Alexander Technology Group

Start Making an Impression - Sell a little Passion!

2011-06-16T20:39:00.001-07:00

Call the last couple years what you will. Hard times, down economy, Whatever your terminology for what has certainly been a challenging climate, many of us will agree that these conditions tend to drive us to become a little introverted and locked down in survival mode. Whether we are searching for a job, trying to keep our current job, or out trying to land a new client, the minimalist society that a haggard economy can breed doesn't lend itself to provoking boldness or differentiating behavior. Walking the straight and narrow, taking fewer chances, and keeping things inside the box will keep us safe right? Maybe, maybe not. However, as Bob Dylan put it so eloquently in January of 1964, the times they are a-changin. Brace yourselves but things (to generalize our most intimate interests in one simple, all-encompassing word) are looking up. Money is being spent. Jobs are opening up. Success is being had.

What's that? Get to the point? OK then.

I spend a great deal of my time, along with my partners, managing three rapidly growing employment firms. Our clients are interviewing hundreds of job seekers and we are constantly evaluating prospective members of our company. My advice to all who are seeking a job, selling a product, or attempting to advance your career.... Practice BOLD behavior (careful - bold is not synonymous with obnoxious). Make an impression on your audience by demonstrating Passion for your product, trade, or place in this world. Speaking for myself, I will hire energy and passion over skill and experience 110% of the time. Show me you want to be here (and I mean sell me) and I'll show you an opportunity to shine. We get mirrored feedback from our client as they are evaluating technology, finance, and administrative professionals. Hiring managers get excited over those who are excited, those who are bold, and those who demonstrate passion through their behavior and knowledge.

What's that? You get the point? OK then.

The above is merely reinforcing the obvious for most. I could go on for pages and pages with this stuff as I constantly advocate to get out there and have a little fun with everything you do. To be as absurdly cliche, if one person gets that raise, closes that deal, or lands the dream gig resulting from laboring through this post, it was 30 minutes (late) on a Thursday night well spent.

Happy Hunting.

JA

Contratulations to RapidBuyr!!

2011-05-16T08:49:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

I wanted to provide a brief post to contratulate RapidBuyr on their latest release. RapidBuyr, located in Concord, MA, provides B2B promotions and daily deals. They describe themselves as follows:

(from RapidBuyr.com)
RapidBuyr is a B2B daily deal site dedicated to providing millions of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with opportunistic access to deep (30-70%) discounts on higher dollar products and services such as hardware, software, web development & design, IT outsourcing, marketing, meetings, events, staffing assistance, SaaS offerings and more.

We keep a close look on their site because there are certainly some outstanding deals (last Friday advertised HP desktops for $249.00).

Wishing them the best of luck!

- JA

Congratulations to Jeff Sercel of JPSA

2011-05-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

I wanted to send out a brief note and congratulate Jeff Sercel, of JPSA, for earning the NH High Technology Council's Entrepreneur of the Year award on Monday. In a highly qualified field of applicants and finalists, this is an honor that Jeff and his entire team should be proud of. Congratulations!

- JA

Don't Miss the Granite State Sharepoint Group - Wednesday May 11th...

2011-05-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

This is just a quick note and last minute reminder for the first ever Granite State Sharepoint Group in Nashua, NH on Wednesday evening.

Sign Up at - http://ping.fm/PhpD7

- JA

Launching the Granite State Sharepoint Group

2011-04-25T08:07:00.001-07:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

This will be a short post but, to me anyway, an exciting one. Recently we partnered with Edgewater Technology to launch the Granite State Sharepoint Group. We are kicking off the first meeting at Daniel Webster College on May 11th. For info on the group go to http://ping.fm/zLiT0

To sign up for the first meeting, go to http://ping.fm/M0NiG

See you there.

- JA

Entrepreneur of the Year finalists...

2011-04-18T07:56:00.001-07:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

The finalists for the New Hampshire High Technology Council's Entrepreneur of the Year award were announced today. This year will prove to be a great event and I wanted to wish the best of luck to Erik Dodier, Bill Rogers and Jeffrey Sercel.

Full article can be found at: http://ping.fm/jrYP4

Congratulations to Sky-Skan

2010-12-01T10:08:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

I had begun this posting about two weeks ago and, much to my scheduling dismay, am just completing today. None the less, I wanted to wish Sky-Skan a warm congratulations for winning the New Hampshire High Technology Council's Product of the Year award. It is a great honor for the company and well deserved.

The Union Leader's full release can be found at the following link: http://ping.fm/egjre's+Product+of+Year

Special Thanks to NH Business Review

2010-10-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

I wanted to enter a brief post and personally thank the staff of the NH Business Review for a great awards dinner last week. Alexander Technology Group was honored with the Business Excellence Award for Technology among an amazing group of other recipients.

Full release can be found at: http://ping.fm/2c0jB

Special Thanks to Our Amazing Team

2010-09-28T07:43:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

This is one of my favorite blog posting opportunities in three years. Recently Business NH Magazine published their "Private 100" issue which profiled both New Hampshire's private companies with the highest revenue as well as New Hampshire's fastest growing private companies. Alexander Technology Group was fortunate to top the fastest growing companies list which prompted the press release attached below. Most importantly, I wanted to publicly thank our amazing recruiting and sales team for their hard work, smart work, and overall ability to build and sustain the loyal relationships we have with our partner clients. Great job team ATG!

If you haven't read the press release, I've provided a copy below. Make it a great day.

---------------
Alexander Technology Group Tops â€œ10 to Watchâ€ List by Business NH Magazine

Bedford, NH â€“ Alexander Technology Group, a NH-based leading provider of technology consulting and staffing solutions, has earned the #1 ranking in Business NH Magazineâ€™s â€œ10 to Watchâ€ list. The stateâ€™s leading business publication, in their Private 100 issue, featured New Hampshireâ€™s fastest growing organizations with Alexander Technology Group topping the charts at a 1562% three-year growth rate. With less than 35% of the featured companies demonstrating growth in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 the Alexander Technology Group team has shown that discipline, local focus, and flexibility can induce success in the most challenging of economic times.

â€œWe can attribute the growth of our business to many elements including hard work, strategy, transparency, and unwavering ethics. Above all, we are most appreciative of our amazing staff and loyal client baseâ€ said Jason Alexander, the firmâ€™s Principal and Co-Founder. â€œIn the past three years Iâ€™ve had the luxury of witnessing our world class team record long hours and tirelessly earn the loyalty of our customers. Earning the top position in Business NH Magazineâ€™s â€œ10 to Watchâ€ is the result of a unified team effort.â€

In addition to Jason Alexander, Alexander Technology Group was also co-founded by KBW Financial Staffing and Recruiting principals Jason Kroll, Paul Becker, and Gary Wing. The collective recognition of the firms includes multiple Inc. 500 distinctions, the NH Business Reviewâ€™s â€œBest Staffing Firmâ€ and â€œBest Executive Search Firmâ€, â€œTop 25 Leaders for the Futureâ€ and three â€œ10 to Watchâ€ rankings (2008, 2009, 2010) by Business NH Magazine. The trajectory is expected to continue in the years to come as the firms have plans to open several offices strategically located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

About Alexander Technology Group

Alexander Technology Group (www.alexandertg.com) provides a powerful variety of custom IT staffing and recruiting solutions. With extensive industry experience and a compelling network offering access to highly qualified I.T. professionals, Alexander Technology Group is the ideal partner for job seekers and corporate decision makers. We are committed to making your objectives our top priority.

