Donald Sears

Something you probably grapple with on a regular basis is how much you have to deal with nontechnical people. There are those who come to you because they are too lazy or challenged to figure it out on their own. But what about those who you have to work with like product managers, project managers, […]

The New York Times has a Q&A interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, some of which is career-related advice for job seekers. Ballmer also chimes in on leadership and shares what he wants Microsoft’s culture to be more of and what it’s like to be in a meeting run by him, among other things. By […]

It feels like the question of these times for a technology pro: whether or not to become a self-employed, “for hire” technology contractor. For those of you used to the stability, benefits and opportunity for growth of full-time positions at technology or other companies, is becoming your own boss something you would even consider? There […]

It may be culture-dependent, especially if you are trying to be honest about how your IT shop and the leaders running it really operate. But is there room for a lot of honesty about culture in this kind of economic environment? Harvard Business School’s Robert S. Kaplan discusses the culture and metrics issues (but not […]

Storage-maker Seagate has announced a 2.5 percent work force reduction, which means pink slips and job cuts for 1,100 employees. This news comes on the heels of 800 job cuts and the resignation of CEO Bill Watkins back in January of this year–though the New York Times reported up to about 3,000 jobs eliminated over […]

The Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit think-tank based in Washington, D.C., has a recent blog that gives some eye-opening perspective on the ratio of unemployed workers to the number of job openings. Here is the key finding from the post: “At the same time that job openings have been declining, more and more workers have […]

The Wall Street Journal has a piece profiling the lives of couples who have both lost their jobs. It’s a good piece, as it shows how couples use the time together to share networking, improve interviewing skills and ease the pain of relocation since they are less likely to be tied down by a current […]

The good news? The total number of job cuts are down from April, and they are the lowest they’ve been in six months. That is somewhat pleasing to hear. The bad news? Despite being down from last month and lowering, the overall layoff numbers are still a fairly large crap sandwich. But all is not […]

The monthly Dice Report from the technology job board is out, and the theme this time is that contracting and self-employment is on the rise. Based on Dice’s assessment of its technology job postings and a poll of job seekers, working without benefits on hourly or project work seems to be one of the most […]

Alan Greenspan is not a name I’d generally associate with the foreign-worker visa program or H-1Bs, but he recently testified to a U.S. senate committee on immigration and gave his take on how it affects wages and the economy. And to sum it up, Greenspan seems out of touch. Greenspan’s quotes, while measured, appear to […]