard Barton, Robert Hohman and Tim Besse and has raised $9.5 million from its founders, Benchmark Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
=======================
SOURCE Glassdoor.com
CONTACT: Samantha Zupan, +1-925-324-3954, or Dawn Lyon, +1-415-846-4706, pr [at] glassdoor.com, both of Glassdoor.com
Web Site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com
Top 25 Oddball Employer Interview Questions of 2010
Glassdoor.com Reveals Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2010
SAUSALITO, CA /PRNewswire/ We all know the job interview process can be stressful, but for many candidates it can feel like a pressure chamber, especially when questions seemingly come out of left field. Glassdoor.com, a career and jobs community offering insights on companies and workplaces, has compiled its annual list of oddball interview questions based on the tens of thousands of interview questions shared by job candidates during the past year.
The Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2010 on Glassdoor:
1. “If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?” – Asked at Goldman Sachs, Analyst position
2. “How many ridges [are there] around a quarter?” – Asked at Deloitte, Project Analyst position
3. “What is the philosophy of Martial Arts?” – Asked at Aflac, Sales Associate position
4. “Explain [to] me what has happened in this country during the last 10 years.” – Asked at Boston Consulting, Consultant position
5. “Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how weird you are.” – Asked at Capital One, Operations Analyst position
6. “How many basketball[s] can you fit in this room” – Asked at Google, People Analyst position
7. “Out of 25 horses, pick the fastest 3 horses. In each race, only 5 horses can run at the same time. What is the minimum number of races required?” – Asked at Bloomberg LP Financial, Software Developer position
8. “If you could be any superhero, who would it be?” – Asked at AT&T, Customer Sales Representative position
9. “You have a birthday cake and have exactly 3 slices to cut it into 8 equal pieces. How do you do it?” – Asked at Blackrock Portfolio Management Group, Fixed Income Analyst position
10. “Given the numbers 1 to 1000, what is the minimum numbers guesses needed to find a specific number if you are given the hint “higher” or “lower” for each guess you make?” – Asked at Facebook, Software Engineer position
11. “If you had 5,623 participants in a tournament, how many games would need to be played to determine the winner?” – Asked at Amazon, Manager position
12. “An apple costs 20 cents, an orange costs 40 cents, and a grapefruit costs 60 cents, how much is a pear?” – Asked at Epic Systems, Project Manager position
13. “There are three boxes, one contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled such that no label identifies the actual contents of the box it labels. Opening just one box, and without looking in the box, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly?” – Asked at Apple, Software QA Engineer position
14. “How many traffic lights in Manhattan?” – Asked at Argus Information & Advisory Services, Analyst position
15. “You are in a dark room with no light. You need matching socks for your interview and you have 19 grey socks and 25 black socks. What are the chances you will get a matching pair?” – Asked at Eze Castle, Quality Assurance position
16. “What do wood and alcohol have in common?” – Asked at Guardsmark, Staff Writer position
17. “How do you weigh an elephant without using a weigh machine?” – Asked at IBM, Software Engineer position
18. “You have 8 pennies, 7 weigh the same, one weighs less. You also have a judges scale. Find the one that weighs less in less than 3 steps.” – Asked at Intel, Systems Validation Engineer position
19. “Why do you think only a small percentage of the population makes over $150K?” – Asked at New York Life, Sales Agent position
20. “You are in charge of 20 people, organize them to figure out how many bicycles were sold in your area last year.” – Asked at Schlumberger, Field Engineer position
21. “How many bottles of beer are drank in the city over the week?” – Asked at The Nielsen Company, Research Analyst position
22. “What’s the square root of 2000?” – Asked at UBS, Sales and Trading position
23. “A train leaves San Antonio for Huston at 60mph. Another train leaves Huston for San Antonio at 80mph. Huston and San Antonio are 300 miles apart. If a bird leaves San Antonio at 100mph, and turns around and flies back once it reaches the Huston train, and continues to fly between the two, how far will it have flown when they collide?”- Asked at USAA, Software Engineer position
24. “How are M&M’s made?” – Asked at US Bank, Leadership Program Development position
25. “What would you do if you just inherited a pizzeria from your uncle?” – Asked at Volkswagen, Business Analyst position.