NH High Tech Council - Software Awards

2010-09-02T10:59:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

For those that may not know, the NH High Technology Council is collaborating with the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce/eCoast to put on one of the biggest technology conferences the state has seen to date - TechWorld 2010. At this event, held on October 14 and 15, there will be the announcement of the following two awards:

Software Company of the Year

Software Educator of the Year

The following link will provide more information but certainly don't hesitate to make nominations as you see fit.

http://ping.fm/ZwWhu

For more information on TechWorld, go to www.techworld2010.com

Hope to see you there.

- JA

Change Continues at Great Bay Community College

2010-09-01T05:06:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

As a proud advisory board member at Great Bay Community College I am pleased to see the continued change and improvements at the college. The Portsmouth Herald just put out a great article featuring President Arvelo and company in their mission to build a better school with less resources and funding. Considering enrollment is up over 43% from 3 years ago, I'd say the efforts have been effective. Here is the full article.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20100830-BIZ-1010999

- JA

Investment Fundraising Increases Are Typically Good Signs?

2010-07-14T03:58:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

Owning a company that primarily services the NH and northern MA markets puts me in a slightly isolated economy at times. Couple that with the fact that we are in the employment business and are typically looked to for a real-time pulse of the market (where national employment statistics indicate no major turn-around as of yet) and we often find ourselves looking for ways to reinforce optimism other than simply saying "well....uh......we've been incredibly busy". Getting to the title of this post, investment fund raising is typically a pretty strong sign of economic optimism. Mass High Tech recently published an inspiring (well, I found it to be inspiring) article illustrating that investment fundraising has been up through Q1/Q2 of this year. When investment firms are able to go out and find "new money", that is typically a sign that, in the simplest of terms, people/institutions with money are optimistic and growth is on the rise.

The following link will take you to the full article. Happy reading!

http://ping.fm/gujYe

- JA

Jobs in Green Tech

2010-07-08T09:50:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

Having a company name called "Alexander Technology Group" leaves some wondering what kind of technology we work in (the marketing side of my brain forces me to type out that we specialize in IT and Software consulting and placement). "Do you ever work in Green Technology" is often a question I get. I have to answer this question with a "no" but often don't have a good answer when people ask what kind of jobs the field of "Green Technology" has to offer. Being a regular reader of the Globe and Boston.com, I came across this article that profiles the top 10 jobs in Green Technology. A few were eye-opening to me so I wish you, as always, happy reading:

http://ping.fm/pF4Nt

- JA

Positive Job Market Forecast in MA

2010-05-31T18:08:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

It was refreshing to see this article posted on Boston.com last week. While we have been busier than most of the market through this economic crunch, our optimism hasn't been met with validating statistics and testimony from most of the rest of the market. The following article talks about how, while we aren't out of the weeds yet, there is optimism surrounding current market conditions and future speculation.

http://ping.fm/wnzGk

Enjoy!

- JA

Code Camp at NHTI in Concord, NH - June 5th

2010-05-13T13:29:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

www.alexandertg.com

I wanted to take a minute to drive some attention to a great event taking place on Saturday June 5th at NHTI's Concord, NH Campus. Pat Tormey, Supreme Leader of the NH .NET Users Group, has done a fantastic job of putting a great program together covering topics ranging from SSRS, SQL Development, F#, Sharepoint, and Silverlight. This all-day event will include education, networking, and some top-notch BBQ. Details on programs and registration can be found at the following link:

http://ping.fm/V4ApH

Enjoy!

- JA

Discounted ASP.NET Web Applications Class through NHTI

2010-05-03T09:06:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

http://www.alexandertg.com

We are always working hard to strengthen our value to the local tech community and we just made a step in the right direction through a partnership with NHTI in Concord, NH. In June NHTI is delivering an ASP.NET Web Applications Development class (details below) which will run for 10 sessions from June 2nd through the 25th. Affiliates of Alexander Technology Group (mention Alexander Technology Group when you sign up) receive a 20% discount off of tuition. This is a good opportunity for job seekers and working professionals to sharpen their skills and the discount applies to anyone - regardless of skill-level or employment status.

Class Details

-----------------------------------

Microsoft ASP.NET Web Application Development, Module 1

20% Discount for Alexander Technology Group Affiliates (just mention that you were referred by Alexander Technology Group)

This introductory web application class will provide your first look at Active Server Pages.NET using the latest Microsoft Visual Web Development platform, ASP.NET, C#.NET and SQL Server relational databases. Work with real-world examples and gain practical hands on experience with Visual Studio 2008, ASP.NET, and C#. Participants will develop a commercial web site with, but not limited to, Public and Private Master Pages, user login, administration pages, and a simple shopping cart. This course is designed for participants with some web application development and programming experience.

Price: $995 ($796 with 20% discount)
Dates:June 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 18, 21, 23 & 25, 8:30-11:30 am
Note: Open lab time Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30-11:30 am

Four Ways to Register:

Mail: NHTI - Business Training Center, 31 College Drive, Concord, NH 03301-7412
Fax: (603) 271-6667
Phone: (603) 271-6663 (using a credit card)
In Person: The Business Training Center, Farnum Hall, NHTI
(Directions at www.nhti.edu)

Seacoast SQL Users Group - May 4th

2010-04-28T07:40:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

I wanted to draw a little attention the Seacoast SQL Users Group second meeting. April marked the kickoff of the group and was very well attended. This is a free event and your RSVP is appreciated.

More info and signup at http://ping.fm/06KkO

Looking forward to another great meeting!

- JA

Special "Thank You" to Delta Dental, Whipplehill, and Bottomline Technologies...

2010-04-13T05:27:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

www.alexandertg.com

Last week I had the pleasure to organize and moderate one of our most successful webcasts to date. I was joined by Connie Roy-Czyzowski of Northeast Delta Dental, Travis Warren of Whipplehill Communications, and Karen Brieger of Bottomline Technologies. The content was heavily focused on boosting awareness of the importance of workforce retention as well as openly sharing strategies on increasing effectiveness as the market continues to rebound. Although each of our presenters brought highly successful track records and represented very different companies their underlying messages were similar. Communication and recognition seems to trump all in the war to retain talent.

A special (and public) thank you is in order for our presenters. All put in a lot of time and effort to prepare and deliver an incredibly effective session and for that we are appreciative. Stay tuned for the next sessions on our events page.

Be well.

- JA

Seacoast SQL User Group - Great Addition to the NH Seacoast

2010-04-12T11:31:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

This is a very brief post but I wanted to send out a last minute announcement for the Seacoast SQL User Group in Portsmouth, NH. It is set to launch its first meeting on April 13th at 6:00 PM. This is a free event for all to attend. More info at:

http://ping.fm/BEnNa

Thank you!

- JA

Announcing the Seacoast SQL User Group

2010-04-08T18:45:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
www.alexandertg.com

We are constantly working hard to help build, cultivate, and drive traffic to some of the areas best networking and user groups. The newest group that we are proud to be associated with is the Seacoast SQL User Group. This coming Tuesday (4/13) the first meeting will be taking place at Great Bay Community College in the Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth. For those interested in SQL Server from the perspective of database administration, development, and business intelligence, this event should be time well spent. The group is geared for anyone from an active student to a CIO/CTO.

The following is the group's link and contact info. This is a FREE event. RSVP today.

http://ping.fm/rQuqc

Happy learning/networking.

JA

SQL Server Webcast Recap...

2010-03-18T19:02:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander
Alexander Technology Group - www.alexandertg.com

A special thank you goes out to Mike Walsh for a great session this week. For those of you that couldn’t make it, Mike gave us a great presentation on SQL Server including recommended publications, best practices in database development, administration and business intelligence and job seeker tips. Mike was also nice enough to publish the highlights to his website so you are welcomed to pay him a visit. The following link will take you where you want to go. Happy reading.

http://ping.fm/KMCno

Free SQL Server Webcast - Broaden Your Knowledge

2010-03-13T10:45:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Join us for a free Webcast on March 17th. For you SQL Server enthusiasts, this is a must-attend event to broaden your knowledge.

