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I recently put a very terse email together to a recruiter.  These people have been sending me 3-5 emails PER WEEK on a position that is almost completely foreign to “Data Storage”  (Well, it does involve data…but that’s it about as close as it gets.)

Recruiting is another place where supposedly technical work is going to the lowest bidder, and judging by the accents I’m hearing, usually overseas.  This drives me nuts.  Not just because American companies continue to ship jobs overseas despite the fact that our own unemployment numbers are ready to surpass 9% (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The other reason I hate it is that it’s obvious (see below) that the comprehension level of these people is around the 3rd grade.

Recruiting used to be an art form.  Now it’s usually just some idiot saying “you want fries with that?”

And to people who outsource their recruiting let me tell you something.  If you can’t afford a real recruiter, you probably can’t afford a real staff either.  And if you would rather screw your country than pay someone what they’re worth, I really don’t want to work for you.

————————–My Response:

To whom it may concern:

I usually don’t like to remove myself from job lists, but you’ve been (incorrectly) identifying me for this positions for months upon months now.

Please make the madness stop. I am not a “data modeler” by any stretch of the imagination and by continuing to attempt to recruit me for this position proves that you actually have no idea what a “data modeler” actually is.

Data modeling is a way to structure and organize data so it can be used easily by databases. If you’ll check the information that you’ve got somewhere in your data banks on me, you’ll find that “Structure” and “Organize” have nothing to do with my field. (“Databases” only relates to my field on the periphery, in that it all has to be stored somewhere.)

Thank you for your PROMPT consideration.

/JG

———————-Original Email

Dear Jesse,

If you have the experience required for the following job order, please forward your latest resume to kaden@catstaffing-us.com Or Call me at 201 255 0319 x 177., along with responding to the following questions:

What is your hourly rate?
Where do you currently reside (city, state)?
Would you be willing to relocate?
Are you a registered http://www.logtalent.com User? ( It is FREE, It will help us to track your availability and resume for future job openings )
What is your availability to start a new project?
Are you authorized to work in the United States?
If you are not a US citizen, do you have the legal right to remain permanently in the US ? If not, what is your visa status?
Do you have a personal website URL? Your own blog or personal website. ?

PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE JOB DESCRIPTION DETAILS AS PROVIDED BELOW. THIS IS AN IMMEDIATE OPENING:

Job Title: Data Architect
Job Location:
Job Type: Contract
JobDetail Description:

Job Title: Data Architect Location: Worcester, MA Length: 6+ months Skills: Data Architect , XML Description: Position Available for Data Architect in Worcester area, MA Summary The Data Architect will responsible for the design and architecture for the enterprise data solutions implemented in projects.
The data architect must be involved in the early stages of projects and produce data-related design deliverables that will enable project teams to build/modify systems in keeping with the overall data architecture strategy.
The Data Architect will need a demonstrated ability to produce conceptual, logical, and physical data models.
Responsibilities Assist project teams regarding data mapping and data modeling as well as facilitation of information gathering sessions, provide data analysis services and document them as required; Develop, implement and maintain processes for logical to physical data model creation.
Processes will provide data integrity, quality, reliability, availability, and reuse; Ensure adherence to company data architectural guidelines, principles and standards in all project milestones and deliverables; Define and implement data strategies as part of the project life cycle; Research, evaluate and recommend new technologies and techniques to more effectively monitor and manage data asset; Design messaging models and schemas for SOA such as XML; Perform dimensional modeling for data warehousing; Demonstrate responsibility and accountability for the deliverables; Other responsibilities as required.
What are the must haves of this position? Solid leadership and influencing skills which balance creative yet practical solutions for the businesses without compromising corporate data strategies and standards; demonstrate respect and a positive attitude, while projecting a sense of calm and control under pressure situations; Strong verbal and written communication skills which can clearly articulate complex concepts and ideas to all levels of the organization in both technical and non-technical terms; Extensive knowledge of data mapping and data modeling processes; Understanding of data architecture as it relates to operational and analytical information, i.
e.
platforms, reference data, DBMS, data integration; Analytical skills which effectively deal with conceptual and tangible ideas along with attention to detail; Working knowledge of the IT development process and life cycle, i.
e.
roles/responsibilities, tasks, milestones, deliverables; Team oriented with ability to work effectively with many different people across many diverse organizations; Ability to work on multiple, concurrent projects in a dynamic environment assignment-based organization and manage time appropriately; Management skills, with the ability to plan, organize and orchestrate activities such as JAD and review sessions; ability to identify and manage risks and issues, including appropriate escalation when needed; Need to be a self-starter, passionate for data and able to work independently with minimal supervision; Requirements: Bachelors Degree and 3 – 5 Years of Experience in data related fields; Experience with enterprise-level DBMS systems and tools e.g. Oracle, DB2, SQL Server Experience with Erwin, XML Spy is a plus; Experience with ACORD is a plus.

Security is a good thing….until it isn’t.

Security isn’t a good then when it interferes needlessly with productivity.  By needlessly I mean to say when you don’t get the security you’re looking for but instead make it harder for your people to do their job than needs to be.

