Johnson & Associates, LLC

Is This Heaven? No, it's Des Moines.

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

The popular joke, "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa" loved by all Iowans is back with vengeance!

Working with IT candidates throughout 2009, many of whom have seen firsthand what the recession can do to a career, to a family, and to a city; hs us constantly looking for the silver lining. Well, the end of the year results are out, and it looks like Des Moines can boast more than just a silver lining.

Here are just a few of the accolades Des Moines has received over the past few months:

• MarketWatch ranks Des Moines as the best city for business in the U.S. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tortoise-wins-race-for-best-us-city-for-business-2009-12-16  
• Woods & Poole Economics forecast Des Moines to create 4,500 new jobs, with the finance and insurance sectors adding more than $100 million to the local economy and contributing to a population growth of 6,200 people this year. http://www.desmoinesmetro.com/newsroom/news/displayArticle.asp?idNewsroomArticle=611&idNewsroomWebsiteSection=1  
• MSN lists Des Moines as one of the 100 metro areas in the nation that have begun to recover from the recession. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33312701/ns/3303539  
• The ACCRA Cost of Living Index reports the living costs in Des Moines are 9% below the national average for the Third Quarter of 2009.     http://www.coli.org/  
• MSN ranks Des Moines as first in the nation for real estate as the "Most Livable Bargain Market". http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=22334217  

Loyalty, Money, and Tiger

I hear this AM on the way to the office that Lane Kiffin left Tennessee after one season to coach the USC Trojans. As the guest on the Dan Patrick Show says, 'He's the highest paid coach who never accomplished anything in history'. It seems that we hear more and more things from sports that aren't exactly high brow material any longer. Whatever happened to sports? What about character? What about loyalty? It really makes me appreciate Coach Frerentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

When I was in my 20's I couldn't stay put more than a few years at a job. I'd race through the learning curve, learn my craft, and want more challenge. Now I see how that could have caused my past employers some pain and cost. What do we think it costs organizations like the Tennessee Volunteers and the PGA Tour, or Nike when their representatives are in the news for all things ugly in sports?

I've read blogs on sites too numerous to mention regarding the title subject of this post. What I don't get is why people say things to the effect of not caring what an athlete or coach does so long as he/she wins. What we are hearing Athletic Departments say is the same thing. All in the name of money. TV and ratings rule the roost. Do we want our children and our society to give a pass continually so long as we're entertained? Am I simply too old for the world these days where I take it too seriously? Are my values old-fashioned to the point of being considered out of touch.

All I can say is I really don't care. Better I be all of these things than accept things as they are and they won't change. If I had to trade my ability to look myself in the mirror and face my family or peers for a seven figure bank account I'd rather be broke.

Economic Recovery

Has anyone experienced the 'uptick' that we hear about on the news? It seems that leading to Christmas we had some real changes hitting our stock market, the banks, the auto industry, and even some in consumer spending. So why when I talk to my friends, peers, and some clients do I hear the contrary?

I'm wondering how this year will be. Many clients are planning and considering larger based projects that will positively impact their company and our business. Many are at a freeze with hiring and that includes IT contractors.

I'm curious to what anyone might think and feel out there in Des Moines and the Midwest regarding the consulting and IT project market. Last year was a challenging year but ironically our best year since we opened. We're determined to double that business in 2010 and there are times when it seems daunting. But we're not going to just accept that things are tough. When aren't they?

The Feds CIO

Upon reading a lengthy profile of the Obama appointed CIO, Vivek Kundra (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Vivek-Kundra-Chief-Information-Officer/), in Information Week, I was both impressed and left wondering. Impressed with his credentials and business-like approach to the overbearing task of coordinating the Federal Government's IT operations. However wondering if perhaps some major issues are being overlooked or left out of his public strategy communications.

The article lists more CIO's in Federal Government than we have corn fields in Iowa. There are turf battles for funding, for prioritizing, and for control of overlapped services. At a time when the economy, environment, and global terror are the main stage, there are more challenges than manpower to tackle. He's lead the charge for a new dashboard that high-level Info Tech executives of the government can view and obtain data to help them run their business like a business.