More at http://ping.fm/LGFJf

100,000 New Temporary Jobs

2010-03-13T10:43:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Alexander Technology Group - www.alexandertg.com

While I'd be much happier to report that we have filled 100,000 new temp jobs in March, I am happy to see that temporary hiring is on the rise. The US Census recently reported that approximately 300,000 jobs will be added nationwide in March. Of those jobs, 100,000 are expected to be temporary positions. Most opinions are pointing to that number rising in April as well.

What this tells us is that companies, those certain and uncertain of their immediate futures, are doing anything they can to acquire expertise to grow their product/service offerings and increase their competitiveness. On a percentage basis, we are seeing these trends advancing more rapidly in MA and NH. Since we don't have plans to shift our focus from temporary and contract placement, we are heavily gearing up to handle the increased demand.

A special thank you to the companies and job seekers that put their faith in Alexander Technology Group to get the job done properly.

As always, happy reading.

- JA

Free Session on SQL Server Best Practices

2010-02-17T09:24:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander - Alexander Technology Group

- www.alexandertg.com

On March 17, 2010 we will be putting on a complimentary (aka FREE) Webcast on SQL Server best practices. This event will be about an hour long and will be ideal for people and organizations that would like to either enter into the SQL Server space or broaden their knowledge on database development, administration, and business intelligence.

Learn more and/or sign-up at http://ping.fm/LTkTM

I hope you can attend.

JA

Job Board News - Monster buys HotJobs

2010-02-03T15:17:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

As an avid surfer of job boards (what a shocker from a staffing industry owner) I was intrigued by the announcement that Monster purchased HotJobs from Yahoo (for a cool $225M).

I don't know how it will affect job seekers but you may want to keep an eye on your profile in the months to come.

Read the full article: http://ping.fm/lbtai

JA

Looking for an immediate Flex expert...

2010-01-28T09:08:00.001-08:00

Posted by Kevin Smith - ksmith@alexandertg.com

Alexander Technology Group is currently seeking an Adobe Flex expert in MA. Applicants can direct questions or resumes to Kevin Smith - ksmith@alexandertg.com.

Thank you.

Looks like Google Voice made it to the iPhone...

2010-01-26T09:32:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Admittadly I've become a bit of an over-the-top iPhone nut since September. Since then, I've been following iPhone app and iPhone app trends very closely. It's been interesting to see the rif go on between Apple and Google over getting Google Voice into the AppStore.

Long story short, it is available now and you can read more in the following CNET article. Enjoy!

http://ping.fm/NOJec

JA

Graduate Certificate in Software System Engineering available at UNH

2010-01-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

For NH/MA area employers and students (including life-long learners) I thought the following might be interesting. UNH has recently launched a Graduate Certificate program in Software Systems Engineering. By most grad certificate program standards, this program appears to be competitively priced and covers a great deal of competencies that we often recruit for. At the same time, the program is brand new so I'll leave it up to you to decide. Interested students and employers can find out more at the following link:

http://cs.unh.edu/certificate.htm

I hope this is helpful information.

JA

UNH Manchester's Masters in IT Program - we need your input

2010-01-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Here at Alexander Technology Group we stay very active with local educational institutions such as UNH Manchester. As such, we are doing all we can to help gain student and employer feedback about a proposed Masters Degree in IT which could be offered at the Manchester campus. A few minutes of your participation could be very helpful in getting this program launched and tailored appropriately.

For potential students, please take the following brief survey - http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/msit08.htm

For interested employers, please take the following brief survey - http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/msite08.htm

Thank you a great deal for your support and interest!

JA

Great NH-based Networking and Education Event on Jan 19th...

2010-01-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander

As we are a proud sponsor of the Software Association of NH, we are working hard to help promote a great educational event on Social Media/Networking tomorrow night in Bedford, NH. Below is a bit about the speakers as well as a link to register:

Fee: $10 for members, $25 for non-members

Location: Commerce Dr., Bedford, NH at SERESC

Registration: HTTP://GUEST.CVENT.COM/I.ASPX?4W%2CM3%2C9971E387-D12E-4E8F-9E3D-994604093136

Speakers:
Mark Roberge is VP Sales at HubSpot, an Internet marketing software company based in Cambridge, MA.
Mark oversees HubSpot’s entire sales function, having grown the department to 40+ sales reps and approximately 2,000 customers in just over two years. Prior to HubSpot, Mark founded and held executive positions in startups in the social media and mobile sectors. Mark started his career as a technology consultant with Accenture.
Mark holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management where he was a semi-finalist in the 2005 MIT $50K Business Plan competition and was awarded the Patrick McGovern award for his contributions to entrepreneurship at MIT. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University. Mark has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and other major publications for his entrepreneurial ventures.

Mark is a regular speaker at MIT and various industry conferences on the topics of inbound marketing and sales 2.0.

Ric Pratte is co-founder, President & CEO of JitterGram™, Inc. from Bedford, New Hampshire.

JitterJam is a multi-channel marketing platform for consumer-facing businesses that integrates social media, e-mail and mobile engagement with an intelligent contact database and the tools needed to turn social interaction into new opportunities for revenue growth.
Previously Ric co-founded and was CEO for Campagne Associates that developed a line of fundraising CRM software solutions implemented to over 3,200 nonprofit organizations. The company built a reputation for innovative solutions in software and services delivery as well as maintaining superb client relationships ensuring their success. Ric lead a culture of high team engagement that brought the company recognition as one of the best places to work and innovation awards. Blackbaud Inc. of Charleston, SC acquired Campagne in 2006.

Ric is a business-building entrepreneur. Key tenets he uses to drive success are: building and articulating clear customer value propositions; keeping focus on the vision and aligning all resources with that vision; cultivation on an internally defined, results driven corporate culture.

Ric holds leadership and board positions in numerous corporate and non-profit organizations.

Welcoming John Whelan to the team...

2010-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

What better content to blog about than to announce the addition of key team members here at Alexander Technology Group. First, it's worth reporting that we had a fantastic 2009 and, due to that fact, found ourselves in need of some restructuring to cater to the current and projected growth. For all of our loyal partners, we say now, and will continue to say thank you.

Getting back to the news, we recently welcomed aboard John Whelan. John is the new Director of Recruiting for our NH Office and brings a very successful track record in the technology staffing industry (more details on our Management Page).

As we continue to grow throughout 2010, I look forward to more posts of new team additions.

"Coffee is for Closers"

2010 Starts with Employee Retention...

2010-01-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

As we enter into Q1 of 2010 emotions are mixed in the NH and MA business communities. While most will agree that we have a way to go before times are universally prosperous the job market is beginning to shift for the better. Although we find ourselves in the wake of economic disaster and most businesses continue to be instinctively locked into tactical survival mode, smart companies are strategically planning for the long term. It may appear that labor is cheap and potential employees are available in large quantity however the war for talent is already under way. The quality of employee retention can be the difference between capitalizing on prosperous times and back peddling to combat attrition. Your window of opportunity narrows every day.

When the dot com boom became the dot bomb bust, times became challenging for a multitude of industries. While faced with the challenges of staying afloat, making payroll, and satisfying customers with limited resources, many businesses lost sight of employee satisfaction and valuation (This has been an equally, if not more intensely, common thread throughout the last twelve to eighteen months). In 2004 and 2005, as the market began to rebound, employees began leaving their employers in droves. Why? Other companies started to pay. New companies were emerging. New and exciting challenges were becoming available. Most importantly, the opportunity to be valued had again become available. These challenges are avoidable but it takes time, thought, and commitment.