A few examples:

1.   Company “A” hires consultants to perform day-to-day tasks.  Company “A” then refuses to give them access to the troubleshooting tools and software downloads they are supposed to be supporting.

2.   Company “B” decides that it’s employees can’t be trusted.  (If you can’t trust an employee, why are they an employee?)  Company “B” then decides to lock down PC workstations so that *NO* software can be installed or removed by said employee.  Company “B” instructs their helpdesk to ignore all requests for installation of needed software.

3.   Company “C” requires an contractor to be on-call for 24×7 support.  Company “C” refuses to grant said contractor remote access to support the equipment he’s on-call to support, forcing a 45 minute drive in the event of an emergency.  Company “C” then reams the contractor for not being timely in his/her support.

4.   (My Favourite)  Company “D” gets *VERY* creative with Windows Group Policies on a workstation, rendering said workstation a paperweight.  Company “D” neglects to block access to the system BIOS and allows booting from USB only to allow any user to introduce any unlocked/unguarded operating system in the world into their environment by virtue of a thumbdrive.

In my career, I’ve been said employee/contractor in every one of these instances.

(Just an aside -  my favorite gotcha came from watching a help-desk guy come in and disable the USB ports in the bios of a system only to be rudely reminded that the keyboard and mouse are USB (and that they don’t make PS2 connections for them any longer))

My point is this:  If you’re going to implement security make sure it’s effective security that also allows your employees to do their jobs.

If it’s not effective security – IE going to show a security benefit (that benefit being a quantifiable improvement in the security of your data or the stability of your environment) don’t bother with it – you do nothing but alienate the people you hire to work for you and make them want to go elsewhere.

Contrary to popular belief, there are still elsewheres to go.

Ok, I’ve been asked, and as of next week I will have worked as a consultant in all three different types of arrangements.  I thought it might be a good idea to explain the pros and cons of different consulting positions.

To sum it up, there are three different types of consultants.   The W2 (Or Salaried), The 1099 Direct, or the 1099 Corp-to-Corp.

 In this post, I’ll discuss the first type.

The W2 or “Salaried” Consultant

The W2 consultant (or “Slave”) is one who works for a firm and who gets the full benefits package.  While this can be a good thing, the drawbacks can and usually are many.

Pros

Salary – Having a salary is great during low periods or lulls in work.  Maybe you can get the company to spring for a refresher course or two to keep you marketable, etc. during this time, but it’s nice to know that no matter what your paycheck is coming in. 

Benefits – healthcare being what it is, a family can always depend on the Consulting firm to provide health benefits.  They may be more expensive than a “joe-job” but it’s good to have around.

Cons

Salary – Yes, this is a pro as well as a con.  Salaried employee gets paid a fixed amount per week / two weeks / pay period.  This means that any overtime he works is on him.  Since the firm is usually billing hourly for the consultant’s services, there is a lot of motivation to push consultants into overtime.  Of course, the consultant can say no, but that doesn’t keep you employed for long. 

Non-Compete – The most painful part of any Employer/Employee agreement is the “Non Compete Agreement”  Now in most states it’s largely unenforcable.  An employer can’t keep an employee from working in their field of expertise.  However, most consulting firms will require that you sign one and it will be horribly restrictive. 

I’ve been in the situation with a my first consulting firm, CTS, Inc. (who I have no problem naming as they don’t exist under this name any longer) where I had to move across the country in part because the non-compete I signed specifically said that the agreement was (to paraphrase) “restricted to the metropolitian area where services have been performed”  Well I was a consultant in California, and during that time had worked in Los Angeles, San Diego, Burbank, Phoenix, AZ, and Denver, CO.  I moved to Washington DC.

I still got sued by CTS for breaching the non-compete agreement, and it cost me over $8,000 in legal fees (as I had to defend myself in a Georgia Court) before they blushed and effectively said “Oops, sorry, my bad.” and withdrew their complaint.  They knew they had no case but wanted to make leaving painful, probably as an example to others who might leave.

The same thing has happened with the most recent one I worked for, though in this case, since I went to work for my previous employer (not as a consultant.)

The non-compete is used to bully employees from making positive career moves (which are definately not going to happen as long as a consultant is billable, see my point below.)

Career Path – A Salaried consultant who is consistently billable has no career path.  I say it again – NO CAREER PATH.  There is no motivation to keep the consultant moving forward, because moving a billable resource into a management position makes them increasingly less billable.  Therefore, it’s the people who don’t/can’t cut it as consultants who end up managing the ones who can.  As long as you’re bringing in the cash, you’re career is dead in the water, and of course, as to the above point, it’s not like you can quit and go to another consulting firm for the promotion can you.

Anyway – In my next installment I’ll profile the 1099-Direct, and why this can be one of the best ways to consult.

So a friend passed on this story and I thought it worthy of commenting on.

He’s been going through the interview process with a major storage manufacturer to work in their Backup & Recovery group.  On getting through the ‘tentative’ offer a comment was made:

‘I really want to bring you on but I have to figure out who I’m going to let go to make the head-count numbers work’

Ok, who wants that kind of blood on their hands?  And who wants to work for a company that will so blithely play games with peoples lives?

Sorry, I’ll pass.