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The Laid Off IT Guy! Working with a Career Coach

As part of my severance package for the job that I lost at the end of 2012 the company provided to me a company to help me through the job transition.  I call the person assigned to me my Career Coach.  Her name is Carla and she has been terrific to work with.  Not only does her company provide group training sessions on such topics as interviewing and networking, but they also provide 1:1 guidance sessions.

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The Laid Off IT Guy! Heartbreak After an Interview

Friends, I’ve come as close to NOT being unemployed any longer as I have recently.  About 2 weeks ago I interviewed with a company where they revealed to me that I was 1 of 3 final candidates and that they would make a decision the next day.  When I didn’t hear anything the next day, I was still undeterred.  It seems unlikely that a company would interview 3 candidates and make an immediate decision.  What transpired beyond that is a bit bizarre.

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Back on facebook--or is he?

John  Traenkenschuh

Traenk, or somebody like him, is back on facebook.

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The Laid Off IT Guy! Are You Working in the Wrong Industry?

I’m not talking about working as an IT guy in healthcare versus working in IT in the finance industry.  I’m talking about have you ever considered getting out of IT and doing something completely different?

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Bricks and Mortar--Still Compelling

John  Traenkenschuh

A trip to the local Best Buy is like a trip down memory lane.


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The Laid Off IT Guy! Are You an IT Generalist or a Specialist?

I certainly remember starting my career where being in IT meant you knew everything about computers.  You knew how to build one.  You knew how to program one.  Everyone came to you for advice on everything from writing software to creating a network.  All of your family relied upon you for support.  Okay, that part hasn’t changed!

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You can check out, but you cannot easily leave...

John  Traenkenschuh

DEactivating your facebook account only disables it.  Traenk now wants to go the extra step.

Traenk wants to DELETE his account and all its data?  Why would he want to do that?  What kind of special processing does that take?  Read on, and see what issues await you if you decide to do the same.


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Why we have current problems

John  Traenkenschuh

Traenk reviews some background to security problems in financial systems.

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You have deactivated your facebook account

John  Traenkenschuh

I'm sorry, Traenk; I cannot allow you to do that.


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The Laid Off IT Guy! Have You Felt Age Discriminated?

I’m getting to the point in my life where I’ve got a few gray hairs.  OK, maybe more than a few.  Who am I kidding?  I’m middle aged, but at the peak of my career with experience, wisdom and leadership.  During my recent layoff I lost my job along with several hundred other folks at my company.  One of the things that got me thinking about my age for the first time was that they included a letter in my severance package that showed the titles of each of the persons in my department and their ages.  The only 2 of us relieved from duty from my immediate team were “over 40”.

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The Laid Off IT Guy! The Job Lead Log

I invited my friend, Joe, over last night to hangout, shoot some pool, drink some beer and talk about life.  Joe's been out of work for awhile and I was interested in talking about our job searches.  He and I have been working in Project Management in recent years and I wanted to pick his brain about what he’s been seeing out there and what industries and opportunities he’s looking at.  In some cases we’re competing for the same spots, but I was more interested to see what he is learning about the local job market since he’s been looking for about 4 months and I’ve only been looking for about 4 weeks.

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It's now a true race...

John  Traenkenschuh

Pearson's announcement of support for the Nook eReader is very strategic.

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