Value Employees Proactively

Many instinctively feel that valuing an employee starts and ends with $$MONEY$$. While it is difficult to hide from the necessity of the all mighty dollar and the comfort it can provide, placing value on employees involves a great deal more. Positive reinforcement, increased exposure and responsibility, recognition, and non-monetary benefits are all great ways to show an employee is appreciated and highly valued. The only problem, and often magnified in challenging times, is that these gestures are typically delivered at the request (or repeated demand) of the employee. Developing a frequent and structured practice of illustrating employee appreciation and valuation can be a major factor in an integral resource staying put or moving to where the grass is greener.

Follow Through on Promises

Tough times require any business to do what it takes to survive. Often this means paying an employee less, requiring more hours, or demanding one performs the tasks of two in exchange for stability and the promise of future benefits. This is a perfectly acceptable practice “IF” promises are documented and followed through with in a timely and proactive fashion. Running your business with integrity can easily equate to a comfortable employee base. As cliché as it may sound, trust must precede passion and productivity.

Listen to Your People

Difficult economic times can, all too easily, cripple our listening skills. “Employees are lucky to have jobs and we need it NOW. Let’s just get through this month and we can talk later. We just lost our largest client; I don’t have time for this.” Stop me if any of this sounds familiar. While the intent of such rants isn’t malicious and the motive is instinctively survivalist, the message is less than comforting and often not forgotten. In any address delivered by a motivational business leader, we are typically, in some way shape or form, instructed to step outside our comfort zone. In a disastrous economy, making the time to sit down and listen to our employees can be dramatically outside of our comfort zones. Make the time and make it often. Listen and react to how your employees enjoy their roles, their compensation, their place in life, their career progression and anything they want to talk about (within reason).

In Conclusion

Businesses have an amazing opportunity to retain a strong foundational employee base if they make employee retention an urgent priority today. In the not-so-distant future we will find ourselves in far more prosperous and rewarding times. Take a moment to forecast your optimal scenario. When economic growth is uncurbed and dollars are free-flowing do you want to find your company building products and delivering services or struggling to rebuild your critical staff. Currently the outcome remains controllable. The question is for how long.

InfoWeek's Chief of the Year

2009-12-21T07:06:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

The name "Vivek Kundra" had made my radar in the past and I might have even heard/read that Obama had appointed him as the country's first federal CIO of the USA. However, until this morning I didn't take much time to read up on him and thought his story was worth "blogging" about. At the ripe old age of 35 Vivek Kundra is the CIO for the United States of America and InfoWeek's Chief of the Year. Below are links the Infoweek announcement and to his Wikipedia page outlining his bio.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/leadership/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002611

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivek_Kundra

Happy Holidays from Alexander Technology Group

Free Technology - Webinar Review & Materials

2009-12-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

I want to begin by thanking Marc Berthiaume, Patrick El-Azem, and our audience for a great session today. The intention of today's event was to provide insight into free/low-cost technology tools and methodologies in an effort to increase IT professionals' marketability and knowledge.

As promised, we have provided links to today's presentation materials. I've also included our presenter names and email addresses so you can feel free to reach out.

Thank you again and keep an eye out for our next event in January.

Marc Berthiaume - MJB Technology Solutions - marc@mjbsolutions.com

Presentation Link - Click Here

Patrick El-Azem - Net Gain Solutions - pelazem@netgainsolutions.com

Presentation Link - Click Here

Happy Holidays!

December 1st Education Event (by SwANH)

2009-11-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

December 1, 2010 - 6-9pm

Location: Chordiant Software, Inc., 8 Commerce Dr., Bedford, NH

Topic: Accelerating Delivery and Improving Quality

Speakers: Patrick El-Azem and Ravi Juneja of Loftware, Inc.

Register: http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?4W%2cM3%2cfe646308-ba37-4e39-bdae-6334711965a2

Target Audience: This event is targeted to Product and Engineering managers, software developers, and software test and quality assurance engineers.

Abstract: Increasing your speed to market and improving the quality of your product are not mutually exclusive. We will present two methods – ORMs and test automation – to help you accomplish this, including discussion on how to implement these on your existing projects.

For all of our iPhone App fanatics

2009-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Not dissimilar from many of you, I've become freakishly obsessed with my iPhone and the catalog of apps that come along with it. As a side note, it's amazing how meaningless the $0.99 or $1.99 price tag looks when attached to an individual download until the credit card bill comes in and you realize that you've spent twice the money in apps as you have for your phone/data plan. Anyway, back on point, CNET just published a pretty interesting article about functional apps that have been pulled down off the AppStore. This isn't an earth-shattering news break but interesting reading none the less:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-10405395-248.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Happy Holidays.

JA

Cheap "Techie Stuff" on Black Friday

2009-11-23T19:01:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

To my friends and colleagues that have had their fun telling me that our posts are too "self serving", I say tis the season to give back (or at least make our readers aware that you can buy gadgets cheap around the holidays). Our very close friends at CNET have been nice enough to publish some hot techie stuff, game systems, etc that can be obtained on-the-cheap this Black Friday. As this year has been a tough one for many, the following link might prove to be useful as you gear up to re-empty your pockets this holiday season:

http://reviews.cnet.com/holiday-gift-guide/black-friday/?tag=smallCarouselArea.0

See, an entire post without telling people to Click Here to learn more about the region's best and fastest growing IT Staffing Company (DOH, I did it again).

Happy Shopping!

Congratulating the Nashua Scrum Club

2009-11-23T18:49:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

As we inch closer to Thanksgiving I thought we would give credit where credit is due. Our friends at the Nashua Scrum Club (if you don't know of them, check them out at www.nashua.scrumclub.org) have done a great job of getting a brand new networking/education group off the ground at record speed. As most of you know, Scrum is closely related to Agile Development which is a topic that grows more popular with every passing day. Although Scrum Club isn't new, the NH chapter is new and just completed its third monthly meeting. While many fledgling networking/education groups have a difficult time getting off the ground, Scrum Club has been at standing-room-only capacity for all three meetings and isn't slowing down.

Congrats to Bob Fischer and Mary St. Germain for a job well done.

Happy Developing.

JA

Learning new technology improves marketability...

2009-11-16T19:27:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

If there is one thing I've noticed about smart job seekers it's that they tend to find a way to learn new technologies. As we come out of one of the most challenging economic years that many of us have ever seen, it isn't uncommon to find people in 3, 6, 9, and even 12 month job searches (hang in there, good times are ahead!!!). To most employers, it isn't about the duration of the search but what the searcher has been doing during that time. For those that may not be aware, we have a news flash - access to new technology is free and is always available.

On December 9, 2009 Alexander Technology Group is putting on a free webinar which will show you how and where to access cutting edge technologies. We have assembled an expert panel and look forward to seeing you there. Please access the following link to register:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519435194

"Google It" now pertains to programming...

2009-11-15T14:39:00.001-08:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Google has become a complete household name in the tech and non-tech industry. Much like Xerox, in the early copier days, Google has taken the shape of a noun, a verb, and an action associated with all search engines. I have heard of people telling others to "Google" something while on other search engines.

As of recently Google has gotten into the programming business. Googling It might relate to programming applications in the Google Go framework. Google Go (found at http://golang.org/) is a new programming language combining the speed of languages like Python with the stability and structure of C/C++.

It will be nothing shy of interesting to see this one get legs and build some momentum. We'll be sure to post the day our first client is looking for a Google Go programmer.

Happy Programming!

Social Networking - Not Just Social

2009-09-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander

Most of us, who are alive and breathing, are constantly surrounded by social networking. We have websites that help us track our friends, community events, and allow us to tell the world what we're doing minute by minute ("just cooked breakfast" "just ate breakfast" etc etc). To compound the confusion, society also equates the notion of "social" as non-business. We have our social lives and we have our professional lives. By these definitions, Social Networking is getting less social by the day. Real companies are spending and generating real money by using websites and technology that was developed for non-business purposes.

