patrick.net

Stay relevant and be honest with potential employers.

When you interview and some pimply faced moron asked you the canned question, "Where do you see yourself in THIS organization in 5 to 10 years?"
Feel free to tell them that you'll be working somewhere. It's the future of this company that you aren't optimistic about.

The end of the year is a great time to be laid off. You don't have to sweat jumping right back to work with in three weeks or be labeled as unemployable from hence forth! Because the truth is no company does hiring at year end.
You have about 3 to 4 weeks that you can polish your A game without it penalizing you for being absent from the work force. Use them wisely and hone your skills and fill in any missing gaps of new technology that you may not be aligned with.

Another thing I like to do during my down unemployed downtime. Is to focus on my own projects that I can showcase on future interviews. I've gotten several gigs just based on how I used technology for my own projects. That typically otherwise that technology would not have been used, as it is normally some unorthodoxed(according to the latest tech magazine and buzzword bingo currently circulating meeting rooms) way of doing things.
I'm able to demonstrate my success at thinking outside the box without having to run it by the biggest Techdick in the office first. Which those assholes never go for anything that will upstage their emperor's thumb.

Legacy IT skills are always a plus.

SJ,

Sorry this happened to you. If you believe everything in life happens for a reason, maybe it's for the better. I quit my W-2 job just over 5 years ago and haven't looked back. It was a mixed feeling of both relieved as well as scared at that moment. Thank god it has worked out.

One of our lenders, First Republic Bank, told us recently that the first wave of lay-off has started. They expect 2015 to be a soft year for the housing market. They have gotten more conservative with their lending. They used to lend to us at 70% LTV, then 65% LTV, and now they're down to 60% LTV. Basically, they see risk on the horizon.

If you're looking for another job, best of luck with your search. Contact me if you have the skills and need a connection at Apple. I believe they are hiring.

A lot of companies are hiring. I am still seeing people getting snapped up quickly.

You should brush up your mental game and project a confident image. Nobody will hire a desperate applicant no matter how good they really are, even in the best of times.

There will be more layoffs though. Good times will eventually end. Good luck.

It's all Obama's fault!!!

SJ -
Sorry to hear it. If you're interested in moving, Houston is hiring like crazy. I had a friend who spent two and a half years getting by with temp jobs and contract jobs up in Oregon. He finally moved down here and had a full-time job in two weeks. Just a suggestion.

It's all Brown's fault!!!

Do you know programming in iOS , I'm hiring ?

im an expert in last years surveillence social network APIs, which has been liquidated by the CIA holding company/Venture Capital firm.

also we have a huge shortage of tech workers so we need AT LEAST a few million indians working in the US who don't speak english.

Yeah, that is why I moved out of CA. One, CA has a huge pool of tech workers-who really, really want to stay there. I moved to the Midwest-nobody comes here unless they have to.

I now live in a nice , huge almost acre lot home that is less than the price of a small condo in CA. yeah you got to shovel snow and deal with winter. But jobs are a bit more secure and not as much competition and the pay is the same or better actually. I think too much competition is driving down the wages in CA-with only housing prices at stratospheric levels.

If you bought a home in the early 2000s or in the bottom of the crash-that is ok. But now , it is too expensive.

I was laid off-seems like eons ago!! best thing that happened to me. I was in a company for a long time-this event gave me a ton of experience-having confidence in my skills, negotiating rates, choosing where and when I wanted to work and when etc. It is life-what does not kill you makes you stronger.

Now for those with families, it is tougher, but seen plenty who bounced back and are fine.

Remember, being laid-off does not reflect badly on your professional worth. At worst, it merely shows that you do not play certain games well. You must brush it off quickly and move on.

Moreover, even in the hottest market, companies go through adjustments.

I want you to look into a mirror and convince yourself how good you are. Then go apply for a job only when you believe getting a job is easy because you are magnetic, attractive, and desirable.

I work in cloud big data and ERP but I don't code iOS.
Agree living in a cheaper city and state is better.

SJ says

I work in cloud big data and ERP but I don't code iOS.

Agree living in a cheaper city and state is better.

Have you been talking to companies? You should have zero problem attracting interests.

Oh well, ERP is an archaic term though. Can you give it another label? Like a business intelligence or decision science spin?

SJ says

I work in cloud big data and ERP but I don't code iOS.

Agree living in a cheaper city and state is better.

big data is in huge demand . what technologies exactly ?