We are aware that our employees are what make us a great company, and we are proud to have him as part of the eTECH team.

Way to go, Tim! You make us proud!

A recent survey shows that it’s difficult to find Linux Pros, but yet companies need them now more than ever. And the good news is:  companies are willing to pay real money for those who can do the job.

The staggering statistics tell it all:

• 9 out of 10 hiring managers say it’s difficult to find good Linux talent
• 93% of hiring managers say they will hire a Linux Pro in the next 6 months
• The average salary of a Linux Pro is currently around $90,000

While it’s a good time to break into this field, you might need some real experience to really the land the job that pays.  3-5 years experience is about what employers are looking for, with 6-9 years also thrown around something employers want to see.

Linux jobs are on the rise as enterprise systems look to run faster, cheaper and more reliably.  Linux is becoming an essential piece of modern day computing and seems like it will stay that way for some time to come.

Source:  ZDNet.com – February 21, 2013

Recently, Mike McCoy, a coach in the National Football League, landed a job with the San Diego Chargers.  These contracts are worth millions, so alot was on the line. A great interview landed him the job and a new chapter in his career.

Since these interviews are closed door, rarely do we get insight as to how they go.  This interview was different. The Chargers were so impressed they gave the media insight on why they hired him.

The General Manager of the Chargers, Tom Telesco, said of McCoy:

“He was polished, prepared, had great questions, which I think is big, too, that he had a lot of questions for us.”

-Tom Telesco, General Manager

Your presentations and questions you bring with you are key to success. Let’s break it down.

Polished

It’s critical to portray a professional image. Realize that even all the subtle things you do contribute to your image, so it’s not even about “acting” professional. It’s about being – through the way you dress, through the way you greet people, and through all the little things you say.

Great Questions

Good questions demonstrate your desire for the job to be a good fit for you. It’s a two-way street – you need to be a good fit for the company and the company needs to be a good fit for you. Often potential employees get too focused on showing they are a good fit and completely forget the other half of the equation. What’s important to you? Benefits? Work environment? Continuing Education? Ask questions that will give you a feel for where you potentially might be working.

In IT security news, The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning today that despite a recent patch to fix a massive security issue, Java is still vulnerable to remote attacks.

A new update recently released – Java 7 Update 11 – fixed some major security holes in Java but not all of them. This prompted the Department of Homeland Security to take internal action to protect itself by disabling Java in all computer browsers.

Java has been a hacking target for more than a decade due to it’s integration into just about every home PC, mobile devices, car electronics and countless other devices.

And that’s the problem – a vulnerability in Java means 850 million or more personal computers are vulnerable to attack.  A piece of software this pervasive carries with it great risk.

What can you do to prevent this?  Safe browsing on the Internet doesn’t always protect you, and antivirus programs are constantly trying to keep up with the latest threats but sometimes are behind.

The short term solution to protect yourself would be to disable Java in your Internet browsers as the Department of Homeland Security has recommended.  To learn more, follow the instructions here or contact your trusted computer support person.

Congratulations to Jon Gordon, a Program Manager in AZ for winning eTECH’s recent Social Media drawing!

All of our consultants were asked to “Like” eTECH on Facebook and to follow us on LinkedIn, followed by a drawing for all the participants. Jon wins a $50 American Express Gift Card as a great start to the New Year.

Watch for our next drawing soon!

Apple announced recently that it will be bringing some of the manufacturing of it’s products back to the US, and this is of course good news for US jobs.  The US economy has suffered over the last decade partly due to the trend of outsourcing jobs to countries where labor and manufacturing are cheaper.

This outsourcing doesn’t come without a cost, and Apple is realizing that.  Not only do shipping costs rise, but turn around time for getting products back to the US increase when the product has to travel overseas.

HP realized this, and started producing it’s desktop PC products locally to save on fuel costs, but also to improve the brand name by providing a faster turnaround time on orders.

The most interesting part of the article is at the bottom, where the emerging trend is to use robots for manufacturing.  We’ll have to see how this plays out for the US job market, and whether bringing the manufacturing back home will actually lead to increased jobs.

Read the full article here:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/why-apple-got-a-made-in-u-s-a-bug/

Our recruiters have proven to be some of the best in this industry, providing the highest quality service to our customers and our candidates.  In 2012 our permanent placement division assisted our clients in filling more than 25 jobs; our contract division placed more than 70 contractors on long-term projects and we had more than 30 contracts extended.  Five of our contractors were offered permanent jobs after successfully completing their projects. I am proud of the accomplishments our team has made this year and look forward to continuing our efforts in putting people to work.