Mass High Tech just published an article about a company called Pistachio Consulting. Pistachio is a "Twitter-for-Business" consultancy and helps businesses leverage social media. The following is a link to the article:
http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/09/21/weekly16-Twitter-startup-launched-by-Pistachio-with-funding.html

Happy Reading.

Government insight on Job Recovery

2009-09-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander

On a daily (often hourly) basis I'm asked about the economy and how the job market is shaping up. Over the last 60 days, or s0, my response mirrors something to the effect that jobs are picking up, things are moving in the right direction (albeit slowly but surely), and job seekers still need to keep their skills sharp in an effort to compete with the rest of the market. Although things are going far better than they were 6 months ago, job growth seems to be slow and steady.

I wanted to bring attention to, with non-partisan intention, a CNN.com article where President Obama speculates on a number of critical national issues including healthcare, Afganistan, and yes, Job Growth. I don't call the news good or bad. It just draws attention to the realities of today's economic status.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/20/obama.king/index.html

- JA

Tips From the Experts - Seeking Funding?

2009-08-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Since I enjoy watching the Life Sciences market to keep up on client trends and for investment purposes, I find myself reading a publication called the Life Science Leader. The following link will bring you to a blog post by a journalist named Rob Jevon and it discusses the top 10 mistakes made by life sciences companies who are seeking funding. While this was written for a specific market, many of the points are applicable across multiple industry verticals. Hopefully you find it to be useful:

http://www.lifescienceleader.com./index.php?option=com_jambozine&layout=article&view=page&aid=3868

Let's keep the market moving in the right direction.

For Our iPhone Enthusiasts

2009-08-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

It's been a little while since the last AlexanderTG blog post. This one is for our iPhone enthusiasts. In reading the Science and Technology section of CNN.com I was reading a blog post on some of the top rated iPhone Apps out there. For those of you that try to keep up on the best of the AppStore, the following link will share some insight:

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/27/techies-share-favorite-iphone-apps/

Happy Reading!

Why is the Current Economic Crisis an Ideal Time to Adopt Agile?

2009-07-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

Posted by Bob Fischer - Enagility, LLC, http://www.enagility.com/

I was talking with a friend the other day about Agile and her response was “we’re so crazy busy these days, I can’t imagine trying a new method of work”. We talked about this for a bit and I think it got her interested. With the current economic crisis, I think it is a perfect time to pause and reflect on how you develop your products. Are you getting what you want? Are your cycle times short enough that you can get new products to market fast enough to capture the limited money that people or companies are willing to spend? Are your employees turned on and engaged? Are you able to react effectively to the volumes of new legislation being written to respond to the crisis? Are you able to say that you have your portfolio of investments under control and you are investing in the right things?

A crisis is often one of the easiest times to make an organizational change. People know that something must be done and are less likely to cling to the status quo. Yes, it does take an investment to make a change, but perhaps less of an investment than it does during good economic times. In good economic times, people say “hey, we’re making a lot of money, we must be doing something right, why change”? In that environment, change can be very difficult.

Perhaps some our business results over the past few years have been good because there was so much capital being dumped into the marketplace due to the artificial inflation of property values. Maybe there was so much money, it was simpler to be successful. Well that isn’t the case today. It is difficult to succeed. And maybe it is time to retool some of those processes we thought looked so good when making money wasn’t as hard.

Agile is a resilient and rigorous process for building products that accommodates learning and changes as you go. It give you the ability to build high performance teams who focus on building the highest-value product features. It cuts cycle time and it cuts waste.

The sections that follow discuss the current conditions in more detail and expand on why now might be the time to start using Agile in your organization.

New Products are Needed to Capture Market Share
"Hammered by the recession, some of the nation’s biggest retailers are seizing the moment to reinvent their business strategies. And the impact will mean both sweeping changes in the merchandise on their shelves and subtler alterations… Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, June 19, 2009"

It is a tough time to be in business. If you sell something that that was nice-to-have, you’ve probably noticed you customers deciding to do without it. High-end products and services are being passed over for lower-cost alternatives, or simply not being purchased at all. Perhaps your Software as a Service product was doing well at $49 per seat per month, but now it isn’t. You could simply offer the service at a lower price to see if that helps, or you could introduce a new product, with less functionality, at a lower monthly cost. Some experimentation might be needed to find the right mix of products that retains customers who were leaving your platform while continuing to capture the premium price from customers who want and are willing to pay for the full offering.

Experimentation to find out what sells is essential and Agile is a process that is conducive to experimentation. An Agile principle is to build working software in iterations lasting from one to four weeks. Since you regularly have working software, it is easier to put potential products in front of potential buyers to get feedback. Not prototypes or mock-ups, but real working products. Waterfall processes typically result in working software near the end of the project life-cycle and showing changes to customers on a regular basis, and making changes based on their feedback, is simply harder to do.

If you want to outmaneuver your competition, you need to have a shorter cycle time bringing products to market, and Agile is an ideal method for cutting cycle time.

The Need to do More with Less
Companies are reducing their staff. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
"The national unemployment rate in May was 9.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.2 percent a year earlier.” There are fewer people to do the work, and there are often skill gaps brought about by layoffs."

In many companies there is the desire to make progress on many fronts leads to too many projects simultaneously underway without the critical mass necessary to make meaningful progress on any. The problem is worsened by the silos of work, and the complexity of handing work between silos that requires complex and comprehensive documentation. The waterfall method of product development, as traditionally practiced, wastes people’s time.

Agile teams, on the other hand, are cross-disciplanary, with full-time staff. The waste associated with handoffs is limited because people are working side by side, not in silos, without the need for elaborate documentation.

"In our experience, dedicated product teams do no need to be nearly as large as traditional managers would predict, and the smaller they can be kept the better all around. A host of narrowly skilled specialists are not needed because most marketing, engineering, purchasing and production professionals actually have much broader skills than they (1) ever realized, (2) ever admitted, or (3) have ever been allowed to use. When a small team is given the mandate to “just do it,” we always find that the professionals suddenly discover that each can successfully cover a much broader scope of tasks than they have ever been allowed to previously. They do the job well and enjoy doing it. (Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones. Lean Thinking, Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation. 2003 ed. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.)"

While it is culturally very challenging for companies to commit to working on fewer simultaneous project with dedicated staff, it is a much more efficient way of working. Companies who make the change will get more done with less.

You Need to Invest Your Limited Funds Wisely

Agile enables you, iteration by iteration, to determine how you want to use your capital and your people’s time.

When you have to full specify all of your requirements up-front, it is likely you’ll be investing in writing requirements, designing and building things that should never be developed. Some ideas for the new product will be the most important ideas, the ones that will capture new customers or meet a regulatory need. Others will be less valuable, some a complete waste of money. The problem is that at the beginning of a project is when you know the least about what you want – you learn a lot when people get hands-on with working software.

In a waterfall project, once the requirements are agreed-upon, the most important and least important features are handled in a similar manner. Contrast this with Agile – the most important ideas, the most valuable ideas – receive the earliest attention of the product development team. At any point in the life cycle, you can discard requirements that are no longer considered valuable or add in requirements that you didn’t know or think about at the beginning of the project.

With the limited amount of money you have to invest in product development, Agile is a good method for making the most of your investment.

New Legislation Demands new Products and Product Upgrades

When there’s a crisis people expect their elected officials to do something about it. That something is usually in the form of new legislation, programs and funding. Right now, there are a lot of things going on that people would like fixed, including unemployment, affordable health insurance, foreclosures, the credit crisis, corporate abuse, terrorism and wars.