The interview questions are part of the Glassdoor Interview Reviews section, offering in-depth accounts of the interview process for specific job titles at specific companies – all for free. To date, approximately 80,000 interview questions around the world have been collected. Interview Reviews include details from actual candidates about the entire hiring process — from the interview format and average duration to overall difficulty. Each review also includes details as to whether an offer was made and whether it was accepted or rejected — and why — along with any negotiation tips.
Users can find or share Interview Reviews through the “Interviews” tab from the Glassdoor.com home page or via http://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/index.htm.
About Glassdoor.com
Glassdoor.com is a career and workplace community offering a free inside look at jobs and companies with access to millions of job listings. Glassdoor enables employees, job seekers, employers and recruiters to simultaneously see – for the first time – unedited opinions about a company’s work environment along with details on salaries, company reviews, CEO approval ratings, job interview questions and reviews, and office photos as well as career advice.
Headquartered in Sausalito, Calif., Glassdoor officially launched in 2008, and was founded by Richard Barton, Robert Hohman and Tim Besse in 2007. The company has raised $9.5 million from its founders, Benchmark Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures. More information about Glassdoor can be found on its blog (www.glassdoor.com/blog), Twitter (www.twitter.com/glassdoordotcom), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/glassdoordotcom).
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SOURCE Glassdoor.com
CONTACT: Samantha Zupan, +1-925-324-3954, or Dawn Lyon +1-415-846-4706, pr@glassdoor.com, both of Glassdoor.com
Web Site: http://www.glassdoor.com
A Profession’s Value Does Not Reflect Its Prestige
The Value Gap: A Profession’s Value Does Not Reflect Its Prestige
With Unemployment As The Top Issue Facing Our Country Entering The New Year, Most Americans Feel That Professions That Improve People’s Quality of Life Make a Profession Most Valuable to Society
NEW YORK, Dec. 31, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Reflecting relentless unemployment figures and online stories of long and unsuccessful job searches in professions that have long been viewed as secure, Americans see unemployment (83%) as the most important issue facing our country today.
Choosing a profession in this economic environment becomes a complex decision, which can lead to introspection as to what value a person’s work contributes to society. Americans identify the top three qualities that can make a profession valuable to society as jobs that improve people’s quality of life (72%), solve world issues (48%), and give back to the community (38%).
Positions perceived as making valuable contributions to society, however, are not necessarily viewed as prestigious. Relative to other professions, teachers are rated highest based on the value they contribute to society with three-quarters of Americans saying they are extremely valuable (76%). That said, Americans rate teachers as one of the lowest in terms of prestige (15% extremely prestigious).
These are just some of the findings from StrategyOne’s The Value of Professions Survey, a public opinion poll of 2,014 Americans, conducted between September 18 and 20, 2010. StrategyOne, a strategic polling firm, is a Daniel J. Edelman company.
“Choosing a meaningful profession is a challenge today for Americans at any age,” said Catherine Reynolds, senior vice president of StrategyOne. ”It becomes the difference between what feels good versus what looks good to others professionally.”
Survey Methodology:
StrategyOne conducted 2,014 online interviews among a representative sampling of Americans between the ages of 21 and 65 a between September 18 and 20, 2010. The margin of sampling error at the 95% level of confidence is = +/- 2.2% overall and larger for subgroups.
About StrategyOne:
StrategyOne, a Daniel J. Edelman company, employs custom public opinion research and secondary research methodologies to deliver strategic counsel to corporate, organizational and governmental clients globally. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, New York, Paris, San Mateo, Washington, D.C., and Abu Dhabi, StrategyOne provides global clients with evidence based stakeholder insights, analysis and measurement. Visit www.strategyone.net for more information.
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SOURCE StrategyOne
CONTACT: Catherine Reynolds, Senior Vice President, StrategyOne, +1-212-704-8299, Catherine.Reynolds@StrategyOne.net
Web Site: http://www.strategyone.net