But in all due appreciation of the magnitude of his job, I felt as if there were many unanswered questions about how IT could impact the nation and globe positively. Albeit politics seems to find a way to hinder progress, I see three main issues that IT might pursue:

1. Air traffic security - put in a system that screens everyone thoroughly and denies anyone tied to terrorism or their peers. People - you might need to get over your bashfulness. Once you're blown up mid-air no one will remember what your butt looks like.
2. Environment - Put some scientists on the job that are looking for real data versus parallel results that match their funding source. When well read people with actual brains can't make sense of which side is right about what is causing global warming, let alone what is global warming, how do we know that the money we're spending on programs is effective? Why is legislation being put into place that can adversely affect our economy at a critical time of recovery when the savings and environmental benefit appear fleeting.
3. Economy - It seems we're so busy trying to use IT to track what we're doing now that we might try to focus more on tomorrow's vision of IT and the world first. With national unemployment at 10% it seems there ought to be focus on lowering that number to 5% or 6%. And government jobs is not the best way to sustain a workable employment factor.

I hope everyone is thinking about these issues. I'm sure we all won't agree with how, what, and why but if our focus is common we'll do some good.

Avatar

I went to this film over the holiday break with a couple family members. I can't see another film taking Best Picture for the year's Oscar nods.

The movie has a used theme but it doesn't short change the audience one bit. You're tied into the story and will marvel at the CGI and the characters visually. The sound and experience are phenominal.

I didn't see the 3D version but will go see the movie again just to experience this. Buy a large popcorn, a big soda and enjoy! I rarely dislike a movie I see in the theater's but the ones I love and will see again are few and far between. This film could bring about vast changes to the industry. Remember when 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was cutting edge?

If you're interested in the technology behind the blockbuster, here's an interesting behind the scenes article: http://www.examiner.com/x-32162-LA-Business-Tech-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Behind-the-scenes-of-blockbuster-movie-Avatar-the-technology.

Virtual applications: What I'd Build if I Could...

I read InformationWeek every week and find all sorts of information. (Let me know if anyone wants a free subscription). Admittedly, much of what they write about is outside my comprehension technically but it remains a great source of trends, business intelligence, and opinionated content worth thought.

Today I read about mobile applications that enterprises are considering and developers are producing. The General Motors Cruze looks promising but they're hoping to sell some of them without customers visiting dealerships. We all learn about new applications for our iPhones and Blackberry's but if you're like me you're wondering when are the real good ones coming and why some are being developed in the first place. Here's what I'd build if I could...

• Groceries Now App: Need food? Only some deli? Check off what you need/want, route to your nearest participating grocer, pick up on the fly. Bill me monthly with a $25 monthly access fee.  
• Pandora in the Car: Internet radio is just ok. Give me a subscription to Pandora run right through my car's audio system. Eliminate me plugging in my Blackberry. Or better yet...
• The World's Biggest Media Library: Put every song, book, film, play, anything digital online to be accessed on demand through one portal instead of forcing everyone to have memberships to umpteen different sources of entertainment. I guess this more a business idea but still...
• Mobile Translator: Like Dragon Naturally Speaking but for the mobile device. Could be used to dial, play chess, written communication, documents, surfing the web. Anything to eliminate typing.
• Child Track: Want to know where your kids are? Give them a family plan device that directly reports location to the parent device real time without any footprint the children can access, deny, or disable.
• Banking: An application that would require widespread security and cooperative thought. Enter your personal encrypted financial site to access accounts, pay bills, schedule payments, receive payments, transfer funds, make investments, whatever you need. Use your Mobile Translator to quickly navigate.
• Voting: Tie into your local precinct to vote online. Furthermore, once our elected leaders are in office have auto updates sent to us regarding positions and upcoming votes on the floor so we can have input into their decisioning forcing them to vote the majority while encouraging citizen involvement.

I fully realize that some of this takes time, thought, and careful planning. But I figure we have a Zippo application on the iPhone so why not these?

Career Networking Through Social Media

I'm often asked about the use of social media sites while IT candidates are searching and networking for that next contract. We all know that networking is oftentimes the best way to land a new opportunity, but with the clutter of social media sites, it can be confusing, especially for those that don't use social media sites on a regular basis. Personally, I think LinkedIn can be a very effective tool since it is geared solely toward those who are interested in professional networking. Here are a few tips on how to best use LinkedIn in your career networking:

Ask colleagues or former supervisors to recommend your work. This is an easy way for a recruiter or hiring manager to validate the content of your resume and assess top qualities that are listed by the recommender, without having all prospective employers bombard these colleagues and former supervisors with reference checks.

Join groups that are relevant to your industry and specialty. Oftentimes recruiters and hiring managers also belong to these groups, and post jobs to the group's page. This can be an excellent way to hunt for opportunities that aren't always posted on other job boards, as well as find connections with those that are hiring. Some examples of groups include Consultants Network, Des Moines Job Seekers and The Cisco Voice.