When legislation comes out, business have to respond in accordance with the legislative timeline. In organizations following a traditional waterfall product development process, legislation often leads to tiger teams, formed by pulling people off of existing strategic projects. The rapid switching between strategic initiatives and tactical response to legislation can sap an organizations capacity for work. When people are pulled off of a strategic initiative, the remaining staff often lack the critical mass to be effective.

For a Agile teams, legislated changes can simply be though of as changes to the product backlog. Instead of working on features from the product roadmap, stories associated with the legislation are added to the backlog near the top of the list, depending on the timeframes required. The team stays intact. Critical mass is maintained.

Your Employees are Scared

Lack of direction and the fear of being laid-off are both sources of anxiety. Anxious employees spend time speculating which people, products, project and business units are going to be cut. It is a natural reaction, but it doesn’t add a lot of value to the company. When LinkedIn becomes a top destination site for employees, there’s probably not much great product being built.

Prior to the current recession most companies had a strategy in place for how they planned to grow the business, address competitive pressures, manage costs and introduce new products. The strategy certainly wasn’t static, but it had a reasonable shelf-life. With the recession many companies have been forced to go through a radical rethinking of their strategy, discarding significant pieces and undergoing significant reinvention.

To an employee, the way that looks is that the senior team and many of their reports disappear for days, weeks or even months of re-planning. Normal meetings are canceled. Communication flow drops. Project sponsors say “keep going, what you are doing is important”, but they are not making their time available to the project team, sending the message that the project may not be all that important.

Reorganization during these times are common. Layers of managers are eliminated. Staff is eliminated. Often the reorganizations are incomplete, having been hastily through through and executed, leaving the normal flow of work in disarray.

Face it: your employees are probably scared, demotivated, uncertain about their job, their career, their future and the company’s future.

Adopting Agile is a way to reinvigorate your employees and get them focused on doing something that may enable them to retain their jobs – building products that customers will buy. In my experience, teams adopting agile rediscover their interest in their work. I’ve hear a number of people say “I’m excited to come to work every day”.

Instability Enables More Rapid Change

When you try to make an organizational change during ordinary times, when there isn’t a crisis, you have to work through the all of the structures the organization has put in place to maintain the way things are done.

Bureaucracy exists for a purpose. They are a conservative force in the sense that its job is to conserve, or reenforce, the values, structures, processes and standards that are perceived as enabling your company to survive. Bureaucrats’ job is to support the bureaucracy – your company hired them for that. Bureaucrats, because they are human, are also concerned about maintaining the status quo because it helps keep their jobs intact. When you try introducing change into an organization, you are challenging both the bureaucrats themselves and the institutions they were hired to support.

In his book Presence Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders Through Mind, Body and Heart, Doug Silsbee writes:

"The deep biological needs for self-preservation, adaptation, and conformity tend to habituate us, rather than accelerate the development of ways of being that are responsive to the emerging political, economic, social, and natural environment."

The value of a crisis is that it makes it somewhat easier to introduce new behaviors than it would be normally, when it becomes clear to people in the organization that survival is not guaranteed by following the well-established path. Note that motivation to change (in this case, fear of survival) is a necessary condition for change but it isn’t the whole story.

Summary

Your organization will respond to the economic crisis one way or another. For those that view this time of crisis and an opportunity, introducing Agile may help you build new products faster, better meet customer needs, increase your revenue, respond rapidly to changes and empower your employees.

NH Scrum Club WebCast

2009-07-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Sign Up Today

Please join us for our July WebCast edition. On Tuesday, July 28th at 12:00 PM we will be featuring Scrum Club - a national social club dedicated to boosting awareness of new technologies and the accompanying advantages of adoption. On this webinar, Mary St. Germain and Bob Fischer will share with you an exciting opportunity to join a growing revolution! Nashua Scrum Club is the first and only chapter of Scrum Club on the east coast. Scrum Club is a community group that helps people learn new skills, network for business, achieve personal growth and do one thing to change the world. We are called “Scrum Club” because Scrum is the project management methodology that we use to get things done and the critical need we satisfy is to help participants become effective Scrum practitioners. More and more companies are transitioning to Agile. This is your opportunity to hear about how Nashua Scrum Club will enable you to meet your goals of learning about and practicing Agile Scrum. You’ll also have the opportunity to shape the future of Nashua Scrum Club by providing your ideas. And remember, Scrum is not just for geeks!!! All stakeholders participate! Scrum Club is for all business and technical roles. Come join our community!

Mary St. Germain is a certified project manager and ScrumMaster. Bob Fischer is an Agile coach and owner of Enagility (http://www.enagility.com). Please register today to learn more about Nashua Scrum Club and how it can benefit you.

A special thank to ColoSpace, Inc.

2009-06-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

We just had a great webcast last week on SAS 70 Audit. I want to extend a special thanks to the folks at ColoSpace for agreeing to partner with us on the presentation. For those of you that don't know ColoSpace, they are a very experienced team and provide a great suite of colocation and managed services solutions. The can be found at www.colospace.com.

Keep an eye on our EVENTS page for future events and webcasts.

- JA

SAS 70 Audit Webinar on June 25th...

2009-06-22T17:40:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

On June 25th we are hosting a free webinar session focused on SAS 70 Audit. Our friends at ColoSpace, Inc. are partnering with us to deliver a 60 minute, educational session which will offer, in a casual setting, best practices and real-life examples. This is free for anyone to attend so we welcome you to log on and listen in. Here is the link to sign-up:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/599669395

We hope to see you there.

JA

Guarding Against Computer Viruses

2009-06-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Posted by Marc Berthiaume of MJB Solutions - an Alexander Technology Group partner

It has been about 26 years since the creation of the first computer virus. Today, the number of viruses has increased to over 250,000, and each one has the potential to damage your computer and your business — damage that ranges from bothersome to devastating — and can be very costly.

Companies are hit on average with 113 virus infections every month for every 1,000 PCs they own, according to an ICSA Labs survey.

According to a 2006 FBI report on computer viruses, “dealing with viruses, spyware, PC theft and other computer-related crimes costs U.S. businesses a staggering $67.2 billion a year.” Every business, large or small, needs to protect against computer viruses. If you download files from the Internet or share files with outsiders, you stand a chance of getting a computer virus.

How does a business guard against this threat? First, it’s helpful to understand what a computer virus is. A good definition is offered by Amer Neely in “Virus Protection Rx for Your PC”: A virus is a program that attaches itself to other programs and/or disks and makes copies of itself whenever it can. It is vandalism by computer. Most viruses cause damage, either by design or accident; others merely become a nuisance by putting messages on your screen.

The important thing to remember is that someone wrote the program on purpose. Viruses do not appear out of thin air or by accident. In all cases, you will have to scan your hard disk and all your external disks and remove the culprit.

Viruses attach themselves to other files that are “executable.” This means any file that can be loaded into your computer’s memory and “run.” Files ending in .exe, .com, .sys, .dll and .ovr are some common PC extensions for executable files. Image files (.jpg; .gif) are not good hosts for a virus, since they are not executable. Audio files and video files are other “safe” types. A compressed file, such as .zip, by itself is not dangerous, but it may contain an executable file, which carries a virus. If this file is extracted and run, the virus will infect your system.