Joining our team this past year is Jo-Ann Heissner, Recruiter and Toni Dent, Operations Administrator.  We appreciate their efforts and with their addition to our current team, we have improved our operational effectiveness providing better service to our clients and candidates.  We enhanced our database, updated our company website, and created a plan to expand our social media efforts.  As 2013 approaches, eTECH RESOURCES will continue to expand our process improvements by streamlining our back-office operations and hiring additional staff in order to continue on the path of success we had in 2012.  Our goal in putting people to work remains a priority, we actively update our social media outlets with the latest job opportunities, and we encourage you to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn as well as our corporate website (www.etechresources.com).

eTECH RESOURCES continues its commitment to making a difference in our local communities and across the country.  Our charitable contributions this past year have included a $1000 donation to the Salvation Army, a $500 donation to support the efforts in restoring communities affected by the devastating Hurricane Sandy, and eTECH RESOURCES employees actively support the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure as well as their local food banks and shelters.  We believe one small act of kindness goes a long way and we will continue to make contributions to charities we believe will make a world of difference.

Looking ahead to 2013….

According to a recent article published by Governance Now, IT research and advisory firm Gartner stated “by 2015, 4.4 million IT jobs globally will be created to support big data, generating 1.9 million IT jobs in the United States”, said Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice-President at Gartner and Global Head of Research. The article also stated, in addition, every big data-related role in the US will create employment for three people outside of IT, so over the next four years a total of 6 million jobs in the US will be generated by the information economy, Gartner said.

Here at eTECH RESOURCES we plan to fully participate in this trend by working with leading privately held companies to Fortune 500 companies looking to staff their open jobs with high quality candidates.  We see 2013 as a real opportunity to put people to work and we look forward to working with both our clients and our candidates to fuel their future success.

Facebook claims it’s decision to launch this app was partly based on a survey that showed a link between job recruiters and candidates.  The line between social and professional with Facebook has always been blurry, and this app tries to take Facebook a step closer to the professional world.

It’s up in the air as to whether Facebook truly can connect professionals to professionals.  The Entertainment industry does well with Facebook since promoting events is often done via Facebook and Twitter social media channels.  But will other industries benefit from this new connection between Facebook and jobs?

A problem that Facebook will have immediately is that many of it’s users are setup with profiles that display their personal (not professional) likes, dislikes and commentary.  If you are like most people and keep your private life separate from your work life, you might not want prospective employers getting their first impression from you by your personal Facebook profile.

Consider that you might be tagged in images on Facebook, and that you have little control over those images if they reside on someone else’s account.  It’s fine for your friends to see, but you could imagine many situations that you wouldn’t necessarily choose to share with prospective employers.  If Facebook becomes a popular place for employers to search out job candidates, more information than you like might be exposed.

If this concerns you, don’t worry yet.  This Facebook venture appears to be not quite ready for prime time.  Just an hour ago people were reporting issues with job postings and locations – namely that the locations part just doesn’t seem to filter correctly (if at all).  Blank pages, database errors and super slow searches were also reported (though these may be a result of massive traffic to the site – no one is really sure at this time). A launch that flops has a hard time gaining ground, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

While the verdict is still out on whether this will be a legitimate business tool, you can check out the Facebook page for this project here:

https://www.facebook.com/socialjobs

SACRAMENTO, CA

“We are deeply saddened by the devastation in the Northeast caused by Sandy,” said eTECH President Tina Brummel. “We felt the best way to help was to donate to the Red Cross which helps people in need, assisting victims of disasters by providing a safe refuge, food, recovery assistance, and other programs.”

In addition, eTECH donated $1,000 to The Salvation Army Helping Handbags event held on October 20.  The Women’s Auxiliary of The Salvation Army comes to the aid of women, children and families through a variety of programs. For over 125 years, The Salvation Army has been serving the Sacramento community.  “It is important in times like this that we come together and help in any way we can,” Brummel continued.

For over a decade, eTECH RESOURCES has successfully connected thousands of IT professionals in positions of project management, hardware and software engineering, system architecture, data base management, web development, technical support and many other critical IT roles.

eTECH RESOURCES was established in 2000 with a singular focus: Provide our clients and consultants with superior staffing solutions.  You can also follow eTECH on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook by clicking the links on their homepage.

“We are deeply saddened by the devastation in the Northeast caused by Sandy,” said eTECH President Tina Brummel. “We felt the best way to help was to donate to the Red Cross which helps people in need, assisting victims of disasters by providing a safe refuge, food, recovery assistance, and other programs.”

In addition, eTECH donated $1,000 to The Salvation Army Helping Handbags event held on October 20.  The Women’s Auxiliary of The Salvation Army comes to the aid of women, children and families through a variety of programs. For over 125 years, The Salvation Army has been serving the Sacramento community.  “It is important in times like this that we come together and help in any way we can,” Brummel continued.

The swIPe Security Protocol is an experimental Internet Protocol (IP) that was first created in 1993.  It provides confidentiality, integrity and authentication of network traffic and can be used in end-to-end security.

The protocol handles security by encapsulating each IP datagram to be secured inside a swIPe packet.  It allows for optional encryption as well, further security the data in transit.

If you have experience with this protocol or security in general, contact eTECH Resources to see if one our our cutting edge security jobs is a fit for you!