Select your privacy settings so not everyone can view your full profile and only connect with people that you know. Connecting with someone indicates that you know that person well, and will grant that person access to other people you are connected with, provides them with updates on your activity and vice versa. Your resume is your key to your future, so it should be protected.

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

There's No Place like Home

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

Dorothy Gale had it right all along, there is no place like home. When The Wizard of Oz portrayed Dorothy and Toto realizing they weren’t in Kansas anymore, they were feeling the same stress, anxiety and confusion that we have all felt when we’re taken out of the comfort of what we find in the familiar. Unfortunately, these feelings are becoming more and more prevalent in our parents and grandparents, as, according to the CDC, the number of residents in nursing homes has climbed to 1.5 million.

Careers, family, and life in general continues to grow increasingly hectic for primary caregivers, while, at the same time the average life expectancy for a female living in the U.S. increased by 7.6 years between 1955 and 2005. In fact, the number of U.S. residents aged over 65 years is expected to increase from approximately 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030, and the number of persons aged over 80 years is expected to increase from 9.3 million in 2000 to 19.5 million in 2030, according to the CDC.

While nursing homes are a great option for some, the comfort of what we find in the familiar and the ability to stay in one’s home is becoming an increasingly popular option.  Here at Johnson & Associates, we have personally dealt with the confusion and stress that accompanies aging parents and grandparents, which is why we are adding in-home care to our service profile, with the commitment that only comes through personal experience to provide top notch care to the elderly and their families here in Des Moines.

We are excited to make this announcement and are ready to show you and your family the healing power that comes with familiar comforts, and why ultimately there is no place like home.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/nursingh.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r090819.htm

Johnson & Associates Celebrates National Staffing Employee Week!

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

Johnson & Associates, along with staffing companies across the country, celebrate National Staffing Employee Week September 14th - 20th, established by the American Staffing Association (ASA) to honor the contributions of the stars of our nation's work force: American's temporary and contract employees.

According to the ASA, businesses rely on staffing companies for quality talent in virtually all occupational sectors, from nurses to IT project managers. The ASA also reports that 79% of temporary and contract employees work full time (35 or more hours per week).

For those who are looking for something new, or seeking additional work, temporary and contract employment offers many benefits:

• Jobs: The staffing industry matches millions of people to millions of jobs every day. According to the ASA, approximately 2.7 million temporary and contract employees work through U.S. staffing firms on an average business day.

• Flexibility: Oftentimes employees can choose when, where, and how they want to work, while companies can get the skills they need to keep fully staffed during busy times or staff fluctuations.

• Bridge: Temporary and contract work many times provides a bridge to permanent employment. Candidates can try out a prospective employer and showcase their skills for a potential permanent job.

• Choice: Many people choose temporary and contract work as a preferred employment option because of all of the reasons listed above. Candidates can select their work schedules and choose among a variety of diverse and challenging assignments that fit within their lifestyle, as well as their long term goals.

We would like to thank all of our employees and pay tribute to them by saluting them for all that they contribute to our clients!

American Staffing Association website: http://www.americanstaffing.net/.

Are We There Yet?

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

Perhaps the most frequent question I get asked these days is whether the dramatic incline in the layoffs, as well as the decline in the hiring market has leveled off. This summer it isn’t just the kids in the backseat on a road trip asking, but candidates, family, friends and even clients all seem to be asking the same question: are we there yet?  It seems everyone is wondering if there is any hope of putting those rose – colored glasses back on.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (link below), the job openings from May of 2008 to the last day of May in 2009 has declined by one and a half million jobs, or thirty six percent. Unfortunately over the past twelve months, job openings have dramatically fallen in all major industries, across all regions of the country.

As of June 2009, the United States Department of Labor has reported a nine and a half percent average unemployment rate across the country. However, the request for unemployment benefits has decreased in the past couple weeks (link also below). From what I have read and seen on the news, several economists are projecting that the unemployment rate will top out somewhere around twelve percent before we reach the peak.

To be optimistic though, I seem to be hearing more and more often that information technology contract work will soon be picking up again, as companies still have goals to accomplish in 2009, and with their shrinking permanent work force and hiring freezes, it seems that hiring more contractors is inevitable. And even with all of the foreseeable changes to healthcare in America, from what I can tell all experts are still expecting a huge boom in the healthcare staffing industry, and likely a shortage of qualified candidates.

It’s hard to say whether we’re there yet or not, but perhaps the peak is just edging into view.

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm

United States Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/