Basic virus protection
Some common symptoms that could indicate your system is “infected” by a virus are:• Unusual messages or displays on your monitor
• Unusual sounds or music played at random times
• A changed file name
• Missing programs or files
• The creation of unknown programs or files
• Files that become corrupted or suddenly stop working properly
• E-mails sent out to people on your mailing list or contact list without your knowledge
Don’t wait until you have these symptoms to take action. The consequences could be alarming. Here are some basic tips that you can use immediately to start the fight against harmful computer viruses:
• Keep up to date with critical software patches. The most damaging viruses in recent years have all been spread through software vulnerabilities that were patched at least months, and often years, before the virus was unleashed.
• Don’t open attachments that you did not expect to receive, especially if the person has not signed his or her name inside the message — and do not forward them.
• Delete all messages from unknown origins without reading them.
• Buy a virus protection program and keep it up to date. New viruses are detected and created daily and you must continue to update this software. Download the anti-virus update on a weekly basis.
• Use the latest versions of Web browsers. Virus writers are ingenious in a twisted way. They are always coming up with new attacks, oftentimes exploiting weaknesses in commonly used software. Software developers play a cat-and-mouse game, constantly trying to patch the holes with software upgrades and service releases.
• Set your security settings on “medium” or “high” for your e-mail reader and browser.
• Make sure you enforce a rigid backup schedule. If all of the above methods fail you and your data is gone, you must have a backup to save the day.

Keep in mind that these suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to protecting your business from the serious threat of computer viruses. Virus protection should be an integral part of IT planning. Since it can be very complex, it should be handled by knowledgeable, highly trained IT professionals.

Marc Berthiaume, president and chief executive of Manchester-based MJB Technology Solutions, can be reached at marc@mjbsolutions.com.

We're pleased to sponsor the Speed Venture Summit...

2009-06-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

For local readers, we have a great event coming up, at the end of October, called the Speed Venture Summit (SVS). Picture Speed Dating for companies that are seeking funding (seed/angel/venture/etc). Since last year's kickoff event was such a success, we chose to team up with our partners at KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting to sponsor this year's summit. The following links will take you to the SVS home page as well as the full sponsor press release.

Press Release - http://alexandertg.com/SpeedVentureSponsors.php

Speed Venture Summit - http://www.speedventuresummit.org

I highly recommend attending if you are interested in investing, are seeking funding, or just want to network.

- JA

Local Networking Event on June 18th...

2009-06-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

For those of you Power Networkers (or those that would like to get out and meet a few new local technology professionals), the Software Association of NH (a.k.a. SwANH) is holding a FREE networking event in Nashua, NH on Thursday June 18th. We've put up a page on our site for more information: http://tinyurl.com/lsu5uw

These are typically very good and focused networking events. Enjoy if you can make it.

Text Messaging meets IT Staffing

2009-05-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

As of today, 5/26/09, we're excited to announce a new partnership with our corporate neighbors - JitterGram. JitterGram is a real-time, text-based marketing company and is really giving us a leg up in the staffing industry. We are a temporary/contract IT staffing company which means that many of the requirements we service are time sensitive. With this new service, we are able to provide real-time text messages to potential applicants or referral sources. All of our recipients conciously opt-in so there is no spam involved.

To see the press release - CLICK HERE

To sign up for the program - CLICK HERE

Virtual Iron - Now Oracle...

2009-05-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Because this is so close to home for us, I thought it worth passing along this link. Hopefully this means good things for our friends at Virtual Iron.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13556_3-10239529-61.html?tag=mncol;title

Social Networking - We're Live!

2009-05-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Posted by: Jason Alexander

So, I've had Alexander Technology Group up on most major social networks for a while now. However, after reading an article today about the Obama administration going live on many social networks I felt like a NH staffing services company could do the same.

We're utilizing many social networks to increase awareness, post job opportunities, and to heighten community involvement. You can link to our social networking pages through the following links:

Twitter
DIGG
Facebook
Myspace

"IT as a Service" - article on new VMWare OS

2009-04-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

I recently read this article on TechNews World and thought it spoke well to the direction that Cloud Computing is moving in. VMWare has just launched an operating system designed for the Cloud and defines the concept of "IT as a Service". We are seeing more and more work being done in the area of virtualization, for great reason, and I'm curious to see which direction vSphere 4 takes it. Here's the link - happy reading!

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/VMware-Shoots-for-IT-as-a-Service-With-Cloud-OS-66866.html

PS - We're on Twitter - Find us NOW

Job Seekers - Focus on your STRENGTHS

2009-04-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

I'm often asked about how job seekers can best position themselves. Do companies want specialists? Do companies want generalists? Should I wear a suit? These are common questions. At the end of the day (pardon the cliche) you, as a job seeker, need to be sure that you know, understand, and can identify your strengths. As odd as this may sound, seeking a job is much like an election campaign. The most qualified candidate doesn't always win. More often than not, the most organized candidate is the one that comes out on top. In a job seeking campaign, the most important element is staying on message.

Employers don't want to hear how fast you come up to speed or that you are a quick study. Pardon the bluntness in this statement but that is much like a police officer listening to the line "I didn't do it". Employers want to hear about what you do well and what value you bring to the table. All too often, a job seeker will get baited down the path of subject matter where they are lacking expertise. For the most part, the candidate will realize this when it is too late. Employers don't want to hear about what you don't know. They want to hear about what you do know, what you can do, and what return they are going to get on their investment in hiring you. This message will come across if you are prepared and able to speak intelligently to what your capabilities are. Don't feel bad about what you don't know. Be confident in what you do know.

We have posted some job seeking resources on the following link: http://www.alexandertg.com/resources.php

The Interview That'll Bag a Job...

2009-04-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Reference - Yahoo Finance & The Wallstreet Journal

In recent weeks, recruiters for Consolidated Container Co. have seen job candidates arrive up to an hour early for interviews. Other candidates have alluded to financial hardships while in the hot seat, and one person even distributed bound copies of documents describing projects he completed for past employers....

Full Article: http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/106924/The-Interview-That-Will-Bag-a-Job

Optimism from New England Tech Execs

2009-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander (Alexander Technology Group)

Despite the eternal negativity, there is still plenty of positive activity out there. For people I’m regularly in touch with, I’m certain that my perception of the fact that companies are still hiring is wearing old and stale. The follow link is from the Edgar eView and show some compelling and optimistic statistics on how New England area tech execs are looking at the local economy.

http://www.edgareview.com/2009/new-england-tech-execs-surprisingly-optimistic-for-09/?contactID=54924400

Google reveals Data Center designs on YouTube...

2009-04-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander (Alexander Technology Group)

I noticed the following post on CNET recently that I really wanted to share. As of 4/8/09, Google provided a complete data center tour and design on youtube. The following link will take you to the article with video clips. Very interesting stuff an puts your idea of data center design in perspective.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10215392-92.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Hundreds of jobs applied to with no call-backs. Why aren’t people calling?

2009-04-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander (Alexander Technology Group)

Do I send a cover letter for every job I apply to? Do people read cover letters? How do I write my resume so I can compete with other job seekers? I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs and nobody has called for an interview; what am I doing wrong?

Down markets force job seekers to be innovative and quality-oriented in order to be successful. With that said, many (if not most) candidates are going about the process in a slightly backwards fashion. It is common practice, in the eyes of many job seekers, to send a stock resume with a custom cover letter illustrating why they are the perfect fit. In most cases the cover letter doesn’t make it to the hiring manager’s desk and, often times, the resume is discarded if the right key-words aren’t found in the top half of the first page.

Now, onto the important question… What is working in today’s economy? I challenge individuals to target a smaller group of positions that would utilize their specialty skills (as opposed to their general skills). In a down economy, there are plenty of generalists to go around so job seekers need to focus on best positioning and advertising their strengths. The #1 way to make sure this is clear to the hiring management of a prospective company is to be sure to tailor your resume for EVERY job you apply to. Without embellishing, be sure that your resume summary looks much like the job description you are applying to. A stock or template resume rarely paints an accurate picture in terms of how you relate to the specific job you are applying to.

This post was mainly intended to boost awareness of the fact that quality sells in the job application world. Too many people are mass-applying to positions on Monster with the same resume (for each role) and receiving no calls. Although it is difficult to maintain the discipline, people that take the time to customize every resume and cover letter they send tend to see better results. Also, as a teaser for later posts, don’t forget the importance of networking. Good luck!