On the top of the list was programming jobs on the mobile platforms, specifically the open-source Android platform.  eTECH has found experience on multiple platforms is now a necessity for companies developing new software and applications.

“Experience on multiple platforms has gone from a nice to have to a need to have” said Ryan Cohen, Technical Recruiter at eTECH Resouurces.

eWeek recently reported that “Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS continue to be neck-in-neck when it comes to the actual number of job listings” as companies look to take advantage of the increasing number of mobile devices on the market.

If you have Android or other mobile programming skills and are looking to work with some of the most desirable technology companies, contact eTECH Resources or search our job database online!

Some jobs now allow you to apply via Facebook and LinkedIn.  Since privacy options are constantly changing on these sites, it’s unclear as to what access someone has to your account when you apply online.

Jobsearchtech.about.com has reported that as soon as you allow any third-party service to access your account, you are granting that service access to everything!  In the majority of cases this may be harmless, but in the case of a job application, the employer may be able to use that functionality to access your personal profile.  In addition, they report some employers have gone as far as asking for information on your social networks, even as far as asking for your username/password.  While there are very few actual documented cases of this (a story slightly blown out of proportion) – you still must be prepared in an interview how to respond to questions on social media.

The number one thing you can do is:

Be prepared for Social Media questions to come up in an interview and determine how you might answer these questions professionally.

Some examples:

If asked if you use Social Media for business, you can simply state that you occasionally use it personally to keep up with family and close friends, and that it doesn’t overlap into the business world.

If asked for personal information, apologize and state that for security you do not hand this information out to anyone.

If asked whether you use Social Media at work, answer truthfully, be remember that most employers would prefer employees not use social media at work (unless there’s a legitimate job reason).

Remember that employers are trying their best to assess you as a person as well as your technical skills, so while you might feel it’s invasive, the company really is just trying to determine if you’re the right fit for the job.

A recent article discusses the Top 10 Strategic CIO Priorities for 2013.  Bob Evans, Senior VP of Communications for Oracle Corp, created his own list and it’s discussed in further detail here.

eTECH’s found one top priority missing from this list – in an area that’s becoming more important than ever – security.

For most companies, security is no longer just internal IT security.  Websites, web applications, virtualized systems and cloud-based environments provide unique challenges to secure and maintain.  Oftentimes security of these systems can be out of your control, only to be exposed when a security breach occurs.

As CIO, a big part of your job is not only to make sure IT systems are deployed correctly, but also to ensure due diligence is done to research how your data is being stored and how it’s protected.

A list of questions to ask your potential service providers include:

• Who has access to your data?
• Is any data encrypted at rest or in transit?
• What Tier Data Center houses your data?
• What Tier Data Center houses the backups?
• How are they prepared to handle security breaches?

Get the answers to these in writing in case you need to refer to them later.  Remember, security is your responsibilty.

The news emerged last week of the flaw in the browser, and was being exploited in targeted attacks.

Users are urged to update their Internet Explorer by visiting Windows Update.  Microsoft also released a Quick-Fix here for the vulnerability that doesn’t require a restart (though it does require you to close your open Internet Explorer browser window).

Computer security is becoming increasingly important, at work and in our everyday life.  If you are interested in a career in Computer Security, contact eTECH or search our available jobs.

Have you considered a job in Computer Security?  The field is constantly evolving – this makes it easier for a computer professionals to break into the field as it provides a multitude of jobs at all levels.

If you are new to the computer security field,  let a company like eTECH find you an entry-level job in the security field.  Certifications are a good way to learn material as you begin to see how Cyber Security works inside businesses.  Look into the CISSP Certification for further information on the most popular security certification.

And if you already have experience, contact eTECH so we can help place you in a job or career that’s right for you.

Search our available jobs!

According to the EPA, green power resources include clean or renewable electricity sources such as solar, wind and hydropower. The aha moment for this latest quarterly update lies in the fact that all of the top 50 green power companies listed are “partnered” for at least 100 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually.

Read the full story here.

Already in August we have have placed 4 consultants at one of the World’s Leading Semi-Conductor Manufacturer …

1. Network Evaluation Engineer
2. Mask Designer
3. Software Middleware Developer
4. Application Developer

And in the month of July alone we  placed 6 more consultants at one of the World’s Leading Semi-Conductor Manufacturer …

1. Systems Engineer
2. Embedded Software Engineer
3. Application Developer
4. Technical Writer
5. Product Privacy Consultant
6. Web Developer

If you are an employer looking to fill a job, or an employee looking for a great fit at a company, eTECH RESOURCES can help.

Search our available jobs on our website and Apply Online!

Recently, Jose wrote to us about his recent hiring experience with eTECH RESOURCES.

“Fewer and fewer people may take the time to say thank you but sometimes that also depends on how they are treated in the first place. The corporate world is losing that personal touch as time goes on but I was fortunate to find a company that puts the employees first and sees them more than just an income stream.”

Check out all of eTECH’s Testimonials and our Recent Job Placements, and Search for Jobs Online.