And then there is a group of DPers who do not prefer permanent employment. They like to go from one assignment to another through temporary services or work for contract programming organizations. Again, it's a matter of attitude. Working in the data processing industry in any capacity makes sense. The only word of caution I offer, if you genuinely want a permanent job, is that you not become so busy with temporary work that you no longer have time for your main job - the job of finding a job.
Others in the Network
Let's say you have done a good job of searching your memory for anyone and everyone who might be in a direct position to help you land a good data processing job. So far it hasn't worked, but that doesn't mean you should give up. In order to expand the network you are creating, you should begin making contact with virtually everyone you know, no matter how remote you think they might be. Busy, successful people get around, touching bases in many fields. Your family lawyer might be a source: perhaps he represents a data processing company and could be in a good position to refer you to that firm. Your doctor might have a number of patients in that field, and if you happen to mention that you are looking for a new job, he could pass that on to a patient who comes in later in the day. If you have a relationship with a bank, the people in it might be a good source of job leads. Religious, fraternal, and political organizations are other possibilities. Of course, a natural source of leads would be professional organizations whose membership is composed of data processors. Check them out in your community. Some will have a job-referral service, not only for recent college graduates looking to enter the field but for experienced professionals who need help locating another position.
I use a messenger service on a regular basis. Messengers working for the firm come and go, but one young man has always impressed me. He is getting close to graduation from a local college and is working as a messenger to make ends meet. What impresses me about him is that his job takes him into a variety of business firms and he has made it a point, if he meets an executive, to work into the brief conversation that he is about to graduate and he would appreciate any advice that person might be able to give him. He is polite, bright, and sincere, and I have no doubt that some of the contacts in his network, generated through his use of a temporary messenger job, will pay dividends for him.
Good jobs and contacts usually don't come to the job seeker. It's up to the job seeker to cultivate contacts and make use of them. Those who fail to do that are tying their own hands.
Personnel Recruiters and "Headhunters"
One of my commissioned studies in the data processing field asked what sources management used most for finding data processing personnel. It was interesting to me that when we eliminated those respondents to the study who told our independent research firm that they did not know which source was the most important, recruiters and agencies ranked first. There's good reason for this, which I'll get into in a moment.
Finding jobs is big business, and the Yellow Pages has the names of those who specialize in the field.
The differences between them have little to do with what they call themselves-agencies, recruiters, search firms, or executive-placement specialists. They're all in the same business-matching available openings with job seekers. The employer pays the fee to the personnel recruiter or headhunter. It shouldn't come out of your pocket.
There are some basic rules you should apply when choosing a personnel-recruiting firm. Your instincts are, of course, your best barometer. You have to be comfortable with the person with whom you're dealing, and have faith in that person's professional ability. Stay away from services in which the people with whom you come in contact are basically high-pressure salespeople, rather than skilled professionals with a firm knowledge of the companies and industries in which they deal on a daily basis. Specialized services do a far better job than general-purpose services that try to be all things to all occupations and to all job candidates.
Check to see how long the service has been in business. It takes many years for them to develop the contacts, and for their clients to have faith in them. Those specialized services that have accomplished this are welcome when they submit a candidate for employment consideration. The company knows they have done their homework and have carefully evaluated and screened the people they send. Find a specialized service that pleases you-professional staff, years of experience in the data processing field, a compatible placement person, and a realistic approach to your experience and job potentials. (The Robert Half organization, as an example, has been around almost forty years.)
Stay active. Be in touch with selected, specialized, personal recruiters, answer ads from the newspaper, make calls every day to build up your network of contacts, learn new facets of data processing, take some temporary assignments if you have the time, and work hard at the job of getting a job.