Compensation Decisions for the Long Haul

2009-04-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

Whether through formal inquiry or informal advising, I’m asked daily for opinions in how to compensate new employees. Some of the questioning is based on factors which are unrelated to current economic conditions but most, if you reverse engineer their origin, stem back to the dilemma of talent acquisition versus long term talent retention. Over the last 12 months, most companies have been looking for ways to conserve funds whether through cost cutting, salary reduction, or even workforce reduction (layoffs). At the same time, companies are also hiring while, in parallel, trying to minimize the burn rate.

So, this now poses the most important question. What can I land a good employee for these days and what will it take to retain them? It is critical that both aspects of this question are addressed. Avoiding the temptation to low-ball an out-of-work employee for the sake of doing so will result in the distinct absence of a mass exodus when the market creeps back up into shape. For those of us that were in the business back in 2002 and 2003, we saw plenty of real life examples of this when the market rebounded in 2004 and 2005. The reality is that we’re seeing some of the same trends today. Organizations with money to spend are paying candidates 75% of their value without a long term retention plan in place. These are organizations that are begging to be used and discarded in a strong market.

Now, if you are on board with retaining a long term work force (which most people are on board with) there are options. The first option is to show a sign of confidence in a prospective employee by offering them, what I refer to as, strong market rates in a market that isn’t so strong. This goes a long way and typically isn’t forgotten. Most of these professionals have past colleagues that were low-balled and realize what a strong gesture it is to offer them appropriate wages when funds are tight. Option two is to bring an employee on board, acknowledge the current conditions, and let them know there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of increased wages, bonuses, and creative means to result in a feeling of security.

Often times we hear the phrase “you only have one chance to make a first impression”. All too often, in the world of employer/employee relationships, we think this phrase pertains to the job seeker. I couldn’t possibly disagree more. In a down market, this phrase pertains, first and foremost, to the employer. If your first impression, to your employee base, is that of an unnecessarily frugal company that doesn’t pay people based on their value, that is a tough image to shake when the market turns around. Based on my experience, companies that have retained a long term workforce have been those that value employees, don’t prey on their vulnerable situations (especially when evaluating out-of-work prospective employees), and keep communication lines open.

Today’s market can make anyone blind to the long term vision of building their successful workforce. Many people and organizations are in survival mode and are “doing what they gotta do”. The advisable method of talent acquisition and retention is to evaluate the following hypothetical: What if we woke up tomorrow, the Dow was at 12K, unemployment was at 3% and there were twice as many open positions as there were good people to fill them. How would our employees feel about their jobs and current compensation? Your honest and objective results will dictate how you evaluate compensation decisions moving forward.

UNH IOL - Simply Amazing

2009-04-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

I thought it appropriate to share my visit to the University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability Laboratory yesterday. While I had heard of the IOL many times, it was my first visit and, well, I’ll revert back to my title comment: “Simply Amazing”. The IOL is a place where companies, which you may have heard of, like Dell, EMC, and Cisco contract to test their products for successful interoperability with many other leading industry products. Although the IOL possesses a client roster that rivals any top tier commercial testing facility, two thirds of it’s employee base is undergraduate students gaining valuable hands-on experience. Students have the opportunity to play with the latest gadgets the industry has to offer, compile experiences which simply aren’t offered elsewhere, and nearly guarantee job placement upon graduation (at above average salaries in most cases). All of this right here in the granite state. I certainly encourage employers, students, and industry professionals to learn more about the IOL. The link is http://iol.unh.edu.

The Interview Tool Kit

2009-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

These days, more than ever, I’m asked how to properly prepare for an interview. There are many ways to answer this question but, in the interest of being concise, here is a basic tool kit that all interviewees should be equipped with.

Adequate Knowledge - I lead with this item because it is often the most overlooked and ignored essential in any job seeker’s arsenal. Adequate knowledge is defined as all of the following:
- Knowledge of the company
- Knowledge of the position
- Knowledge of your background and how it relates to the open role
- Knowledge of your strengths and abilities
- Most job seekers apply to jobs in bulk quantity and miss the opportunity by not obtaining adequate knowledge prior to the interview.

Proper Dress - I still hear stories, every day, about the right candidate missing out on the opportunity because she/he was not properly dressed. When in doubt, dress as professionally as possible. I’ve yet to hear a client say “hey, really loved the candidate but I couldn’t hire someone who wears a suit to an interview”.

Copies of your Resume - Many interviewees don’t bring copies of their resume along to the interview because they assume the hiring manager already has it. Whether the hiring manager has a copy already or not, the fact that you’ve brought multiple copies shows you’re prepared and comfortable with the prospect of meeting multiple people. Always have 5+ copies ready.

Portfolio and Two Pens - I always like to see applicants carrying a portfolio, folder, or attache of some sort. This binder should include a pad of paper and two pens. The paper should include questions that you prepared about the company, position or individual that you are meeting with. Having these questions written is positive and shows the manager you have prepared for the interview. Having two pens is important because one will inevitably die on you at the worst possible time.

There are certainly plenty more items that will prepare you based on the case-specific nature of your interview. The above goes for most all interview situations and represents the minimum requirements.

2009-04-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Alexander

I’m happy to post the work of one of our key employees - Doug Fowler. Doug has put a great piece together for people that may be looking for some tips on “Networking” in today’s economy.

Network Your Way to Your Next Job. The Right Networking Mind-Set and Skill Sets for 2009

When you think about becoming a more skilled networker, you usually think about what you can do to network more effectively. While it’s important to know the right things to do while networking, it’s equally important to start thinking the right way to make your networking efforts are as successful as can be. Let’s take a look at some elements you’ll want to include to ensure networking success:

Preparation – Know What You WantStart by investing some time to clarify whom you want to work with, what skills you have to offer and what you feel you can contribute to an organization. Knowing whom you want to work with and what you have to offer makes you more strategic and confident as you meet and communicate with others.

Don’t Sell to Your Network–Educate ThemEducating your network about the type of business you seek is much more important to your success than ‘selling’ to others. We live in a “me first” society. Focus on being helpful to others. When you seek to bring value or render service to others first, you immediately activate the principle of reciprocation.

Good networkers should talk about more than just businessNetworking is about building personal relationships. The more I network, the more I’ve seen the power of personal interests in making connections. Networking is more than just meeting people, shaking hands and saying “I need something, maybe you need something too….”. Networking is building long term relationship with people.

Be Proactive with your interactionsAs you network, focus on creating and promoting a comfortable experience for both you and the other person. Let’s face it, not all of us were born with a magnetic personality. With that said, anytime you arrive at a meeting, social event, or networking event, be prepared with conversation topics. Accept that you will need to follow up and work hard to cultivate reasons for others to want to stay in touch with you.

Brand YouYour successful professional image projected through your speaking, written communication, and social and professional network branding will result in more opportunities for networking. Developing a great “brand” identity and maintaining a good online reputation, in addition to face to face, is of critical importance. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, etc. are all mediums for creating your brand.

Staying ConnectedAs important as it is to in making the initial connection with someone, it is equally, if not more important, to stay in touch with your network. Follow up is of critical importance. Send an interesting article, point out a helpful website, share more info or tips about a subject you talked about, etc. Most of us wait to reach out to our network when we need something. The time to reach out to your network is now and always.

About the AuthorDouglas E. Fowler is the Business Development Manager with Alexander Technology Group. Alexander Technology Group (www.alexandertg.com) provides a powerful variety of custom IT staffing and recruiting solutions. With extensive industry experience and a compelling network offering access to highly qualified I.T. professionals, Alexander Technology Group is the ideal partner for job seekers and corporate decision makers.
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